Chapter Four

Emily’s POV

The next morning I woke up to the endless throbbing of my head, my neck sore and sore. A thin sheen of sweat covered every inch of my body making my tank top stick to my chest uncomfortably.

My limbs ached, my throat was dry and my legs and arms felt shaky. All of this combined with the dull pain in my ribs meant I couldn't walk on my own anymore, not in this state. Still, the moment I noticed I couldn't move I tried again, pulling myself up using a nearby table.

Slowly I managed to stand but instantly regretted it, my legs gave way under me and I collapsed to the ground, my head landing on the floor beside me.

A muffled sob escaped my lips as I laid my head on the floor and closed my eyes, the light of the sun blinding me. I couldn't move or talk, I had no idea how much time had passed before the first knock resounded at the door.

I wanted to ignore them and pretend I didn't exist. However, I had no other choice since I couldn't open my mouth even if my life depended on it.

“Why the hell are you still laying there?” Mother opened as soon as she pushed my door open.

She glared at me and started pacing around the small space in my room. “You look pathetic lying here all day, get up and clean yourself up, I don't want your disgusting stink to fill the house today. You're useless Emily! Why do you bother me, why can't you do everything that is asked of you?”

Tears filled my eyes, my breathing became erratic, and the pain in my ribs became unbearable.

Mother’s insults never bothered me, it's not like they mattered to me.

“Get up!”She yelled.

The pain in my ribs became unbearable but I forced myself to stay awake, I couldn't afford to show weakness, not today anyway.

I heard her footsteps approaching as my vision started growing darker. I closed my eyes and prayed the pain would end soon.

It did, the pain went away, I almost cried when I opened my eyes. I saw Mother standing a few feet away from me, an empty bottle of painkillers in her hand. I looked at her in confusion but when I saw who was standing behind her I immediately understood. The pain returned as fast as it vanished.

Father.

“I am sure you've gotten enough rest. You should go down in a few minutes, I wouldn't like to repeat myself” His rich baritone echoed through the walls of my room.

I nodded weakly, still too exhausted to speak. I watched as father and mother went downstairs. When the front door slammed shut I finally managed to get up. I held on to the edge of my bed as if my life depended on it. Every movement made me wince in pain and my eyes watered. I needed food and sleep badly. I sighed heavily and walked out of my room.

As I stared down at the stairs, I knew I would be dead before I made it down. So I decided to make it quick. But the fear of Father’s wrath sent me down the stairs, wincing and gritting my teeth every few steps.

I was a panting mess by the time I reached the bottom step. I leaned heavily on the wall as my whole body protested at moving. The sight of Father waiting for me made me hesitate for a brief second but then he turned around and his gaze locked onto mine, sending chills through me. He walked towards me and I froze my heart racing.

He stopped in front of me and I stared at him nervously, afraid to say anything in case he gets mad again. Father reached for the collar of my shirt and lifted me slightly, forcing me to meet his eyes, making my breath hitch.

“I'M SORRY!” I screamed, tears streaming down my face as I struggled against him. His fingers dug painfully into my collar and I cried out in pain, my voice breaking.

I don't know what I was apologizing for.

“Shut up! I'm not interested in hearing your pathetic excuses!” Father snapped pushing me down roughly, the sudden weight almost making me collapse. “Useless” he spat angrily before walking away.

It was one of my labels, it usually ran from “Useless, worthless, slut, daughter of a slut” and a lot more, it all had to do with their mostly unpredictable mood.

I dragged myself to go on with the chores, there was no sign of Mother or Avery.

But it didn't mean much anyway, she was probably just spending the rest of the day with some females of the pack. She did tend to keep company with a lot of them and would always return drunk after all.

That thought reminded me of something else.

Something strange was happening, the weather outside had begun changing and I had noticed something peculiar about it.

The clouds were grey but not in the typical grey color you'd expect during a stormy season. Instead, it appeared that they seemed to be moving in different directions than normal, it looked like something really was coming and I wondered why that was.

Maybe I had grown paranoid.

I continued with the laundry, trying to distract my mind from the thoughts of what was going on outside. I threw the dirty clothes into the basket that sat in the middle of the floor. I picked it up slowly, making sure not to bump my head and fall flat on my ass once again.

It was at that moment Avery came back with that stupid blonde boy, the same one she was crying over.

I hated how he always gawked at me, stripping me naked with his eyes as if I wasn't worth shit, he looked me over and made himself comfortable with a satisfied grin. Then he grabbed Avery's arm and pulled her close. They kissed passionately until Avery broke off with a gasp and turned to me, her face in a triumphant smirk.

“See you around sis” She pulled him inside with her.

Something strange happened when Mother came back home later that evening. She was not drunk and she came with ointment.

Yes, we werewolves possessed a healing factor that is on par with a Vampires healing factor, however only for small wounds such as small cuts, slight burns etc. We cannot however heal as quickly as Vampires when it comes to more serious injuries such as gunshots, stab wounds (with the exception of silver), etc.

So my wounds still stayed and it would have been impossible for them to heal when I was receiving a generous amount of beatings daily.

So you could imagine how shocked I was to see Mother holding an ointment and standing in the middle of my room.

I sprang out of bed immediately, unsure of what I had done wrong this time. I didn't even get a chance to ask though, Mother grabbed my arm.

“Come”

With a start I followed her through the dim hallways that led to her room and into the bathroom. She opened the medicine cabinet and removed one vial of green liquid while I stared in disbelief.

“I said to come here so I can help you” Mother hissed, grabbing the band aid and placing it across one of my ribs. Her eyes bore into me and I looked away immediately, feeling exposed. She then began to apply the ointment to each of my bruises and it stung like hell.

I whimpered as the last bruise was covered, the pain radiating through my ribcage.

“There, now let's wash these, I need to change the dressing tomorrow anyway” Mother said and stood up abruptly. Without another word she walked out of the bathroom and I heard the door slam shut.

I couldn't imagine what she was up to, it didn't feel right, it felt like an alien had possessed her and was controlling her actions.

But I went to sleep that night feeling a little bit better knowing that at least the pain was gone.

That night I dreamt of my father - my own father, my Ba, he was smiling at me with so much love and warmth that I felt tears form in my eyes. I smiled back and hugged him tightly while tears rolled down my cheeks and mixed with his shirt. Nobody had looked at me with so much love in a while- in years.

A couple of hours passed and I woke up groggy, my eyes hurt as if someone had poured buckets of water on them. I stretched a little bit before sitting up and realizing how stiff I felt . My muscles ached and my chest burnt.

It wasn't the usual feeling of pain that I experienced every day, I felt lighter and it took a while for me to figure out what exactly was happening.

Mother’s ointment had helped.

It felt easier to carry out my chores that morning and I thank her half-heartedly. I wasn't so sure of what she was up to but I knew something was fishy, it was all a matter of time before I find out what was truly going on.