Warning: Some abusive language and actions.
Unknowingly to her, the guard's fate was sealed. She went straight to the breeding grounds to sort the animals according to those that were "in heat" and busied herself arranging them all. She took the herd out of the grounds, harvesting the wheat and corn from the fields while they grazed, and proceeding that way as the sun came out full force. After several hours and several catties of food being picked, she made her way back to the grounds, dragging the harvested crops behind her.
"Soteria!"
She trembled in fear. Hearing that voice calling immediately froze her steps. Salana Murrows walked in, her eyes filled with a mixture of hatred and anger. Soteria could guess what was coming. She braced herself for it, knowing that despite the big open area of the breeding ground, she couldn't run. In fact, if she even thought of running, what was to come would be much worse for her.
It was no wonder Nathaniel was so rotten with a mother like her.
She bit her lip, not daring to look up at Salana. As big as the area was, it suddenly seemed way too narrow at this point. As she instinctively took a step back, she felt a slap incoming.
WHAP! The air around them suddenly became stagnant. The other workers assigned to the area froze upon hearing the echo. Soteria was knocked off her feet by the force of it and fell to the ground. She could feel the burning sensation on her cheek. She didn't move from where she fell. She knew the slightest movement would increase her punishment. She sensed the other workers quickly leaving the scene to avoid Salana.
"You're trying to flee when I'm calling? Have you gotten too "big" to listen to me? You, nothing more than an abandoned child that we took pity on, YOU DARE TO IGNORE ME? "she screamed.
Soteria continued to keep her head down, knowing that if she looked at her, Salana would be angrier.
Salana's face twisted. TWACK! "Still putting on airs are you? Why are you still out here? Why isn't our food ready yet, huh? Everyone is waiting because of you! Do you feel you can make me, Salana Murrows, wait? Who do you think you are, you ungrateful little b*tch? If it weren't for me, you would be dead. " TWACK! "You useless trash! You think you can make the Alpha wait? " As she worked herself up into a rage, she continued to slap Soteria over and over until she was tired and panting.
The slaps finally stopped coming. Why would she even ask questions knowing she wouldn't allow her to answer? Before Soteria could even respond, she'd already been beaten. She didn't care about her explanation. Why is it so unfair? Liam came with the new animals when she was about to leave, so she had no choice but to arrange them or she'd be beaten.
Well, she was still beaten regardless!
Salana wouldn't care either. She just seized a new opportunity to hurt her. She looked at her darkly and slapped her again and again.
"Please stop, I'm begging you," Soteria cried.
She knew that Salana wanted her to beg. Not that she'd accept it anyway.
"Why would I stop for a mutt like you?" she replied, continuing to hit her.
A mutt? Salana used to care for her. She used to love her like she was her own daughter. That was a long time ago, when she was still a child. Everything changed for the worse when she was ten.
She was badly injured while playing in the forest, and since her wolf at the time hadn't awoken, she couldn't heal naturally. Soteria required a blood transfusion and, since she had a rare blood type, apparently, only family members could donate. When everyone was tested, only Nathaniel and Nathan came back as matches. Since then, she'd always believed Soteria was Nathan's child on the outside. Her attitude changed completely after that, and so did the pack's.
She finally stopped hitting her, out of breath, her face still twisted in disgust. It hurt so much. Soteria kept her arms up around herself, in case she decided to start again, but she stepped back.
"Hurry up! I'll beat you to death if you don't! You little b*tch. "
She dragged Soteria across the field, kicking her into the pond. "Wash up and get in the kitchen in five minutes or I'll make what I did just now feel like a sweet dream," she threatened. She walked away while Soteria struggled to drag her aching body out of the pond. As she trudged back to her room, she hoped that her only other set of robes were dry.
As soon as she got to her room, she ignored the trembling of her hands and the pain that came from moving to change as quickly as possible. She knew Salana would make good on her threats if she didn't hurry to the kitchen, so the only thing she could do was concentrate on her task.
She touched the painful areas, wincing. Would she ever escape this? Sometimes she worried that Salana would really kill her. All she wanted was a place she could belong. A place where she wouldn't be mistreated would be great as well. Was she asking for too much?
When the meal was served, she headed to her small room with the tiny remaining portion. It wasn't enough for her after toiling all day at the breeding grounds, walking the animals, cleaning the stables and pens, and feeding them all. Then she had to cook dinner for the entire pack. She was exhausted and hungry. After all that work preparing the food, she couldn't even get a full portion.
She sat back on her makeshift sofa, covered with a faded red quilt that she used. As she sat, she heaved a sigh of relief. This place was where she was the safest. No one came to her room because they didn't even know she lived there. Not even Nathaniel as far as she knew, since his mother was afraid he'd force himself on her, then insist on taking her as his mate.
It had been her room for the past seven years... As much as she tried to sort it out so it was more liveable, it couldn't be changed that much. No matter how many times she cleaned it, it remained dirty-looking. There was no heating, no water, and just one tiny window. It made winter the worst season for her. There were so many times she almost died, and was sick enough that she couldn't move. Still, no matter how sick she was, she was still required to do her work or she'd be beaten yet again.
As she sat there eating, she looked at the chipped bronze mirror on her wall. She found the girl barely reflected there to be such a sorry person. Pale, unhealthy skin, short stature, slender in the extreme, with faint scratches on her face from Salana's wrath. She envied the other girls who could eat as much as they needed, had more than enough time to sleep, a decent room, and people who cared about them.
Moon Goddess, she ENVIED them. They were able to grow up healthy and happy, never knowing her suffering but still looking down on her as if she were contemptible. Could any of them survive her life? She could barely survive her own life.
"Why haven't I killed myself yet?" she mused to herself, quietly. All she did was try to live as quietly as possible, avoiding Nathaniel and Salana. That was probably why she could barely feel her wolf. Wolves are proud creatures by nature, and whatever pride she had was long tortured out of her.
As she sat in thought, the day began to catch up with her. She dozed off quietly.
She awoke to a stinging slap, which jolted her awake instantly.
"Soteria! You useless little b*tch! Just look at where you are hiding. What a waste of food. All that was put in to raise you, and for what?" She asked, screaming as she slapped her again. "Can't even remember to wash up after the meal." She dragged her by her hair to the door and reached down to give her another resounding slap.
"Don't make me have to repeat myself, Soteria."
Soteria's brain finally kicked into gear as she heard the threat. She scrambled in the direction of the kitchen. As she took a few steps into the kitchen, a wave of pain hit her from her scalp. Her hair was grabbed roughly with a werewolf's full power. She lost her balance, slamming head first into the nearby sink.
"Stupid b*tch!" A voice yells. "How dare you make me look bad! Did you think you could make dishes I don't know about and not explain them to me? Do you know how embarrassed I was when I couldn't answer basic questions about it? Huh? " Maya continued yelling while slapping her intermittently. "If that ever happens again, I'll make your life worse than hell," she growled, flinging her away.
"Why are you wasting time on such a useless person?" Estelle asked.
She had wanted to distract Maya a bit because she was well aware that if Soteria was seriously hurt, it would be bad for them. Who would cook the food? Plus, looking at her on the ground... it made her feel things she didn't understand.
"Yeah, I know. I'm leaving now."
Soteria sat on the ground, holding her head in pain. Twice, she thought. This is twice, for this night I was hit for no reason. She couldn't understand why they thought that was necessary. She wasn't supposed to wash the dishes in the first place. There were people assigned to that task. They wasted food on her? She worked day and night, tended to all the animals all day, made breakfast and dinner all by herself, and barely received food in return. She worked herself to death every day to survive, and they act like they're doing her a favor? As for Maya, she told her what the dishes were two different times and was ignored. Tears ran down her face as she thought about how unjust it was. Maybe she should really run away.
After using a few minutes to pull herself together, she got up to run water to wash the dishes.
She was so sick of it.
When will this nightmare end? She lived in hell, day after day. Maybe she should try running away again. She couldn't understand it. They didn't want her there, but she wasn't allowed to leave either. Why wouldn't they just let her go? All she wanted was peace and safety. Was that really too much to ask for in this world? Was she really asking for too much?
"Don't cry Soteria," she murmured to herself. "You know by now it's useless. A fly cannot escape a spider's web once it's caught, and you, Soteria, are surrounded by spiders. "