Le choix de Diego Santibanez

Chapter One

Elsa's POV

"Pick it up, Elsa."

I bowed my head, struggling to get myself to do what I was asked to. I was fed up with the way that I was treated in the Pack, and desperately craved a change.

Being an Omega in the Pack was everyone's nightmare. It meant that I had to be a servant all the days of my life. Alina and her wicked mother, Mel, didn't make it any easier for me. I wished so badly that I could be rid of them for good.

"I said, pick that up, Elsa!" Alina yelled at me, pointing to a plate that she threw on the floor. 

I grudgingly walked to the plate and stooped to pick it up but I was met with a blow that landed flush on my right cheek, throwing me to the ground.

"Serves you right, moron," Alina mocked, sharing a rather scornful laugh with her mother. "Next time, you'd think twice about defying my orders."

As I placed my hands on the floor in a bid to get up, I felt a hard kick on my stomach, drawing all of the air out of it. 

"Mmph!" I groaned, rolling on the floor and writhing in pain.

It was Melissa, my stepmother; that wicked witch. She stood beside me as I clutched my stomach in pain with tears flowing down my eyes.

"How many times have I warned you never to disobey me or Alina?" She asked, with her hands on her waist as she glared at me. "How long would it take you to know your place in this Castle? Get up!"

I quickly sprang to my feet, despite the pain that I felt. I wanted none of that anymore and I knew just how angry she was going to be if I defied her one more time.

"Look at you. You're such a pathetic loser," she disdainfully mocked. "If your mother wasn't so bratty, perhaps she'd still be alive today. If you keep behaving unseemly, you might just end up like her."

I was infuriated by her words, but I did my best to hide it. Yet, rage boiled deep within me and I could see myself strangling her. 

It wasn't just me that felt that way. Wolf too; she kept struggling to gain control but I held her in with all of my strength. Fighting her was a crime that I couldn't afford to commit. It would have meant certain death for me.

"Head over to the kitchen immediately," Melissa ordered. "There's work for you to do there. I've given instructions to the chief maid on what you should do. For your sake, I do hope that you won't mess it up as always."

I turned around and began to walk angrily toward the kitchen but before I could get past the door, I felt something heavy hit me on my head and I began to bleed immediately.

"Bastard child! You couldn't even bow before leaving," Alina remarked, as I put my hand over the injured part of my head to reduce the bleeding. She had thrown a flower vase on my head in fury and if I didn't get away in a hurry, it might have been worse.

As I walked down to the kitchen, I couldn't help but have a sober reflection on my life. It was almost as if my suffering was never going to end. Knowing that she was right made it even worse. I was a bastard. I didn't know who my father was.

I hated life. I had considered taking my life on several occasions but the words of my late mother always kept me going. "You're a strong girl," she'd always say to me. "You can take all that life throws at me."

Ever since she was murdered, Melissa and Alina took it upon themselves to make my life a living hell. Yeah, everyone hated me, but it was worse with them. No day passed without me having a broken arm, nose or whatever part of my body they chose to break. They derived so much joy in seeing me in pain. No wonder, Melissa was rumoured to have murdered my mother. 

"You look so ragged, Elsa. Who have you been with?" Asked Joanna, the chief maid. 

I said nothing to her. I was in no mood to answer a question that she already had the answer to. I just walked across to the pile of plates waiting for me at the sink and began to wash them as quickly and angrily as I could, making sure that they made a loud sound as I dropped them in a basin.

When I got done with them, I walked over to the counter where a plate of food was kept. I assumed that since it was just lying around, it might have been for me. As I reached out to take it, being so famished, I was quickly halted by Joanna.

"That's not for you, Elsa. You don't get to eat today," she interjected. "The Luna Queen instructed that you should get no food for four days. This is only the second day, so there's no food for you, honey."

"I'm not your honey," I muttered in frustration, in a voice so low that she wouldn't hear. She was mostly nice to me, unlike the rest of the Pack and I didn't want to push it. 

I scratched my head and walked to the corner, picking up a broom so I could sweep the floor but she took the broom from me.

"The Luna Queen asked me to ensure that you work all through the day too, but I'm not going to let you do that," she said, much to my surprise. "You need to head back to your room and freshen up. You've almost healed already but you do need some rest. Go on."

I nodded in appreciation and walked briskly toward my room. I was still hungry; very hungry, but I was so grateful that I didn't have to do any more work in that state. It was the best that I could have ever expected.

As I got to my room, I went into the bathroom and quickly had my shower. The other maids were still doing their work; Maggie too, my best friend in the entire Pack.

Standing in front of the mirror, I took a look at my injuries and they had almost disappeared. It did surprise me that I always got healed very quickly. I'd seen fellow maids receive the same injuries and only get healed after a whole day and even more. Perhaps, it was the goddess' way of apologising to me for putting me in such a horrible position in the Pack.

I sat on my bed, with my hands on my head as I let the tears stream down my cheeks for the second time in the day. "If only I wasn't born an omega," I thought aloud. "Things would have turned out differently."

I had no one to look to for protection and help. My mother was gone. She was the only one who always put herself on the line for my sake. Without her, I was just a punching bag for anyone who had the urge to pick on me. I wasn't safe in the Pack. I needed a fresh start.

"I have to leave here," I suddenly muttered subconsciously as an idea came to me. "Life could be better elsewhere."

I stood and began to pace to and fro in the room, trying to figure out if it was the best thing to do. The werewolf Packs thrived on order and leaving the Pack was quite the opposite.

I was going to be a rogue; always having a target on my back. Anyone who saw me would immediately attempt to take my life. It wasn't a decision to be made lightly, but thinking hard about it, the life that I had wasn't worth living. It was just as good as being dead and I was willing to take my chance.

"When it gets dark, I'll find my way out of this place," I whispered to myself with a smile on my face. "I'll finally have a new life. Perhaps, the rogues would love me…"

"You're leaving?"