Chapter 12 Imminent Celebration

**Valerie**

It’s very hard to say that I had a good time being a maid slave here, but liked I mentioned before, I did think it’s much better than being underground.

Sometimes, I would even retrieve the old happy feelings shortly when I was at the terrace on third-floor and taking a view overlooking the lawns enchanted by the beauty of sunset. Or sometimes, I would try to keep some hopes, like Ava always suggested, that I might be liberated someday in the future.

Although deep down, I knew they were merely my unrealistic imaginations, I was tricked by the peaceful appearance of ever-present danger.

I had always known that our lives, friendships or hopes here were all based on a thin string that could easily be tore by a sudden change of the masters’ tempers

They could easily kill us within a blink of second.

But I failed to be prepared for something even more torturous in a subtle way.

If you were looking for two contrary countenances that illustrated the slight differences between well-controlled fear and restrained excitement, you might possibly find the perfect shots on Samantha and me this morning.

Samantha didn’t say anything when she came to me with the rag in her hand. She looked around cautiously to ensure no one paid attention to us before pushing me to the third floor. Everyone else was busy with their works in the morning so we could speak without any interruptions at the terrace.

But sneaking out at work inevitably brought an air of stress to our conversation.

“What’s the matter?” I asked Samantha while pulling her away from the railings in case of being noticed by gardeners, “Mrs. Manson would kill us if she finds us here.”

“She won’t!” Samantha blinked her eyes with a joyful voice, “Mrs. Manson and Mr. Scott were out for the decorations early this morning.”

“Decoration?” I was confused.

“Yes! For a coming celebration in this castle!” Samantha lowered her voice as I found she was hard controlling her eager to scream.

“For what?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” Samantha seemed to be baffled with my question, “I heard they said something like ‘victory’ or ‘battle’… but that’s not important, Val! The thing is that all three masters will be in presence on that celebration. And my old pack members will come!”

*Victory and battle.*

Indications of these two words were sufficient for speculating the theme of this celebration.

I supposed that I could never blame Samantha for her ignorance of the war. When she was sharing the information with me, she did it out of innocence and with a good intention to cheer me up.

But she might not be sensitive enough to realize the huge differences between us. That was, despite being a slave, she was still a werewolf. The thing they were going to celebrate was a tragedy for me and other human slaves.

“You will finally be able to see Master Drakos!” Samantha carried on, “It’s rather difficult to see him. He would only came here like every two or three months. You couldn’t imagine how handsome he is, just like one of the six great gods!”

This third master Mr. Drakos had been a mystery for me and I did feel curious about his identity. It was very weird for different creatures to reside the same building. Despite the coalition, they had always despised each other.

“The Alpha in North and his daughter would also attend.” Samantha seemed a bit unhappy to bring out this topic but she continued anyway, “they said the Alpha’s daughter would be engaged with Alpha Xavier for uniting two powerful packs. But I bet she will not be Alpha Xavier’s mate.”

“Mate?” I asked, as I recalled the female vampire’s yell on that auction. She scorned at the male wolf, threatening to tell his mate about his presence at auction.

“Oh, that’s a wolf thing.” She explained, “It is said that werewolves were all born being blessed by the moon goddess who pairs each of us a soul mate in this world. The moment you see your mate, you two will fall in love with each other. The mate bond will be growing as you get mature, practically after 18th birthday. It’s only after the female wolf marked by her mate, that their mate bonds would be completed. Once you’re bonded, it will keep you together forever. Very romantic.”

*Mark.*

*Was is the same with what Mr. Lang had said?*

I guessed my face just turned pale as Samantha looked worried.

She held my arms and asked tentatively, “Are you all right, Val?”

I nodded as forced a smile on my face, trying to be indifferent.

“I just drifted off, sorry. That sounds like a fairy tale.” I said before asking hesitatingly, “Does it only happen on werewolves? Will vampires be able to *mark* someone?”

“I guess not.” Samantha frowned in confusion, “Why you suddenly ask about vampires? I believe it is exclusive for werewolves. And not all werewolves would be able to find their soul mates. It’s rare, actually. Maybe it’s a trick from the goddess that some wolves spent their entire lives seeking for a mate and died in disappointment. It’s difficult to find the right one. So many of them just accepted an arranged marriage or got married with someone they thought they loved.”

*I exhaled deeply with a relief. So, that must be a different thing, I supposed.*

Samantha looked at me suspiciously, “You’ve been acting weird, Val.”

“I guess I’m just afraid us being caught by the servant.” I lied, trying to switch the topic.

“Maybe the ‘mate’ thing is just a fake lore.” I said

Samantha shook her head, looking dejected.

“I’m afraid it is true.” She said, “My aunt, the Omega I mentioned to you last week, had found her mate before being banished. I don’t know if it’s true but I suppose it was. Because when I was old enough to understand the whole thing, I happened to know that the punishment on her was exceptionally harsh. It’s all because she and her mate were caught on their way to elope. Apparently, her mate was someone important in the pack. So my aunt was severely punished while her mate stayed ‘clean’.”

Samantha glanced over the railings aimlessly. There was an air of sorrow filled up in her eyes. I didn’t know how to console her.

Her voice sounded remote as she continued, “Growing up with my aunt’s story, I don’t know if I should expect to find a mate. I’m feared of being like my aunt but I still wish to have someone to love me with all his heart. Someone will just cherish me for who I am.”

A tear was shed from her welling-up eyes but she quickly wiped it away.

I wished I could say anything to comfort her but I couldn’t. A lump was formed in my throat. As I stared at her apprehensively, Samantha gave me a light smile.

“Come on, Val.” She said as her cheerful tone returned, “We’re not here for lament.”

“I have to tell you the most important thing now,” Samantha looked around again as if someone was sneak around for her confidential information, “Mrs. Manson and Mr. Scot said they didn’t have enough servants now, so they would have to pick out a few slaves to serve the guests. So the selected ones will definitely have some specialness, like better uniforms servants usually wear, increased food portion or less grueling works. That’s a good opportunity! Isn’t it Val?”

Samantha’s face looked excited in redness and she didn’t wait for my reply before hastily carrying on, “Imagine! If we are lucky enough, we’ll be able to serve the guests and masters in close proximity. And who knows? If they happen to like us, we may even be able to make small requests!

“Maybe, they’ll upgrade us to free servants as we didn’t actually committed anything guilty!” Samantha blinked her eyes in anticipation.

Faint smile froze on my face when Samantha finished her sentence.

A sudden realization hit me.

How could I be heedless of something conspicuously wrong? Why had I never been conscious enough to find the weirdness?

When Ben told me the differences between servants and slaves, I failed to catch the pivotal point. Since I was told that the servants were free humans, why had I not asked for the reason?

What was the thing that made us different?

Being trained as a slave and being constantly instructed to be comply with whatever from authorities, I had forget my ability to think independent.

I was too oblivious.

“Do you mean…that most of the slaves are guilty for something?” my lips were trembling as I asked the question.

“Yes,” Samantha looked at me bemusedly, “Most. But I suppose you’re not Val? Because you look very different from them. You are always gallant and frank, and those qualities will never be found on other slaves. Have you noticed that Ben always seemed to be timid in front of those servants? I can tell you that he would just freak out while facing with a master. It was because his parents used to be in the army and they killed loads of werewolves during the war.

She paused before continuing with a serious voice, “Slaves could be different. A few are wolves with low ranks like me. Some are human kids with no families or relatives to rely on, such as orphans. And the other, the most, were criminal. Though the culprits themselves had all been killed or sentenced to death after the war, their kids would be left to be slaves—"

Samantha suddenly stopped as she noticed my strangeness.

“Val, are you all right?” She catch my shoulder and called me anxiously.

But I made no reactions.

My eyes had lost focus and my sense had been numbed. I had no idea how to process the emotions in my heart.

What Samantha told me just now indicated something far beyond my perception.

*Mom and dad were killed. I was imprisoned as slaves.*

*That couldn’t be a coincidence.*

“No…no...” I shook my head and mumbled like a mad woman.

The feelings of anger, astonishment and fear entangled with each other and filled up my chest. I clenched my fists and bit on my lip, trying to hold back the tears and keep myself from falling apart.

*That’s impossible.* I repeated it to myself firmly.

My mom and dad were always kind and lovable. They had the best reputation among in the town. They even had werewolf friends like Mrs. Johnson.

*That’s impossible. I wouldn’t believe it.*

They would never commit anything unforgivable!