"Kai...baby" He tried to touch me.
"Ryder, if you try to touch me...I will take a chunk of your leg, master or not!"
I whimpered in pain.
This is how it feels like to be cursed, right?
That's me, Kaidaira Steele.
Sold by mother, raised to be Ryder's little whore, rejected by best friend and husband of six years!
It gets worse! Destined to die from a fucking severed bond from a miscreant with the weakest fucking wolf in existence!
My eyes diverted to Luna Ainsley and I asked for help from the woman who bought me from my mother.
The woman who was cold and indifferent to me.
But she wasn't always like that.
Earlier, she was kind.
After my mother sold me to the Steeles, Ainsley tried to make me feel more like an adopted daughter than a walking blood bank slave. Along the way during the six years that I went from her son's blood bank to her son's childless wife, something changed.
Ainsley changed
I turned to her nevertheless. She raised me, beneath the blank expression and unwavering scowl, she cared for me.
"Mom" I whispered, hoping to reach the person she once was.
She looked surprised. I stopped calling her that a very long time ago.
"Mom, it hurts!"
(Take me away from here, Mom. It hurts!)
I felt the feel of Winston's arms as he lifted me up like a feather and tried to take me, to drain my valuable blood.
(Mom, please….)
*
The first time we met, after my mother left with her wad of cash, Ainsley showed me to a little room. By the looks of it, it was set up for a little girl.
The word 'Kaidaira's Room' was hung on the wall.
The wall was soft pink. The morning sunlight streaming through the floral curtains...I liked that.
There were posters of Disney princesses across the walls, transporting me to a world of enchantment.
And there was a white, canopy bed in the middle of the room. It was an upgrade from the little room I shared with Akira in Storm breaker.
It was a very beautiful room but none of it interested me.
I sat on the bed and hugged Mrs Whistle. This was supposed to be A haven of some sort but all I saw was that the world outside had receded. Here, dreams and imagination reigned.
"Kaidara" Ainsley came closer to me. She had kind eyes. "Am I saying your name, right?"
She wasn't.
She was missing the letter 'i'. It was Kaidaira not Kaidara but I nodded anyway.
"All these must be confusing, isn't it, dear?"
I nodded again.
"Okay. I will try to explain." Ainsley struggled for words but she found it at last. "You have a very powerful wolf called a kyrelos wolf…"
"Kyr…" I tried to say it.
"Let's stick with the silver fur wolf, honey" Ainsley smiled before she cleared her throat and continued. "Kaidaira, sweetie, you're a super special werewolf! You have sparkly silver fur, super sharp yellow eyes, and can run really, really fast! Plus, you can change into a wolf really early, like when you were just three! And guess what? Your body heals super quickly, like magic! And you're also extra strong because you can resist yucky poisons that might hurt others. You're like a superhero wolf!"
"I am?" I was genuinely intrigued.
"Yes and I would like to introduce you to someone. Come darling"
Under Ainsley's watchful gaze, I was introduced to Ryder Steele, her brown eyed six and half year old boy, who was bedridden half his life because of his dying wolf.
I stood beside Luna Ainsley, gazing at the frail boy in bed with sunken brown eyes and messy light brown hair. His small hands clenched the sheets.
Luna Ainsley whispered, "Ryder, I want you to meet the newest member of our family, Kaidaira."
Our eyes met.
Ryder's gaze held a deep sadness.
I wanted to tell him that I was sad too but I remembered what Akira said. I was to do whatever it took to make Master Ryder like me.
"Hi," I said softly.
Ryder's eyes sparkled slightly. "Hi, Kaida..."
His voice was barely audible.
As our eyes locked, I sensed a strange connection. Like our hearts beating together, in sync.
Ryder's wolf felt weak, struggling. I sensed its pain.
Without thinking, I reached out.
"May I touch him?" I asked Luna.
She nodded.
My fingers brushed Ryder's hand. I felt out connection even then.
Ryder's eyes widened. "Are you my new sister?" He asked me.
"No" Luna Ainsley answered almost forcefully, like the idea itself was disgusting. "Kaidaira is not your sister. She's here to make you feel better…" for a second time, she struggled for words but Alpha Greg's made all of us turn around.
"The girl is your blood bank, Ry and your slave. For now, that's all she is. And when you are both older…"
"Greg, stop. They are kids!"
Alpha Greg was interrupted by Ainsley.
"I know you would like to pretend that we didn't buy a little girl to keep our son alive and you can buy as many toys or furnish as many rooms for the slave girl to soothe your conscience, Ainsley but the truth remains the same. She's his blood bank now and when they are biological ready, she will be his whore"
"Greg!"
"...and her blood will cancel out his weak wolf and they will have healthy children to carry on my name!"
Greg's voice made me want to run away to the mother that left me but then, Ryder Steele's hand found mine and I turned around to look at him.
"I will never let him hurt you, Kai. I won't let anyone hurt you"
He lied.
That didn't happen. I was just rejected by Ryder Steele and the only person that can give me a real chance at getting my life back was his mother.
*
"Mom!" I looked at her.
She stared back at me, all I saw was hate and kindness fight each other.
"You had one job, Kaidara. Produce an heir. Six years into this marriage and there is nothing to show for it. I would have kept you married to him but I...I..."
"Mom!" I screamed again and something flickered in her eyes.
"Give her to me, Beta Winston" Ainsley said.
"She won't survive"
It was the Alpha's voice.
"I don't care. I want her back!"
Author's Note
What do we think of Ainsley Steele?