Miranda's POV
I was first awoken by the jingling of keys, and then I heard the howl of an opened heavy door. I drew back at the white light filtering through the small window as my muscles creaked, I climbed off the narrow bed. Yesterday haunted me like a bad dream that I couldn't wake up from.
In the doorway stood a girl with dark hair coiled in a bun, her face wearing a guarded yet not unfriendly expression. She was around my age, I suppose. "Time to get going, Miranda. You're packhouse duty today," she drawled. She gave me an old apron and a scuffed pair of sneakers, her fingers brushing mine in a gentle touch. "I'm Emily. I'll take you down."
I stripped slowly like a machine, the clothes foreign on my hands. All that had occurred, it was foreign.
I looked about wishing I could just vanish, but no, I was trapped in this nightmare.
Emily led me through a thin hallway to the middle of the packhouse, which pulsed with vitality. I trailed the individuals hurrying and worked to keep up with Emily.
I saw yesterday's men and looked away. They were not happy to see me.
They were yelling and the orders were hollering like lunatics.
I collided with Emily while she stood stationary and wheeled around, meeting my gaze. I hadn't realized that we were already at the packhouse.
"You're seeing the Alpha's quarters today," Emily whispered, her voice low. She loaded a tray with coffee cups and pastry and pushed it into my shaking hands. "Don't spill it. Alpha Colton has no patience for a mess. His is the last door on the front side. You can't miss it. Knock once and enter."
I couldn't complain. I didn't want to serve him. Colton scared the shit out of me.
I nodded, my throat too tight to form words, and took the tray with shaking hands. The hall lay straight in front of me, and it was colder now than before. My heart was racing madly as I reached Colton's door. I had to get a move on. I wouldn't want him to think that I was late and horrible.
I walked to the door and knocked once.
"Enter," his emotionless, cold voice boomed from the other side.
I pushed the door open, and my breath caught immediately. He was sitting by the fire, his presence crushing and oppressive even in silence. His piercing eyes snapped to me, taking me in with one look.
"Put it down," he ordered.
I walked across the room slowly, not daring to look at him, but with every step grew heavier. Putting down the tray, my heel caught on the edge of the rug. I stumbled, waved my arms to balance, and the tray tipped, coffee sliding precariously over the rim, but managed to keep it steady. Mortification burned on my cheeks right away.
I'd made a mess. My lucky day.
Colton's eyes flashed, but he didn't snap. He simply sighed and acted as if I wasn't even worth it. He didn't say anything, simply took a stack of papers off the side table and shoved them at me.
"Take these to the study and file them."
I held the papers in a life-line grip, ready to escape from the brutality of his eyes. But fate had other plans. Running down the hallway, my vision darkened with a blurring dizziness. My foot slipped on a step and I went sliding down the stairs as the papers scattered.
I started to grab them up, my eyes gone so misty with tears I could hardly see the pyre. And not long after, I hear footsteps upstairs. I moaned and tried to raise my head.
Geez. Why had I been so clumsy?
Colton was at the top of the stairs, his frigid glare slicing through me.
"Do you like to drop things often?" He asked and I swallowed.
"You won't live much longer like that, I'm sure," he said after all. "Get your act together."
No shout, no wrath in his tone—only cold detachment. He descended while I rose and handed me another set of papers as if nothing were amiss. "Email these to the pack members' addresses. Type them out. Have Emily show you."
I nodded silently, my body shivering. I spent the rest of the day as a ghost who haunted the packhouse – cleaning rooms, getting food, and running messages and every mistake was repaid in more work.
I was getting dizzier and dizzier but managed to get through. The brain-stunning chores doubled up until my feet throbbed in the tattered sneakers, and my stomach ate itself out with hunger.
The day dragged on forever, my body drained by exhaustion. When finally the sun dipped below the leaves of the trees, Emily appeared to fetch me scrubbing the hall floors.
"One more thing," she said, shoving a cup of scalding coffee into my flushed hands. "Take this to the Alpha. 9 PM sharp. Be there punctually."
I nodded stupidly. My legs felt numb beneath me, my palms damp as I returned to Colton's room. Every step was more difficult than the previous one.
I knocked and entered at his order. I wasn't strong enough to meet his gaze. I kept my gaze only on the task—at placing the cup down carefully on the table.
But this time there was a greater dizziness. I let go of the cup from my hands. And coffee spilled onto the floor while my knees went weak.
"Are you crazy?!" he yelled.
I stumbled and wanted to apologize but my body started falling.
I was going to reach the ground when his muscular arms enveloped me. I blinked helplessly to see Colton's face near mine. My heart thumped as his face drew nearer. It was just an inch from my face. his face did not change expression, but below, something shook. Was that concern on his face?
He kept me against his stiff body. I caught a whiff of his smell.
"Get it together, Miranda," he snarled, but this time his voice wasn't quite so rough. He didn't let me go. Not yet.
My eyes grayed at the edges again, and I gave up. The last thing I heard before everything went black was Colton's face saying something I couldn't quite hear.
And then—nothing.