Chapter Four

The Pack Mansion, where I lived with the Alpha and Luna, actually had all the modern fixtures and fittings, electricity, plumbing and heating, just like any other residence. They had forbidden me to use them, though; instead, they forced me to cook and clean as if it were the eighteenth century. I was forced to carry heavy containers of water to and from the old well in the back yard, putting them to heat over the fire, and using only ancient wooden scrubbing brushes and clothes to clean with. My hands were permanently red from all the scouring and scrubbing, my knees had scabs from the many cuts they received from the cold, unforgiving marble tiles I had to kneel on to scrub the floors each and every day. I was never allowed a day off, and if they found one speck of dust, I was forced to do the whole floor again on top of all my other chores.

'Dakota, where the hell are you? Breakfast should have started five minutes ago.'

I was jolted out of my reverie by the loud, angry voice of the Luna, and I quickly dropped the cleaning rags I was holding and hurried to do her bidding. She was standing in the centre of the pristine kitchen, hands on her large, plump hips, tapping her foot.

'Come here.'

She commanded me, and I had no choice but to go and stand in front of her, knowing exactly what she was about to do. Her hand lashed out, striking me so hard across my cheek that I was knocked onto my knees.

'If I catch you daydreaming again, slave, you will be sent to the Alpha to be punished. Do I make myself clear?'

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from crying out as she followed her angry words by kicking me hard in the ribs to ram home her instructions. Keeping my head bowed, I whispered.

'Yes, Luna. I am so sorry for the delay'

There was no use trying to explain or make excuses to any of them. Throughout the years, I had learned very quickly that I had no voice; I would receive the beatings regardless of what I said. So I learned to stay quiet and not react to their violence toward me; it was not much of a defence, but I was just a child, and it was all I had. 

She dragged me to my feet by my hair and brutally shoved me toward the stove, making sure I hit the hard metal surface, knocking the wind from my lungs, and I had to clutch the oven door handle to prevent my legs from buckling.

'Get on with your work, slave. You have wasted enough of my time, and your punishment will reflect this. After you have finished your chores, you will scrub this kitchen floor until every tile shines like new, and you will not be allowed to go to bed until I am satisfied it is done to my high standards.'

She turned on her heels and strode out of the kitchen, leaving me a wheezing, whimpering wreck, holding my painful side as I began the task of making breakfast for the hundred or so hungry Werewolves that used the dining room. It would mean I was on my feet cooking and serving the huge platters of steak, bacon, eggs and pancakes they devoured as if they had not been fed for weeks. I would struggle through the double doors with the huge platters of food and place them on their tables; not one of them ever offered to help me. They never acknowledged me, it was as if I was invisible to them as I staggered from the kitchen to their tables, and I knew better than to complain or worse, drop anything. If I made such a dreadful mistake, the punishment was such a severe beating that it inevitably ended with me in the hospital wing. 

When I had finished serving breakfast, I returned to the kitchen to clean up. It was going to take me hours to clean the floor later, and every part of me ached from the beating the Luna had just given me. I was already exhausted, and I knew I would not be allowed to sleep at all tonight, so I was lost in my thoughts when two strong arms went around my waist and a hard body pressed against me.

'I think it is time to redefine your role in this house, little slave.'

I stiffened at the sound of the Beta's son, Reuben, whispering in my ear. He held me so tightly against his body that I could feel the hard length growing in his pants.

'I am sure if I asked the Alpha, I could have you reassigned as my personal sex slave.'

I panicked. Reuben was one of the Alpha's favourite leaders, and in his eyes, he could do no wrong. I had personally witnessed him abusing the human workers who worked for Alpha. They had little choice but to obey him; if they did not, they would lose their jobs, and the Alpha paid much more than other employers would. Reuben took them into the pantry to abuse them. Most of the time, they were forced to their knees and made to suck his hard cock, but on occasion, he stripped them and fucked them against the wall hishand covering their mouths so no one could hear their screams.  They soon learned to remain silent and let him do whatever he wished because if they did not, they returned to their work covered in bruises. Reuben was not gentle; he got off on causing the women pain, and not a single Pack member tried to intervene. Humans were considered plentiful and disposable; they were treated worse than the Pack's pets, and there was nothing they could do about it. I caught him so many times that he began to deliberately ensure I saw him raping the poor humans; he had always made it clear that I belonged to him ever since he had thrown me in front of the Alpha all those years ago. Growing up, he had been my chief tormentor, always able to find me no matter where I hid and always taking great pleasure in any punishment he gave me, and he made it his point in life to punish me as often as he could.