"The Cruelty of Fate: Zea's Never-Ending Quest"

I hate daytime. The rise of the sun which usually brings some level of joy to others has only brought sadness to me. My suffering would usually begin with back-breaking chores as the sun rises and would go on and on while getting physically abused in the process, till late in the evening when most pack members finally retire to bed.

What makes it worse is that my body is not strong enough to withstand the magnitude of pain they inflict on me, and I don't heal as fast as a normal werewolf should. I feel the impact of every blow and kick they rained on me more than I would have felt if I had gotten my wolf.

I'm not a normal werewolf you see. I'm a very late bloomer. Normally, the shifting age for werewolves is fifteen years. Sixteen for late bloomers. When I didn't shift at even seventeen years, I became the omega freak who is the butt of every joke. The stress reliever for every frustrated and the punching bag for every aggressive pack member, most especially those that called themselves my family.

Now I'm almost eighteen and for as long as I can remember, I've been insulted and beaten so many times my body has kinda gotten used to it. It's as if they all want to know what it feels like to beat on the freak who smells like a shifter but just wouldn't shift. They wanted to find out how flat I can lie for them to trample on. How strong my body is compared to theirs and how much punishment my body can withstand before it finally begs for mercy

But I refuse to beg. No matter how hard I am kicked and how much pain my body is going through, I have never cowered in fear, nor have I begged for mercy. That is what infuriates them the most about me and what makes me happy the most about them. Oh, how I love to see that look of frustration on their faces when they couldn't break me.

So for me, pain is synonymous with daytime. But nighttime is different. Nighttime means peace and tranquility at last! It is the time I finally get to put my feet up, close my eyes, and forget for the moment all the physical, mental, and emotional abuse I suffered during the daytime.

It is the time I can relax enough so my body would be able to heal till I'm finally able to drift off to la-la land. Nighttime and sleep, my temporary escape from the cruelty that I face daily from my family and pack members.

My name is Ash...

No, not Asher. Not Ashley either. Just plain Ash. Like the powdery residue left after the burning of a substance...

Yeah, strange name for a girl, I know. I guess my parents hate me that much. I mean who named their only daughter Ash, made her drop out of school, and forced her to work as a maid!?

Ever since they made me drop out of school at sixteen, saying I need to work and contribute to the housekeeping expenses. My mother forced me to work as a maid, exactly the same work she does for a living. While she works at the Alpha's mansion. She made me work at the pack house, cooking for, and cleaning after so many people

Most pack members like my family have their own houses but only high-ranking officials stay in the pack house with their families if they so wish. And most of them do, who would pass on the opportunity of a free maid service?

Today's work is more hectic than usual. All pack officials and elders are gathered inside the pack's dining hall, waiting for the Alpha and his Luna before the day's meeting will commence.

'This meeting must be important.' I thought, wondering what it is about. I know for sure that the Alpha doesn't necessarily involve the pack elders in a meeting unless it's important and he needed their opinion. Since I dropped out of school and every shifter avoided me like a plague, there's no way for me to keep track of pack matters anymore. Except for the tit-bit gossip that I pick up from my dad at the breakfast table that I'm not allowed to sit at.

I heard my father telling my brother and mom about the two Quinn brothers from the Silver Moon's pack, which is

the biggest pack in North America. The brothers want to duel with each other to know who will be the next Alpha of their pack. And the Alpha of our pack thinks it's compulsory for all girls that have not been mated to attend the duel, who knows maybe the future Luna will be from our pack

By all girls that have not been mated, I knew without being told that it doesn't include the Omega maid who hasn't even gotten her wolf yet. Well, I hope someone gets to meet their mate, even if it's none of the Quinn brothers.

After the officials and elders are done with their breakfast, I rushed to the dining room to start clearing the dirty dishes off the dining table. I need to get the task done and get the coffee going and it has to be ready before the Alpha and Luna's arrival otherwise the Beta won't be happy with me.

I had my trolley filled to the brim with dirty dishes and ready to leave when the dining hall door was pushed open. I froze in my tracks and we all looked towards the door to see if it was the Alpha and his Luna that just arrive. The thought of the Alpha arriving when everything has not been set and ready on the table frightens me. The Beta will surely have my head. I would be severely punished for being tardy

The door was pushed all the way in and it isn't the Alpha, thank God for that. A 3-tier trolley cart is slowly being pushed inside. On the trolley are a 55-cup stainless steel coffee urn, large bowls of sugar, a big creamer vessel, and several coffee mugs stacked face down. I turn white with fear when I see the person pushing the heavy-laden cart is Martha, the only person that loves and cares for me in this world.

Martha is of African-American descent. The seventy-six-year-old maid has been asked to retire due to a hip injury that happened as a result of a bad fall but she outrightly refused to because of me. She was afraid I would one day be beaten to death if she was no longer around to watch over me and plead on my behalf

Martha is like the mother I never had. Even though I know she's just trying to help me out so I don't get punished for finishing late. Looking at her struggling with her bad hip to push a 3-tier trolley with so much stuff on it hurts my heart so bad. I'm angry at the system that refused to get more maids to assist me but would still punish me whenever I didn't finish my chores on time.

I immediately abandoned the cart I was pushing and rushed forward to get the trolley from her

"Hey, freak!... This water pitcher is empty, go fill it up right this moment!" I hear the Gamma chief's voice call from behind me before I could get to Martha. I know right then that I'm in deep shit because he knew how much Martha means to me and wanted to use her to punish me for refusing his sexual advances. I hesitated in my tracks for about three seconds, considering whether to go fill the water pitcher or help Martha with the trolley

All the shifters in the room gasped when they saw I continued towards Martha. Even Martha froze. I could see how badly she was shaking when she let go of the trolley and lean on the wall for support. She knows I'm not trying to deliberately disobey the Gamma chief. Why would I do that when I don't have a death wish?

The fact is, whether I fill the water pitcher or not, Mr. Asshole Gamma chief would still look for an excuse to punish me, and punish me hard he will! He's had it in for me ever since I kicked him hard in the nuts for trying to force himself on me. Since I know there's no escaping this one, I ignore his command and help Martha to a chair. Then I mentally readied my body for the blows and kicks that I know would soon come raining down on me.

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