Rina Zante
Thirty minutes ago
We 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 everything she said. To be more specific I wasn't really paying attention to all she was saying because in all honesty, I was distracted by the house's interior. I had never seen such lavish furnishings, it was an exotic masterpiece. There was not even a speck of dust to be seen. At all. Wow.
We arrived at a corridor. I could only hear a faint chatter. They were hard to distinguish since my wolf was weak and I couldn't hear things that much as a regular wolf would. Walking down the corridor, all I could think of was how I would never go back to my old life starting from today. At least now we would be able to afford a better lifestyle.
"The maid quarters, ladies," Lucia announced, slightly turning her head to us. I snapped out of my melancholic trail of thoughts, focusing as she stopped in front of the third door to the right. Pulling out a set of keys from the pocket of her apron, she unlocked the door and went on talking, "So this is where you two are going to be sleeping. The bathrooms are down the hall."
"Feel free to go in," she added as she opened the door and handed my mom a key while she slipped the other 3 back into her pocket. Then she left.
Stealthily, we walked in, as if we walked so fast, we would wake up and see that all our good fortune had all been a dream.
But we knew it wasn't, especially when we sat down on the very soft bed. a little sound of awe escaping my mother's mouth. I looked at her and the very dark, heavily lashed eyes that I inherited from her stared back at me and we both beamed widely at each other. That was enough communication between us- finally, at long last, things were turning around in a good way for us.
"Hope the room is to your liking? If not there's another-" a voice asked. I averted my head quickly. It was Lucia. She stood in front of the door. I thought she had left but it seemed like she came back.
Mom replied, gratitude in her voice, "No, signora Lucia. This is more than enough for us. Thank you very much and may the goddess bless you."
Lucia's lips widened in humor. "Very good, so I will leave you both to settle in and freshen up. Remember in an hour's time someone will be coming to give you a tour so ensure you are ready because it's going to be your first test. I need to know that you can keep to time."
"Yes ma'am, thank you very much," mum said while I bowed my head.
"Very good. Your uniforms are in the closet over there." She pointed at the white closet by the corner of the room before she finally left the room.
Immediately she was sure Lucia was gone, mum took me into her arms and squeezed me gently. "You'll see bambina, good things will come our way from now henceforth." Her tone was cheerful as I fell into her comforting hug. This was the most I had seen her smile and be so happy since dad died. It was refreshing to see.
Our room was spacious and simply furnished. On one side were two small beds opposite each other, a bedside cabinet beside both beds, and a night lamp on both cabinets, then on the other side was the white little walk-in closet where our uniforms hung.
Before the one hour was up, we had already settled in and changed into our uniforms, which happened to be a very loose black garment with a white collar that was clearly not designed for fashion purposes. The gown was paired with white socks and brown loafers.
My mum laughed heartily again, drinking in the good fortune we'd seen ourselves in, glee shining in our eyes until we were interrupted by a knock on the door. I opened the door and saw a tall and slender lady, her golden hair was in a neat bun like Lucia's. Dressed in the same uniform as us but with hers better fitting, she looked down at me with icy blue eyes. They slowly assessed me, most likely taking in my brown skin and voluptuous curves that could still be seen even in the oversized clothes I wore.
When her eyes finally met mine I knew from the disgusted expression etched on her face, that I hadn't passed whatever mental evaluation she had just carried out. But then, despite the ache in my heart at her withdrawal, I was still used to this kind of treatment. From where I was coming from, it was nothing new to me.
Nevertheless, I wore a hopeful smile and moved away from the door to let her in. "Hello, I am Rina Zante and this is my mother, Camila Zante." My mum waved at her. 'We are the new housema-"
'Si, si, I know," she cut in rudely, as she sauntered in. "I am Mia, the assistant head maid and signora Lucia has sent me over to show you two around, so if you both are ready, we can get on it." She uttered this with little to no emotions, her beautiful face pinched like this was the last place on earth she wanted to be. From all endeavors, right from the guards, it was seeming like we were the only ones pretty excited here.
"We are both ready." I heard my mom say, my excitement winding down.
"Perfectta. Let's be on our way then," Mia said, already walking out, with us walking closely behind. "Pay close attention because there are some places that you must never ever step your foot into. Ever." Her voice echoed, bouncing off the shiny walls and curdling the blood in my veins.
I knew that I should have heeded her warning back then. I really should have because the next scene that happened afterwards made me wish that I did.
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
VINCENZO “You’ll be driving Rina to school,’ Mother spoke up, tone firm. I cannot, to save my damn life, believe that this was what was happening right here, right now. Madre literally stood her ground, her thin lips further flattened by her deadpan expression. For the billionth time, I'd got to say: this was a joke. Madre had got to be pulling my legs. Maybe it was part of her "antics". One time, she'd found my gaming console lying carelessly on the floor and hid it as a way of teaching me a lesson. Now, that'd happened a long time ago. However, I couldn't help but think in that direction. Madre had been quite pissed, given that I hadn't consulted her before making Rina my maid. "Excuse me?" I wanted to be sure I'd misheard Madre. "I don't understand." "What don't you understand? Driving Rina to school and helping her locate her hall?" "Yes, that part." My voice was unbelievably calm despite the raging inferno in me. I still wanted to get the situation straight. Madre simp