Claimed By The Rival Alpha

Selena

"You promised." My voice came out firmer than I intended.

Grengy barely spared me a glance. He continued pacing lazily around the tiny servants’ chamber, one hand rubbing the back of his neck while the other rested inside the pocket of his worn trousers.

The room smelled faintly of wood polish and damp linen. Ash lounged on the lower bunk with one leg hanging over the side while Jett leaned against the wall with his arms folded, watching the exchange with obvious amusement.

I had come all the way here during my short break for one reason... To remind Grengy about the revolution meeting that evening.

Instead, he had greeted me with a refusal before I had even finished explaining.

"I’m not coming," Grengy said flatly.

I blinked. "What do you mean you’re not coming?"

"I mean exactly what I said."

"But you promised me."

He shrugged. "I know..."

"You gave me your word."

"And I changed my mind." He said and for a moment I simply stared at him.

This was the same man I had fought to free from the dungeon.

The same man who had apologized for everything that had happened between us.

The same man who had thanked me repeatedly after walking out of those cold prison cells. Now he could not even spare an evening.

"Grengy..." I stepped closer. "You know why this group exists."

"Do I?" He suddenly asked.

Before I could answer, Ash laughed from the bunk. "There... He said he’s not coming so you can go now."

Jett smirked. "I told you she wouldn’t convince him."

I looked from one man to the other. "So both of you agree with him?"

Ash stretched lazily. "We’re not attending either."

"Why?"

"What exactly are you trying to achieve with this group of yours?"

His question hung in the room and I answered honestly. "Come tonight and you’ll find out what it’s all about."

Ash burst into laughter. "No! We’ll save ourselves the trouble."

Jett nodded. "Besides..." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "...what if we simply report your little meetings to the headmaid?"

A slow smile spread across his face. "Imagine how pleased she’d be."

Ash joined in. "You’ve been very lucky lately but maybe your luck has finally run out."

I folded my arms. "She won’t believe you."

"Oh?" Jett arched an eyebrow. "And why not?"

"Because she has no proof."

Ash chuckled. "Proof? We’ll happily provide it."

Their mockery slowly chipped away at my patience. I had come here hoping to gain three more supporters but instead I had become entertainment.

Something inside me snapped. "You both know better! You can laugh all you want, you can mock me, you can pretend none of this concerns you but deep down..."

I pointed at each of them. "...every one of you hates the vampires."

None of them answered.

"You’ve seen what they’ve done, you’ve heard the stories, you’ve watched daughters disappear, you’ve watched parents cry, you’ve watched families destroyed."

My voice rose with every sentence. "The only reason you’re pretending none of it matters...is because you’re afraid."

Ash’s smile faded slightly while Jett’s expression hardened but I still continued.

"You’re afraid of the rulers, you’re afraid of the nobles and you’re afraid of the system that has spent years convincing us we’re weaker than the vampires."

I took another step toward them. "But we’re not! No one is born believing they’re powerless. People are taught to believe it and the longer you keep believing it...the longer they’ll continue doing whatever they want with us."

Grengy lowered his gaze, Ash looked away while Jett remained stubbornly silent.

I waited but no one spoke so eventually I exhaled. "I’ve said what I came to say."

I turned toward the door. "When you’re ready to stop living in fear...you know where to find us."

Without another word, I left.

—

The abandoned storeroom looked much livelier than it had only a few weeks earlier.

Someone had already lit the lanterns and their warm glow danced across the cracked wooden walls.

We currently have Twenty-five servants. I counted them almost immediately.

More than ever before, a smile tugged at my lips because we were obviously growing steadily.

Sally stood near the center, speaking calmly while several servants tried talking over one another.

"One person at a time." Her voice remained surprisingly firm. "We’ll all get a chance to speak."

The chatter gradually died down. Sally was handling this surprisingly well.

Then she noticed me enter but merely gave a small nod and I returned it but things were still awkward between us.

Ever since I had threatened to expose her secret business, an invisible wall had settled between us.

We still worked together. We still discussed the group but our friendship hadn’t fully recovered.

I hoped it eventually would.

Sally stepped aside. "You can continue."

I moved to the front. "Thank you all for coming."

Several familiar faces smiled back, others looked exhausted after long shifts yet every one of them had still chosen to come and that alone meant something.

Before saying anything else, Niamh handed me a small pouch. "The contributions."

I opened it carefully as the Bronze coins clinked softly together.

One of the servants had already counted them. "Two hundred and thirteen bronze coins."

A small sigh escaped me. "Which gives us...just over two silver coins."

Disappointment flickered across several faces but I quickly shook my head.

"No, Don’t look discouraged. You all earned these coins through hard work and despite struggling yourselves...you still chose to contribute and that means more to me than the amount itself."

Several servants smiled as I continued again. "We’ll need more but we’ll get there."

I tied the pouch securely. "Now, our attention remains on the upcoming ball."

The room immediately became attentive.

"Only three days remain." I unfolded another parchment. "I’ve spent the past several days gathering information."

Curious whispers filled the room.

"I’ve identified seven noble families." I raised the parchment. "Their children were taken by the vampires either this year or during the last few tribute selections."

Several servants exchanged uneasy looks.

"They’ve suffered the pain of losing a child, They’ve lost and if anyone among the nobility understands our anger...it should be them."

I slowly read each family name aloud as everyone listened carefully.

"I want every one of you to memorize them as we are not approaching anyone else."

One servant raised a hand. "What if they ignore us?"

"We are not approaching them directly."

Another servant frowned. "Then how?"

I smiled before speaking. "We observe them first."

The room became completely silent as I continued explaining the plan.

"We will watch them and eavesdrop on their conversation if necessary."

Only after that did I pull several folded slips of parchment from my satchel. "These... They’ll receive one."

Confused expressions spread around the room.

"They’ll find them tucked inside their cloaks or tunics."

"A note?"

"Yes."

"What will it say?"

"It won’t reveal who we are but It’ll simply offer hope and If they truly seek vengeance against the vampires...they’ll follow the instructions."

One servant frowned. "But couldn’t they simply bring guards and have us arrested?"

"I’ve already thought about that."

Several people leaned forward.

"The first location won’t be where we’re waiting, instead, it’ll only contain another note."

Murmurs filled the room.

"The second location, there would also be another note and the third would be the same."

I couldn’t help smiling. "They’ll have to follow several different instructions before ever reaching Sally and me."

Realization slowly spread across their faces.

"If someone isn’t genuinely interested...they’ll give up on the way. If they come only to trap us...the effort won’t be worth it."

"But someone carrying genuine hatred toward the vampires?" I folded my arms. "They’ll keep going."

Silence lingered then someone clapped softly and soon several servants were nodding in admiration.

"That’s brilliant."

"They’ll never find us immediately."

"We’ll know they’re serious."

I laughed quietly. "I hope so."

An older maid lifted both hands. "May the Moon Goddess bless this plan."

"Amen," several voices answered together.

The atmosphere warmed immediately. For the first time that evening... Hope outweighed fear.

After repeating every instruction once more and making sure everyone understood their individual responsibilities, I dismissed the meeting.

Groups slowly dispersed into the darkness and eventually only Sally and I remained.

Neither of us spoke for several seconds then finally I broke the silence. "I don’t want us fighting."

She looked at me. "I never wanted that either."

I sighed. "I don’t intend to expose your business. All I only want is your complete support for the group."

Sally studied me quietly before giving a small nod. "You have my complete support and I believe in what we’re building."

Relief settled over me. "Thank you."

She offered the faintest smile. "Let’s make sure all this risk amounts to something."

We walked back toward the servants’ quarters together before separating near the bathing wing.

Later that night, after washing away the day’s exhaustion in the shared bathing room, I wrapped my linen securely around myself and began walking back toward my chamber.

The corridors were unusually quiet that only the distant crackle of torches accompanied my footsteps.

I rounded a corner but suddenly, a powerful hand clamped around me.

Before I could scream, I was yanked violently into the darkness by an unknown force.