A slave to love

Chelle’s secret

Chelle reread the letter Mr. Williams left for her along with her lawn mowing payment with disbelief and wide eyed wonder. Since it was after two o’clock now and at four she was to have dinner started so her “family” could come home to a hot dinner, she figured she would tell her aunt and uncle about her job offer and let them know she was going to the grocery store to speak with Mr. Williams first thing in the morning.

The dryer beeped, signaling the end of yet another load completed and she threw the last load in. She set the timer for an hour and set to work folding clothes and sorting them into baskets—one for her aunt and uncle, one for Declan, and then one for her torn and tattered clothes that she was given—so she had “something” which her aunt and uncle were always telling her was better than “nothing”. She would eventually have a better looking wardrobe, but first things first, she had to get to her birthday and get her own apartment. She also had to make sure nobody learned of her secret, but she was almost certain that the eighteen year old down the street, Austin Callum, already knew of her secret since she was ten. He had caught her on a stroll under a full moon and looked at her as though he was smitten by her. As they grew, his lust for her had grown into puppy love. Every time he sees her outside or on her way to do chores for the neighbors, or really anything at all, he would follow after her and keep her company.

Her secret that she hid from her “family” was that she was born a werewolf. She was the daughter of an alpha. Her pack was her mother, father, and herself—well it was until her parents died. Her uncle, from what her father had told her from the age of three was that her uncle blocked his wolf spirit before he ever had a chance to gain it. Then he fell for a human (Aunt Katie) and that was it. Since Uncle Raymond never got his wolf, Declan would never get his either. She glanced at the clock as she finished putting the laundry baskets in their proper bedrooms and set about making dinner. She put the ham with pineapple rings and maraschino cherries with coke and brown sugar glaze into the oven and started the egg salad and the macaroni and cheese.

The door opening signaled that aunt Katie, uncle Raymond, and Declan were all arriving home and would be wanting dinner. Aunt Katie appeared in the kitchen and started in on her about dinner.

“Did you make dinner little slave?” She sneered in Chelle’s face as she went to the stove to check it. “You useless miserable wretch! You should have every plate full of food and the dinner set out on the table!” She screamed at Chelle. “Just go to your room and DONT EXPECT DINNER!” Chelle didn’t have to be told twice, she scurried to her room as aunt Katie put the food on the table and started plating the family’s food. She sat on her bed and closed her eyes for a moment thinking of how she couldn’t wait to get her apartment and talk to Mr. Williams. She heard Raymond and Declan come in the door and she kept very quiet. Sure enough, uncle Raymond started badmouthing Chelle as soon as he walked into the kitchen and saw aunt Katie putting the last of the food on their plates. He came and pounded on Chelles door and said sternly “You won’t be getting dinner tonight or breakfast tomorrow. Why did you let aunt Katie plate the food?”

“I didn’t LET her, I was getting to that as she walked in and banished me to my room. However, i won’t be home to do the cooking and cleaning anymore as I’ve been offered a job and an advance of what I lack to move into my apartment since I’m supposed to move out when I’m eighteen.” Chelle couldn’t believe that she just said that to her uncle....she figured she would be in so much trouble if he thought she was back talking him.

Raymond, Declan, and Katie were all listening on the other side of the door as she let the words spill out. They stared at the door, taken aback that she blatantly talked back and that she would no longer be their slave, but as per their agreement, she only had sanctuary until she was eighteen and she was making that happen with this job and the advance so they didn’t have any say in this decision of hers—especially if they wanted her out of their dwelling.

“FINE. Thanks for letting us know we will be starving when we arrive home from now on!” Uncle Raymond growled at her and beckoned his family down to the dinner table where their meal had grown to room temperature instead of piping hot. He wore a scowl through the entire dinner. Aunt Katie tried to ask Declan and Raymond how their day was, but all Chelle heard was low key grunts and other unhappy noises coming from uncle Raymond. Declan muttered things like “work was fine. Got a lot of work done on the house today.”, but he wasn’t much for talking either since his cousin dropped a huge bombshell that that they wouldn’t have her around to cook and clean anymore. That bombshell kind of ruined the entire dinner as they all ate in silence.

After dinner was over and they were heading upstairs to their bedrooms, aunt Katie and uncle Raymond both knocked on her door and told her the dishes better be washed before morning. She assured them she would get the dishes done before morning and she laid there on her cot, listening as their footsteps were heavy on the stairs and sawdust fell from the stair creases onto her blanket. When all of their doors closed, she silently opened her door and crept into the kitchen. She located the leftover meal scraps and took them to her room to make them disappear (since she wasn’t allowed to have dinner but they expected the scraps to be tossed into the garbage, she snuck them to her room and ate them. When she had finished the scraps, she very quietly took the scrap dish back to the kitchen and set out to do all the dishes, sweep, and mop the kitchen. It only took her about fifteen minutes to clean the kitchen and then as quietly as she could, she snuck out the front door.