Chapter 0004

EMBER

The second Tristan walked away, I felt like I could breathe again. Unfortunately, it was far too fast and uneven.

Joshua had stepped to the side to let him pass but pursed his lips in disgust before shaking his head and stepping out, allowing me a moment of privacy to get dressed even though he had left the door wide open.

Tristan still hadn't told me what the pack was saying about me that had gotten him so worked up, but based on both men's reactions, it wasn't good.

My fear was controlling me, though, and instead of grabbing my uniform from the pile of my clothes on the floor to cover my naked body, I immediately spun on my heels and pulled the loose baseboard from the wall behind my cot.

The small hole I had cut into the bottom of the drywall contained a bundle of cash inside, and I quickly counted it, my fingers fumbling in my hurry to see how much I had managed to save.

Up until now, I had considered this money untouchable. I hadn't even touched it for the dress I wore on my birthday.

It started as my parent's emergency fund. They always kept a thousand in cash in their safe, but that wouldn't get me far. I had added a few dollars to it here and there, but it wouldn't be enough for me to start over.

Still, my time here was up. I couldn't stay.

I needed to escape before Tristan returned to claim what he felt he was owed.

If I didn't get fired for missing work yesterday and being late today, I would have a couple hundred from my paycheck tonight to fall back on. Usually, I would use this check for my rent, but that wouldn't be needed anymore, not here, at least.

I could survive a few more hours until I was handed my last paycheck; then, I would be free.

At the sound of Joshua clearing his throat outside my door, I looked over my shoulder and confirmed he wasn't watching me, just discretely trying to get me to hurry up.

I shoved the money back before rushing to pull my clothes on.

My body protested the fast movement. Every muscle pulled and ached, and I groaned as I lifted my arms over my head.

The pain in my chest hadn't left, but the longer I carried the pain of the rejection with me, the more manageable it seemed.

"Let's go!" Joshua snapped, clearly frustrated with having to take time out of his day to fetch me.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking around as we approached the pack house.

My pack mates were running around the house frantically, decorating it. The smell of food wafting from the kitchen made my stomach grumble, but I knew if I stole anything to eat, it would just come right back up.

"We have company. It's all hands on deck." Joshua said with annoyance as if I should have known.

"I'm not allowed to be here when we have company." I stammered.

If Nani saw me here, she would have me dragged away to the dungeons before I could even step foot in the dining hall.

I was surprised I hadn't been locked up during Tristan's party since we had multiple packs present.

"I knew you were stupid, but I didn't know you were deaf, too." Joshua hissed under his breath at me, and I turned to scowl at him.

I almost understood it when the rest of the pack turned on me, but he was an Omega, too. We were supposed to stick together and have each other's backs.

"I said it's all hands on deck. Several Omegas were claimed the other night and taken back to their mates' packs. Just keep your hair up, head down, and mouth shut," he ordered. Had I not been so stunned by the news that I would be allowed near guests, I would have bared my teeth at him.

Instead, as soon as I stepped into the door, I was pulled into the flurry of work that needed to be done.

I wasn't sure what pack was visiting, but from how frazzled Nani was, I knew it wasn't one of our usual visitors.

"I see you're still alive. Since you missed work yesterday, I hoped you were dead," my boss said, almost sounding disappointed that I wasn't. “Were you busy trying to find someone else's mate to seduce? Was one not enough for you?"

"What?" I gasped, my eyebrows shooting up my forehead. "I didn't seduce anyone's mate!"

The thought that someone could come up with a rumor so vile made my stomach twist. Tristan was the only man I had ever been with and he was my mate! I had never slept around or tried to get in bed with another man, let alone a mated one!

"Don't start with your lies. I've heard all about it. You should be ashamed of yourself. How dare you! You think you can trap the future Alpha into rejecting his mate and mating you instead?" Nani shook her head in disgust before laughing. "As if you would ever be a Luna. Can you imagine? Hah!"

She turned to one of the cooks, who laughed with her and eyed me like a disease-ridden rat that had managed to get into the kitchen.

Nani shook her head. "Are you going to try to order me around now, too? Don't get any ideas. I run this house. Don't think you have any power just because you spread your legs. Get to work, Omega. I'll deal with you missing work later!"

She lifted the pot she had been stirring on the stove, holding it out to me. From the smell of it, I knew she had been making a batch of spiced cider. "Take this to the hall and pour it into the serving dispenser."

I nodded, lowering my eyes respectfully before reaching for the pot holders she used on the large soup pot's metal handles. She pulled it back slightly, the liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim. I withdrew my hands quickly to avoid being splashed.

Nani would be fine if it hit her. Her wolf healing would have her back to normal in no time. I, however, hadn't heard a peep from my wolf since the rejection and knew a burn would last for days, if not longer.

"I don't want a filthy mutt like you touching me! Hurry up!" She snapped, but there was amusement in her tone that set off warning bells in my head. "Not from the handles."

I eyed the steam coming off the pan, knowing that if the cider at the top was steaming, the bottom would surely be scolding from being on the stovetop.

"Doesn't it need to cool down first?" I asked, stalling.

"It will be fine. The dispenser is metal. I want this to still be warm for when our guests arrive. Take it." Nani said with a low, threatening tone. "Now!"

Her loud bark made all the others turn to look at me, and I shriveled under their glares.

I couldn't grab the pot, not without my wolf. Without her, I was no more than a mere mortal… a human. Touching the bottom of that pot was sure to leave a severe burn, one that would make my escape even harder.

"Nani," I pleaded, horrified when she cut me off, snapping at me.

"Do as you're told, or it's the post for you!" She screamed and shoved it into my chest.

I had been tied to the post a few times over the years. The sharp whip ripping into my flesh had haunted my dreams for years. I refused to ever go back to it.

My hands instinctively grabbed the bottom of the pan before it could collide with my chest, trying to steady it so the cider wouldn't splash over the wall of the pan and onto me.

While I had successfully saved my chest from the splash, my eyes widened as the skin of my hands began to burn, bubbling beneath the heavy metal. I had to imagine the pot had been sitting on the stove's back burner for a while because I could tell it hadn't recently been over the direct flame.

Still, I knew I would, at the very least, get second-degree burns from how hot it still was. It would be even worse if the liquid inside and chunks of apple were to splash over the side, but thankfully, that didn't happen.

"Don't spill a single drop," Nani warned before stepping back so I could walk past her to the dining room.

I couldn't respond. If I unclenched my jaw, I would have released the scream of agony I had been holding back. Instead, I rushed forward with the heavy pot, barely reaching the dining hall to put it next to the dispenser before dropping to my knees.

I released a cry of pain as my hands shook in front of me, palms facing up. The skin was an angry shade of red, and I could see the white blisters already forming.

"Ah!" I cried, unable to close my shaky hands as I stared at them in horror. I wasn't sure how long it would take for my body to heal, but I was pretty confident it would be slower than usual without my wolf unless I could get to the infirmary quickly.

"You idiot girl! You can't do anything right!" Nani shouted as she stormed toward me from the kitchen. I had no doubt that she had followed me, wanting to witness my misery, but I hadn't expected for her to be so angry that she had gotten what she wanted.

My tear-filled eyes were locked on my hands. I had never experienced an injury without my wolf before.

Usually, she was there, working to heal me as quickly as possible, but this time, the familiar tingles of my wolf healing me were not present, and I felt every burned cell. My arms tingled up to my elbows as the pain radiated up my arms.

"You've ruined the tablecloth!" Nani shouted, and while I had tried not to spill anything, apparently I had anyway in my haste to drop the pot on the table to get it out of my hands. "You're too weak to even carry a pot! You're a pathetic waste of space! That's going to come out of your pay!"

"No," I croaked through the pain, squeezing my eyes shut tightly as I lowered my hands and lifted my chin. "Please!"

I couldn't fathom losing money when I needed every dollar to get out of here.

The smack of her hand on my cheek shocked me for a moment, and my head snapped to the side. After a few seconds, I opened my eyes to meet hers.

Nani curled her lip at me, "I don't tolerate back talk, and what is that disgusting smell? Do you not even have the decency to bathe?"

She looked at my hands almost smugly before wrinkling her nose.

That smell was me, or more accurately, my burnt flesh.