The Masked Alpha's True Luna

"You have a similar scent, but you're not her," the Masked Alpha repeated, and Odette didn't understand what he meant by that. 

However, she understood the disappointment, anger, and disgust in his gaze and his tone. He didn't even try to hide it, so Odette understood that she had been 'rejected' for some reason.

She got even more scared. If she had no worth other than her body, then wouldn't that mean she would be executed instead? 

With a trembling voice, she asked, "Your Majesty, have I done something wrong?"

Her soft voice made the Masked Alpha snap out of his rage. Even though he could be unreasonable at times, especially when he got angry, he knew better than to blame this innocent woman. 

It was just… he got his hopes up for no reason.

This woman, Odette, had her scent, her voice, her face.

Yet, she had no mark on her back, the mark that she was supposed to carry even on her hundredth life. 

He felt like he was making a fool out of himself. After repeating the same thing for the 99th time, this would be the first time he guessed wrong. 

He quickly calmed himself down and said indifferently, "It was my oversight. Pardon me for scaring you. You can wear your dress again."

Odette didn't understand.

She wasn't sure if she should be happy or not. Deep down, she truly wanted to wait for her fated mate to find and mark her. So, his rejection felt like escaping a death sentence for her, as getting marked by anyone who wasn't her fated mate would mean she was as good as dead.

Thus, she slowly wore her dress again and waited for the Masked Alpha to give her another order.

But he didn't.

He simply turned around, ready to leap out of the window and leave. However, before he did so, Odette gathered her courage and raised her voice.

"Y-Your Majesty!"

He halted his step, and after a moment, he responded, "You are free to do whatever in this castle. After all, I am the one who brought you here. I never take back what I said. You are now Odette of Hollow Beasts Kingdom."

His words felt like an order. He was already kind enough to spare her life and allow her to live here, but that didn't make her happy in the slightest.

On the contrary, it only burdened her even more, since Odette truly believed she had to do something and earned her stay. 

"If you have nothing else to ask, then I'll leave. I won't bother you anymore," the Masked Alpha King said. It was also a goodbye, as he had no intention of meeting with this woman anymore. 

He still had a long way to go to find her, and he didn't want to waste time.

"Your Majesty, what is my purpose?" Odette asked.

"Your… purpose?"

The Masked Alpha looked over his shoulder and saw that Odette had already worn her dress and sat on the cold ground humbly. She was like a commoner—no, a servant who awaited her order. 

Odette lowered her head. She was aware that she had no use. Hence, she decided to humble herself, as it should be from the start. 

"I-I'm very grateful for your kindness, but I've always believed that everyone has a purpose, including me. Since this is my new home, then please tell me what I should do here," Odette implored. 

"There's nothing you can do in here," the Masked Alpha replied coldly. 

"Your Majesty, in my pack, our worth is determined by our merit. If… if you deprive me of having any purpose in my life, then what's the point of you bringing me here?" Odette asked as she felt that she had been wronged. "It's better if you leave me in the forbidden forest rather than giving me false hope."

False hope.

The lips behind the mask thinned as those two words were very triggering for him. He should be the one who said that.

Nevertheless, what she said got him thinking. He disliked how similar Odette was to her. But all Odette asked was a purpose, and for a man who only had one purpose in life even after thousands of years, he felt it was unfair to deprive her of that. 

Thus, he said, "If you want to learn magic, you can learn from Ymir, he's a capable snake wizard. If you want to learn medicine, talk to Irida, she's the doctor in the castle. If you want to learn about the military, go and talk to my beta, Zircon. He's the best soldier I have. Just talk to Ruru and Rori, they'll escort you around."

Odette listened carefully and shook her head after that. 

"That's not what I mean, Your Majesty. I—what is my purpose for YOU?" 

"For me?" his brows creased behind the mask, and for Odette, he could see a flicker in his red eyes. 

Odette felt this would be the only time she could talk normally with this man. If he truly ignored her after this, then she probably would never be able to talk with him for the rest of her very long life.

"You are my benefactor. You saved me and gave me a place to stay. I… I believe that I can be of use to you," Odette said with determination in her eyes. "I-I prefer not to use my body, but I can do other things too! I can be a maid if necessary!" 

…

Odette didn't know why, but right now, she felt that he was grinning behind the mask. Though, she had no proof of it, because the wolf skull mask covered all of his expression except for his red eyes. 

But she preferred to believe that he was grinning.

"If you want to pay me back, then learn magic, medicine, and military in the castle and stay alive," the Masked Alpha said. "By then, you may be of use to me."