2

Torin quickly dragged me into his room and shut the door. I breathed heavily as we listened to the footstep in the hallway.

“I’ll see who it is” he stepped out of the room while I waited. I couldn’t hear what he was saying or see who it was but after a while, he returned.

“It was a maid. I asked her to leave and return later. You have to leave too now and I’ll send a message across when I find him”

“Thank you,” I said in a hushed voice and he chuckled.

“She’s gone. No need to whisper”

“I know” I looked away from the door and noticed Torin had been staring at me with a strange look.

“What?”

“Why do you like to tie your hair? It’s prettier when you let it loose” he said reaching for the hair tie but I stopped him.

“You know why. I hate when they drag me by the hair” he sighed.

“I don’t know why things haven’t changed. I wish there was something I could do”

“I wish so too” Torin was a good man and if he had the power to change the humans situation, he would do it in a heartbeat. But unfortunately, we were condemned by the king.

“I have to get going. I’ll see you another time” I stood on my toes and gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek. I hurried out after that, sleekly slipping out of the wing and not being seen by anyone.

When I arrived at our home. I found a group of girls forming a crowd. I went to see what was happening and noticed it was one of the girls that had been punished.

Her body was filled with whip marks and blood and her sister was helping her clean up while they sobbed. I clenched my fists in anger as I watched them.

The cattle and horses got better treatment than we did. Until when do we have to live like this? It was further infuriating because there was nothing we could do. We couldn’t stage a rebellion or fight the other two at the top of the hierarchy. There was a reason they were there. We would simply be wiped away like flies.

I retraced my step and went to my space. It was a large living quarter and we each got a floor bed and a small cupboard to keep our necessities. The few males that remained were locked away in the cell and were only brought out for breeding.

If a male child was born, they were mostly killed. The only time a male child was kept alive was if one of the studs passed away or could no longer father a child. Female humans were the only ones that were allowed to live.

Typical lives of animals. I huffed as I settled down on my bed. None of my space-mates had returned from their duties and I had nothing to do but lie down and wait for Torin’s message.

Lunchtime came and I had gotten no message from Torin. I was starting to get antsy by the silence. Celia, the girl with a bed next to mine returned, completely exhausted but she stayed awake to chat with me.

Apparently, there was going to be plenty of work going further in preparation for the mating ceremony.

Dinner came and I needed to see Torin. I swapped my kitchen duty for serving at the table just so I could see him. But then, I saw Torin in the hallway. I couldn’t stop to talk to him because of the presence of others but he gave me no sign to meet him outside. It made me worried. All through, he didn’t even look at me once. He was focused on his food. Coen was absent at the table too.

I did my duties with a frown plastered on my face and my head consumed with thoughts.

What was happening? Why did he have that look on his face? Why had he not sent a message across like he promised and most importantly, where was Coen?

Dinner ended and I helped them put the dishes away and clear the table. I couldn’t go after Torin because I never saw him leave so I didn’t know where he could have gone to.

I decided to find Coen myself. I slipped out into the cold night, going towards the deserted tree house we often meet up in. Sitfrigs have an almost similar sex drive with werewolves…. So I heard.

Coen was very sexual and although we’ve never gone all the way, we’ve done other things. We did that whenever we met up. We hardly had time to speak but we always had time to give each other a release until the next time we met again.

I approached the tree house and I was surprised when I heard voices and laughter. I hesitated for a second. The tree house was deserted, that was why we came here all the time. Did someone find out about it?

I listened closely but then I recognized the voice. It was Coen…. And a female. I marched with fury towards the tree house, the consequences of my actions totally fleeing from my head.

I’ll rip the hair out of whatever bitch he was with. Coen was mine. He belonged to me. We were made for each other and we are about to get mated and I’ll be damned if some low-life bitch appeared from nowhere to take him away from me. But as I arrived at the front of the tree house, I came to a surprising stop.

Coen was butt naked, draped over a woman and they were laughing.

“What the….” They finally noticed my presence but they didn’t jump apart like you’ll expect. He lazily rolled over, looking at me with a blank look.

No remorse or guilt on his face. He stared at me shamelessly. My eyes slowly left him, traveling to the woman who had been under him.

“Gaia” I muttered in disbelief.