Betrayed by Blood, Claimed by the Alpha-Chapter 132

Betrayed by Blood

Chapter 132

The sheets were cold.

Avery stirred, blinking blearily as she reached out across the vast expanse of the bed. Her fingers met nothing but empty space. The other side of the bed—Cain’s side—was untouched. Cold, as if he had never been there at all.

The drowsiness suddenly cleared from her eyes, and she was instantly awake. Her eyes snapped to the other side of the bed where she’d been expecting to find him, but he wasn’t there. He was gone.

She blinked again as though she was seeing things wrong. A heavy weight settled in her chest.

She had woken up alone before. After the first time. After he had taken her and tossed her aside like she was nothing.

Had she truly expected this time to be different?

Her breath hitched, fingers curling into the sheets. A stinging sensation flared on her neck, sharp and electric, making her flinch. She sucked in a breath, hand flying up to her neck.

Cain’s mark. freewёbnoνel.com

It pulsed beneath her fingertips, a reminder of what had happened—of what he had done.

Avery swallowed, slipping out of bed and crossing the room to the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her, wide-eyed and uncertain. She was different. Her hair was fuller and longer with light streaks of white. Her eyes were hazel and brighter. Even her skin seemed to have more color than it did before. Her skin was also littered with a litany of hickeys. She looked like she’d been mauled by some wild animal. Her gaze fell to the mark on her neck, a dark imprint against her skin, and her breath hitched for the second time.

Cain had truly marked her. When it happened, she’d passed out only to wake up to Cain cleaning her? She’d ruled out that memory as a dream because there was no way in the world that Cain would be cleaning her.

Still, the mark was fresh on her neck, proof of not just what had happened but also what Cain had done. She traced it lightly with a fingertip, her lower lip caught between her teeth.

Was this truly real or was it just a spur of the moment? What should she even be thinking? Wasn’t she being way too stupid?

Did it mean anything to him?

Her fingers clenched at her sides. She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.

Would he still reject her? Would he look at her the way he had before, full of disgust and denial?

Her throat tightened, but she forced herself to straighten her spine. She swallowed hard and pulled her hair over her shoulders, covering the mark. She wasn’t sure what this meant, but she knew he wouldn’t want anyone seeing the mark.

Avery got dressed quickly and cleaned his room thoroughly, not wanting to leave even a strand of her hair behind.

The moment Avery stepped into the halls of the packhouse, all eyes were on her.

She felt it instantly—the stares, the hushed whispers that followed her the second they laid eyes on her. It made her skin prickle, but she refused to react. Instead, she kept her head high, her pace steady as she made her way toward the servants’ quarters.

She could hear their words, some condemning her and some looking irritated to see her.

Avery quickened her steps, feeling her face heat up in shame. She wasn’t sure what she was ashamed of, but the many eyes on her made her feel like she’d done something worth the shame.

She barely made it to her door when she heard someone call out to her from behind. "Avery."

She turned around to see Selena and Millie walking towards her with a rather bright smile on their faces.

Selena’s sharp eyes raked over her from head to toe, taking in every inch of her before she let out a low whistle.

"Damn," she muttered, tilting her head. "You look..."

"Different," Millie finished, her tone a mix of awe and curiosity, her gaze intense on Avery.

Selena smirked. "That’s one way to put it."

Avery didn’t respond, keeping her face neutral, but Selena wasn’t done. She looked at Avery from head to toe. "Well, well," Selena drawled, "Look who finally decided to come back to reality."

"Where have you been?" Millie asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "And why do you smell like that?"

Avery stiffened. Like that?

Selena took a deep breath and grinned again. "Goddess above, Alpha Cain really did a number on you, huh? I’ve never smelled an alpha’s scent so thick on someone before."

Avery’s eyes widened at Selena’s loose words. "Selena!" She whispered yelled, her gaze flickering around, hoping none of the other maids overheard her. She rushed towards the door and walked in just as Selena and Millie followed her.

"Why are you calling my name? It’s not like I lied. Everyone can smell it." Selena grumbled out.

Heat crept up Avery’s neck, and she quickly turned away, focusing on nothing in particular. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Selena snorted. "Sure you don’t." Her gaze flickered over Avery’s hair, her eyes glinting with amusement. "But damn, girl... Alpha Cain really left you drowning in his scent. He made sure everyone knows."

"Selena-" Avery drawled out again. She wasn’t ready for this. Not now. She turned towards the window, looking at nothing in particular as she hoped Selena would drop it.

"Avery? What is this—" Millie barely got the word out, giving Avery no time to ask what she meant. Avery felt Millie’s cold fingers graze her neck, pulling her hair backward and revealing the mark she wanted hidden.

Avery jerked away, but it was too late.

Silence filled the room as Selena and Millie stared at the mark. Millie’s eyes widened in shock. "Oh, Moon Goddess..."

Selena, however, was grinning like she had just uncovered the best gossip in the packhouse. "Well, shit."

Avery swallowed, stepping back, her fingers tugging her hair over the mark again. "Don’t," she said sharply.

"He marked you." Her gaze flickered up to Avery’s, filled with something unreadable. "You’re his mate, Avery. A mark is—it’s—it’s-"

"It’s nothing. It’s just a mark." Avery gritted, silencing every word in Selena’s head.

"W-what? Avery what are you—" Selena was cut off sharply.

"It’s just a mark, Selena. I don’t— I didn’t want anyone seeing it, and although you both have seen it. Please keep it to yourselves. It’s just a mark." She repeated, almost like she was trying to convince herself.

Millie stepped forward, her eyebrows pinched in worry. "Avery, if there’s anything you need to talk about, you can just-"

"I’m fine, Millie. I just have work to do, and I’m sure you guys do too-" Avery interjected quickly.

Selena stared at her for what seemed like hours even though it was only seconds and then sighed, "Alright. Just, you know..." she trailed off.

Avery nodded, watching the two girls step out of the room, leaving her to herself. She stood still for some minutes longer before stepping out of the room, ready to go do her tasks.

~~~~~~~~~

Avery spent the next several hours working in the stables, the sharp scent of hay and horse manure filling her nostrils. The work was exhausting, but she preferred it to staying cooped up inside the packhouse, working in the kitchen.

She had almost finished brushing down one of the horses when she felt someone approach. Without turning, she knew it was one of the other maids. The same one who had attacked her that day in the servants’ quarters she stayed and the same one who attacked Millie.

"You’re supposed to help with the stalls, not just groom the horses," the maid said, her voice sharp, as she leaned over to grab the pitchfork.

Avery froze, looking up slowly. "I’ve been cleaning the stalls, just finishing up with the horses." She glanced around, pointing to the clean stalls. "Everything is done."

The maid didn’t seem to care. "Not everything," she snapped, ignoring Avery’s explanation as she shoved the pitchfork into Avery’s hands. "You missed that corner."

Avery’s brows furrowed. "What are you talking about? I’ve done every stall here."

The maid’s lip curled into a sneer, her eyebrows cocked up. "Who do you think you are, thinking you’re too good to do all the work? I’ve been a maid longer than you have, and I can give you orders. Or do you think because you warm Alpha Cain’s bed you’re better than the rest of us?"

"What?" Avery’s eyes narrowed at the maid’s words. It was almost like she was looking for trouble on purpose. Avery inhaled deeply and chose to ignore her.

She bent down and continued with what she was doing only to be dragged by the arm, forced to straighten up and look at the maid. Her eyes widened when she realized she wasn’t just alone with the maid any longer. Suddenly there were about ten maids behind the maid, all staring at her with the most vile expression ever.

Avery swallowed hard, realizing the trouble she was in for.