Chapter 2

I ran a comb through my thick, light brown hair, sighing as I did. Another day at school, another day of beatings and suffering. I wonder how they would feel if I ran away? They would probably celebrate, my wolf sneered. Would they even notice if I ran away, much less died?

Brushing my fingers over my necklace, I looked into the mirror, seeing my thin face, hollow cheeks and eyes staring right back at me. No wonder why they hate me so much, I thought to myself. Why would they care about the poor ugly servant girl that got their Beta and female Beta killed? I shook my head and quickly threw on my baggy hoodie, hoping to ward off my thought from going to dangerous places, though to no prevail.

A drawn out breath escaped my lips as I shuffled my way over to the metal doors. I opened the door slowly, knowing if I moved any faster I would be in greater pain then I am in now. Moving up the stairs at a snail’s pace, the guard followed behind me, watching my every step. I don’t really know why I call him a guard, he doesn’t really guard me, and he’s only here to make sure I make it upstairs to do the chores and school work. Sometimes, I’m too beat up to walk up the stairs and he has to carry me. Otherwise, he’s with his family and friends, I suppose.

Reaching the door, I lowered my eyes and opened it, knowing that no one would want to see my face this early in the morning. I twiddled my fingers together.

“Hey, look everybody! The witch has finally made an appearance.” Joseph one of the enforcers (Warrior/Fighter) said sarcastically. I stood there, taking their comments like they were nothing, “Bitch, look at me when I’m talking.” He growled angrily, pushing me roughly.

“Calm down Jose, you don’t want to make Hilton any more pissed off then he is,” warned Aaron, not even sparing me a glance, “He’s already pissed off about not finding his mate.”

I looked down feeling a little sorry for Hilton. Us werewolves’ have only one mate in our entire existence. Mates are like soul mates. They are your forever. You meet your mate on your 18th birthday, the exact date and time of your birth. Both the male and female smell an irresistible scent that leads them to their mate. Once they find each other, they are very protective of each other, the males more than the females, usually. The Alpha males, the leaders, and betas, second in command, were the most possessive and protective of them all. Having powerful wolves, they never rejected their mates. My parents were mates.

There are rare cases where the mates are not happy together, or one of them does not reciprocate each other’s feelings and rejection is settled. In those cases, even if the humans reject each other, their wolves still have the mate bond. So, if the humans want to get back together, they still can. However, like I said, it rarely happens.

“Hilton left early for school today, hoping that he’ll find his mate at school,” Axel said, joining the conversation.

Joseph sighed but nodded his head, “This isn’t over,” he said, following Aaron into the dining room.

Throwing my hair into a loose pony tail, I made my way silently to the kitchen, not wanting to awaken the wrath of the sleeping pack members. I got to work [once I entered the kitchen,] getting the pack’s breakfast ready. After the bacon, eggs, waffle, toast, and cut up fruits were made, I set the platters down on the dining room.

I made 20 cups of coffee, setting them in the appropriate spots, seeing as each pack member had a designated spot at the table. Soon enough, the smell from the food brought people into the dining room. I sighed in relief as everyone began chatting happily, not noticing me.

The teens and the rest of the children finished their food and stood in front of me hands stretched out as I handed them their papers back.

“Hey, next time you do my homework, make it more believable, do you really think that any of us have the time to work on our homework for an A?” Shelly, the ‘Future Alpha Female’ rudely told me. Shelly was one of the many girls who thought they were going to be Hilton’s mate. She was leader of the group. I was secretly happy that none of them were, because that meant less beatings for me.

I nodded my head at her, knowing it was better to agree with her than disagree. I knew the grades they got with my work could get them into a good college, yet none of them thanked me or appreciated the work I did for them.

My stomach grumbled and I frowned as I placed a hand on my stomach, trying to control the growling. While people started to leave, I picked up their dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. The plates that couldn’t fit in the dishwasher I began to wash by hand.

Hearing the beep come from my watch, I knew I had only 2 hours before I had to do the laundry. Cleaning the last dish, I went to make the adults’ lunch. I tossed a salad for the women and made over 150 sandwiches for the men.

Hearing my watch beep again, I made my way over the laundry room and started to load the first batch of clothes. As they were washing, I made my way carefully up the stairs to the last room on the right, which led to the Alpha’s youngest son, Benjamin, who was an adorable 9 years old.

“Benjamin,” I called knocking on the door, waiting to be called in.

“Come in!” Benjamin shouted. I entered the room and looked down at the brown haired, blued eyed boy who was sitting on his bed up and ready for school.

Smiling affectionately at him, I said, “Are you ready for school?”

In return, I got a bright smile and an excited grin. Laughing softly, I held out my hand as Benjamin grabbed his backpack and pulled me out of his room, dragging me downstairs.

Since I was forbidden to go to school because I didn’t deserve to further my education– no, their exact words were, “School is for people who actually have a chance at life, I am not letting you ruin your years by going to school when you can be doing chores and taking care of the rest of the pack members.”

So, I cheerfully accepted the role. Benjamin is the only one in the pack house that actually treats me like a human being, and not as a punching bag. I’ve been taking care of him since he was born. The Alpha and Alpha female were too distraught over losing their betas: my parents, and they happily handed the job of taking care of their son to me.

Don’t get me wrong, they lavish and love Benjamin, but after the death of my parents, they were never the same. We aren’t the same now either, and we needed to grieve over the death of our parents also. My wolf growled at me sadly. I know, I answered her, but we don’t have the right to since WE are the reason OUR parents are DEAD in the first place.

I snapped out of my thoughts when Benjamin and I reached the bottom of the stairs. I lead Benjamin to the kitchen to feed him before I take him to school.

“So what are your plans for today Xav”? I asked him, while I sat down in front of him.

“Well I got this big math test today, and I might ask Lily to eat lunch with me today,” He answered shyly, a light pink tint covering his cheeks.

“That’s wonderful Xav!” I said happily, grinning like a proud mother. He looked down fully embarrassed. Smiling at him, I ran a hand through his hair gently, “I’m sooooooo, proud of you Benjamin,” I said, getting teary.

“Really?” he asked timidly.

Shocked, I stared at him, “Why wouldn’t I be? You’re a straight A student, you’re funny, charming, and handsome! What more could anyone ask for?” I stated, looking into his eyes. His lips turned up into a content grin. A loud beep sounded and I stood up. “Finish eating, I just have to put in the second load,” I told him.

Benjamin’s happy smile turned into a frown. He knew how the pack treated me and didn’t like it, but what could a 9 year old do to help in a situation like mine?5

Quickly changing the laundry load, I headed back to Benjamin.

The ride to the Elementary school was quiet and somber, it always brought Benjamin’s mood down when he saw the way the pack members treated me. He always thought that if I was sad he had to be sad.

Once I dropped Benjamin off at school I headed back to the pack house. I went back to the laundry room and put in the last load of the laundry. After placing the new load in, I began to iron and fold the already washed clothes, and put them in neat stack according to whose clothes they were. By the time I was done with that pile of clothes, the washer beeped and I placed the wet clothes into the dryer.

I began cleaning the kitchen appliances, counters, and cupboards while I waited for the clothes to dry. Hearing the final load of clothes beep, I ironed and folded them too, and began carrying them to their owner’s rooms. Later on, I hand scrubbed the kitchen floor, before heading out to clean the living room and bathrooms. Once I cleaned, I started doing the packs’ taxes and bills to get them out of the way.

By 1 pm, I was exhausted and headed for my ‘room’. The guard was waiting for me when I opened the door. He grabbed my arm and helped me down the flight of stairs.

When I got to my room, I saw a stack of papers and text books on the floor next to the door to my cell. Grabbing the books without a sigh or complaint, I began to work on the many essay’s and math equations. Thankfully, for the purpose of completing the packs’ homework, I was given a laptop and printer.

I moved to my dingy desk, turned on my lamp, and got going on their homework. Britney Tanner wrote her name neatly on the paper and outlined what assignment I was supposed to complete.

At 3 pm, I finally finished half of the stack of papers and decided to take a small break. I logged onto my email account and found I had one mail waiting for me. My eyes widened happily when I saw who it was from.

‘Dear Amelia,

I admit your last e-mail got me pissed as hell. They have no right to treat you like that! YOU’RE their FAMILY. It wasn’t your fault it happened. You were only 6. What could you have done to help your family? Your pack is despicable and they don’t deserve you!! You are beautiful and you know it! Believe me, you’ve sent me a picture of you.

Looking at the email, I had no idea what to write back to him. I just couldn’t believe Bane’s pack wanted me to live and join their pack, someone wanted me! Tears pricked my eyes as I smiled. Looking at the clock, I quickly shut the computer screen and headed for the stairs, it was 3:15pm and I had to go pick up Benjamin.

Slipping into my beat up Acura. I headed for Benjamin’s school, managing to get there just as the bell rang. Benjamin ran into towards the car with an excited grin on his face and a note in his hand.

“Hey, Amy!” Benjamin answered happily.

“Hey, Xav,” I greeted him happily. “Who’s the note from?” I ask slyly, shifting my gaze towards him once in a while. A hot flush of red filled his cheeks as he stared down at the note, a dopy grin on his face.

“It’sfromLily,” he mumbles looking down.

“Huh? What did you say? I didn’t hear,” I said, poking fun at him.

He sighed, his fingers playing with the note in his lap. “It’s from Lily,” he repeated louder, “There, I said it,” he grumbled.

I laughed at how embarrassed he sounded. “Well, what does it say?” I questioned him while I wiggled my eyebrows as I took a right, heading towards the grocery store.

“Umm… She wanted to know if I wanted to go see a movie with her on Saturday,” he whispered, a smile curling on his lips again.

“Wow, that’s two days away. You fourth graders move fast,” I mockingly said to him, getting a smile in return. “While the rest of us are going online to get dates, you kids seem to get them in minutes in real life,” I jokingly added.

“You’re getting old Amy,” Benjamin teased back.

Once we got to the grocery store, I pulled out a cart and began walking around and gathered the ingredients for tonight’s dinner, lasagna.

“Why do you have to everything in the house? Why do they treat you like this Amy? I don’t like this,” Benjamin declared as he eyes one of my bruises with distain.

“It’s just the way things are Xav,” I tell him quietly, not wanting to upset him. “I did something stupid when I was younger and this is my punishment.”

“But, it was an accident right?” He asked. I answered with a nod. “Then why are you being punished?” I shrugged my shoulder, not knowing how to answer him.

“Let’s get going,” I say quietly heading to the checkout counter.