Maya stood in the middle of the dusty room in a white loose dress. She couldn't see her reflection, but it wasn't hard to imagine how she looked wearing such an oversized dress.
Her skin had been scrubbed until red, her hair washed just as hard, leaving a stinging feeling in her scalp. The maids had made several comments about how dirty she was while they helped clean her, as if all that wasn't done in a dirty room.
It didn't take long for her to discover they had brought her to this room to clean her up. Maya didn't know for what purpose, and she didn't ask. She didn't speak to the maids, didn't refute them, but somehow that only seemed to anger them.
Bess was the more talkative maid, the one who had held the lantern and was now staring at her with a wide smile.
"All ready," she grinned, looking from Maya to the other maid. They both looked to be struggling to hold their laughter in.
Ready for what?
She almost asked, but she held her tongue. She didn't expect the cruel women to tell her anything useful. They seemed to revel in her confusion, and asking questions would only fuel this.
Suddenly, Bess stepped forward and pushed Maya to get her moving. It wasn't a hard push, but it was rude. Maya didn't budge; rather, she looked at where she had just been touched and then back at Bess, who immediately stepped back at her stare.
"Y-you're supposed to go outside! Alpha Keenan's orders!" Bess yelled, glancing at her counterpart for support. The other woman, who was the same age as Bess, nodded.
Maya had seen the flash of fear in Bess's eyes as she stepped back. Regardless of whether she was in Alpha Keenan's custody, it didn't change the fact that she was the High Alpha's daughter, yet they had openly been disrespectful to her.
However, they weren't completely oblivious to the fact that they could be punished for it. Or perhaps her status still struck fear in their hearts even though she was reduced to this.
Maya ignored Bess's actions as usual. Instead, she turned and walked toward the door. She was too tired for anything. Her hunger pangs had turned to hunger pains, and the stinging pain in her scalp made her headache worse.
The white dress stopped around her ankles. At least it wasn't too hard to walk in, but the shapelessness of it made it look like she was wearing rags.
The fabric itself wasn't cheap; the dress was made from silk, and it had laces around the wrists, neck, and bodice, giving it a layered look.
Bess rushed past her and opened the door with a sneer. She seemed to have overcome her fear and was now laughing at Maya's expense.
Bess had mentioned she had to go outside. Did she mean outside the room or…?
She didn't know what was going on, but she hoped it would be over soon and that maybe then she might be afforded some comfort. Maya forced herself not to think about it, as thinking required energy she didn't have to give.
The women led her away from the second floor and toward the right section of the house. Maya froze when she realized the direction the maids were leading her toward.
The temple.
There was a main temple in the capital, but every Alpha's residence always had one facing east, and this direction… Maya looked around, noticing that they were at the side exit.
Bess was quick to open it, and Maya winced as the bright glare of the sun attacked her eyes. She clamped them shut before slowly opening them.
The maids were staring at her impatiently while they made no attempt to take another step forward. Maya immediately understood that she would have to complete the rest of the journey alone.
She took a step forward, and at the side of the castle were the open doors of the temple.
There is no way I am about to get married in this manner.
She was dressed in an oversized wedding dress. She had no veil, no bouquet, and more importantly, it was sunlight. It wasn't nighttime, let alone a full moon. Maya felt her heart twist.
This was no wedding.
Maya straightened her back and kept her horrifying realization away from her face. She walked forward, out of the mansion and toward the entrance of the open temple.
The temple was filled with people from the pack. They stood on either side of the space, creating a path in the middle. She could hear voices as she stepped through the open doors, but they were immediately silenced by the beat of drums.
It was a steady, rhythmic sound that seemed to match every step she took. She could feel the vibration of every beat in her chest, intensifying her forlorn state.
She was alone. No one to walk her down the aisle. Maya never really imagined her wedding, but she never thought it would be this bad. With every step, she feared she might falter and further embarrass herself.
Their stares and pointing only seemed to intensify the shame she felt. She didn't know what to do with her hands, so she clasped them in front of her, pretending there was a bouquet in them.
A bouquet of white snowdrop flowers. They were her favorite flowers.
The altar waited a few feet away, growing closer with each step. Alpha Keenan stood in front. He was dressed very impeccably, wearing a deep crimson frock coat with golden embroidery.
He was glaring at her as she lifted her gaze to look at him. His jaw was tight and his forehead furrowed. Maya immediately looked to her feet.
She was in a daze. Nothing seemed real, and she would rather curl up into a ball and pretend nothing else existed, but she couldn't do that.
So she walked forward, palms clasping tightly around the imaginary flowers.