They Called Me Heartless So Reborn I Watched Them Self Destruct novel Chapter 8

8 8- A Mere Slave

Arabella Toussaint:

My knees throbbed so badly I could barely sleep. Every time I shifted on my narrow bed, a fresh wave of pain shot through them.

But it wasn’t only the pain keeping me awake. Every time I closed my eyes) the Queen’s cruel words came back.

I’ll decide tomorrow which room you’ll be sent to.

Early in the morning, the first knock on my door made me bolt upright. My heart began to beat quickly with panic. Tomorrow was already here. No matter how much I wanted to hide away, I had to get up and work.

Hopefully, the Queen would have forgotten what she said yesterday.

I hurried to freshen up and then made my way to breakfast on my knees. Once I reached there, Helena was already announcing duties.

“Slave! You’re helping prepare lunch for the royal family.”

I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

They served us a chicken sandwich, a donut, and a coffee. Unlike my pack, the people here at least expected me to work for them with a full belly. However, my stomach still churned with anxiety from last night’s words.

After getting done with breakfast, I dragged myself to the kitchen. By the time I arrived, sweat had gathered on my forehead.

The kitchen was buzzing with Omegas chopping vegetables while others were kneading dough and stirring enormous pots.

The moment they noticed me, the conversation stopped.

“Bloody slave! Our princess was killed because of her brother,” someone whispered.

One of the cooks pointed towards a wooden stool placed beside an enormous stockpot.

“Climb up!”

I stared at the stool, utterly confused. “…on… on my knees?”

“How else?” another Omega snapped. “Do you think we’ll lower the stove just because you’re here?”

Suppressing a sigh, I struggled onto the stool. I had to press my lips together when my bruised knees hurt.

While I was trying to balance myself, a heavy steel tray slammed into the counter beside me. The loud clang made me flinch.

The tray was piled with raw marrow bones.

“Bone broth!” the cook said flatly. “Crack every bone! Scoop out the

marrow. Then clean them before they go to the stockpot.”

Trying to balance myself, I looked at the mountain of bones. “These are so many…” The words slipped before I could stop them.

Crap! What was I thinking? A sudden chill swept through me.

“The princess is tired, guys!” An Omega winked as she announced in the kitchen, making most of them chuckle. “Don’t just stand there, Beta princess.” She shoved a heavy cleaver into my hands. “Get to work!”

It required a lot of force and multiple attempts to split them. It was making my arms sore.

I tried to concentrate on the work, but my mind kept wandering back to last night. Had the Queen already chosen someone? Would Helena simply come for me tonight and tell me which warrior’s room I had to go to?

What if one warrior wasn’t enough for her? What if she really sent me to several of them? What could I possibly do to stop it?

Kill myself?

Hurt myself somehow?

The thought made my grip falter. The second bone slipped from my hand and crashed onto the floor, causing everyone in the kitchen to crack up.

“How pathetic!” someone remarked. “Let’s call her daddy to do the job.”

They were trying to rile me up, but my mind was too occupied with what might happen tonight to care about anything they said.

Oh, Goddess. Can’t you kill that wicked queen for me? I pleaded silently. Or do something to me that would make them leave me alone?

A marked she–wolf couldn’t be sent to another male. It was against the law. Then why was the queen doing this? Didn’t she know her son had marked me?

“Now pick it up, or should we call your murderer brother to do that job?” An Omega’s mocking voice dragged me back to the kitchen, and the laughter only grew louder.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I kept working. By the time I reached the bottom of the tray, my fingers had gone numb, and my shoulders ached. My knees had started burning so fiercely that I could barely feel the wooden stool beneath me. But I dared not make a sound. I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself, in case the Queen decided to make me serve their warriors immediately.

Each one of them took a thirty–minute break, except me.

“You’re slower than the others,” the head cook said without looking up. “So, you’ll keep working until you catch up.”

“Yes, chef.” My voice was barely above a whisper.

***

Dinner was finally served around seven in the evening. By then, I could no longer feel my legs and arms.

As the other Omegas started finishing their meals, the fear I had been trying to ignore all day slowly returned.

It was already evening.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify