Chapter 4

• Fiona’s POV.
• I didn’t know where I was running to. My feet felt light and heavy under me at the same time, heart pounded loudly over the harsh pants leaving my lips as my lungs worked for air.
• Fuck.
• “Hello, Fiona.”
• I shuddered heavily at the flashback. How did he find me out? How did they find me out? I covered my face. Anxiety and panic had my vision spinning as I fled, turning at the next corner which Led me to the rows of bathroom. I ran into one and slammed it under lock and key before scanning the room for people. Luckily it was empty.
• Had I stayed just a little bit longer, I would have fainted on the spot. Overwhelmed wasn’t enough to explain the numerous emotions I felt at that moment. My wobbly legs took me one to the many pristine rows of ceramic sink with golden faucets and I gripped the one closest to me with shaky hands as I turned on the faucet, watching water rushing unforced and free in a stead unbroken flow. I wish my life was like this. Free. Unshackled.
• My gaze shifted to the pale face staring back at me in desolation. My thoughts going through a million things per second as I fought back weak knees and nausea.
• I remembered how they all looked at me. Soren’s curious eyes, Lyn and Kai’s blank eyes which hid nothing of their deceptive intentions… and Jin’s familiar smile… like we were friends.
• Vomit crawled up my throat and hit projectile style in, splashing into the sink with a disgusting sound. I felt relieved still. I don’t know how long I stood in front of the mirror staring at my reflection while the faucet ran but it must have been quite a while because a someone knocked, startling me from my thoughts.
• For a brief moment, I panicked, thinking it was one of the guests, or even worse, one out of the four alphas had come to seek me out.
• “Fiona? Are you in there?” Will, the head butler of this household called out, knocking gently on the door despite the noise coming from the party.
• My legs nearly collapsed under me in relief at the sound of his voice. “Yeah. I’ll be out in a minute, Will.”
• “What are you doing locked up in there?” he asked, working the handle of the door in a vain attempt to open the it. “And it’s locked.”
• “Uhm…. I was feeling a bit under the weather so I came out for some fresh air.” I called out, hastily splashing my face with the cool water before drying it with a paper towel.
• “You have time for a break, there’s a party going on and guests to serve.” Will chided gently.
• “I know, I know.” I answered, hastily fixing my hair before sliding the mask in place. I think the vomit earlier helped calm my nerves. I left the bathroom feeling lighter, apologizing at Will’s unimpressed glare with a light hearted smile as I kissed his weathered cheek fondly. Will was like a father to me. He was the only one who knew just a piece of what I’ve been through. He’d found me that night in the closet, and that night when the four alphas tried to force themselves on me. But like me, there was nothing he could do. His hands were tied just like mine was.
• Adjusting the mask over my face once more, I moved to the kitchen and grabbed a tray of champagne before joining the endless stream of servers and began serving the guest one after the other while the party raged on.
• “Hey, over here!” A voice yelled over the noise and I turned around to see the group of girls dressed in expensive, revealing dresses looking pretty with make up on. I moved towards them and almost fell as realization dawned on me. It was the group of girls who bullied me this morning.
• “Hello?” one of the girls called out, rudely snapping her fingers at me. “Do I have to do your job too? Or are you slow?”
• “Right, I’m sorry.” I said, walking up to them with the tray of champagne and a sinking heart. Please God, don’t let them recognize me. Please God don’t let them—
• “Hey, look it’s that girl from earlier.” The girl who called my attention earlier — I don’t know her name — called out snidely, gently jabbing her elbow at Helena who sat close to her.
• Fuck!
• I couldn’t run away again. Will definitely will get mad and disappointed and I didn’t want to think of what could happen if the news reached the Luna’s ears. At the thought of her rage and the awful punishment I’d receive, I stood rooted to the floor silently with my head bowed low.
• “You’re right it is!” Helena said with a sneer. “How come you’re here?”
• I didn’t want to draw attention to myself and I wanted more than anything to avoid conflict with Helena. That was not on my bingo card tonight. Unfortunately my silence seemed to anger Helena even more. She didn’t understand that I would be the consequences should this banquet go south. Honestly, I don’t think she would care. Helena hated me with every fiber of her being and I didn’t know why. We’ve never been friends or anything like that.
• “I’m fucking talking you so you should fucking answer me!” she demanded, back handing my cheek heavily at my silence.
• I wasn’t expecting the slap and the impact sent the tray of champagne which I held flying from my fingers. The flutes crashed against the marble floor in loud crash that immediately halted the noise if the party. I stared dazedly at the broken flutes and the spilled champagne racing to my feet. Shock and panic multiplied the sensations of the numerous gazes staring at me to a thousand. The sound of broken glass was deafening even to my ears.
• Oh no. God, please no. Just get on with the party and ignore me, please!
• I felt wetness on my cheeks and hastily slid my fingers under my mask to touch them. Tears. I suddenly felt cold all of a sudden. Tears streamed down my cheeks as the feeling of reckoning subdued me.
• “Are you crying?” Helena sneered, laughing cruelly at the sight of tears leaking from my mask.
• Sinking to my knees, I picked the broken shards and slowly dropped them on the tray one after the other. The hushed whispers reached my ears in a weird symphony and the stares that didn’t seem disappear no matter how much I begged. My hands couldn’t stop shaking as apologies spilled endlessly from my lips as tears clogged my throat and leaked free from my eyes. I felt pathetic and wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die there.
• The sound of heels clacking against the marble floor reached my ears. My heart slammed in my chest the second I looked up and saw her. The Luna was coming right at me, striding with this unbreakable focus, her eyes locked on me in anger like a hawk circling prey. Every part of me wanted to run, but I was frozen, trapped in place as if my feet were anchored to the ground.
• She looked fierce—unbelievably fierce. Her steps were quick, powerful, and her whole body seemed tense with purpose, like she could spring forward any second. The look in her eyes was terrifying: dark, intense, like she could crush me without even thinking twice. The closer she got, the more I could feel this instinctual fear twisting inside me, making it hard to breathe, hard to even think.
• My hands felt clammy, fingers trembling against the broken shards of glass, and the air around me seemed to close in, thick and stifling. Every little sound felt louder—the clack of her heels against the marble floor, my own heartbeat, the ragged edge of my breathing. A thousand terrifying thoughts flooded my mind, each one darker than the last, each one imagining what she would do to me. At the consequence of disrupting the party. The distance between us grew smaller and smaller, and as I stared into those fierce, unyielding eyes, all I could do was stand there, paralyzed, feeling like my very life was dangling by a thread.
• “Exactly what is happening here?!” she snapped, leveling angry eyes at my crouched form. “Can’t you ever do anything right? You useless—”
• “She clearly hit you, why are you apologizing?” a dark, lofty voice said behind me. A voice I was overly too familiar with. A voice with never stopped chilling something inside me with fear.
• Stunned, I rotated my neck to look behind me and there they stood. The four alphas standing behind me like honorable soldiers glaring fiercely at Helena. I didn’t know what to do or feel. But one thing was certain. This party was about to take a surprising turn.
• And I was caught in the crossfire.