212
+25 Bonus
12 Royal is Royal
Sera
Mina didn’t stop talking. She moved around the room like a whirlwind, poking at the fire with a heavy iron rod, adjusting the stack of towels by the washbasin, and smoothing out a wrinkle in the bed furs.
“I made sure they brought the cedar-scented water,” she said, glancing back at me with a grin. “And the fire’s been going since I heard the horses at the gate. I didn’t want you walking into a tomb. I’ve been waiting for this since we got word you were coming.”
I stayed by the door, my hands still clutching the heavy fur blanket around my shoulders. I was staring at her. There was something in the set of her eyes, the way her mouth curved when she talked. It felt like a memory I couldn’t quite grab. It was so familiar it made my skin crawl.
“Who are you exactly?” I asked. My voice was scratchy, the northern cold still clinging to my throat.
Mina froze for a fraction of a second. It was the look of someone caught with their hand in a jewelry box. She let out a short, forced laugh and turned back to the basin.
“I’m your personally assigned help,” she said, her voice a little too bright. “The Alpha put me in charge of making sure you don’t freeze to death or starve. Simple as that.”
I didn’t move. It made sense on paper, but I kept thinking back to how she’d treated that warrior in the yard. He was a man who looked like he’d killed people for a living, (which he did.) and she’d scolded him like a misbehaving dog. And he’d taken it. Personally assigned help didn’t usually have that kind of weight.
“Let’s get you out of those rags,” Mina said, stepping toward me. “I’ll freshen you up before dinner. You look like you’ve been dragged through a hedge.”
I looked down at myself. Under the blanket, I was still wearing the jeans and the thin long-sleeved top I’d had on in the cabin. They were dirty, smelling of wagon grease and sweat.
The North was a strange place. I’d heard the stories-how they rejected modern technology, how they lived like the world had stopped turning three hundred years ago. Seeing it was different. We’d spent days in a horse-drawn carriage when a car would have done the trip in eight hours. Everyone was draped in animal skins. It was like stepping into a history book, yet the luxury in this room was undeniable. It wasn’t the flashy, golden luxury of the Valdris palace. It was solid and real.
Mina reached out, her fingers catching the edge of my blanket to pull it off
I jerked back. The movement was instinctive, sharp enough that she actually stumbled. I stared at her, my heart hammering against my ribs. I didn’t want her touching me. I didn’t want anyone touching me.
Mina sighed, her shoulders dropping, she didn’t look angry, just tired. She looked down at the floorboards and let her hands tall to her sides.
“I’m just trying to help, Sera,” she said quietly.
I felt a pang of guilt. She’d been nothing but kind since I arrived. “I’m sorry,” I said, loosening my grip on the fur. “I’m just… I’m not used to this arrangement yet. Any of it.”
Mina looked up, a small frown wrinkling her forehead. “But you’re a princess. You’re Princess Sera Valdris. You should be used to servants doing everything but breathing for you.”
I nodded slowly. “I am.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I prefer doing things on my own,” I said.
It was the truth, but only half of it. In the years I’d spent in Blackwater, I’d learned that “help” was just another word for “spy.”
1/2
+25 Bonus
The servants there weren’t loyal; they were busybodies who traded secrets for gossip.
I thought about the mole on my lower back. It was a small, dark mark, nothing special. But during my first week at the Blackwater pack house, I’d let a personal maid bathe me. Two days later, I’d heard the omegas in the kitchen whispering about it. By the end of the week, the warriors at the training terminal knew where it was.
I’d gone to Kane, upset and feeling violated. He’d just laughed it off. ‘They’re just wolves, Sera. They talk. It’s not a big deal.’
It was a big deal to me. From that day on, I’d locked my door. I did my own laundry. I scrubbed my own skin until it was red. I didn’t want anyone having a map of my body that they could share over tea.
“I prefer to handle myself,” I repeated, my voice firmer this time.
Mina stared at me. She looked like she was trying to solve a puzzle that didn’t have enough pieces. Then, a slow smile spread across her face. It wasn’t a mean smile-it was almost amused.
She took a step back, giving me my space. “Fine. Have it your way for now. But you should know something about Ironmaw, Princess. Royal is Royal here. We don’t do things halfway.”
She folded her arms over her chest, her eyes sparkling with a sudden, blunt edge.
“If the Alpha says you’re to be treated as a Queen, then that’s what happens. And in this house, that includes the staff cleaning the very shit from your ass if that’s what’s required. We don’t mind the mess.”
I froze. The sheer, blatant vulgarity of it hit me like a splash of cold water. No one in the South talked like that. Certainly no servant talked to a royal that way.
Mina giggled at the look on my face. “Oh, stop it. You look like a little child who just heard a curse word for the first time.”
She turned toward the door, still chuckling. “I’ll give you some time to prepare yourself. I’ll be back in an hour to guide you to the Great Hall. Don’t be late. The Alpha doesn’t like waiting for his food, and the cook likes it even less.”
I just nodded, still slightly stunned.
Mina stood in the doorway for a second, her expression softening into something more serious, something that almost looked like respect. Or maybe pity.
“Welcome to Ironmaw, Princess Sera Valdris,” she said.
Then she closed the door, leaving me alone with the fire and the silence of the mountain.
23
If the B-11
+25 Bonus
