Uncaged Spirit

The sun filtered into the small, cold, damp space I slept in. My body wasn't willing to wake up just yet, but the mental image of Ivan marching through the door with his broom ready to whack my head made me roll off the hard, cold ground. My body felt stiff as I stretched to enable blood flow. “I'd kill for a comfortable bed and a cup of hot chocolate." I moaned as my mind dropped snippets of a life I knew I couldn't have. I changed out of my dirty worn-out dress into a fairly clean but even more worn-out dress than the one I'd taken off, rolled my hair into a partially tidy bun, sniffed my armpit, and winced at the horrible stench. I left the room and went out to the shop. Ivan glanced at me and then wrinkled his nose in a disapproving gesture I'd gotten used to. I reckoned it was his way of saying good morning. I adjusted my dress one final time as I grabbed the broom and moved down the aisle of the shop. At this early hour, there were a few people in the shop, but it was mostly elites—people who were too rich to come when everybody else was shopping. I started cleaning the shelves while trying to convince myself that it wasn't such a bad idea to eat the stale bread I'd gotten from Ivan as a goodwill gesture. I'd argue the bread had gone bad roughly two weeks ago, and part of it had been eaten off by a set of teeth that weren't humans at all. Probably rats “It's either that or I'm starving," I whispered to myself. I turned the left corner into the canned food section when I saw a familiar face stashing canned soup into a handbag. I realized the customer's face looked familiar because just last week I'd seen her doing the same thing but for sunscreen. She's stealing the weirdest sh*t, I thought as I watched her. She looked rich enough to buy the shop and the owner if she wanted, yet here she was stealing a measly can of soup. I went along my way, ignoring her, ready to go about my day without getting involved, when she pointed at me. “Somebody look!" She gasped. "That girl just stole a can of soup.” Her words shocked me, given that I'd just seen her doing the same thing, and yet here she was pointing out another culprit. I turned around, following her stretched finger, hoping to find the thief behind me, but there was no one there. It took me a while to realize she was talking about me, and at that time, she had managed to get my attention. of most of the people in the shop. Luckily, not Ivan yet. “No, no." I waved my hand as I shook my head. "I work here, lady,” I said, pointing at the apron around my tiny waist. She ignored this and continued with her ridiculous claim that I was somehow a thief, and that was when it hit me what she was trying to do. She'd noticed I saw her taking the soup, so she wanted to get me in trouble. Classic rich people sh*t. The men she'd managed to get on her side were beginning to approach me with a look on their faces that made me realize just how much trouble I was in. “I know her type." One said as he glared viciously at me. “They'd rob the place dry if you let ‘em." “No." I shook my head. “I didn't take anything. I work here." They ignored my words completely and just kept coming. I had to save myself, and there was only one way to do it. “She's the thief here," I said, pointing at my accuser. Her face went red immediately. “I saw her put a can of soup inside her bag. Search it, and you'll see I'm right." Somehow, my attempt to clear my name only made the men angrier. They were on me before I could save myself, and they attacked me with blows that knocked the living hell out of me. I tried to harden my body like I'd seen once on TV, but it didn't help out one bit. At this point, I knew begging would be hopeless, but I tried anyway. Their fists and the heel of their boots continued striking my body until they forced me to the ground. I silently prayed for Ivan to notice the onslaught and be instrumental in my salvation. “Stop that immediately." A voice said it firmly. To my surprise, the assault ended. I managed to get up to see that it wasn't Ivan. He was standing close to the woman, offering his apologies for my misconduct. I turned around and saw a man standing above me. He was tall enough that his shadow engulfed my form, yet his gentle aura was comforting. “Are you okay?" He asked with eyes that showed the level of his concern. I nodded slowly because talking would have been impossible. My sides hurt badly enough for me to suspect a few of my ribs were partially broken. My attackers tried to explain to him that I'd stolen and tried to accuse the lady of being the thief. He listened to the absurd story silently, his eyes moving around, not missing a thing. When they were done, he nodded and said, “That's fine. I'm sure she has learned her lesson as well as the power of your boots. Very manly of you." Their faces went red as his insults hit hard. They began to back away, and I felt relief, but the woman moved forward, her eyes round and vicious. “She insulted me, Stormie!” She said, waving a finger in his face. “I'm not letting that slide until she's persecuted like a thief." He tried to calm her down, but she wasn't having it. After several attempts, he finally said, “How about she's arrested for a day?" The woman considered this for a moment, and then she agreed to it. Ivan escorted the guards in, and despite my hero’s protests, the men dragged me away. “Don't worry." He whispered to me. “You'll be fine." They dumped me in a smelly cell, and after several hours, I was starting to miss the stale bread. My aching body was the only thing that kept me conscious, and the sun went down, taking my hopes of getting out with it. A few hours later, the cell opened, and the man who had rescued me stepped in. He smiled apologetically at me and said, “I'm sorry you had to go through all that. Lolly is full of crap, but she's also Alpha's girlfriend, so her word is golden regardless." I nodded as I wondered who he was. "Where are my manners? I'm Stormie. The beta of the pack." I gasped in disbelief. He seemed to be happy with my reaction. He asked what I was going to do next, and I hesitated for a moment, but then I told him how hopeless my situation was. “I have an offer for you." He said it, smiling". How would you like to work for the Alpha?”