The Scent of Illusion (Published under IMMAC)

Chapter 8: Party in the Bushes

Trigger warning: May contain sensitive topics such as death, sex, profanity, suicide, self-harm, drugs, alcohol, mental health, sexuality, etc. There might be depictions or references to sexual harassment. Please be guided accordingly and read at your own risk.

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It had been a week.

It had been an entire week since Aurora was assigned to the Bush Family in order to provide her services as a housekeeper, in the hopes that she could learn proper manners and for her to know that even if she did eventually say something useful, she dragged it for too long. Other than that, the deception that she played to lure Eli into having sex with her was counted into the consideration of her punishment.

Despite the easy tasks, which were things that she had done before, it was the amount of garbage that they make her clean that made it difficult. Every simple task was tainted with some form of insult that was meant to degrade her as if she was not used to it. Being a member of Blood Rage, she was already subjected to judgments and criticism even when she was not doing anything. It was something attached to her just because of the pack that she belonged to as if that was even her choice.

"Clean up Sir Willie's bedroom," another housekeeper said as she walked past Aurora. "Then fold the clothes and bring them downstairs. Hurry up." There was a tone of hostility laced with urgency.

With a sigh, Aurora dragged her feet to the bedroom located at the farthest end of the hall. For some reason, it felt heavy to take one step after the other as she slipped inside the young Beta's bedroom which looked like it was turned upside down with the way everything was either thrown across the room or spilled all over the floor. Whatever happened there, Aurora could barely imagine.

"I don't even know what I'm supposed to do right now," she muttered under her breath, boredom swirling in her mind. In the time that she spent in that house, she did not gain a friend at all. Everyone was just horrible, even the other housekeepers. It felt like she was being hazed into something she did not even ask for, which made it all the more frustrating.

And through it all, the only thing that kept her afloat was Leann, her wolf, who kept her company. "You just have to do what they asked you to do. After this, maybe you can have a moment to breathe," Leann said, trying to comfort Aurora just grew more and more defeated.

"What did he even do to make this room this messy?" she asked, sighing as she picked up clothes that sprawled across the floor and then folded them, carefully placing them in a pile that she organized in Willie's closet.

Sweeping and dusting off the corners of the place was starting to get tiring. Just one week of the routine and it had grown into a monotonous cycle that she just wanted to break from, but there was no way to escape from it. Deep inside, she knew she had to do it no matter what. It did not matter if it was starting to get boring. If there was any way to entertain herself, she just had to do it. And for now, talking to her wolf was the only cure for it.

An exhausted grunt ripped from Aurora's lips as she saw the items that were shoved underneath the bed. "Look at this. How filthy." Shaking her head, she grabbed the items and piled them in a corner just to see how she was going to fix them.

Unknown to her was that someone entered the room with careful steps, creeping from behind her with a smirk on their face. Arms snaked around her waist as she felt something firm grazing her rear, grinding against the fabric of her uniform. As much as she wanted to free herself from the grip, it was too strong that all she could do was whimper and try to squirm out of the human cage.

"Please let me go," she pleaded, her voice was different from how she sounded with Eli. She did not tease or flirt this time, she was genuinely pleading to be left alone. But her constant begging seemed to only fuel the person who was caging her in his arms.

He clicked his tongue, leaning forward until his lips touched her ear. "You know that this is what you deserve, right?" He snickered, unwrapping his arm around her only to push her onto the bed until he could loom over her. Now, she could see who was behind the assault.

"Willie..." Eyes wide, she shook her head as she crawled backward in an attempt to get away from him but the bed only went so far. With her back against the headboard, she had nowhere else to go.

His lips tugged up to a wicked smirk, he climbed up the bed and crawled towards her, and positioned himself between her legs. "This is what you deserve, you slut," he hissed, running his hand up her thigh.

Squirming underneath his touch, she tried kicking him away but Willie was quick to wrap his fingers around her wrists and pin her to place. His eyes burned with lust, filthy lust that was tainted by his impure thoughts which made it all the more disgusting. And Aurora felt helpless, more than she ever felt it.

"Aurora are you–" The sentence was cut off as another housekeeper entered the room, seeing the full display of Willie's advance on her.

"You're lucky," Willie remarked as he slipped out of the bed and walked past the housekeeper who stood by the doorway.

Still shaken from the unexpected visit from Willie, almost being sexually assaulted by the young Beta, Aurora was beyond defeated. It was one thing to be disrespected by being asked to clean the house over and over again, but it was another to be used sexually by someone she did not permit to. Her thoughts tried to help her cope, returning to the memory of her and Eli. She knew that was different. It was truly different. Eli's touch was different despite his aggressiveness, his words sounded different despite the firmness, and his aura was strong but without malice...

...unlike Willie.

All of a sudden, the Bush Family decided to throw a party. For the entire afternoon, every house staff was busy cleaning and decorating the house. Even Aurora, who was still a bit aloof from Willie's assault, had to help around. It was a bit difficult for her, mainly because she was aware that another housekeeper saw what was going on and Aurora did not have time to explain the situation. To add up to that, Willie was around and even his gaze made her feel filthy.

That night, people started to pile in. Dressed in fancy dresses and custom-made suits, the guests flaunted their luxuries as they entered the Bush Family Mansion. Smiles and greetings filled the air as they spotted familiar faces. While some decided to reunite with their friends and simply catch up, others made a beeline to where the alcoholic beverages were as they were ready to drown the night away.

Aurora was at the corner, helping around with refilling the drinks or serving the hors d'oeuvres. The quiet voice of Leann soothed her, helping her get through the entire night.

What Aurora failed to notice was Eli standing by a corner, downing yet another drink. Ever since he entered the house, all he did was drink his thoughts away. Frustration had made a home in his stomach and all he wanted to do was silence his demons with a glass of whiskey.

Grabbing another glass, he decided to enjoy his drink by the gardens. And as he stepped outside, he was welcomed by the cold evening breeze that somewhat soothed his thoughts. With the glass touching his lips, he let the golden liquid slide smoothly down his throat. Satisfied, he let out a sigh of relief. For a moment, he felt like he had time to relax.

But then there it was...

There was that familiar scent of Citrus Grandis that wafted in the air, the same scent that he smelled that night in the forest. It was the same fragrance that wrapped him in its gentle embrace and refused to let him go. Both intoxicated by the alcohol in his veins and the alluring scent of pheromones, he dragged his feet to follow where it was coming from without a trace of hesitation in his system.

And standing there by the bushes was a familiar lithe frame with golden tresses flowing on her back.

"Aurora..."