Remi POV
Instead of being dragged back to the cell like I expected, I was shoved back into the small bedroom.
Nikolai slammed the door shut behind me, and the second he did, I sprinted to the bathroom, crashing to my knees in front of the toilet.
The taste was still in my mouth.
I tried to throw up, heaving until my stomach muscles ached, but nothing came out.
I needed to get it out. I needed it gone.
Desperate, I shoved three fingers down my throat, forcing them in deeper until I gagged hard. My body shook violently, and finally, I threw up.
Over and over again. I didn't stop. I couldn't. Not until I was sure there was nothing left in my system.
Only then did I collapse to the cold tiled floor, trembling, my eyes swollen with tears as I continued sobbing silently.
Damon didn't call for me that night.
And for that, I was grateful.
No one came for me or touched me. Not until the next morning.
The door to my room burst open, and the two maids from yesterday walked in. One of them gasped when she saw me curled up on the bathroom floor, barely conscious.
Instead of helping me, the next thing I felt was cold water being splashed over my body.
I gasped, jolting upright with a cough, my soaked clothes now clinging to my body.
"Vivian… what are you doing…" the first maid, Nadia, snapped at the other.
"She wouldn't wake up," Vivian shrugged. "I thought she was dead or something."
"She's clearly not dead," Nadia replied, stepping inside, staring down at me while I curled into a corner, shivering, trying to make myself look smaller. But there was nowhere to hide, and the bathroom tiles were too cold to offer comfort.
"I can't believe she actually slept here," Vivian muttered, stepping closer.
"Yeah… I kinda feel bad for her," Nadia whispered, but Vivian scoffed.
"Why would you? All she did was suck some cock. We've all done that and worse. Remember what he did to you?"
Nadia flinched like she had been slapped. She clenched her fists but said nothing. Vivian noticed this and smirked.
Then, like a switch flipped, she crouched down beside me and grabbed my hair, forcing me to look at her.
I winced.
"What are you, huh?" she sneered. "Waste of a pretty face, that's all. And they're giving you special treatment for what? Crying a little louder than the rest of us?"
I couldn't believe her words… special treatment? Really? What was so special about being violated? If I wasn't so weak right now, I would've slapped her and faced whatever consequences followed.
Maybe she read my mind, because the next thing I felt was her hand repeatedly slapping my cheek. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to sting—like she was trying to snap me out of my daze.
And it did.
"It's time to do real work. Up now." She said, and I sluggishly got to my feet. I was forced to strip.
They helped me clean up like they had done previously, but when it was time to hand me my clothes, I stared down at them, brows furrowed.
"What is this?" I asked, expecting to see another piece of lace or fabric that barely qualified as clothing. But what I was looking at looked like actual clothes. A white blouse and black skirt. It was simple, looked decent, and was covered.
Vivian rolled her eyes like I was the stupidest thing she had ever seen. "What do you mean, what is it?" she snapped. "I already told you, you'll be doing real work now."
Real work?
Wasn't that…
The words sat in my head as I got dressed. It wasn't until they led me out of the room into a different part of the estate I hadn't seen before and Vivian shoved a bucket and mop into my hands that it began to make sense.
"Start with the hallway," she said, and they both began walking off. "And don't miss a spot unless you want to explain to the Alpha why there's still blood on the floor."
Blood?
I looked down.
She wasn't lying.
There were dried splatters on the tile like it had been there for a while.
A shiver ran down my spine as I wondered whose blood it was. Had someone died? I mean, it wouldn't even be surprising.
Was this really my work? If yes, then that was good.
Half an hour had passed and I was still in that same damn hallway, hunched over like a slave from the medieval era.
My arms ached. My knees hurt from crouching. And no matter how hard I scrubbed, the blood didn't want to come off.
I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, and my stomach was starting to cramp. My vision blurred every few seconds and I had to keep blinking just to stay grounded.
Still, I kept going since there wasn't any other option.
After a while, I sighed, wiping my face. I was about to dip the mop in the bucket again when it was knocked from my hands.
I flinched, watching the water spill across the floor. When I looked up, I saw it was a woman.
Ember. The same one from last night who had shamelessly thrown herself on Damon like she was born to spread her feet.
She smirked, and beside her were a group of others just like her. All barely dressed, and from the way they stared at me, it was clear they weren't here for a chitchat.
"It seems the Alpha is already getting tired of you," she said, her eyes trailing me up and down. "I told you girls, it was only a matter of time. She was never a match for us."
That wasn't a flex. It took everything in me not to roll my eyes. Instead, I kept my head low and muttered, "I don't want trouble. I just want to do my job."
She laughed out loud at my words, the others giggling behind her. Even the guards turned their heads at the sound.
Then the next second, she slapped me across the face, sending me stumbling back. Before I could recover, she yanked me back by my hair. I winced, and at this point I was sure my scalp was close to bleeding.
"Look here, human," she hissed. "You made the Alpha scold me yesterday. The Alpha never scolds me. I can't let this slide."
With that, she released me, letting me fall back. Then, with a snap of her fingers, the others lunged forward.
"What are you doing?" I panicked, struggling as they pinned me down to the floor, but it was no use.
"Teaching you a lesson," Ember said, pulling out a knife. "I bet if I destroyed that pretty little face of yours, the Alpha would forget you in a second."
My eyes widened in horror and I almost stopped breathing. I looked around at the guards and other maids passing by, but they all kept walking like this was normal.
My heart started pounding harder as the knife inched closer to my face until its tip grazed my cheek.
And just when I was sure this was how I would die…
"Be… Beta… Zayne…" Ember choked.