******CHAPTER 18

MAE'S POV
 
As Oliver walked me into the Alpha Quarters and through the castle, my mouth almost hung open in awe of the beauty before me. I had never in my entire life seen mansions as huge as these. There was neither a scene nor a luxury that was perfectly balanced between the beauty of nature and luxury. I had heard stories of the castle ever since I was a child, but never once had I ever visited this place before. Low-class wolves like me weren't even allowed to smell the outside walls of the castles; talk more about venturing into the premises unless you want to have your limbs cut off and sent back to your family.
 
I slowed down my pace as my eyes caught sight of a group of soldiers training in another area of the castle. There was a man who was clad in armor and whose face was covered with a mask. He was taking on the soldiers, defeating them in training one after another quite effortlessly. I remembered the man as the Alpha from yesterday, and I felt frightened again at the mere thought that I would be working in the castle for this man. The cruel, heartless Alpha is known for his cold heart, both far and near. And worse, I feared for the safety of my family, knowing too well that this man knew so much about them at this stage. Perhaps I should convince them to run and relocate to someplace else where the Alpha would never find and bother them in my absence.
 
"Come on, Mae." "We must hurry." Oliver's voice jerked me back to reality, and I tore my gaze away from the Alpha. I hurried my pace, sticking obediently behind Oliver.
 
"I must warn you; you must keep to yourself. Not everyone is a friend around here. "There are more foes with friendly faces and nice smiles."
 
I nodded.  "Noted."
 
It's not like I intended to make friends with anyone around here, anyway.
 
"Uh, hello there, Miss Karen." Oliver greeted an older woman who was putting on a servant's uniform and leading a group of younger servants elsewhere. She stopped as soon as she heard Oliver call her, and she signaled to the girls to go ahead before she hurried to Oliver and I.
 
"Good day, sire." She bowed her head slightly in respect before raising her head again. I guessed Oliver was respected around here too.
 
"Mae.  Meet Miss Karen. "She is the overall head servant in the castle." Oliver immediately introduced us to each other. "And Miss Karen, please meet Mae." She is, uh, a new student. He struggled to say the word, and I immediately jumped in to save him so he wouldn't inconvenience himself.
 
"The new servant, Miss Karen." Oliver cast me a glance, but I continued to keep my eyes on the older woman, feigning ignorance.
 
"Miss Karen, would you mind showing her around and briefing her on her tasks in the castle?" After a few seconds of silence, Oliver said something to the woman. The woman nodded at him immediately and discreetly eyed me in displeasure as if she wasn't pleased that I was here in the first place.
 
"It would be a pleasure, sir." She bowed slightly to him, and I was left wondering if this is how he gets treated respectfully in the castle. I wouldn't be so surprised if I were correct, though. He was the closest to the Alpha. No one dared disrespect him unless they wanted to fall on the Alpha's bad side.
 
"Come with me." The woman commanded me and began to walk back into the castle without waiting for me. I gave Oliver a pleading look, begging him to come along, but he laughed slightly and shook his head disagreeably at me.
 
"No, Mae.  I have important stuff to handle. But I'll come check on you when I am done."
 
I pouted and raised the middle finger at him before half running, half walking behind the woman, in fear that I might lose her and get into trouble for being sluggish. I could not take chances and be on anyone's bad side on my first day.
 
I walked behind the woman as she entered the magnificent mansion and led me through an array of stairs. We arrived at the kitchen, which was equally large and had other servants in their uniforms working on something. Some were attending to whatever was cooking on the fire. Others made pastries, and the rest were either scrubbing and washing dishes, mopping the floors, or arranging foods neatly on food trays and taking them out of the kitchen.
 
"This is the kitchen where you would be working most of the days." She informed me and again walked me out of the kitchen, outside the castle, and towards the green field close to the garden. There were cloth lines hanging all over, and some servants were washing and drying clothes on the lines.
 
"Thrice a week; Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are wash days." She explained it to me again and then pointed to another part of the land. Slightly farther away was another large plot of vegetation where some of the servants were plucking fruits and harvesting vegetables.
 
"We hoard fruits and vegetables three times a week too." Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays."
 
Then she led me to another part of the castle. It was a smaller building with several rooms. I could tell what building it was by the mere sight of the servants patrolling about freely. It was the servants' quarters. She reached a door and knocked on it impatiently. A petite, small-framed girl attended to the door and bowed respectfully to the woman as soon as she set her eyes on her.
 
The woman ignored the girl and turned her eyes to me again.
 
"This is going to be your room." You will be sharing it with three girls. Although I do think you would barely need it since you would be spending ninety-five percent of your time working at the Alpha's quarter. Lastly, we only allow a maximum of two visits from friends and family every month. Crossing your boundary and trying to break the rules around here means you get fired automatically. "Do we understand each other?" She eyed me, waiting for a response, and I did not hesitate to nod my head in understanding.
 
"Yes."
 
"Good."  And then, with her nose snuck to the air in self-pride, the woman marched away again, barking orders to other servants along the hallway as she walked out.