Free Web NovelChapter 117: New Room
"Did you make some sort of mistake?" I asked, staring slack-jawed at the room that they had led me to. "You’re making me stay here?"
"Why?" Rowan asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"
There was a very serious problem― it seemed like Rowan and Soren might’ve been possessed. The room they had led me to was not one in the omegas’ quarters, nor was it a miserably dingy little jail cell tucked away in the basement of the pack house.
It was one of the main bedrooms in the main wing of the pack house, right next to the Alphas’ bedrooms. In fact, it could even be considered as one of the designated bedrooms for the Luna to stay in, should she require another bedroom to reside.
Having visited Violet’s bedroom one too many times, I knew that this wasn’t the exact same room. It wasn’t as though they had booted Violet out and tucked me where she should’ve been staying, but it felt like a slap to her face all the same when her bedroom was right down the corridor from where I now lived.
On top of that, the room had not been fitted with silver bars― though I assumed that was due to time constraints, and not because the Alphas had magically turned understanding or let down their guard against Lucien’s inevitable return for me.
Not that I was complaining, of course. It just made escape easier for me once Willow woke up, and I had proven myself innocent.
"Well..." I frowned, scanning the luxurious room, still half-expecting this entire thing to be a prank. Maybe there was an entire colony of cockroaches waiting patiently underneath the floorboards to surprise me the moment I stepped inside. "No, but―"
"Then what seems to be the problem?" Soren asked. He cocked his head to one side, looking genuinely confused. "Or do you not like the room? I know the wallpaper looks a bit old-fashioned―"
I choked. The wallpaper was finer than anything I had seen in a long while. It was an elegant cream color that had roses lined in faint gold. If I were desperate, I could have scraped it off to sell.
"It’s fine," I said, waving it off. "The wallpaper is not the issue!"
"Then is it the bed?" Soren asked curiously. The room had a king-size canopy bed that could fit at least three people. "I assure you, the mattress is new. Also, I already got the staff to air out the blankets, but if you’re still uncomfortable, we can have you assigned to another room closer to ours―"
My eyes widened with horror. This room was already near enough to the Alphas’ quarters. Any nearer and it would be right next door, which would just make it harder for me to run away, even while they weren’t looking.
Not to mention I didn’t want to be close to them if they and Violet decided to get up to any funny business at night.
"This room is fine, thank you," I said firmly, cutting off Soren’s words before he decided to offer something ludicrous in response to my hesitance. If he weren’t an Alpha, he would have made a great hotel manager in the human world.
I stepped inside and decided not to kick a gift horse in the mouth.
Perhaps I wouldn’t be here for long to begin with. Either Lucien would rescue me, or Violet would get me kicked out for some reason or another.
At least this time, I would be able to keep a closer eye on Violet since her room wasn’t far. Knowing her, she wouldn’t be able to leave the triplets alone.
Rowan and Soren continued to look expectantly at me, and I stared back at them.
"Yes? Is there anything else?" I asked. "Or is this the part of the prank where you tell me this isn’t my room after all, and you’re banishing me back into the cellar?"
"We would never," Rowan said with such intense vehemence that I took a step back in surprise. "This is your room. You have every authority to stay here for as long as you want."
"Alright then," I said, not wanting to tell them I had plans of fleeing the moment Willow was back to full health. If they installed silver bars, my life would be a lot more difficult.
I went around the room, idly examining the furniture. There were three cupboards and an elegant vanity table whose mirror was scrubbed free of dust.
I opened one cupboard, and I was surprised to find that it wasn’t empty. It was filled with clothes― the bulk of it was casual wear, but there were several beautiful evening dresses tucked at the end too. I felt a rare girlish urge to dress up rise within me, before I remembered that these clothes were most likely not meant for me.
They must have bought all these clothes for Willow. This room must have been prepared for her too. I had no doubt she would live here once she was fully recovered. My lips curled into a faint smile.
At least these triplet morons knew how to treat her well, after nearly killing her with their earlier inaction.
Unbeknownst to me, Rowan and Soren saw my faint smile. They stood taller, preening proudly as though they had achieved a miracle. They moved closer, hovering over my shoulder like nosy salespeople, and I turned around, irritated at the sudden lack of personal space.
"What? Is it a crime to look at clothes now? Step back, both of you are making me claustrophobic."
"No! Of course not!" Soren spluttered, his face red.
Both of them hastily stepped back and exchanged a glance with each other as I slammed the cupboard shut.
I should have known they wouldn’t allow me to touch Willow’s precious belongings with my dirty hands. Maybe if it weren’t for the fact that I had credit in saving her, they wouldn’t even want me inside her room. Maybe they thought I would contaminate the place with my presence.
"Are you hungry?" Rowan asked, and I blinked in surprise at the uncharacteristic concern in his voice.
"What?"
"You haven’t eaten a bite since you woke up," Rowan explained, a furrow growing in between his eyebrows.
"We’ll get the kitchen to send you something," Soren added, with a faintly apologetic look on his face.
I wanted to tell them not to bother, but my stomach let out an undeniable growl that was audible to even the human ear. Clearly, my little mission to look for the cause of Willow’s sickness used up more of my energy than I expected.
I flushed and nodded. "Thanks, then," I muttered.
Somehow, they seemed cheered up by my words. They left my room in high spirits after thoughtfully shutting the door behind them, leaving me to my thoughts.
Now that I was alone, it was time to search if this room had the tools I needed to run the tests on that bag of tea. Otherwise, I would need to make a secret trip to the infirmary.
***
"Miss Briar?" There was a soft knock, and I heard a girl’s hesitant voice echo from the other end of the door. Quickly, I stuffed the offending tea leaves back into my own pocket and cleared the bedsheet free of their presence.
"Who is it?" I asked, cautious.
"I’m Tilly from the kitchens. The Alphas instructed me and the other omegas to give you some food," the meek voice said.
I quickly went to the door and opened it, and I was greeted with the soft brown eyes of one of the younger omega serving girls, holding a gigantic tray with a cloche covering it. Behind her were several other girls, each holding their own tray and cloche.
My mouth fell open in shock, and I instinctively stepped aside to let them put down the trays on the table. The table, meant for office work, was soon filled with food. I gave Tilly a careful glance; I recalled seeing Tilly from a distance before, but our paths never crossed, since no one wanted to interact with me, the presumed sister-killer. It was the same with the other girls.
To my surprise, Jessie didn’t come with them, despite this job being right up her alley. I thought she would have jumped at the opportunity to see me, but I had not seen head or tail of her.
As I removed a cloche to inspect its contents, I let out a quiet sigh.
Tilly’s young face immediately scrunched up in fear.
"Miss Briar? Is the food not to your liking?" she asked, her voice quavering. Beside her, the other omegas also looked frantic, as though I was going to strike them in displeasure.
"No, it’s fine," I said, painting a reassuring smile on my face. The food actually smelled heavenly. "All of you can leave. I’m not mad. You did nothing wrong."
All of them didn’t think twice. Their heads bobbed in unison like birds before they took off at a record speed. I guessed even with Willow’s return, it was hard to overturn their perceptions of me just like that.
Well. I wasn’t going to spend my life here, so it didn’t matter what they thought.
I decided to help myself to the first food platter, where the biggest steak and potatoes awaited me. My stomach growled in ravenous hunger as I ate bite after bite, and soon enough, the platter was empty.
But just as I wanted to open the cloche of the second tray, I felt a stabbing pain in my abdomen that caused me to fall to the floor.
