Remi Odessa Lupercus pressed herself against the wall, hiding in the shadows of the corridor just outside her parents' bedroom door. She strained her ears to listen, her heart heavy with a mix of emotions as she eavesdropped on the conversation within. The words being spoken on the other side of the door cut deep, and Remi felt a pang of sorrow and anguish as she absorbed the painful truth that was being discussed about her.
"She's worthless!" he bellowed, his tone dripping with disdain and contempt, as he spoke to her mother, the Lady of the pack, Nyla. The venom in his voice made Remi's heart shrink, and she felt a wave of shame and inadequacy wash over her, as if she was the one being judged and found wanting. Remi's ears burned with hurt as she listened to her father, Wulfric, raise his voice in anger, his words cutting through the door like a knife.
"Not totally." Nyla said.
"Nobody wants her. No prince... no man wants to marry her. Nobody wants to even buy her. She saw her first blood two moon cycles ago. Her sister, my first child, will be preparing to be wedded to the Moonsalem Prince . Yet, nothing from her. She adds nothing to my kingdom. She is no blessing. She is a curse."
"Wulfric!"
"Do not dare to shout my name, you insolent werewoman!" he growled, his tone a low, menacing snarl. "You may hold the title of Lady of the Pack, but do not forget your place - you are still an Omega, subordinate to my authority and will." Wulfric's voice thundered through the corridor, his words laced with venom and dominance. The weight of his disdain and condescension was palpable, and Remi felt a shiver run down her spine as she listened to her father's biting words, her heart aching for her mother, Nyla, who was being spoken to with such contempt and disrespect.
The painful truth was that Remi's very existence was the reason for her father's contemptuous behaviour towards her mother. Wulfric's disdain for Nyla seemed to stem from Remi's own presence in their lives, and it was a bitter fact that Remi couldn't escape. Moreover, it was no secret that Nyla harboured a deep-seated resentment towards Remi, a feeling that had been simmering beneath the surface for as long as Remi could remember. The knowledge that she was the cause of the tension and hatred between her parents was a crushing burden that Remi carried, and it filled her with a sense of guilt, shame, and inadequacy.
Nyla's voice was laced with a deep-seated humiliation and shame as she spoke the words, "Forgive me, Alpha." The title, once a term of respect, now sounded like a stark reminder of her submission, a capitulation to Wulfric's dominance. The tone of her voice conveyed a sense of embarrassment and mortification, as if she was forced to swallow her pride and acknowledge her inferior position. The sound of her words was like a whispered apology, a quiet surrender to the power dynamic that existed between her and Wulfric, and Remi's heart ached as she listened to her mother's subdued and defeated tone.
Wulfric's voice was dripping with revulsion and disdain as he spat out the words, "You gave me spoilt seed." He turned away from Nyla, who was assisting him with his attire, his expression twisted in disgust. "How can I ever forgive you?" he sneered, his tone implying that Nyla's failure to produce a worthy offspring was a personal affront to him.
His words cut deep, and Remi felt a pang of hurt and shame as she listened to her father's brutal assessment of her worth. Wulfric's gaze seemed to bore into Nyla's very soul as he continued, his voice laced with regret and bitterness.
"Sometimes, I think I made a grave mistake by not heeding my mother's counsel. I should have taken you as a mere concubine, an insignificant addition to my harem, a plaything to satisfy my desires, and married the Lycan princess of the Northern Nightshade Kingdom instead."
A partner that would not have given him such an inferior child. Nyla fumed silently. The implication was clear as clear as Nyla's expression of hurt.
"Her time is not yet come, sire. This is all just delay. "
"You don't say. " Wulfric laughed sarcastically.
Nyla's voice was laced with a mix of resignation and devotion as she spoke, "Yes, I believe that Mene, the Moon goddess, is simply testing our resolve and faith." Her words seemed to be an attempt to placate Wulfric's anger and find solace in the divine.
Wulfric's fury erupted as he thundered, "Don't dare drag the goddess into this!" His voice was a fierce rebuke. "The goddess had no hand in creating that... that monstrosity," he snarled, his words dripping with malice and revulsion. "It's the devil's own work that spawned a child as twisted and repulsive as she is. And if no wolfman is willing to claim her as his own by the end of this moon cycle, I'll cast her out into the darkness, alone and unwanted. The very sight of her is an affront to me, a constant reminder of my own failure and shame."
His words were a brutal condemnation, a rejection of Remi's very existence, and a declaration that she was a thing to be despised and discarded. The venom in his voice was a poison that seeped into Remi's soul, leaving her feeling broken, unwanted, and unloved.
As she was.
Remi's breath caught in her throat as she shrank back against the wall, overwhelmed by the desire to vanish into nothingness. She wanted to shrink to a tiny, insignificant speck, so small that she would be invisible and forgotten, freeing her from the nightmare ger life was, which had been piercing her heart for as long as she could remember.
"I, too, find it difficult to look at her, but she is still our own. For the sake of appearances and the pack's morale, we must treat her outwardly in a way befitting a member of our family, even if it's just a facade."
"You speak nonsense, Nyla. but I have said my piece. We are wolves. We are Lupercus, we do not carry flea in our furs." Wulfric gave a low growl and walked past her.