Chapter 13

XAVIER~~~~

It's been a day since the assassination attempt on me. Martha proved her capabilities as a housekeeper as she made quick work of the bodies, disposing of them quickly and making it look like nothing happened.

Even more surprising were the rest of the staff who were unfazed by the blood and gore as they cleaned. Especially Cara who seemed fascinated by it. It reminded me that the Broken were truly beings of immense evil.

"Master," Cara knocked on my bedroom door. "Your food is served."

"I'll be out in a second," I replied as I stretched my sore back. I've been sitting in a crouched position all day as I opted to play games all day today.

I couldn't go out for a stroll often because I might get jumped. It is a symbol of my effort in trying to protect the peace my father's trying so hard to achieve. Getting jumped would mean I'll fight back, and fighting would mean I probably kill or maim a Southerner. That would be bad for the peace he wants, even though I think it'll be fickle at most.

I strolled down the stairs to the dining room which was just beside the kitchen, separated by a wall barely three inches high.

"What's for dinner?" I asked Cara as I sat at the head of the table. I've become a little comfortable with Martha and the other workers since they've all proven themselves to be loyal to their King's orders.

"Pasta and steak," she replied with a smile. "I did my best to make it to master's taste."

"I've told you to stop calling me that, Cara," I replied as I let her serve me.

"But you are my master," she said in her usual timid voice, careful to avoid eye contact with me."

"No, the king is your master," I replied. "I have neither earned nor tamed you. You aren't bound to me."

"I'm not tamed," she said, making eye contact with me for the first time without me asking.

"What?" I asked. "Aren't you a Broken?"

"Yes, I am," she nodded, almost childlike. "But I wasn't broken by the Alpha."

"That child's situation is peculiar," Martha said as she joined us at the table. I couldn't sense or hear her coming. I guess there's a good reason why she was called an assassin.

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning to look at Martha who casually took a seat at the table.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked, gesturing to the seat.

"I don't," I replied. "What did you mean by her case being peculiar?"

"It's just rumour I heard, but apparently Cara was already broken before she was arrested."

I turned to look at Cara and she nodded in confirmation.

"I killed my master," she smiled. "He couldn't control me anymore."

"Then she went on to kill about thirty other people within two months," Martha continued. "That's the highest death toll we've had without a war, ever since the dark age of our slavery."

"They deserved it," she smiled. A smile that made her cute and childish even with the words coming out of her mouth. It made her all the more twisted.

"She always says that but she never gave a reason," Martha sighed. "Anyways, after getting caught, no amount of torture broke her. Sometimes she was unresponsive to the pain, and other times she was enjoying it. It was always one of both but never suffering. The pain never hurt her, as weird as that sounds."

I turned to look at Cara who just stood beside me with a bright smile on her face but still avoided my eyes. "What did your master do to you?"

"Can't tell," she shrugged. "I don't remember."

I exchanged glances with Martha who just shrugged like it was normal.

"If you weren't tamed, why do you work for the Alpha then?" I asked, still confused by the whole situation. "Why were you even trusted enough to be let out in the first place?"

"I vouched for her," Martha said. "And she exhibited good behaviour during her time in prison. She was probably the best behaved.

I gave her a suspicious look. "That can be easily faked though. Anyone can do that to get out of jail. Why is she trusted based on that only?"

"Who knows?" Martha shrugged. "All I know is that my head flies if she goes rogue."

"And why are you taking so much risk for her?"

"I've lived a long life, kid," she smiled. "That kid shouldn't be locked up all her life at such a young age. I don't care if more people die because of the choice I made. As you can already tell, I'm not an upright person. There's a huge possibility that she could go rogue and cause even more trouble, but I'm choosing to hang on to the slightest possibility that she wouldn't. I have nothing to lose either way."

"You are pretty tough for such an old crone," I smiled. She reminded me a little bit of my late grandmother. That kind yet unkind attitude of hers. The risks these old women are okay taking are things I couldn't do in a million years."

"Then why do you want me to be your master?" I asked. "I wouldn't be able to control you either."

"You can control me, master," she replied. "I want to be controlled by you."

"Pfft!" Martha tried holding in her laughter and failed miserably. "That sounds so perverted."

"Shut it, Martha," I hissed, trying my best to keep the atmosphere serious. "What do you mean, Cara?"

"I would obey whatever you say," she replied. "I don't need you to do anything else to control me."

"You do remember that I'm a northerner, right?" I asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "That's why I want you as my master. Southerners are disgusting."

"To be sincere, I support the child," Martha sighed. "Ever since they broke off from the Northern pack, their human tendencies have become more dominant than their werewolf heritage."

"What?"

"Why do you think we produce weaker soldiers in the younger generations even though they should be stronger?" she asked. "That's unlike the werewolf way where strength defines status, the reverse is the case here. Having influence, connections and relationships with people in higher positions define status. Strength is no longer a determining factor. These days, power is given to naive old fools and young brats who know nothing about the sacrifices needed to attain power so they abuse it."

"I see," I sighed. "What are your thoughts on my bride?"

I could immediately feel Martha's body tense up for a second at the mention of that. "What?"

"Do you think my bride is one of the naive ones who abuses her power?" I asked again. "I mean she's the Alpha's daughter. She's the third most important figure in the kingdom. It's pretty easy for power like that to get to her head."

"A-I mean Selena isn't one of those kinds of girls," she replied. Her voice was low and I could sense a subtle hint of sadness in it.

"Is it because she barely spent any time with her grandniece?" I thought. "She seems really sad."

"She's a sweet girl who cares about everyone," she continued. "When she heard about me, she came down to the dungeons to see me even though she never knew me. I was already locked up before she was even born but she still came down to see me. That's how much of a gem Ariel is."

"Ariel?" I asked.

"Huh?" her eyes widened. "Oh, Ariel is just a nickname I gave her since I didn't get a chance to name her. Please don't tell her I told you this."

I studied Martha's face for about a minute before letting out a sigh. "If she's such an angel, then why are you so scared of her?"

"I'm not," Martha smiled nervously.

"I'm not gonna tell her about this and I'm not gonna probe, but I would be expecting a proper explanation soon."

"Of course," she replied gratefully.

"And Cara," I called.

"Yes, master," she said from her position behind me. "About becoming your master, I will give it a thought but I doubt that the king would accept. Regardless of the result, you are not allowed to lose your cool. If you regard me as your master then you are going to obey this one order."

"Yes, master," she replied earnestly. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell that she was smiling.

"Now you both can leave and let me enjoy my food," I dismissed them.

"Thanks, kid," Martha smiled. "I owe you one."

"And I will collect soon," I informed her.

"Whenever," she smiled and took a bend with Cars behind her, leaving me alone to my meal.

"That was eventful," I said as I dug into the food which was already becoming cold.

My phone buzzed indicating a text message, and the ID said Juliet, my sister.

I hurriedly opened it to the most surprising message I had ever seen.

"WE'RE COMING TO PAY YOU A VISIT SOON!!!"