Blood Sweat And Tears.

"Why are you always useless?" Scarlett yelled, kicking my stomach recklessly, making sure I loose every bit of strength in me. I collapsed to the floor but quickly got on my knees. Since I’m taller than her, I knew better than to let her stress herself while punishing me.

"Fool!" she screamed, grabbing my head and slamming it hard on the table. As always, blood trickled from the side of my forehead, sliding down my chin, my neck, and soaking into my shirt, reminding me of how much of a slave I’ve become.

I had always been a slave in this pack house for almost half of my life, and without being told, I knew I’d spend the rest of my life this way. No hope, no love, Just me and my pain until my very last breath.

"Clean this whole room now, to my taste! Or else I’ll show you how a cursed soul like you should be treated!" she fumed, landing a hard kick on my chest. I stumbled backward, crashing into the dining table. Plates and glasses shattered to the floor, and a ceramic jug fell on my foot, splitting my skin open. 

Her lips curled into a cold smile as she watched me bleed and her eyes twisted into satisfaction. "Serves you right," She smirked before leaving the room, slamming the door behind her.

I closed my eyes tightly, releasing a shaky breath. Of course, this wasn’t much. It was nothing compared to the pain I had already endured in this pack. I picked myself up from the ground and started cleaning her room again—the same room I had spent four hours scrubbing this morning. But since it wasn’t up to her standard, here I was again, with fresh wounds on my body.

With a tired sigh, I grabbed a bucket and made my way downstairs to fetch water. There was running water upstairs, but Scarlett’s rules meant I had to fetch it from the river. She always found ways to make me work ten times harder than I should.

"Oh, look who’s here! The cursed forever slave of the pack," a girl my age smirked, walking closer to me. Aria was one of the elders’ daughters who always made sure I couldn’t breathe. She had a soft spot for alpha Kyle untill Laila beat her to it.

I ignored her, dipping my bucket into the river and hoisting it onto my head.

"Isn’t it obvious how cursed you are? Who else would end up as a slave in their own pack?"

"Aria, please," I muttered in a very low voice. "I’m not in the mood for this. Just let me be."

Her eyes widened at my words, but before I could take another step, she shoved the bucket off my head. The water splashed everywhere, and the bucket shattered on the ground breaking beyond repair. My eyes widened as I stared at the broken pieces in disbelief, knowing that Scarlett, would definitely kill me for this.

"Oh, so now you’ve grown a backbone?" Aria smirked, stepping closer. "You sure have guts to talk back to me, Hazel!" she shouted, landing a slap across my face. I sighed, holding my chin, I didn't need anyone to tell me that there were going to be imprints of her hands against my face. 

"Ari… Aria…" I tried to speak, but she didn’t let me finish. She lunged at me, and soon, the other pack members joined in, punching and kicking me. This wasn’t new. They’d hated me for as long as I could remember, finding any excuse to remind me of my cursed existence. I curled into a ball, wincing as blow after blow landed on my bruised body.

"What was the meaning of that, Hazel? I heard you started a fight at the riverbank today!" the Queen Mother said sharply as I knelt before them. After beating me up, the pack members had dragged me back to the pack house to report me.

"Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear Mother's question?" Scarlett yelled, standing in front of me.

"I… I ne…never fought," I stammered, trying to say as little as possible to avoid another beating.

 

"So now you’re calling Mom a liar? You really are the most foolish girl alive." She laughed.

"What’s going on here?" Alpha Kyle asked, entering the room. from his authoritative tone, no one would ever believe he was my younger brother.

Yes, I am the first child of Alpha Gregory, the supposed heir to this pack. But I’ve never had a voice here, never had a say.

My father, Alpha Gregory, married my mother and loved her deeply, but for fifteen years, they couldn’t have a child. Desperate for an heir, the pack council chose a second mate for him.

The new mate, Kyle’s mother, soon became pregnant and announced it to the pack. My mother, already struggling, was pushed aside. The love and attention my father had for her disappeared as he focused on his new mate.

But then, the Moon Goddess smiled on my mother, and she became pregnant too, just a month later.

My mom’s water broke eight months into her pregnancy on the same day Kyle’s mother was giving birth. Sadly, I was born just a few hours before Kyle, followed by a serious bleeding. My mom couldn’t survive the bleeding, she died, leaving me in the cold hands of my step family.

"Hazel, is something wrong with you!" The Queen mother's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, making me flitch a bit.

"Well since you decided to act dumb, I will put you to where you belong. "Guards!" Take her to the cell room!" She ordered.