Marked by the Moon

Vika's POV

"Take off her shirt." The cold order stabbed into my ears.

Shian, Princess Devi's chief maid, stripped my blouse off and dragged me to face a floor-length mirror.

I was forced to kneel on the cold stone floor. Through the mirror, I clearly saw the spoiled brat of a royal sitting cross-legged on the bench at the end of her bed. Her fingers toyed with her black curls. The look on her face told me that she wanted to rip me into pieces.

"You lowly, filthy Omega!" She grabbed the whip next to her teacup. "Maybe the next time you bring my breakfast, you'll be sure that none of it is cold!" Princess Devi screeched. "You really need to learn how to serve your masters!"

Ouch! I felt the thick straps of the whip she held so tightly in her grip scrape against my skin as she swung it at me.

I saw myself in the mirror with my upper body nearly naked. Warm blood flowed from my shoulder as my skin broke. With fists clenched at my sides, I gritted my teeth against the pain.

She liked showing her physical strength by using tools since she had shifted several days ago.

Finding some stupid excuses to whip her maid's topless body was Princess Devi's latest favorite entertainment.

Why topless body? Because no one else would ever know how cruel our esteemed Princess Devi was as long as they couldn't see the wounds.

She was the only daughter of the late Alpha king and his queen. I heard they were great and merciful. Obviously, Devi did not inherit those good traits from her parents.

Woosh!

The second, third, fourth... I saw my body shaking. Each whipping smacked my dignity.

'Hang in there, Vika. Don't fight back. She's the princess, and I am just a maid. There's no use to reason with a spoiled royal. I guess I'll just have to deal with it.'

I took a deep breath and reasoned with my angry self.

'Don't do anything stupid, Vika. She's the future Luna. Don't hit a royal. Don't cause any trouble for your family.'

More whips fell on my back. My lungs heaved in my chest and blood boiled in my veins. I put my entire body weight on my fist pressed against the floor. Only then could I suppress my anger and prevent myself from throwing my fist at the abuser.

No begging, no crying. I just stared at her face wrinkled with anger over my bloodied shoulder through the mirror.

"What's that look on your face? Are you staring at your face in the mirror? You sh*tty Omega! Look at your ugly face! You're the ugliest she-wolf I've ever laid eyes on!" she shouted like a maniac.

The mirror honestly reflected my green eyes and blonde hair. I was pleased to look at it, but it never mattered to me. It wasn't as if I had any privileges because of it.

Suddenly, Devi grabbed my arms. Her long and sharp red nails dug into my skin. Great, new cuts on my arms.

I looked down at her face. She was scared. I could read how she felt from her brown eyes. Not only fear but also anger and doubt were visible. Those emotions revealed that Devi was not as strong as me, physically and mentally, even if I couldn't shift until midnight.

If I were not an Omega, not her maid, I would easily tear that whip out of her hands and turn it around on her.

But I couldn't.

"Get down on your knees and beg me! Say you were wrong!" she shouted in my ear.

Tightening my lips, I gritted my teeth until I thought my jaw would snap. I could be forced to kneel, but I wouldn't give this spoiled princess the pleasure of seeing me cry or hearing me beg.

"What an unruly, ugly Omega!"

Devi yanked me by my hair and threw me to the ground. She kicked me in the stomach with the tip of her high heels.

I groaned, wrapping my stomach with my arms, but she began to kick my arms. The cuts her red nails left on my arm started to bleed. My stomach and arms were bruised, but no one would ever find out about it.

Thank the moon goddess. As long as I shifted at midnight, the bruises and cuts would heal quickly.

Finally, she got enough out of her and stopped kicking me.

"Shian and you." She released my arm, called her favorite maid, and pointed to another Gamma.

"I'm tired. Train her. I'll enjoy my breakfast without that damn cold butter." Throwing her whip to the floor, Princess Devi stretched and left the bedroom with her pride and crown.

My eyes widened. So, that was the issue? Her butter wasn't warm enough? What the hell was wrong with her?

"Always as you wish, Your Highness." Shian bowed her. She was entirely devoted to that princess. Gosh, I hated that skinny she-wolf.

I fought through my pain, put my blouse back on, and stared at the two Gammas.

Shian raised the whip and flicked it at me, her thin arm swinging even more quickly than the princess had been capable of.

I didn't turn or flinch this time. My arm stretched out. With some effort, I caught the tails of the whip. Wrapping them around my arm, I yanked in one fluid motion, resulting in the whip becoming free from Shian's grip.

"I won't let you whip me again, Shian," I said. They were not royal members. I could fight back.

The elderly maid laughed and rolled her eyes at me. "What? A lowly Omega tries to fight back against your superiors?" She approached, held her left hand, and wanted to slap me.

"Back off!" I grabbed her wrist hard and threw the slap back on her face. Woah, that felt good.

"How dare you! You bitchy Omega!" she screamed, covering her face with her hand. The pink mark on her face made me feel proud of myself.

Shian stopped her. Her dark eyes were full of disdain. "Let me give you a lesson. Loser!"

Shian jumped forward and grabbed my wounded arm, squeezing tightly.

I hissed, instinctively pulling away, but Shian gripped tighter.

"You made the princess upset today, b*tch," she muttered, dragging me along behind her.

She was thinner than me. How could she be so powerful? I was surprised to find that her grip was stronger than Devi's. She shouldn't have been physically superior to the daughter of the late Alpha king.

I gulped as Shian grabbed my collar and took me to the maid's changing room next to the princess's bedroom.

I clenched my fists, my arms, and my hands, shaking with rage. Growling, I pounced on Shian.

I grappled with her, grabbing her brown hair, clawing at her stupid face, and biting at anything I could.

"Argh!" Shian got the upper hand, throwing me off of her.

With a heavy thud, I landed on the floor. My back cracked uncomfortably.

"You slutty beast!" Shian rushed to me. I managed to dodge her kick.

Pushing that elderly maid aside, I turned and headed for the door, not looking back.

I heard them shouting at me to come back, that I was disobeying the princess's commands, but I knew they wouldn't dare go to Princess Devi and let her know that they had failed in their task of beating me. Admitting their failure might cause Princess Devi to lash out at them irrationally. As much as the other two maids liked to dish out pain, neither wanted to take it.

I went into the toilet and paused for a moment to assess the damage. A few of the cuts on my arms were bleeding, but I would be all right. I used the bottom of my gown to wipe off as much of the blood as possible.

I looked at myself in the mirror and felt like a loser.

Shian got the better of me. She had shifted already, but so did that elderly maid. I could easily slap the older Gamma maid, but I couldn't even hit Shian once.

'It's okay, Vika. You will be turning eighteen tomorrow. At midnight tonight, you'll shift for the first time and become stronger. Then, you won't let Shian or any others bully you again!' I comforted myself and smiled after gently patting my cheeks.

When I headed back to the kitchen for my next assignment, I found Helen, one of the maids in charge of the rest of us, standing with a tray. She looked around as if she was looking for someone.

Her eyes fell on me, and I sucked in a breath.

"Good, Vika, you're back. Mary is in her room, sick as a dog in bed. I need your help."

'Who is Mary?' I stared at Helen, not sure what to say as she thrust the breakfast tray at me. Clearly, delivering breakfast was not my strong suit.

"You must take this up at once," she continued. "Make haste!"

"To whom?" I asked her, trying not to sound disrespectful. But I needed to know where to go.

Helen rolled her eyes. "To Prince Regent Asher, of course!"