There is something about today that doesn't feel right.
It must have been the cloudy sky and the chill in the air that made me feel reluctant to leave my hard wooden bed even at the expense of my back.
My frayed blanket wrapped around my thin body like a blockade between myself and the cruel world. Although useless, it provided a much-needed comfort when everything seemed to be against me.
With my gloomy green eyes open and staring at the wooden ceiling. I stayed on the bed waiting for the alarm to go off, announcing the start of a new day.
I crawled out of the blanket and gingerly folded it.
The blanket went on the edge of the single bed. The mattress on the bed barely qualified as a mattress and every movement on top of it made a creaking sound.
As the person who slept on it for most of her life, I had to say despite it being so creepy, the furniture in the room held on to its shape for a surprisingly long time.
The old, sewed-on clothes swayed on my body like a bag of potatoes. I looked at myself in the mirror trying to take note of the damage done last night.
The visible bruise all over my arms and back was a result of a salty soup I made last night without Camille's guidance. The stick marks were red and blue and scattered from the palm of my hand to my shoulders where my sleeves were rolled up.
Without a change in expression, I picked up the first aid kit from the cabinet. It has become an everyday routine now as I try emptying the medicine tubes again and again.
I applied the medicine cream all over my body. Even though the bruises looked bad, it did not hurt as much as it did last night. It must be the moon goddess having pity on me for giving me such an awful life that I have a wolf who has a fast and incredible healing ability.
Raven, my wolf, is one of the reasons I've managed to keep my sanity for the past few years as the physical abuse from my family kept getting worse.
I smiled to myself, remembering the night she finally came forward.
**********★************★Flashback★****************★***********
I was in the last room of the main floor, just finishing up mopping. Suddenly a voice had me screaming and dropping the mop, splashing water everywhere.
“Hello Regina”
“Who…. who's there?” I asked nervously. I spun in a slow circle, looking for a sign of another person.
Laughter. “No need to be so anxious. I won't hurt you, Regina.”
I realized that the voice was in my head. “You're my wolf!”
“Bingo!”
“Is that your name? Bingo?” I asked curiously.
“What? No silly. My name is Raven, and it's so nice to finally be here with you.”
“It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Raven.”
“I am sorry.”
“For what?” I asked, feeling confused.
“For the pain and suffering, you've been through. I have been researching your memories, and it pains me to see how much heartache you've endured.”
“There is nothing that can be done about it.”
She sighed. “I’m so sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't here to help you. But I'm here now, and you'll always have me to watch your back. F*ck this pack and your family for the hell they've put you through!”
I laughed, full of joy. This was the best day of my life!
“Thank you, Raven. It's nice to know that I have at least one true friend in my life now.”
“No. We are more than friends, we are family.”
“Oh, Regina?”
“Yes, Raven?” I answered.
“Happy birthday”
I grinned so much that I didn't even mind that I had to re-mop the floor.
*********★************END OF FLASHBACK***********★********
After applying the medicine, I fixed my mid-length brown hair out of my face. It was time to get back to my daily routine.
“Hurry up Gina! I don't have all day to look at your stupid face.” Anayah sneered and I increased my pace.
My father wouldn't blink an eye if my sisters began their assault. He never cared, not even when I had a black eye and a broken arm.
Cassie complains, “I don't have time for this. My shoes also need some cleaning.”
A shoe-covered leg kicked my butt from behind, I groaned and bit my lips, trying hard to swallow the pain.
“Maybe that would make you clean faster,” Cassie said smiling and I blinked back the tears forming in my eyes.
This was a normal behavior in Alpha George's house.
My dad, the Alpha of Bloodmoon pack, had five daughters and a son. I am the fifth of his six children and I am the only one with a different mother. The girls all have black hair and dark brown eyes, while the only son has snow-white hair and dark blue eyes. I was the odd one out of the girls as I had brown hair and a green eye.
Hence, I was treated like an outsider.
They called me the bastard, the unwanted pregnancy.
They hated my mother because my father was cheating on their mother, and she gave birth to me.
But instead of taking their anger out on my father, they took it out on me instead.
My father also hates me with everything in him. The villagers in my pack say it is because I bear a lot of resemblance to my late mother. I know he loved her beyond what words could explain, but when she mysteriously died after giving birth to me, a part of him left him. I was forced to stay here with him and his family. She was his true mate, and my stepmother was his chosen mate.
My stepmother was not happy about it; she began to abuse me together with my sisters, and she made it clear to me right from my childhood that we were different; they were a family, and I was an outsider and a maid.
While my half-siblings were allowed to attend parties and training, I was forced to clean after them and stay up preparing dinner or running errands.
I felt a sharp pain on my scalp as my hair was pulled backwards. “Have you made breakfast for me and my pups?” My stepmother growled. I didn't sense her coming in.
My wolf cried in pain like she always did whenever I was being assaulted.
I nodded quickly, my hand reaching up to hold her hand in my hair, “Camille already made breakfast.”
Her piercing blue eyes studied me for a while before letting go of my hair and causing me to land painfully on the floor.
I groaned a little bit but struggled to keep the tears at bay. Showing any sign of weakness will only make things worse. My stepmother's eyes lingered on me, her lips curling into a cruel smile.
“You're lucky your father still wants you here because of his reputation,” she hissed.
“Otherwise I would have personally disposed you a long time ago.”
I clenched my fist, and I felt my claws slowly creeping out. It was a constant battle to hold back the anger and resentment that burned within me. However, my survival depends on my ability to endure and play the role that is expected of me. I took a deep breath, one that intoxicated my lungs for a longer time.
Anayah giggled from the corner of the room, enjoying my humiliation. “Mother is right. You're nothing but a burden, a stain on our family’s reputation.”
“Shut up,” I growled, then immediately regretted it as I sensed my father walk in.
My father's eyes immediately flashed with anger. He lifted his hands and it made contact with my skin, making my head spin.
“She's right. You're a burden to this family, and you're just as useless as your w***e of a mother. He sneered and I couldn't hold my tears anymore.
She's not a useless w***e! I murmured to myself in pain as the rejection caught through me. I should have gotten used to this kind of treatment by now, but the constant reminder of being a bastard child and the rejection from my father, especially, always hurt my feelings beyond what words can explain.
“Hurry up and help your sisters get dressed. The moonball is about to start.
