Sold To The Billionaire Alpha
Chapter 12

Orchid!” She squealed excitedly.

She ran to me and we embraced. I burst into tears. Orion moved away looking guilty. Perseus smiled at us.

“Are you ok? You’re finally healing!” She said, relief evident in her voice, as she touched my cheek.

“Yeah,” I said simply, my voice thick through tears.

“Magnus, fetch the head of the servers,” said Orion.

I looked over. I recognised Magnus as one of the guards. He smiled warmly at me, bowed and left. He returned with a cross-looking but attractive woman. She was taller than Rose, almost as tall as the men and very thin but strong-looking. Her hair was long, bone-straight and black. Her skin was olive-toned but pale. She had almond shaped brown eyes and high cheek bones.

“This is Niko, my mate,” Magnus said.

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

“Go with her. She’ll explain everything about the serving job,” Magnus said kindly.

Rose looked at me apologetically. She released me. I wanted to get back in Orion’s good graces but I could not help myself. The entire situation was unfair and all his doing. I could not hold my tongue as I passed by him, following Niko.

“Who would pay millions of dollars to procure a servant?” I questioned snidely, recalling our first conversation.

“An ad in the papers would suffice,” I said innocently.

Orion glared at me. He was seething. At least, I could still make him feel something. Niko led me to the kitchens. There was a great amount of activity with chefs scurrying about in their white uniforms and hats. Servers were being briefed on something in a corner of the massive kitchen. Delicious smells and smoke and steam filled the air. It was very hot. I fanned myself, feeling faint. The aromas taunted me. I regretted not eating but starving myself had gotten me freed.

“Farris, this is Orchid, an extra server for tonight’s party,” Niko said curtly to the group.

Farris, the man who had been explaining something with the use of a whiteboard, stopped. He glanced at me, his eyes wide with apprehension. He was a bit portly, tall and handsome as was the norm among werewolves I supposed. He had curly dark hair, an impressive curled moustache and piercing dark eyes.

“What are you playing at, Niko?” He demanded.

“Orion’s orders,” said Niko, folding her arms.

“But this is the Alpha’s mate, is it not?” Farris said. “We’ll be in trouble if we don’t let her work and we’ll be dead if we overwork her.”

“Then give her just the right amount of work,” snapped Niko. “Good, you already know what to do.”

She put her hands on her h**s. Her waist was tiny. I felt a little jealous.

Farris sighed, bending towards me. “Little human,” he said kindly. I smiled. I liked him. I just had a sense about me. I always knew who would make a decent friend. It was the same feeling Rose had given me when she tried to make me laugh in the cellar.

“You and I both know that you are not really an employee here. Nod your head,” he commanded.

I nodded eagerly.

“You’re going to go get cleaned up and dress yourself in the server’s uniform. Nod,” he said.

I nodded emphatically.

“You will serve platters I give you, taking them straight to Orion, so he can see you ‘working’ ok. Nod,” he said, putting air quotations around the word “working” by raising and wiggling the first two fingers of each hand.

I nodded. It made sense. This was a sensible man. He just wanted me to make a show of me serving some things. He did not actually expect much from me. He winked at me. A girl with flawless dark skin and thick curly hair styled in bantu knots showed me where the workers showered and changed. Her name was Bisa. I liked her too. I was relieved to shower properly after so many days using the sink and the wash cloth. I put on the uniform. It was a white, buttoned up blouse with a little black bow tie and an A-line black skirt.

“My mother wears her hair like that sometimes,” I said to Bisa.

She seemed surprised. She looked at me curiously, regarding my golden skin and dark brown ringlets.

“What does your father look like?” She asked.

“Um, he’s tall, kind of pale, blonde, he has a big bushy beard,” I said. I stopped talking. I missed my parents.

“It’s ok,” Bisa said, rubbing my shoulder. “You take after both of them. I think you will make a lovely Luna and when you marry Alpha, he will bring your parents to the wedding, don’t worry.”

I gasped.

“How do you know for sure?” I asked.

“Trust me, I know, the father’s permission is very important to an Alpha. Also, he gives jewels to the mother,” said Bisa.

I was not sure if I wanted my parents brought to this place. What if they were imprisoned in this mad house with me? Who would take care of our pets? I thought of Mighty, my little dog, and Wynken, Blynken and Nodd, the three kittens. I sighed. I stopped picturing my family. It was too depressing.

Bisa and I rejoined the group just as the briefing was finished. I was worried Bisa had missed out on something important. I knew they did not really care if I was good at this job but this was Bisa’s real life.

“You missed the briefing,” I whispered anxiously. “Shall we ask Farris for a repeat?”

“No, no,” Bisa said, laughing. I could tell from the way her dark brown eyes lit up that she was genuine. “It’s the same every party.”

I was curious.

“Do the brothers have parties often?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah, maybe once a month or so. There’s only an exceptionally lavish one like this for a big occasion,” she said.

“Have either of the brothers ever been engaged before?” I asked quickly.

“No!” Bisa said, laughing again. “They’re usually focused on expanding their empire. They don’t have time for love, but no werewolf can resist his mate. It’s even worse if you have rank. Alphas, Betas and Gammas crave their mates and they produce the next generation of pack leaders.”

“Do you have a mate?” I asked.

Bisa smiled brightly. “No, not yet, I haven’t found him but I hope I will soon.”

“I hope you replace what you’re looking for,” I said, not actually wanting to wish my captivity on anyone else, especially not Bisa. What if her mate were another possessive pack leader?

She showed me around the kitchen, indicating where to get platters of hors d’oeuvres and trays for drinks. She showed me the cabinets where the wine glasses were kept and which glass suited which kind of wine or champagne. She was a patient teacher. A loud bell sounded that reminded me of my school days. I heard Niko’s voice over a sound system. I spotted her standing all the way over at the other end of the colossal kitchen, holding a megaphone.

“All right, only fifteen minutes until the party begins. I’ve been informed by the guards that some guests have arrived early. Places, everyone. Servers, first we serve the hors d’oeuvres and the wine. Chefs, start plating the first course, please,” announced Niko, her voice extremely pleasant like an air hostess. Her face was still grumpy though.

“I can’t decide if Niko is nice or not,” I whispered to Bisa.

“She’s ok,” said Bisa, “but you should look out for her. She was angry when her mate, Magnus, felt sorry for you. She gets jealous easily. She wanted him to leave you in there for the week like Alpha had planned cause now you’re her responsibility instead which is a lot of pressure.”

Bisa said all of this so quickly and she scurried over to a take a tray of white wine. Another server had a tray of red wine. They did not trust me to even balance a tray of wine glasses so they handed me a platter of hors d’oeuvres

“Great,” said Farris, coming over. “Let Alpha see her first thing, so he’ll be in a good mood. Go serve him.”

Farris gave me an encouraging smile. Bisa and the other server led me down an empty hallway and into the grandest room I had seen so far which was quite a feat considering my recent locales. There was a huge arched ceiling that came to a pinnacle like a dome. At the pinnacle there was a glass portion of ceiling to allow for star-gazing. The rest of the ceiling was painted with depictions like the ones in the Caro House. The room was huge. There were dozens of round tables set with cream tablecloths with gold embroideries. There were about five chairs to a table. I tried to count the tables but Bisa stopped me and nudged me towards the far side of the room where there was a lounge area.

I spotted Rose. She looked gorgeous in a spectacular gown, green again to match her eyes. I could see her diamond engagement ring sparkle even from yards away. She was on Perseus’ lap. He was formally dressed, similar to what he had worn to the auction. The bad memory made me freeze but Bisa put a gentle hand on the small of my back. I approached them. A few of the guests had begun to arrive in all their finery. A couple came towards Rose and Perseus to congratulate them. They were sitting on a loveseat. There was a larger couch nearby. I gasped and stopped in my tracks again. Alpha Orion was sitting at the centre of the couch with his arms around the two girls flanking him. The girls were dressed in sparkly gowns and dripping in pearls and diamonds. They were giggling and swooning over Orion. He had a smug look on his face. He looked magnificent in his tuxedo, his hair and beard groomed to perfection. My b***d boiled. I stomped over. I glared at him. He smiled slyly at me.

“Orchid, look,” said Rose, extending her left hand with her engagement ring.

I looked at her like she was a lunatic. When we met, we had been in cages. These brothers arranged our kidnapping. Maybe she was just better at surviving than I was. Maybe she was a better actress. Maybe she had truly forgiven Perseus and fallen for him. I saw a silvery mark on her neck that had unmistakably been made by two fangs. “Mark and mate” Orion had said. She could not help it. She was bonded with Perseus now. I pitied her and myself.

“Congratulations,” I said stiffly, extending the platter of food to them.

“Serve Orion first then me then Rose then Orion’s…companions,” said Perseus.

I had never struggled so hard in all my twenty-five years of life to not roll my eyes.

I lowered the platter to Orion, conveying all the hurt and betrayal in my eyes as I gazed at him. He stared at me. He waved me away. I went to Perseus, who smiled and took one. Rose did the same. I felt nauseated as I went back to Orion’s couch to offer the girls the food.

“What is it?” Said one of the them. She had a grating, nasally, high-pitched voice like nails dragging across a chalk board.

“It’s food,” I said, my voice low and controlled.

“I know that!” Said the girl. Her friend laughed and snorted. They were beautiful but dim and their voices and laughter were so annoying.

“What kind of food?” The girl asked.

I looked closely at the platter for the first time. It looked like squares of opera cake.

“It’s opera cake,” I said. “It’s just like sponge cake with chocolate ganache and buttercream.” Orion looked surprised. I was a huge fan of dessert. I could not cook to save my life but I enjoyed fancy cooking shows.

“Sounds fattening,” the girl said. “No, thank you.”

“Yeah, no thanks,” agreed her friend whose voice was even higher.

“You’re human,” whispered the first girl before I could leave.

“Yes,” I said.

“Aren’t you frightened to be in this realm?” Said the other.

Orion stiffened.

I felt a little unsteady.