★ELOWEN★
SLAP!
My head whipped to the side from the force of my stepsister's slap. My hand came up of its own accord, fingers trembling as they hovered against my burning cheek. My eyes watered, but I did not dare cry. Instead, I stared up at her in shock.
"You slapped me." It was not a question.
"And I would do it again." She seethed, her azure-blue eyes gleaming with anger and violence. It was only when she flung a stack of papers that I realized what she had been holding in her hand. They were the letters I had received from Eldorado two days ago—letters I had been searching for.
"How dare you, smelly cunt, letter my man."
I stared down at the scattered missives at my feet, the papers crumpled and strewn across the floor, and then slowly lifted my gaze to her again.
"Mira, we both just met Eldorado yesterday. How is he your man? He asked to write to me and I agreed." I had taken my hand down from my cheek, though the skin still burned beneath my fingers.
Mira scoffed and rolled her eyes, then bent to pick up all the letters from the ground and—like a spoiled child—marched over to Joy, her mother and my stepmother, and showed her the letters with exaggerated outrage.
"Mama, see! Elowen is writing to Eldorado! How dare she letter the man I have my eyes on!"
She stomped on the ground petulantly, and I almost let my distaste for her escape through a scoff. But that would be considered disrespectful, and I might lose the right to the single meal per day I was permitted. To them, I was only a mere servant child—someone not worthy of feeding.
Even the omegas lived a better life than me. At least they were acknowledged as members of the pack.
Joy collected the letters without haste and tore them into pieces, the paper ripping sharply beneath her fingers. I was not in love with Eldorado. Hell, I had just met him the previous day, but he had seemed like a kind man. A… friend.
"You want to become like your mother, Elowen? Who taught you to set your eyes on a man who belonged to someone else?!"
My ears rang. The accusation struck harder than the slap had. I could not believe we were even having such a conversation.
"Mother, I—"
"Don't you dare, Elowen! Don't you dare refer to me as your mother," she spoke through gritted teeth, her eyes wild with hate. "Your mother died miserably after sleeping with my husband and giving birth to a curse like you!"
A gasp tore through my throat.
It was her everyday anthem for me whenever I made the mistake of referring to her as "mother." I should have grown used to it by now, yet I simply could not. Not only because I had never met my mother—she died in labour—but because Joy never failed to remind me that I was an illegitimate child, one whom even animals deserved more respect than.
I lowered my eyes and bowed softly.
"Apologies for my insolent behaviour. I shall never write to Sir Eldorado anymore."
Mira harrumphed and dropped herself beside her mother, already distracted as she scrolled through a newsflash on her cell.
I continued sweeping the sitting room. The broom scraped softly against the polished floor as I worked in silence. I was almost finished when Father walked into the room.
His eyes landed on me.
Then on my cheek, which was undoubtedly red.
His mouth opened slightly, and for a moment I felt hopeful—foolishly hopeful—that perhaps, at last, he had noticed me as something other than a servant child. Perhaps he would ask what had happened. Perhaps he would say something.
But he only pursed his lips and turned away.
The fragile hope inside me collapsed instantly, draining away until nothing remained.
I swallowed, trying to keep my tears at bay. I needed to leave that environment before I turned into a teary-eyed mess before them.
I bowed curtly to him and moved toward the door, but his words halted me before I could leave.
"Have you lost your manner of respect, Elowen?"
My heart thundered at his words. I was already standing at a respectful distance away from him, yet I bowed again and greeted properly.
"Good day to you, F—Sir Dorian."
He nodded and took a seat on one of the plush couches in the living room as though nothing at all had occurred.
I attempted to leave again.
"There's news. Sit down, Elowen."
I frowned slightly and turned back to him. News that included my presence? That was new.
I sat on the farthest seat away from the family of three. Father reached into his suit pocket and retrieved a sealed letter.
My face fell immediately. I had seen that particular seal far too many times to mistake it. It belonged to the SinBound Pack—most likely the Valeric family themselves.
"The news is… the news is bad."
He sighed wearily and rubbed his forehead as he opened the envelope. The seal had already been broken, which meant he had read the contents long before gathering us here.
Joy scowled. Mira straightened in her seat, leaning forward eagerly as she tried to glimpse the contents of the missive.
Father released another long breath before he began.
"The Alpha of the SinBound Pack—the Valeric family, that is—has requested Mira's hand in marriage."
The living room fell silent for a heartbeat.
Then two.
Then three.
Mira let out a small, humourless chuckle.
"No… no, that is a lie, Father."
Father stared directly into Mira's eyes, his expression unmoving, signalling clearly that it was no lie at all.
When neither of her parents spoke again, Mira suddenly collapsed to the ground with a gut-wrenching scream.
"No, no! No, Father—I cannot marry that man! I cannot marry that very cursed man, Father!"
She crawled forward and clutched at her father's leg, tears and phlegm decorating her face as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Father, please. Mama, please, I can't marry that man. All his previous six wives are dead! I cannot marry a man that kills his wives!"
She dragged herself toward her mother's feet, her voice breaking with panic.
"Mother, please say something."
Joy sighed deeply.
"There should be a way, Dorian. We cannot give Mira, our only daughter, to that wife killer!"
"There is no other way, Joy. The dowry is twenty heavy gold bars."
His voice was firm now.
"Enough to change our standing entirely. He would uplift my status from merely a noble werewolf to an advisor. There is really no other way."
And it was then that I saw it.
The worry in Joy's eyes lingered for only a moment before something far uglier replaced it. Slowly, unmistakably, it turned into greed.
My stomach lurched at the sight.
This family would always choose material gain over their own children. Always.
I glanced at Mira again.
She had stopped crying.
The tears on her cheeks had not yet dried, but her expression had changed entirely.
Suddenly she stood up.
Her crazed eyes locked onto me.
My heart dropped straight to my stomach at the look in her gaze.
"Elowen, dear," she called softly, sweetly, as she approached and lowered herself beside me. Her voice was gentle now—too gentle.
"Why don't you marry the Alpha of the SinBound Pack in my place, Elowen?"