Bab 2: The Glass Lady

In the Kingdom of Naraina, the ruling family is whoever's the strongest family among all Alpha-blooded clans. Those that are on top of the food chain become the ruling monarch—the High Alpha. And the rest will fall under him and his family, waiting for another chance to usurp the throne. The same goes for Beta, Gamma, and Delta clans. Each is with a ruling family in their station.

It had always been a battle of strength, power, and wits to covet the ruling family's position. And until the ruling Lord faces an unexpected demise and has no heir strong enough to succeed him, the position will be open once again for a new owner.

This constant tension within the gentries has long existed in the centuries of Naraina's history—they're wolves, after all. It's normal to maintain strength within their ranks.

Outside the gentry are the common folk. Not nobles, but not necessarily rankless. The Epsilons are the military power of the kingdom. The Iotas are the healers. The Upsilons are scouts, messengers, and watchguards. The Zetas are all servants of the nobles. And at the lowest, the Omegas. They are not only weak wolves but also poor. They have the worst fate in Naraina.

All of them have roles to fill for the sake of Naraina's stability.

To outsiders, Naraina is a kingdom pulsing with prosperity and a very formidable opponent as powerful werewolves with an intricate system. It is the perfect society with a promise of longevity and stability.

To the locals, the politics are dirty and rowdy—a game where the primal instincts of the werewolves are on display.

—

Within the nobles' circle, rumors and scandals are exploding within the mouths of the nobles at every ball. And this week, it was the sixth failed engagement of the Prince, the High Alpha's only son.

A woman murmurs to her two companions with a fan over her mouth.

"Is this the fastest engagement so far? Two fortnights?"

"I think it is. How scandalous."

Another woman nods, her elaborate feather headdress bobbing with the action.

"I've heard Lady Forthwight has been crying in her room for two days, mourning about her engagement."

"Oh, poor girl."

"Have you heard who the next one is?"

All heads turn to the woman in the most flamboyant feather hat, calmly fanning herself as she relished in the attention of the other middle-aged ladies. Infamously known by newspapers as the Mamás, groups of mothers with debutant daughters searching for the best husbands and the freshest gossip.

"Who?"

"Pray tell."

She smiles sadly, shaking her head.

"The palace sent the marriage invitation to Count Sigertem's manor."

The Sigertem clan is the weakest of the Delta-blooded clans, but they are wealthy and influential nonetheless. Though, in terms of power, they are among the last on the list. Perhaps that was why they were chosen by the most powerful family—to be left with no choice but to agree. Like a predator picking its prey.

The Mamás all sported concerned expressions, but they were secretly relieved it was not their daughters.

"Oh, but the Count's daughter is a beauty. What a waste to have her reputation be stained with a failed engagement."

"Who, Lady Milani?"

"Yes, who else?"

They exchanged quizzical looks.

"The Count had another daughter, yes?"

There was a beat of silence as everyone racked their brain, trying to remember who the other daughter was—or if he did have one. Until one Mamá beamed.

"Oh! He does!"

All eyes turned to her.

"He had one with his first wife! Lady… Alice? I believe her name was. I cannot recall exactly, as the girl barely leaves their house. Save for the obvious fact that she is outshined by her younger stepsister, Lady Milani."

The Mamás were unfamiliar with Lady Alice. But she was famous among the common folk. She never leaves her house, but her servants spread her good yet pitiful character to the streets.

She was known as the benevolent yet neglected lady—the Glass Lady of the Sigertem countdom.

"So, she's older and unfavored by the Count?"

The Mamás exchanged meaningful glances at each other. They knew who was being sent to be the Prince's next victim.

"Poor girl."

—

It was fall. The wind blew on the fallen orange leaves of the trees, the air dry, and the woods quieter than usual. But she was at peace.

Her silky yet ghastly white hair swayed with the wind, her white dress that grayed with age was carelessly scattered on the grass field, her hands planted on either side to support her as she leaned her head back, her eyes closed, feeling everything. The pulse of the earth and its rhythm with her hammering heart, the kiss of the air as it dried her tears and stung her open wounds, and the whisper of the breeze, comforting her hurting heart.

Her stepmother's words couldn't stop replaying inside her mind, even when she thought she was used to it. She never could.

"Is there nothing you can ever do right? Why do you always disappoint me?!"

Her shrill, high-pitched voice was a nightmare to the ears, but her words will be a haunting shadow over her for the rest of her life.

"You never should have been born if you'll live to be this worthless!"

Her younger stepsister looked down at her condescendingly while she desperately scrubbed off the spilled liquid on the floor. All that slipping and falling—an accident beyond her control.

If it was up to her, she never would've taken that glass at all.

Even better, she never would've chosen to be born.

Her existence was an accident nobody wanted. Yet somehow it was her fault.

After yet another scolding from her stepmother, Alice Sigertem ran away into the woods behind their manor. The scoldings and hits were part of her routine, but it was never something she could get used to.

She would wonder at times like these if her mother could see her.

What would she do if she was here?

The only memory she had of her was her long white hair swaying in the wind, her back turned, watching birds inside the birdcage of the gazebo—a place long burned by her stepmother. Any trace of her birth mother in the manor was erased by her stepmother and had overtime made Alice herself feel foreign in her own home. Until she found the woods, and the ironic warmth its cold breeze brought. Her wounds stung, but it was nothing she wasn't used to.

The bleakness of life, the certain unhappiness of every morning—it was all she knew.

Until the next day, when the news arrived.

—

She was wiping the hallways of the manor when she was summoned in her father's office. With her hair unruly and her graying, dirt-stained, white dress, she faced her family. Her gaze downcast.

"Alice, pack your belongings," her father said.

On either side of him sat Veronica and Milani, a mischievous glint in their eyes and a secret, furtive smile. Her expression did not change.

"The palace ordered us to offer a daughter to the Prince. Milani just came of age—she still has so much ahead of her. You, however, have been on the market for five years already. You're almost a spinster. It's about time for you to get married."

With her eyes on the table, she watched as he tidied the envelope with the golden seal and hid it in one of his desk's drawers casually. As if it were just another document.

On his either side, Milani and her mother exchanged meaningful smirks. Veronica placed her hands around Count Sigertem's shoulders. Her eyes slowly rose to them and watched quietly.

"Oh, dear, do serve the royal family well," she sarcastically retorted.

"It's about time we get rid of some of the filth in this house," Milani smirked.

"When we meet in the streets, sister, I would very much prefer it if we pretend we don't know each other. I wouldn't want to be associated with someone the Prince discarded."

The two snickered in front of her father, who acted deaf to their insults.

"…As you wish. Can I leave, please?"

Her voice was quiet and resigned. The ladies snickered while her father nodded, surprised at her nonchalance. But he didn't care enough to ask.

Until she reached her rundown room at the farthest wing of the manor, Alice's face didn't change. But tears ran down her cheeks once she was finally alone in her room.

She fell to her knees which were very much familiar with the floor, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed in the darkness. Her hands flew to cover her face, the dread finally entering her system.

She did not know what she was feeling. Despair, relief, exhaustion, or hatred? Or everything?

Alice was a Count's daughter, but she never felt like one. She knew what Omegas were, but even they seemed to lead a better life than her.

Omegas, perhaps, had a choice as to who they marry.

Alice never had that liberty. Never had any sort of it, at all.

—

At the back of the manor.

She was just about to shift but realized she almost left them behind.

She glanced behind to ensure there were no witnesses before humming to the woods. A few moments later, after some rustling, Alice naturally smiled at the crowd before her.

This was her secret.

What stared back at her was a cheeky monkey she named Kiki. A wild brown bear with scars all over, Mary. Two twin owls, Lola and Livvy. And a slithering 6-foot-long snake, among the most feared of its kind, that she named Eden.

She met them over time as she explored the woods and eventually befriended them. Their entertaining company is her breath of fresh air.

Ever since her step-family came into the picture, her life had been a living hell. But her ability to communicate and tame animals had been the only thing she was grateful for every day.

It helped her find friendship with animals when her own race was too cruel.

"Come."

They watched her shift into a lean white wolf, although a little weak, but impressively large. If Alice could see other Delta-blooded wolves, she'd see hers is still bigger. But she's been cooped up in this house and too occupied with her stepfamily to notice. The animals felt their bond with Alice more strongly whenever she was in her real form, and they felt strengthened by the bond.

Kiki the monkey was grinning ear to ear, clutching Alice's belonging tightly. Kiki jumped on Alice's back: "Yaaa~ We're leaving!"

"Finally leaving this hellhole," sighed Eden, slurring at every 's'. She crawled up at Alice's wolf through her arms.

"We hope we never return," Lola and Livvy chirp together as they flap their wings to land on her head, while Mary watches with a tilted head.

"Should I just run with you, dear? I'm a bit heavy," she asks in the softest voice, opposite of her aggressive appearance.

Alice is too weak to carry Mary. So they'll run together.

She takes one last glance at the manor.

They never even bothered to see her off. None of them did.

She quietly leaps out of the Count's territory and lets the stray tear get lost in the strong wind as she takes off.

"Off to the Prince's palace!" Kiki beams.

Alice wondered then how long it'd take the Prince before he threw her out like her father did.

But then again, it was better to be away from her stepmother's heavy hand and Milani's piercing words. Even if that meant she'd be left to her own devices, thrown into a completely foreign battleground.

At least there were no Sigertems in the Prince's palace.

—

Back at the Sigertem manor.

"Mother, do you think she'll return?"

Milani was combing her hair, waiting for her betrothed. Behind her is her mother who scoffed at her question.

"A daughter who looks exactly like that woman, it's better if she disappears from this world instead. Enough talking, forget about her. Your fiancé will arrive at any minute." Her mother's cold words almost made Milani pity Alice.

But her mother's right. It's good that she's gone now, or else her fiancé might look her way. This certain lord is after all, quite fond of Alice.