“You are not going to sell your body to pay off dad’s debts especially not to that mongrel,” Audrey tries to reassure me.
“The fact that he would even suggest it is appalling,” I paced the lengths of our small room. Small as it is, it happens to be the only place I find comfort in this house. I have shared this room with Audrey since we were little, but we learned to respect each other’s spaces.
We decorated our sections differently and my side of the room is not as colorful as Audrey’s. We have two separate beds on each side of the room. Audrey always has a pink or multicolored bedspread laid, her medium-sized teddy bear sitting comfortably on the bed, a small reading table where she keeps all her favorite books, and a reading lamp by the side.
On Audrey’s reading table is an old family picture. Mum held me cradled in her arms, with dad’s arms around her waist. They looked happy and so much in love. Audrey is peeking from behind father’s legs, her small fists holding on to his jeans, and smiling into the camera with two incisors missing from her upper jaw. I never understood why she cherished that photo so much, but looking at it now, I wonder how I ever missed that sparkle in mum’s eye. It was gone now and replaced with sadness.
Her side of the wall next to her bed is decorated with pink flowery wall papers, a design I feel is too dramatic. My own part of the room however is not so bright. The wall is plain white, but age had dulled the color, making it look like Porcelain. I like to keep things simple. I don’t fancy all the flowery decorations and teddy bears that every other girl would find attractive.
I have a bedside table with my little alarm clock on it, and a small box containing the few jewelries that I own, which are just a couple of earrings, knuckle rings, and an old wristwatch.
Despite our conflicting taste in designs, the room still held a feminine beauty. The natural light coming in through the window gave the room good illumination.
We were happy once, definitely not rich, but at least we didn’t have any reason to look over our shoulders.
“We have to do something Audrey. I don’t want dad’s idea to be our last resort because I won’t forgive myself if something bad happens knowing there was something I could have done. As much as I hate how selfish he is most times, I can’t change the fact that he is my father and we are all tied up in this mess,” I slumped on my bed and sighed.
“I could work extra hours, and get a second job. I also saw a vacancy in the restaurant across the street that you can try out tomorrow. They need extra hands and it would definitely yield better income than that dump store you are working. Dylan also promised me some funds. I was going to add it to my piggy bank for my education, but now that I have given that away, I may as well give it up too,”
Dylan is Audrey’s boyfriend. He is super supportive and loves Audrey a lot, but I don’t think Audrey is into him as much as he is into her. I on the other hand have never dated anyone before, and I don’t think I ever will, the reason being that I do not want to end up like my mom. I'd liked someone once, and when he left I was glad our relationship didn't progress
Mom is trapped. She can’t leave because she is so in love with this man, and I don’t want to ever be too dependent on anyone like my mum is on him. I may never get married even. Maybe just have a child and that’s it. I don’t want to fall in love, no matter how mom tries to make it sound like it’s a good thing.
“Audrey, I’m sorry you had to give up that money. I know how hard you worked for it and how badly you want a college education,” I say slowly.
Audrey shrugged “Dad’s life is more important. Besides, ten grand can barely pay for tuition fees. I’ll just have to start all over. Delaying a few years is better than letting them torture dad or watch them rip off all his fingers,” she responds. She is trying to be strong but I know how much this affects her.
“Doing menial jobs is not going to fetch us that money in three weeks,” I shook my head
“I know Aria, but we can raise something to keep them off for a little while longer,” she says.
“I can also go to the town square, I may be able to do a few things there,” I added. Only a miracle can get us out of this situation, but we have to try.
Audrey deposits herself on her bed opposite me, at the same time that a knock sounds on the door.
“Audrey? Aria?” dad’s voice called from the other end. I pursed my lips, and before I can tell him to fuck off, he allows himself in.
“No one asked you to come in,” I groaned.
“Hey,”
I flipped to face the wall so that my back was facing him. Audrey could listen to whatever he had to say, I’m not interested. The bed dips beside me and he sits.
“Go away father, I’m not going to sell myself to pay your debts,” I say harshly.
“I know how it sounds and I’m sorry I suggested it,” he says softly
I scoffed “No you’re not. I bet mum put you up to this,” I retorted.
“No, no, she didn’t have to,” he paused. “I’m sorry. I won’t force you into anything Aria,”
“So, you’re going to try to convince me,” I snarled.
He sighed “I’m a terrible parent, and many times I feel like giving up, but Peaches make me want to keep trying. She deserves someone better, someone that can take care of her, and maybe I’m underserving of her love, but every day all I want is to make her happy, to make all her sacrifices worth it, and I’m probably going about it the wrong way. I don’t know how I’m going to get out of this, and this is not me being selfish,” he says.
I sit up to face him, “So you are really going to try and convince me,” I say with disbelief.
“Dad,” Audrey says warningly.
“I promise I’m leaving the streets once this is cleared out, for real,” he adds.
“This isn’t fair father,” Audrey says.
“Life has never been fair to us Audrey. People do worse things to survive. It’s tough out there you know. It sounds absurd, but it’s our best bet now. I shouldn’t be asking this of you Aria,” he turns to face me, but I just glare at him with disgust in my eyes.
“Heaven knows I feel terrible that things have to get to this phase, but it is what it is, and I am not saying you agree to my idea right away, but please just think about it,” He finishes.
I can’t remember the last time I shed a tear. I mean I just watched those men beat him up and I wasn’t moved to tears, but right now I am seriously fighting back tears.
“Mum made a mistake with you,” I say unable to hide the quiver in my voice.
“Aria…” his voice trailed off when Audrey interrupts him.
“We are going to work to see what we can raise before the said time. Aria is not going to give her body to a man like Pablo, or whatever his name is. She’s not going to sell her self-worth because of a mistake you made,” Audrey says angrily. Audrey may not be in support of dad’s gambling habits but she loved him. She made up excuses for him many times and seeing her speak to him like this, I knew she too has had about enough.
“You think you can raise a hundred and ninety grand by working in three weeks? you barely saved up ten thousand from years of working, yet you think you can raise hundreds of thousands in three weeks?” he had the audacity to sound angry.
“Father!” Audrey exclaimed. How can he even say that to her?
“Leave!” I screamed.
Father jerked up at the tone of my voice, his arms flying in the air in surrender “Ok, ok, I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me, I’m sorry”
Sometimes when I’m angry like now, I feel like something else takes over my body. It’s something I can’t tell anyone because it feels weird, but there are times when I also have conversations with this tiny voice in my head.
He paused at the door to stare at me one last time before leaving. Audrey is staring at me a little surprised. It’s not the first time she would hear me use that tone of voice on anyone, but maybe I sounded more authoritative than ever. At this point I just want to be alone, and far away from this house. So, I jumped up, grabbed my purse and stormed out of the house.
SLADEListening isn’t one of my favorite things. I learned to turn a deaf ear to a lot of things, particularly if it is coming from the werewolf council or any of the pack elders. It gets irritating having to listen to the same sermon over and over again when I am even more worried about the situation than they are. My nights are filled with nightmares, and my days with unending pressure.I didn’t grow Dark wolf Pack to be the strongest, largest, and most feared pack only for it to be taken away from my bloodline because of me. I made Dark Wolf Pack what it is today. My efforts brought us here, and I’m not scared of dying, far from it. In fact, if I die, I die a noble man, I die because of the sacrifice I had to make for my pack. I accomplished what I planned for my pack within six years of my reign. Something my father failed to achieve in his twenty-eight years on seat.I took on the role of alpha of Dark Wolf P
“I’ve been waiting for you, Alpha,” The red head sprawled on my couch licked her lips and caressed her thighs seductively. She is wearing black lingerie with matching black pencil heels, batting her eyelids at me like a cat.I grabbed her roughly by the arms and yanked her off my seats, anger rolling off me, but she squirms like a little school girl who’s just been offered cotton candy.“You know I like it rough, alpha,” she giggles.“What the fuck are you still doing here?” I barked. She flinched, Maybe I raised my voice a little too much, but I made it crystal clear before leaving this morning that I didn’t want her here when I got back.I had a one-night stand with the red head once, and that’s all it was supposed to be, that was our deal. Her name, I can’t even remember, but she wouldn’t give me breathing space after that night. She isn’t from my pack, I know better than to
ARIAMy eyes scanned the bathroom for the tenth time, checking to make sure I didn’t leave any spot unattended. It looked perfect to me but I doubt Mrs. Brown would be pleased with the result. She is never pleased with anything and I learned that within two days of working with her. I spent the last four hours scrubbing this particular toilet because Mrs. Brown wanted it perfect, as it was situated in the master’s bedroom of her mansion, and she spends most of her time in here than in her actual bedroom according to her.I looked longingly at the bathroom again. What I would give to have a proper shower in a bathroom so luxurious. It is even bigger than the living room in my house!Sweat trickled down my forehead, chest, under arms, and even my thighs. I’m exhausted. Within the last three days, I have taken up all kinds of jobs I could get my hands on to make money, and so has Audrey and
I thought Pablo and his gang were the scariest-looking men I had laid my eyes on in a long time, but the man standing adjacent to me reminded me of Hercules. He stood a reasonable distance away, yet one could easily see he was brawny. His well-defined muscles hugged his shirt that had a few buttons opened and the top and the sleeves rolled up as if he had come prepared for a fight, but his hands were tucked casually into his pant pockets.“Who the fuck are you?” Pablo brawled.“Leave the girl alone,” He repeated, his tone was quiet but commanding.I take the opportunity to wriggle my arms again in an attempt to get them free, but Pablo’s grip tightened even more. His colleague had released me to move towards the stranger, cracking his knuckles as he did.“You have a chance to turn around and walk away like you didn’t see anything,” Pablo’s colleague warned, but his words do not move this stranger
“You don’t need to, I can walk,” I doubled my steps, but his strides were way longer than mine, and in no time, I had to occasionally jug to meet up with his pace. There was no use being so strong-headed. Pablo could still be anywhere around here watching me.“Are you not interested in knowing what we need you for?” Marcel apparently wasn’t backing down. I’m not exactly short, but I feel like an ant walking beside him.The offer sounds tempting, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. Things just never worked in my favor. Nothing I ever did or hoped for went the way I wanted them and I gave up dreaming a long time ago. It’s almost like the universe worked against me.“What is it I have to do?” I asked casually. My ears were itching, and my mind was trained to receive whatever ridiculous thing he had to say.“We need an heir that only you can provide!” he rasped.&ldquo
The rumbling sound from my stomach served as a reminder that it needed food. Since I wasn't cleaning for Mrs. brown today, I had to return home earlier than usual, something I wasn't exactly happy about. Being around the four walls of that house was torture, the air around the gloomy environment could easily drive one into depression, and father's surly attitude made it even worse. These days, I hated seeing him. The mere thought of him angered me, and if I had anywhere else to be rather than in that house, then I would gladly go there.Unfortunately, I do not have a lot of friends. No one wants to mingle with a low life like me, rejection was nothing new to me and I can't say I am exactly the friendly type. I learned to keep to myself and maintain my own space as a child because no one ever really wanted to be seen with me.Did I get male advances? Yes, a lot. Nine out of the ten men I meet just want to get into my panties, but I learned quickly to differentiate bet
Everything I own fits into a small box, so packing wasn't difficult at all. There wasn't anything to leave behind, except for my bed of course and Audrey followed behind me as I wheeled the box to the middle of the parlour. Asides from mom and Audrey, the only thing I would miss in this house would be my room.My mum pulled me into a bone-crushing hug while dad was outside with the two men. Tears spilled out her eyes."I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," she says, releasing me only to take me back into a tighter hug."Tell me what," I squeezed my brows together, but she just shook her head and clutched her mouth in her hands, her eyes red from too much crying."You will find out soon enough," she responds amidst tears. She checks me over, then crushes me into another hug."You're being weird. I'm coming back soon mother. Once the deal is completed, I'll be back. You're acting like you are never going to set eyes on me again," I lamented.Mo
A knock on the door sent me flying out of the chair I’d been sitting in. I instinctively wrapped my arms across my body, and proceeded with caution to the door, until the knock sounded a little impatient the second time. I didn’t think the door was locked, and I knew Slade wouldn’t have to knock to enter his house even if it was.I opened the door cautiously, and let out my breath in relief when I saw two petite girls, the one in front carrying a tray, and the other a small bag. I stepped back to allow them come in. “Alpha Slade is not going to be happy to see this,” the second girl frowned after setting the bag she’d been carrying on the bed while the other dropped the tray on the table opposite the bed.“See what?” I followed her gaze to where my bag lay scattered on the floor. I’d come out of the bathroom a few minutes ago, and I had spent the last minutes rummaging through my bag to pick out what to wear, but it appears like I all my clothes were unworthy. I’m not e