Chapter 1: Slave
Chloe's POV
"Aaah! My back! I winced as I crouched to scrub the floors. I had been beaten all day, tortured, and deprived of food.
This is the 45th time scrubbing the kitchen floors today. Many would see me and spill their hot coffee on the floor, ordering me to clean it up, while others would spill their milkshake or tea, and I'd have to start scrubbing all over again.
Sometimes, I feel like retaliating, but I dared not. My punishment would either be getting hard slashes with whips all night, or being made to sleep in the dungeons for a week without food or water.
I was getting used to this already. This had been my harsh fate ever since I lost my family during a Rogue attack.
My mother always said, "your Pack is your family;" but it never felt that way to me. My Pack members enjoyed beating and maltreating me.
I was treated like a mere slave in a place where I should've been treated like I belonged to a family.
I heaved a sigh as I finished scrubbing, and I gasped when I checked the time.
"1am!"
It's my birthday already. I turned eighteen today, but, of course, no one knew that. I was literally made to do all the work. Other Omegas in the Pack had their days off, but I never got a day off. I was made to work till they were satisfied.
As I headed out of the Packhouse, Zoey, Eric’s mistress, called out my name.
Eric is Alpha Randolph's son and the next Alpha of my Pack; the MoonStone Pack. He is ruthless and doesn't have a conscience. His mistress and our next Luna, Zoey, isn't any different from him. She is so mean.
"You lousy slave! "Come here!" Zoey called out again, and I stopped in my tracks suddenly, not wanting to have to deal with her wrath.
"Where do you think you're going?" She asked, almost shouting.
"I… I'm going to my cottage. "I'm done cleaning." I said nervously with my head bowed.
"Oh!" She exclaimed with widened eyes. "Is that so? "Come with me," She ordered, and I followed her like a dumb puppy.
I watched as she went into the kitchen, the same kitchen that I had just finished scrubbing. She opened the fridge, took out an orange juice and poured all its contents on the floor.
I heard my wolf; Nyx, whimper at her actions.
"See?" Zoey said, raising her eyebrows. "You're not done, slave. You have more cleaning to do now."
"Please, I-" I tried to say, but she slapped and kicked me, making me stumble to the ground weakly.
"Get to work you lousy slave!" She yelled again, before kicking and storming off angrily.
I crouched onto the floor again, scrubbing hard. I hadn't eaten all day, and I was extremely weak.
"Don't worry Chloe. You're eighteen today, and I'm certain we'd find our mate, and once he's found, we won't be subjected to such treatments again." Nyx said, reassuring me.
I couldn't help but smile at her words. She was right. I'd meet my mate soon, and I won’t have to live like this anymore.
"Chloe!" I heard Alpha Randolph bark, startling me out of my thoughts.
He stormed into the kitchen furiously. "How dare you!" He yelled, gripping my right ear hard.
"Alpha, I-"
"Shut up!!!" He barked using his Alpha tone, and I quivered with fear. "How dare you disrespect Zoey, your future Luna?"
"I… I didn't." I begged, but he tightened his grip on my ear even more.
"I only told her to scrub the floors properly and she talked back to me, Alpha. Calling me lousy." Zoey lied.
"Alpha, I did no such thing." I confessed, hoping he'd believe me.
"So you're calling me a liar?" Zoey asked. She seemed to be enjoying this. I could see her grin mischievously. "See what I'm saying, Alpha? She's talking back at me, and indirectly calling me a liar."
"I… I'm sorry. I pleaded, even when I knew I was completely innocent. But of course, my pleas weren't heard as Zoey suddenly turned me into her punching bag.
She's extremely strong, one of the best warriors in our Pack, and that's why Alpha Randolph and Luna Silva like her so much. They always said she'd make a good Luna to Eric one day.
Zoey continued to kick, punch, slap, and beat me all over. My head throbbed, and I could taste blood. Alpha Randolph just stood and watched like he was watching a show. He never tried to intervene or save me. Of course, what did I expect anyway?
"This should teach you a lesson!" She yelled. "Never disrespect me again, slave!" She said as she planted another hard slap on my face.
Then, she scoffed and stormed off angrily, making sure to pour another round of juice on the floor before leaving.
"You're lucky she didn't order for you to be slashed or send you to the dungeons." Alpha Randolph said.
He stared at me irritably, before walking out of the kitchen too.
In my weak state, I started scrubbing the floors again, cleaning my tears with the back of my palm. The wounds Zoey had inflicted on me were deep and the bruises were mild. Unlike other wolves, I couldn’t heal fast because I was malnourished and thin.
"Why Nyx? Why do we have to go through all this torture?" I asked my wolf as hot tears spilled down my cheeks. I could feel her sad too.
"I don't think I can do this anymore." I continued, but Nyx remained silent. She was also hurting.
I wiped my tears and finished scrubbing, hoping this would be the last round of the day.
As I stood up to leave, the smell of cinnamon and mint suddenly hit my nostrils and my wolf senses were on high alert.
I could feel Nyx jumping excitedly.
"Mate!" She squealed, finding it hard to contain her excitement.
I followed the scent and got to the kitchen door. Standing in front of me was Eric Stone.
"Mate!!" Nyx continued to squeal excitedly.
Eric, the ruthless Alpha Randolph's son, is my mate?
No! No!! No!!! This is clearly a nightmare.