Chapter1
1165 Words
The mop handle chafed my palms as I dragged it across the cracked tile floor for the fourth time that morning. My stomach twisted in painful knots, empty since last night’s scraps, if half a dry piece of bread even counted. I blinked back the dizziness that came from too much work and too little food. My arms ached, my back throbbed, and my lips were dry, but I didn’t stop. If I did, she’d come back.
And as if summoned by the thought, the door swung open with a creak and slammed against the wall.
“Lazy brat!” Ms. Kendra barked, storming in like a whirlwind of vinegar and rot. Her sagging face twisted with disgust as her sharp eyes landed on me. “You call that clean? Do it again. I want to see my reflection in the floor!”
I lowered my gaze immediately, shoulders tense. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Speak louder!”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said again, forcing the words out.
She stepped closer, her boots thudding hard against the floor, and jabbed a finger into my shoulder. “And when you’re done with this, scrub the boys’ bathroom, from top to bottom. I want it spotless. Then fold the laundry. And if you miss a single sock, you’ll regret it.”
“I understand.”
She let out a harsh snort. “Good for nothing. You think we don’t know why your parents dumped you here? Even they couldn’t stand your wolfless hide.” Her lips curled in a sneer. “Should’ve drowned you in a river.”
I bit down on the inside of my cheek. She always knew what to say to leave me hollow inside.
Satisfied with her cruelty, she turned and stalked off, slamming the door behind her.
I barely had time to breathe before the next storm slithered in. Mr. Hollis leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed,his smile oily.
“Well, well,” he drawled, eyes flicking over me in that way that made my skin crawl. “Still slaving away, huh? Bet you like it. Must feel good to be useful, even for a little runt like you.”
I kept my head down, hands gripping the mop. Don’t respond. Don’t look. Don’t breathe too loud.
He chuckled lowly. “Bet you’d be good at other things too... if someone took the time to teach you.”
He stepped closer, and I froze.
But then, just as quickly, he backed off, shaking his head with mock pity. “Pathetic little thing. You’ll die in this place. Everyone knows it.”
And just like that, he walked out, laughing under his breath.
I stood there for a moment, my heart pounding, my hands shaking. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. But I did neither. Instead, I picked up the mop and started again, scrubbing harder, faster, like I could erase the words, the looks, the way they made me feel like nothing.
When the floor was finally gleaming and my fingers were raw, I dragged the bucket down the hallway to the laundry room. I didn’t make it ten steps before I was ambushed.
“There she is! Dung girl!”
A chorus of laughter erupted as three of the older kids rounded the corner. Macy, the ringleader, smirked at me, arms folded.
“Did you scrub the toilets with your hair again, dung girl?” she sneered.
“She probably licked them clean with that filthy mouth,” Jordan added with a cackle.
“Why do you even bother?” Tessa chimed in, fake sweetness dripping from her tone. “No one’s ever going to want a wolfless mutt like you. Not even the Moon Goddess could fix that.”
They laughed harder, shoving past me roughly. My shoulder slammed into the wall, and I sucked in a breath but didn’t respond. It said a lot of my status if little kids younger than my 19 years of age were bullying me.
“Say something,” Macy taunted. “Oh wait, you know your place, huh?”
I nodded slightly, head bowed. That seemed to satisfy them. They walked away, still laughing.
Alone again, I shuffled into the laundry room and began folding. The basket was overflowing, and I knew it would take at least two hours to finish. My stomach growled again, and I glanced at the clock on the wall.
Almost noon.
I folded a shirt slowly, letting my hands work on autopilot. Outside the door, I heard giggling.
“Did you hear?” a girl whispered excitedly.
“Of course! Everyone’s talking about it,” another replied.
I perked up and took a step closer to the door, pressing my ear to the c***k.
“The coronation is tomorrow night!” the first girl said, barely able to contain her glee. “Alpha Theron is going to take his father’s place officially.”
“Finally,” the second girl breathed. “He’s so hot. Did you see him at the last pack gathering?”
“I did! And he looked right at me, I swear.”
A third girl joined in, her voice snide. “You’re all dreaming. He’s going to choose a strong, powerful she-wolf. Not some squealing puppy.”
I hesitated. The name Theron tugged at something in the back of my mind. The late Alpha’s son. I remembered seeing him once, from a distance. He had looked nothing like the wolves in this place, there had been something powerful, quiet,troubled and distant about him.
I stepped into view, clutching a folded towel. “What… what coronation?” I asked quietly.
The three girls turned to me, and I instantly regretted speaking.
One of them rolled her eyes. “Don’t talk to us.”
Another snickered. “Why would you care? It’s not like you’re invited.”
The third girl tilted her head mockingly. “It’s for real wolves. Not wolfless garbage.”
They turned and walked off, whispering and laughing again.
I didn’t follow. I didn’t say anything. I just turned back to the pile of laundry and started folding again.
Theron becoming Alpha was none of my business. My world wasn’t the world of coronations and ceremonies. It was mops, cold floors, insults, and hunger.
All I needed was to survive long enough to escape. I had planned to leave last year when I turned eighteen, but Ms. Kendra had found my stash of saved coins and burned my only change of clothes. She’d threatened to report me to the Alpha guard for theft if I tried to run again. Said she’d tell them I was dangerous. A traitor.
And I believed she would.
So I stayed.
But every day, the dream of leaving got smaller, dimmer.
Even now, as I folded another shirt and stared at the cracked window in t
he corner, I felt it slipping further from my fingers.
I had nothing.
No wolf.
No family.
No future.
- Writer
