Chapter 59

Entering the kitchen, Emmaline eyed the maids who were busy preparing the delicious dishes. The sweet aroma wafting in the air brought a small smile to her face.

Isabella had big plans for today. She called the maids to bring Emmaline out of her room and bring her to the kitchen. Reason- she wanted her to prepare the breakfast although watching the variety of dishes covering the entire kitchen island spoke otherwise. There was no dish left untouched or unprepared which left Emmaline wondering what new she would be cooking for the dysfunctional family.

"Luna"

Emmaline jumped upon her name being called. She turned to her left only to see the senior maid approaching her with a wide smile. She immediately recognized her as she was the one who used to deliver her meals on her doorstep.

"Uhmm, you?"

"Janice. I am the head chef." Janice spoke and flashed her a smile that reached her wrinkled eyes.

Janice was an old woman. She was the senior servant serving the Knight family for decades.

Emmaline nodded and bowed to her in respect.

"N-No, what are you doing?" Janice panicked and quickly stepped back but Emmaline held her hand softly.

"It's okay. You're like my grandmother. And please don't call me Luna." She spoke politely and squeezed her hands.

Janice looked at her with a troubled expression, "I-I am sorry Luna but the Senior Madam will slit our throats. Calling the aristocrats by their names is strictly prohibited in this family."

Her words enraged Emmaline. She sealed her lips into a thin line and spoke bitterly, "I don't give a damn about the family rule book. You are my Grandma and I would hate it if you call me Luna. Call me Emma, people who love me call me that." She said and flashed her a pearly smile. Janice also smiled at her nervously.

"What about the ones who hate you?"

Their laughter immediately died down after hearing Isabella's sneer from behind. Emmaline closed her eyes, her shoulders slouched as she was so sick of this woman.

"What about ugly duckling, slave?" Isabella chuckled and strutted inside the kitchen.

Emmaline snickered and turned to her, "Talking about yourself, mother-in-law?"

Isabella's smile dropped. Everyone gasped in shock and stopped their work, shifting their attention to a new drama.

"Attitude huh? Have you ever seen yourself in the mirror? God knows what my son saw in you?" Isabella couldn’t hide her disgust.

Emmaline crossed her arms over her breast, "Multiple times. Heard something like ‘Simplicity is the real beauty’? Perhaps your son fell for that." She spoke and broke into a derisive chuckle.

Isabella scoffed and marched in her direction, "Of course, you trapped my son but don't worry his mother would save him. She wouldn't let a fucking witch destroy his life." She seethed and grabbed her right hand in a bruising grip. Emmaline immediately shoved her away with a violent jerk. Isabella didn't expect that and fell flat on the floor.

"First save yourself old bitch." Emmaline ground her molars and stared down at Isabella with blood-red eyes.

Now that was it.

Isabella couldn't brook this humiliation. She darted her eyes around the kitchen only to find the servants looking down at her. They didn't come forward for her help maybe too shocked by Emmaline's actions.

Emmaline on the other hand stared at her with a smirk. She made her a standing joke by repetitively offending her and even raised her hands on her multiple times that too in her house where she loved to wield power. Isabella was depressed also as she expected Damien to punish her severely but let her go away with a phony apology.

Letting out a snarl, Isabella stood up from the marble floor and prowled towards her. Before anyone could understand, a loud sound echoed followed by shocking gasps.

The impact was so strong that her fingers hurt. Emmaline on the other hand felt her cheeks on fire. The taste of copper burnt her tongue while her head throbbed as she could still hear that harsh ringing sound.

She felt fingers grasping her chin and the next moment her face was roughly pulled to the front.

"You're playing with fire little girl. If you think that my son can become an obstacle in punishing you then you're definitely wrong. One word and I will chop your filthy body along with your foster family and feed them to animals. So, think twice before making me angry got it??" Growling, she jerked her face away and looked at Janice.

"Throw away all the dishes and vacate the kitchen. I don't want to see anyone near this bitch while she prepares the breakfast. Just tell her the menu and provide all the ingredients but don't you dare help her. Am I clear?"

Janice bobbed her head with a heavy heart. She then looked at the other maids who quickly started removing the hot dishes and clearing the counter. The maids felt bad for Emmaline but their hands were tied too.

Pleased, Isabella turned to Emmaline who was already glaring at her. Her eyes were glassy and the red liquid trickling down from the corner of her torn lips gave her immense joy.

"Twenty minutes. I want the table ready in twenty minutes. Failing to do so you'll get twenty lashes."

She spoke in a condescending tone and threw a death glare at the maids, threatening them silently not to help her.

*****

"Forty barracks have been constructed on the eastern side. Furnishing will be done by this week and then we can decide the recruitment dates for the new trainers." Ryan hurriedly told to Damien as they both descended the spiral staircase. Damien had his eyes focused on the file that he was holding which was a report of the last week.

His absence had jeopardized the Northern Valley but his return ceased the attacks and returned the peaceful atmosphere. Damien had been amending his mistakes by conquering the parts that had been seized by the enemies. By now his pack had been successful in saving the people of ten territories who have been forcefully captured by Alpha Tyson, king of the Black Alder Pack but he still have the upper hand as there were still many kingdoms in his clutches.

Tyson was Damien’s biggest rival and no sooner he heard that Damien wasn’t in Northern Valley than he stooped to every means to expand his empire in the Northern Valley. He confiscated lands and properties, kidnapped women and children, and killed the males, but his pack was forced to back down once they came to know that Damien was back.

Shadow Banes were considered the ruthless monsters on Earth who don’t believe in mercy or second chances. Tyson had already invited death by provoking Damien so it was a do-or-die situation for him. He didn’t want to die without a fight so he urged his men to resume their activities and after successfully acquiring the southern side the Black Alder pack was now slowly moving to the northern side.

Damien decided to act smartly and so he was looking for a good and powerful syndicate. his proposal had been accepted by many Alphas but Damien wanted young and vivacious blood. So, he took charge of training the cubs of their packs on his expenses for which he planned on constructing well-furnished barracks, a mess, and a luxurious training center.

"Good and what about the training center?" Damien asked while leafing through the file, his eyes scanning the key details.

"The construction is completed Alpha. Two new trainers will be arriving the Scarlet Mountain by the weekend. They're experts in martial arts and you will be surprised to know that they once used to work for Alpha Ryder. I have talked with them and they're willing to train the new boys." Zion told him.

Damien suddenly halted in his tracks.

"Ryder? The Lycan King of SilverWoods." His pitch dropped as he turned to face Zion who gulped in response.

Alpha Ryder was the only Lycan on the American continent. His family was considered the purebloods, the original descendants of the Moon Goddess. He was a powerful, wealthy, and kind-hearted king who was loved not only by his kingdom but by the neighboring territories also. Despite being a Lycan, he treated everyone with equal respect be it a werewolf, a rogue, or an omega.

Despite being a gentleman the Lycan King wasn't in the good books of Damien.

The reason being, he was after her most precious possession-the blue eyes fairy in short Emmaline.

Ryan also broke into cold sweats after hearing Zion. How could he even think of approaching Ryder?

Zion rolled his eyes and huffed, "Don't take me wrong Damien but to defeat Tyson we will be requiring Ryder's support. You have been running away from your responsibilities for months just for a girl. Your absence has cost a lot of damage to our pack. And you can't repair it on your own so it will be good for you if you just think wisely and take his help. The syndicate consists only of werewolves, just imagine if Tyson somehow succeeds in convincing Ryder for the help, we will be doomed. ‘Cause no matter how powerful we are, we won’t stand a chance against a Lycan.”

“And what makes you think that I can take decisions for me huh?” Damien suddenly grabbed his collar and seethed on his face.

Ryan immediately intervened, “Calm down you two. It’s not the time to fight.” He tried to simmer Damien but Zion wasn’t in the mood to back down today.

Smirking, he moved closer to Damien and husked, “Why can’t I? I have been the one handling this pack in your absence.” His words only made Damien scoff.

“Yet you couldn’t save Shadow Banes. That shows how holey decisions you took for my pack leaving them on the brink of death. It’s good I changed my plans and brought Emmaline with me or you would have colluded with Ryder and sold him off my pack just like you sold your loyalty.”

Zion let out a furious growl and was about to push him away when Ryan separated them forcefully.

“Stop it you two.” He rebuked the two males who were at each other’s throats, “Can’t you both understand the gravity of the situation? We need to stay united to break Tyson or else Luna-”

Damien stiffened when Ryan abruptly stopped. Zion also shot him a puzzled look and they both followed his gazes only to spot Emmaline downstairs. She was busy setting the table. Damien frowned when he noticed her working alone. No maids were helping her.

“What’s with her? Did Madam tell her to prepare the breakfast alone?” Zion jeered making Damien narrow his eyes at him.

But Damien decided to ignore him and descended the stairs quickly. Ryan followed him while Zion smirked and leisurely strolled towards the dining area.

“Princess”

Emmaline paused for a while. She could hear the concern in his voice but soon shrugged it away. His concern would vanish the moment Isabella would feed him lies. So why she should even waste time for his cold heart to melt?

Emmaline remained her face stoic and placed the stock pot in the middle. She then turned her heels to enter the kitchen when her left forearm was grasped softly. She stopped but didn’t turn around.

Damien sighed and slowly wheeled her around.

“Princess, what happened-“

Words got stuck in his mouth when his gaze landed on the dried blood near her lips. Damien looked down further only to see red stains on her white shirt.

‘Someone hurt mate’, Scar snarled in his head. Damien clenched his fists, hot lava coursed through his veins as he gazed at her swollen jaw.

Rushing forward, he immediately cupped her face in his palms and made her look into his eyes.

“WHO DID THIS? WHO HURT YOU PRINCESS??”

Damien yelled forgetting the fact that he was meant to hate her. But all his hatred vanished in thin air just by the mere sight of her upset and bruised face.

But what pained him more was her silence. Emmaline said nothing and continued staring at him blankly. Very cautiously, he caressed her lips with his thumb and whispered, “Tell me Princess who hurt you?” he asked her in the softest tone.

“I did, son.”

His hold on her face tightened. With a clenched jaw. Damien snapped his head to the left only to see Isabella glaring at him.

“I did. What are you going to do about it?”