11 DRAGON HEART

After that night with the alpha, Iris was down with a fever for more than a week. She was barely conscious when she was fed and drank her medicine, but her fever didn't break until the fifth day and after that she could only stay in bed, hearing Hanna weep for her as she cursed the alpha under her breath to make her missy go through hell.

But then, if the alpha really wanted to take his revenge on Iris by using the same method Alpha Gerald had used on him, Iris wouldn't be here. She would have been thrown to the savages and left to be feasted upon.

Or maybe got her private part scalded with boiling oil, like her father had done to Alpha Cane.

Yes. Her father had ruined Cane's private part and they laughed about it. Hanna was not there, but she heard a very disturbing story about the event. Alpha Cane was only an inch away from death, while the other five alphas watched it.

And it didn't happen only once. They treated it as an amusement for them.

If Cane was not a direct descendent from an alpha, or he was only a mere shifter, he wouldn't have survived such torture.

"Hanna… water…" Iris's voice cracked. She woke up early because she felt thirsty. Her throat was so dry and her lips were chapped.

During this week, the alpha didn't bother her at all. There was no message from the alpha that he needed her to pleasure him either. Everything was so quiet.

"Here, Miss, drink this…" Hanna brought a cup of water to her lips when she heard her whimpering. Tears welled up in her eyes to see her condition right now.

Meanwhile, out there, the sky had turned so bright, it was almost noon when Iris woke up, though she lost track of time by now.

"Do you want more?" Hanna asked attentively. She wiped water from her lips and laid her down on the bed again.

This bed was not as comfortable as the bed that she used to sleep in, but this was better than the dungeon.

Iris blinked her eyes, she fought back the urge to fall asleep again. Usually, she wouldn't have the strength to stay awake for long, but this time, she forced herself to open her eyes and looked at Hanna, who was sitting on the floor, next to her bed, while holding on to her hand.

"Thank you…" Iris said, her voice was so small, Hanna needed to lean close to her to catch what she was saying.

"You don't need to thank me, Miss, I can't do anything to save you…" She felt helpless when she saw Iris returned in the arms of the guards, bleeding and unconscious.

She didn't know what kind of torture that she had gone through, but looking from her condition, she could tell what it was.

Hanna tried to find a healer to treat her, but despite doing her job, she didn't care much about Iris, the nefarious alpha's daughter. As long as Iris didn't die, she was not willing to do more than that.

All the people despised her for what her father had done to them, even though Iris was not part of any of those malicious activities. Iris had never hurt them in any form when all she did was stay inside her room, since her father would be angry if she roamed around the place and met other people.

"Miss, they shouldn't have treated you like this…" Hanna whimpered. She looked Iris right in the eyes, as she held her hands even tighter, as if she was afraid that she would slip away from her. "This is not fair for you. They are directing their anger wrongly."

Iris blinked her eyes. She stared at her maid with an unfathomable gaze.

"What my father had done to them wasn't fair either. That's how this world works."

The beating that she received from her brother was not fair. The way her father showed her contempt because she was born as a runt was not fair either.

However, what could they do? Talking about it wouldn't make things any different. No one would believe her. It was her words against them. There was no need to make a fuss over this.

"Hanna, I need something…" Iris bit her lip, she looked hesitant to say this.

"Yes, tell me what you need. I will get it for you." Hanna's eyes slightly lit up, because Iris had rarely asked for anything. "Do you want food? Is there some food that you want? I will get it for you."

It would be difficult, but it was not impossible. She knew a lot of people in the kitchen. After all, she was only a servant, just like them, what the higher ranking people did or how the power struggle went, wouldn't make them live better.

"No," Iris said, she was getting sleepy now. She felt her eyelids droop. "I want some tea… that tea…"

"What tea, Miss?" Hanna came closer because her voice was getting smaller and smaller.

"Dragon heart tea…"

Hanna's face blanched, she gritted her teeth and then nodded, tears rolled down her face. "I will… I will get it for you. You need to rest now and you can get it once you wake up, okay?"

Iris nodded and closed her eyes.

Dragon heart's leaves were effective in preventing pregnancy.

Iris was not so naïve to not know about this. She didn't want to bear Cane's child. She didn't want to get pregnant by him in this situation.

She didn't know what he had done to her that night after she fell unconscious because the agony was too much.

The pain wrecked her insides and no matter how many times Hanna wiped her to clean her body, she would never feel clean.

Was this how those people in the Howling Wolf pack felt when they were turned into slaves?

This feeling was so awful…

They didn't deserve this, neither did she…

"Sleep, young miss. I will be here," Hanna whispered into her ear, as she caressed her cheek.