Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

 Aria’s POV

“No—please—don’t throw me out. I’ll work harder. I’ll only eat once a day. Please,” I cried harder. 

I was still on my knees, clinging to her like a desperate child, shaking with fear. My tears wet her skirt, but she didn’t even flinch.

She sneered. “Throw you out? No, sweet girl. That’d be a waste.”

My breath hitched. “What?”

“I sold you.”

The words echoed inside me like thunder. My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Lyra’s voice pierced through the tension. “What do you mean sold? Are you serious?”

My stepmother walked back into the living room, almost dancing. “Of course I’m serious. A rogue wolf came looking around, desperate for a bride. Told me he didn’t care if she was tainted. In fact…” she let out a sick little laugh, “he preferred it.”

She reached into a drawer and pulled out a small brown sack. It clinked when she tossed it on the table. Gold coins spilled out like poison.

Lyra's eyes widened. “He paid this much for her? She’s not even worth a damn copper.”

I flinched, but didn’t respond. I didn't care about the insult, especially when my life was at stake. 

“He’s desperate,” my stepmother said with a shrug. “Said he’d pay anything for someone obedient and… untouched.”

Lyra scoffed. “He should’ve just bought a dog.”

They laughed together. Their voices dug into my ears like nails.

“I won’t go,” I whispered. “You can’t sell me. I’m not… I’m not a thing.”

“Oh, honey,” my stepmother leaned in, cupping my bruised cheek mockingly, “You’re not a thing. You’re a burden. A broken, useless burden that I’m finally getting paid to throw away.”

“It’s not fair!” I shouted, the pain in my chest exploding. “You’ve treated me like trash for eighteen years! I’ve done nothing but serve you—and now this?”

I didn’t know where the courage came from. Maybe I had reached my limit or maybe the fear had curdled into rage.

“I curse you both,” I whispered through gritted teeth. “For everything. One day, you’ll choke on your cruelty.”

That did it.

Lyra lunged at me, her fists flying towards me, her face filled with rage. “You little whore!” she screamed, slapping me hard. “You think you get to curse me? Me?”

She kicked me again, her foot smashing into my side. I gasped, curling in on myself, but she didn’t stop.

“Impure bitch! Worthless freak! You’re lucky someone even wants you!”

“Enough!” Stepmother pulled her back. “You’ll ruin her face. He paid for her whole body.”

They dragged me down the hall and threw me into my room. The door slammed shut, and I collapsed on the floor, holding my ribs.

Through the door, Lyra’s voice rang out like poison.

“Only rogues want impure wolves. You’ll be their little toy now, sucking dick for scraps. That’s all you’re good for.”

The both laughed as they retreated. 

I knew I had to do something, I wasn’t ready for that kind of life. I don't know what rogues did to impure wolves, but I knew it was no better than what werewolves do. I knew I had to escape, I had no choice. 

I waited for nightfall before I could finally execute my little escape plan.

When the moon was high and the house quiet, I pried open my tiny window. The frame had rusted, its hinges creaked, but it gave way with a painful groan.

The window was barely big enough for my thin frame. My skin scraped against the jagged wood, ripping open old wounds, but I didn’t stop. Blood trickled down my arms and legs as I dropped to the ground below, landing hard.

Immediately I got up, and ran into the woods. I have never been happy that we lived in the woods but now, I can never be more happier. 

I ran past the trees, going deeper into the forest, I knew this place very well, I was the one who gets the woods for fire, sometimes get some meat, but even with that, it still felt strange because for the first time, I wasn't in the woods to serve as a slave to Lyra and her mother, I was finally free. 

The cold biting into my skin, barefoot on stones and twigs. Every branch sliced at my arms, every step jolted my broken ribs but none of those stopped me. 

The woods stretched endlessly. I didn’t know where I was going—I just wanted to get far away from everything, a way from the house, away from them, away from him, the man waiting to claim me like property.

My legs gave out when I reached a clearing. I fell to my knees, panting, trying to catch my breath. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it might explode.

“Hey!”

I turned, startled. A tall man with dark eyes stood near the edge of the trees, holding a lantern. He wore a worn cloak, but his scent marked him as a wolf. 

I froze.

“Where are you going?” he asked, approaching slowly.

I said nothing, I couldn't speak. My throat was dry from all the running, and my lips cracked with blood.

He frowned. “Are you mute? Are you lost?”

Still, I didn’t answer.

He sighed and gestured for me to follow. “Come with me. It’s cold out. You can sleep at my place.”

I didn’t trust him, but I had no choice. My legs wouldn’t carry me much farther.

He led me to a wooden shack tucked deep into the woods. It was small, barely lit, but warmer than the forest. He gave me a blanket, and a piece of bread.

Just as I started to relax, he turned.

“Who are you?”

I tried to speak, but I was too shaken to speak. 

Then I shifted slightly, and a sharp pain flared in my arm. A gash I hadn’t noticed earlier reopened, and blood trickled down.

The man’s nose twitched, then he froze. 

“You’re… Impure?” he said slowly.

Panic gripped me.

His kind face melted into disgust. “Should’ve known, you smell like filth.”

He stood abruptly, knocking over the chair. “You bitches are all the same. Think you can seduce your way into safety?”

I shook my head trying to explain but he lunged at me, grabbing my wrist. “Might as well get what you’re good for.”

“No—!” I screamed, twisting free just as he shoved me down.

My elbow landed on his nose, he growled in pain, still trying to pin me down, I struggled hard and finally I was able to free myself, I stood up and ran away, back into the woods. 

The sky began to lighten, dawn creeping in like a cruel reminder that I had nowhere left to go.

The world had decided what I was, just a worthless, sex doll…a nobody. 

I stopped beneath a tree and stared at its thick branch.

There was a rope nearby—used for animal traps maybe.

I tied it.

My hands didn’t tremble as I looped it around my neck.

If this was the world, I didn’t want it.

I took a breath and jumped. 

The air whooshed out of me, pain exploded through my body, darkness swallowed everything.

I heard voices, rushing footsteps.

But it was too late, and maybe,that was better.