The Weak One Bites Back

It was Amy and Nelly. Twin sisters. More like, twin bullies.

They were the strongest maids among all the laundry maids that worked in the manor. They loved to push their weight around and for some reason they always singled me out as a target. They had given me some respite the past weeks since Alex’s return from Bloodclaw but I guess they were back with full force.

“We heard that the Heir Alpha threw you out of his room this morning.” Nelly said with a sneer. “I guess he finally realized the trash he was sleeping with.”

I sighed audibly, turned around and continued to work the well’s pulley system, completely ignoring their words.

I felt a hard pull on my hair and yelped as Amy yanked my braid, pulling me so hard that I fell to the floor, causing my bucket to equally fall with a clatter.

“How dare you ignore us?”

Nelly gave me a hard kick to the stomach causing me to groan in pain.

“A useless weakling like you. What, do you think that you’re better than us?” She barked.

“It must be because, the Heir Alpha has been giving her little attention this past weeks since his return.” Amy commented. She crouched and yanked my head from the ground so I could look into her cold brown eyes that gleamed with a hint of mirth. “A little birdie told me that he fucked Miss Eliana Woods right before he threw you out. Tell us, sweetie. Did it feel good to watch him kiss and fondle…”

She didn’t finish her sentence because I grabbed her tongue hard with my teeth, biting with all the strength I could muster. She let out a muffled scream as she punched me hard in my gut causing me to let go.

“You crazy bitch!” She screamed at me. I spat her blood out of my mouth, then looked at her and smiled.

“You think that’s funny, huh?”

She descended on me and began delivering several blows and kicks to different parts of my body.

By this time, the other laundry maids had come out to the yard to watch as I got beat up. They hooted and cheered as Amy pummeled my frail body.

“Get her!”

“She’s such a shameless whore.”

“Dirty pig!”

The thrumming ache in my head drowned out their voices. I had curled my body into a foetal position to try and shield myself from Amy’s assault.

“All laundry maids return to their stations, right now!” Madame Adelaide’s booming voice was heard and all the spectators disappeared to their stations. Amy stopped hitting me and tried to hurry into the laundry room along with Nelly.

“Not so fast, you two!” Madame Adelaide yelled at them as she walked into the yard. Her eyes fell on me and she grimaced. I must’ve looked awful.

“What is going on here!?”

“She started it!” Nelly interjected earning her a glare from the housekeeper. She gulped. “Madame,” she added sheepishly.

“Both of you, go to my office, right this instant!”

They scuttled off and Madame Adelaide heaved a sigh.

“Get up child,” she said.

I managed to get up.

“Head to the staff infirmary so Matilda can tend to your wounds.” Her face as stoic as ever as she spoke. I nodded and she turned away from me but not before I saw the glimmer of pity in her eyes.

~                                     ~                                 ~                                ~                               ~                       ~

Nurse Matilda handed me a small container.

“That’s the ointment you need to be applying on your bruises.”

Concern was evident in her eyes as she said her next words. “You need to be more careful, Skye. I know you said that you fell, but… you and I know better.”

I gave her a tight smile. “I’ll be fine.”

She looked like she wanted to say more but stopped herself. Instead, she nodded and gave me a small smile.

I shut the door gently behind me and walked away from the staff infirmary. The pain in my body had dulled considerably after drinking the herbal concoction that the staff nurse had given me. It was a medicine that she had given me many times after getting hurt by the twins. It would speed up my natural healing process allowing me to heal quickly, like adult werewolves should.

Since I still lacked a wolf, I equally lacked the quick healing ability that adult werewolves had. I got injured easily and I took a longer period of time to heal naturally.

In the past, the thought of how weak I really was frightened me but I always consoled myself with the fact that I would eventually shift, I was just a late bloomer, I had told myself. But, now I was eighteen and fast approaching nineteen, which was the age of full maturity, and yet I still hadn’t shifted.

A great gloom overwhelmed me. Maybe I really was an omega. Maybe I would forever be nothing more than a weakling and a prey in the hands of werewolves like Amy and Nelly.

“Skye?”

A familiar voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“What are you doing looking like some lost lamb?”

I realized that I had walked out of the manor and was now in front of the stable.

“Did you miss me so much that you had to come visit me during your work hours?” The male’s brown eyes twinkled with amusement.

“In your dreams, James.” I retorted but I couldn’t help but smile a little. The brown-haired male that was standing a couple feet away from me was one of the few staff that I could truly call a friend.

“Madame Adelaide had better not catch you here because I can’t promise to be your knight in shining armor, if she does.”

I snorted. ‘You couldn’t be a knight even if the king decided to randomly, hand you the title.” I walked over to where he stood scooping hay into a barrow in front of the large stable door.

“You underestimate me, Bunny.”

“Stop calling me that.” I said, rollling my eyes at him but my smile had grown wider. It was his nickname for me since we met as younglings. He insisted that he had mistaken me for a little brown-haired bunny when he first found me curled up in the hay in the stables. I had told him countlessly that bunnies didn’t even have brown hair!”

He feigned being deep in thought, then he said, his eyes dancing with laughter, “I think not.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at his silliness. Maybe, this was why I found myself walking here. James always knew how to lift my mood.

His gaze turned serious. “Are you okay, though?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I said, still smiling.

He walked closer to me and touched my face gently. “You’re bruised. Did someone hurt you?”

Oh.

I brushed his hand away. “It’s nothing, really,” I said, avoiding his eyes.

He looked like he was about to say something but we were interrupted by a deep terrifying growl.

We snapped our heads in the direction of the sound. Standing several yards away from us, at the edge of the forest that bordered the vast lands of the Wilder estate, was one of the largest wolves I had ever seen. It’s black fur shone in the daylight.

My gaze was fixed on the wolf which was just standing and staring at us… or was it staring at… me? My feet seemed to move of their own accord as I took some steps away from James and towards the direction of the wolf.

“Skye? Get in the stable.” James whispered.

Suddenly, the wolf started pouncing in my direction, yet I stood, transfixed.

“Skye! Get inside now!”