I. The slave

The slave

I was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes when a cup slipped from my hand and fell on the floor with a loud noise, shattering. I look at it. My heart starts pounding so fast in my chest, and I am already trembling with fear. I know what is going to happen. The Alpha first hits me in the nose and then in the stomach, making me bend from the pain. Blood is dripping from my broken nose.

"You worthless slave! You always break something. And every time you break something, it costs me money. How are you going to pay for what you broke now?" Alpha Max spits his anger at me while he keeps hitting me.

I get on my knees and wait for him to stop. I put my arms around my head, trying to make myself as small as possible. But my submissive position doesn't save me from his fists.

"I won't give you food for the next three days," he says with anger.

Alpha Max beats me until he gets tired. When he finally stops, all my body aches with pain. I don't try to move, too afraid he will hit me some more.

"Get up and clean the mess you made!" he orders me.

Alpha Max leaves, and I remain alone in the kitchen. I try to get up, but everything hurts, and my body refuses to do move. I stay still for a few minutes, then I try to get up again. It takes me five minutes to stand up. My legs are shaking, and I steady myself with the help of the counter. And I smell it. I look down, and I see blood on the white floor. My blood. Goddess! The smell and sight of it makes me faint. Memories that haunt me every night creep in my mind. I try to think of something else – of happy days. Because I don't want to see her broken – broken because of me. Her blood on my hands.

I start to breathe through my mouth, and I close my eyes. It takes a while to get over it. Slowly, the nightmare that began a long time ago goes back to the darkest place of my mind. Memories of her linger in my head, and my heart breaks a little more. I deserve all that is happening to me. And no matter how much time will pass, it will never be enough to pay for what I did.

Once my memories are not haunting me anymore, I look for old rags and bleach to clean the floor. I scrub all the floor until I don't smell more blood. After that, I clean the pieces of the cup.

I look at the clock. More than thirty minutes have passed since the Alpha left. Damn! I have to hurry and do all my chores, or Alpha Max will beat me some more. And I have a lot more to do.

As I hurry out of the Pack House, I fall to my knees, and all I want to do is to crawl on my dirty mattress and sleep. I feel sick from all the beatings I received.

I sigh and stand.

"Oh, my Goddess! He beat you again!" I hear Ana from behind me.

Ana is my only friend in the Silver Pack. She and her family are Omegas. Ana's mother, Mrs. Radu, would usually give me a slice of bread and cheese when no one was watching. She risks a lot for me, and I am grateful.

I turn and look at Ana. Her eyes go wide from the shock of seeing me.

"When will Alpha Max stop torturing you?" Ana asks me with tears in her eyes.

I shrug, "He is the Alpha, and I am the slave. You know he can do whatever he wants with me."

"You can run away. I have thought about...."

But before she could finish what she had to say, I heard someone calling me.

"Slave! In the entertainment room. Now!"

I ignore the pain I feel as much as possible, and I hurry to see who is calling me. I know that if I take too long, I will receive another beating.

"SLAVE!" I hear the Beta's voice before I enter the room.

When I get inside, a fist hits me in the cheek, and I fall flat on my ass. I stand as fast as I can.

"Why the fuck are you so slow? How many times do I have to call you?" the Beta asks me, full of anger.

"I-I a-am s-sorry, B-Beta Stefan," I apologize.

"Clean the room and then bring me and my mate snacks in our room."

With that, Beta Stefan and Cristina, his mate, leave me alone to clean the mess they made. This happens daily because the Beta enjoys punishing me just as much as Alpha Max does.

I spend around an hour organizing the room and then rush to get Beta Stefan the snacks he asked for. By now, I know what each pack member prefers to eat. Things that I am not allowed to eat.

Once in front of the Beta's room, I knock and enter.

"You should have had brought this earlier. Lazy slave!" he yells at me.

"I-I am s-sorry Beta. I-I finished as f-fast a-as I c-could."

He yanks my hair. I make sure never to look him in the eyes.

"You are not fast enough! Worthless, pathetic worm!"

He punches me in the stomach and shoves me out of his room. The pain makes me want to vomit, but I know I don't have time to stop. I have so much to do.

I rush to prepare snacks for all the pack and bring wood in each room because it is already the end of October, and nights are getting colder. Then, I have to prepare the dining room for dinner. During this time, I get hit at least ten times more, spat at, and shoved more times than I can remember.

Most pack members call me slave or worm. I don't even remember the last time someone called me by my name. Ana's parents usually call me "Boy" while Ana calls me V, but only when no one is close. Alpha Max has made it clear that the way to call me is slave or worm.

Dinner is torture for me. I am always hungry. You think I would get used to eating two slices of bread by now. And those two slices of bread every two or three days. But all the smells always makes my mouth water, and my belly growls. But I remember I won't be getting any food in the next three days. And the last time I ate was... two days ago.

"You poor thing, Mrs. Radu said. You haven't eaten all day. And most likely the day before, you also went hungry."

She gives me a slice of bread and cheese and makes me go to a corner of the kitchen, and I start to eat.

"Eat fast, don't let anyone see you," she tells me and hurries to take dinner out.

I close my eyes and take one bite from the bread when I hear a voice.

"Stealing from my food, slave?"

I freeze in fear. It is Alpha Max, and he sounds furious. Very furious. I know what he does to me when it sounds this furious.

"I-I w-was hungry a-and...." I try to explain, but his fist finds its way to my face.

The force of his punch makes my head hit the wall behind me.

"I will teach you to never steal from me again."

He keeps hitting me, first with his fists, then with his feet, until I blackout. Then nothing.

This is my life in the Silver Pack. The pack lives next to Chișinău. I am already twenty-three years old, and I become a slave at the age of nine. I remember my family mostly during the night. I remember the soft hands of my mother and how she used to sing to me. And my father, who took me hunting. Those were the happiest days of my life.

We lived a peaceful life in a small community of rogues close to Silver Pack in the Republic of Moldova. One day, Alpha Andrei, Max's father, came and killed everyone. I was made a slave. And I deserve to be a slave to pay for my crimes.

I tried to run away once, but Alpha Andrei caught me and broke my legs.

"Next time, it will be your neck if you try to run again," he said to me.

Mrs. Radu and Ana took care of me until I healedand I could walk again.