Fake Heiress True Luna (Irina) novel Chapter 7

Irina’s POV

The following days were a masterclass in Julie’s petty vengeance. My chores doubled. The tasks became more demeaning. I was sent to scrub the kennels, a job usually reserved for the lowest-ranking Omegas who had committed an infraction. The stench clung to my skin and hair long after I’d finished. She “accidentally” spilled an entire tureen of soup on the floor I had just mopped, forcing me to clean it again under her critical gaze.

Lancer was a constant, painful presence at her side. He never looked at me, but his aura of cold disapproval was a constant chill in the air. He was her devoted knight, reinforcing her status and my lowliness with every silent, shared glance.

The only thing that kept me going was the thought of the pack. Elder Levis was right. Julie’s ignorance wasn’t just her failure; it was a threat to Blue Moon’s reputation. If she embarrassed us at the Gathering, it could weaken our alliances and encourage our rivals... the consequences could be severe. My personal hell was one thing; the safety of hundreds of wolves was another.

The night before our departure, I was on my hands and knees in the great hall, polishing the floorboards by hand—another of Julie’s “special requests.” The pack house was quiet, with everyone else asleep or getting ready for our departure.

Alpha Richard threw a fit the other day, but I’m not sure what happened, and I’m not in a position to ask.

A shadow fell over me. I looked up, my polishing rag stilling in my hand.

Serim stood there, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. In the month since my fall, he had been a ghost, absent from the pack lands on extended patrols. He looked older, wearier.

“Irina,” he said, his voice a low rumble.

“Alpha Heir,” I replied formally, dropping my gaze back to the floor. I could not afford to presume a familiarity that no longer existed.

He was silent for a long moment. I could feel him studying me, the calloused maid in a stained apron, a world away from the sister he’d teased on the grand staircase.

“I heard you’re coming to Shadow Pack,” he finally said.

“Yes. To serve Miss Julie.”

Another pause. “Look at me.”

I hesitated, then slowly lifted my head. His green eyes looked at me, and I couldn’t tell what was going on inside his mind. I could feel his anger, frustration, and a flicker of something that might have been pity, but there was something else…

“Keep your head down there,” he instructed, his tone gruff. “Shadow Pack’s Alpha… Aiden… he’s not like Father. He’s ruthless. He has no patience for weakness or drama. He will seize on any sign of it.”

Like Alpha Richard didn’t slap me right before everyone…

It hurt, I won’t lie. Serim and I were close—very close—and now he was treating me like a complete stranger.

“I am well acquainted with weakness and drama now, Alpha Heir,” I said softly, unable to keep the bitter tinge from my voice. “I doubt I could provide any more than I already have.”

His jaw tightened. “I’m not talking about Julie’s theatrics. I’m talking about you. Don’t give him a reason to look at you. Don’t give anyone a reason. You’re a maid. Act like one. Be invisible.”

It was the closest thing to concern I would get from him. He wasn’t defending me, but he was offering a strategy for survival in a den of wolves far more dangerous than our own.

Before I could form a response, he turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing in the vast, empty hall.

He didn’t need to remind me who I was now. I was well aware that I was no longer Irina Johnson, the Alpha’s daughter.

I was only a maid.

The next morning, we set out. The journey to Shadow Pack territory was so tense that I wanted to get out of the car. Alpha Richard and Luna Rosette didn’t come. They didn’t tell us why.

The revelation had come just as we were preparing to leave. A warrior from the border patrol had arrived, speaking in hushed, urgent tones with Serim. My brother’s face had darkened, and after a brief, tense exchange with Elder Harden, the plans had changed.

Alpha Richard and Luna Rosette were staying behind. And that was that.

The official excuse was that some rogues had tried to enter our territory and required the Alpha’s immediate attention, but to me, that was a flimsy excuse to hide the truth.

So, it was just us. Serim, as future Alpha, Julie as the Alpha’s daughter who went there to find her mate, and me, the maid.

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