Rina Zante
Fourty-five minutes ago
"We're here," the cab driver said loudly, his scratchy voice waking me up in the process.
"Oh," I muttered, rubbing my eyes to remove the sleep from them. "Grazie."
The journey to the Alpha's house hadn't been a breezy one, rather it was quite tiring considering the fact that we lived in the slums and on the opposite side of town.
"Rina," my mother called out, her tone tired as well. "Please get out the bags while I pay the taxi fare."
"Yes, mama." I got out of the car and trudged to the back to get out our bags from its trunk.
The suitcases we used to travel had nothing much in them, just a few meager clothes which was virtually next to nothing. But it was all we had in this life.
I brought out the bags, kept them by the sidewalks and waited for my mom, my eyes roving around. We had parked directly in front of the Alpha's home, a great giant wall and gate guarding the house within. A few security men parolled around, their questioning eyes every now and then, landing on me and my mom who was still in the car.
At the moment, she was arguing with the driver. "Per favore sir, collect fifty euros, instead of sixty euros. The fifty is all I have." My mother was begging. Again, yet another poverty-derived spectacle.
I sighed, my heart clutching at the fact that we were one of the poorest people in the district. Right from birth, I had grown up in a very poor family. My mother worked as a maid and my dad, a gardener until he died last year.
Due to my less standing in the society, people looked down on me, including my classmates from school. Right from first to twelfth grade, I had been the social outcast, with no friend to care or even share my plight with me. They bullied me, called me names and basically made my whole school life a pitiful misery.
To top it off as the sour cherry on top, my wolf was very weak and I was blessed, or should I say cursed rather, with a curvy body. A body that always made me feel insecure, so insecure that I wore baggy clothes to cover up. Every other person, females most especially, I had come across had a slim, toned down body, their shape like those of the fashion models.
Sometimes I wondered, why did the moon goddess hate me so much as to make me suffer this much? I have asked that question a million times, and I was yet to receive an answer.
"You have got to be kidding me! 50 euros? That ride from the slimy slums of Sant to here is actually 60 euros and yet here you are telling me you have 50 euros only? No way. Please pay me my money in full," the man ranted, his voice going higher with every sentence he said.
My mom begged again, but the man was firm. He even grabbed her bag, insisting that she pay him but I knew that that was all she had. This was pure embarrassment, the guards had even started gazing at us intently so I grabbed my purse to retrieve the last ten euros I possessed. I had worked for it last summer.
"Here." I stuck the ten euros in his face. He took it without as much as a sound and returned my mom's bag to her. I went to her side and helped her out of the car, my mom whispering a silent thank you. I nodded in acknowledgement.
When we were a safe distance away from the car, he zoomed off, shouting, "Poor slackers!"
We pretended not to take heed of his insults and proceeded to the gate. The argument had taken some of the time allotted for us to arrive.
When we were done with the necessary security policies, we were ushered in. For a moment, my mom and I stood in awe, wonder shining in our eyes.
The official pack house was huge, a mansion even. Painted a startling light yellow, it sat at the end of the pathway, a magnificent sight to behold. A fountaine stood in the middle and there was a huge pool as well by the side. Cars manned the open garage, fleets of expensive, luxury cars. All in all, the place was a beauty.
We continued walking, lost in the spectacular sight before us. When we got to the front door, a guard stationed at the door asked, "Are you Mrs. Camila Zante?"
"Yes, I am," my mom replied, nodding her curly hair that I had inherited from her. I had also inherited my hated curvy body from her as well. "This is my daughter too, Rina."
I straightened up, keeping my best smile on my face. The guard, a man who appeared to be in his early twenties, ignored me and pored through a list. He looked up again. "Okay, you're here for the maid job right?"
"Yes, I am. My daughter is working with me as well," mom answered.
Thank the goddess for this one good thing she had done. My mom had secured a job, one that would pay well seeing that we would be working in the Alpha's house. It was a great honor to be frank and looking at the environment, I was more than glad to be here.
"Alright, you may go in. A worker will be with you shortly to show you around and to your abode."
We both replied, "Thank you."
Without much ado, my mom and I stepped into what we thought was our bright future. A future we looked forward to, seeing that fate had smiled at us. But we were wrong, very very wrong. And I didn't know it back then, but that was the first mistake I made. Agreeing to live in the same house with Vincenzo, the alpha's son. And it was a mistake I would live with forever.
Rina ZanteThirty minutes agoWe stood waiting for the worker, as we studied the place we were in. The interior of the house was even more beautiful. Intricate arches, mosaic tiles and precious artifacts adorned the waiting room. All in all, I couldn't help the joy that bubbled through me at the thought of working here. Even if it was as a maid. Maybe things were looking up finally.A woman in a checkered apron approached us, her black hair tied in a bun. She appeared to be in her early thirties. "Buona giornata. Welcome to Alpha Moreno's residence. I am Lucia the head maid, and I will show you to your room, follow me."As we ambled up the stairs, Lucia informed us that when we reached our room, she was going to give us an hour to settle down, freshen up and change into our uniforms, then another maid would be sent to our room to give us a proper tour of the mansion, after which we would be sent to her office to be assigned our places of duty.We nodded along absentmindedly to everyth
Rina ZanteTwenty-five minutes agoFrom the hallway, Mia walked us down the stairs into an empty space. By our right was the living room which overlooked the spacious lobby. My eyes slid across, taking in the elephant tusks that rimmed the center table and the life-sized wolf stationed beside the fireplace.Shivers ran down my spine. The good kind, though.Mia turned to us, her swift motion snatched the breath out of my lungs. Oh, Cavolo."This is where we assemble every morning for the disbursement of duties. 4am, you are here. If you aren't, Signora Lucia puts your name down. Understood?"Mamma nodded; I didn't. I didn't think I liked this Mia girl, but then what could I do? She was my senior. Therefore, I had to ignore my bad opinion of her and do as she said."This way. We don't have all day." She marched forward. The room next to the empty space was the dining. I couldn't help but notice how inexpensive it looked, given its moderate size and the fact that there weren't any forms
Rina ZanteTwenty-five minutes agoI jammed my eyes shut, hoping that perhaps it was a dream. There should be no way what I'd seen was real. But upon slipping my eyes open, I was met with the same thing. A naked couple and littered around them were their clothes. My gaze accidently fell on the guy's penis, and I coughed out an apology."I'm s-s-sorry, so sorry for barging in. I was looking for my bracelet and I thought it-it- would be in here... I'm so sorry, so very s-s-sorry."I didn't look up to know what their reaction was. My goal was to pick up my bracelet which I'd let go off on sighting this gory scene, and hoot off. Luckily, I spotted it lying some feet away. I grabbed it and scampered out, while stuttering, "I will be going now."With swift steps, I climbed the stairs and got to my room. Mamma looked up from her bag, and said, "Did you find it?"I nodded. Despite my shaken self I added, "I must have dropped while we were touring.""Told you so." She turned to the bag and beg
Vincenzo MorenoI flexed my fingers and sat upright, placing myself in a better position for ease of typing. Okay, here we go....The blank monitor stared at me, or rather, it sneered at me. Nothing seemed to be forthcoming. Nothing! Should be about an hour now since I grabbed my laptop. An hour had passed since I took my seat, ready to begin my term paper, but there had been zero progress. Niente!Shutting my eyes, I cracked my neck—summoning up my mojo. No need to give up. I knew I got this. And so, I reopened my eyes and looked straight at the keyboard. Uno, due, via!The words flowed for some time, before they eluded me. Frustrated, I tapped on backspace and tried again:The local news agency is such that accounts for the globalisation...Just like that, I lost it. The words faded into thin air. Burning with annoyance, I shut the laptop and buried My face in my palm. Fuck!The reason for my inefficiency wasn't lost to me. The reason was quite stupid that I banged my palm on the de
RINAI pulled the kitchen door open and stepped inside. Down came the bucket on the floor; I plunged the mop inside. Pulling it out, I splatted it on the floor and began moping, my countenance, sullen.The only thing playing in my mind was how I would tell Mammà I wanted out. Yes, I no longer cared we had a comfortable place to stay, didn't care we could afford to get three square meals. I just wanted to go home. Back to Baiadicenere. Back to my peaceful neighbourhood. At least, there won't be any macho guy staring daggers at me and threatening heaven and earth. Granted, bullying was a usual phenomenon to me, but never ever had I been this insulted, and for what exactly? Simply because I'd said the truth?I scoffed. Unbelievable. Rich people were nasty. They were…I stopped myself. No, this wasn't me. As much as Luna's son had pushed me to the wall, I couldn't speak ill of the entire family. After all, the Alpha and Luna hadn't done me bad. It was just their obnoxious son. Why does h
Rina ZanteHe... I pinched myself hard on my elbow. A very tight squeeze that'd stifle my irrational fear and timidity. It had to stop! My only job was to clean the toilet. That was all. I didn't know how it happened, but my gaze flashed at him. It freaking did. And that was how I met his wet body. Yet again, this was my first time seeing his naked body, albeit without him being fully naked and as much as I loathed to admit it, my bully was drop-dead gorgeous. Raven dark hair, spiky due to moisture, flattened against his head, drops of water trailing down his bronze skin. His blue gaze held mine, a piercing intensity to them, as he raked a hand through his hair, the dragon tattoo on his biceps flexing with the movement. He was sexy and he knew it.I shut my eyes as my airway constricted. I couldn't get that picture off my mind. Especially his rock hard chest that sprouted a few strands of dark hair,, his abs accentuated to a full display. Still with my eyes shut, I sensed him leave
Rina ZanteI placed our lunch on the tray and left the kitchen for our room. Mammà laid asleep on the bed, a light snores filling the room. A little sad smile sat on my lips. Watching her this way broke my heart. She was exhausted, having worked her butt off today. I tapped her. "Mammà."The snoring came to a stop as she stirred. "Hmm?" Slowly, her eyes let open. "The food is here.""Grazie a dio." I set the tray on the floor as she rose. Her loud yawn erupted and I glanced up to see her stretching. That was right: she was tired. Mammà had done quite a chore today by stoking up the kitchen with supplies. The market was particularly congested today. The rush had really stressed her out. I helped Mammà sit on the floor before securing my spot opposite her. It was true we had a table in the room. However, it was as good as useless since only one chair existed here. Besides, Mammà and I were fond of eating together on a single plate. We ate in silence and from the look on her face
Rina Zante"Che la dea della luna ti protegga.""Così sia." I opened my eyes, my amusement not hidden. "I'm relocating upstairs, Mammà, not leaving the county. ""You always need prayers. Always. I tell you this all the time." Although her tone was stern, she bore a smile.I pulled her to a hug, and planted a kiss on her chubby cheek. "Ti voglio bene.""I love you too." We pulled apart. "Remember what I told you. Be nice—I trust you on that anyway. And don't ever hesitate to let me know should you find anything disturbing, okay?"I nodded. I had told Mammà that Piccolo Maestro hadn't offended me in any way. Instead it was Mia I was concerned about. In my words, "she gives me bad vibes." Now, I knew it was wrong of me to put the blame on Mia. She hadn't really been nice, but then, she hadn't been that much of a problem to me. However, desperate situations called for drastic actions. I had to do what I had to do.Mamma had told me not to worry. She too had noticed that from her. All I n