Chapter 1

The sound of laughter filled the hallway. I had just woken up to start cleaning, as I had to scrub everywhere clean before the morning came.

Why were they laughing so happily when it’s still midnight? I wondered. I know my foster parents don’t talk much to each other except when it’s time to punish me; that’s when they become best friends. I tiptoed to the door of their room, placed my ears on the door and tried really hard to hear what they were discussing.

“I can’t still believe that in a few days we will have all the money we need. I can’t wait for her to be gone. I want her far away from here! I hate seeing her face”­. 

The malicious tone in her voice made me instinctively aware that they were talking about me. 

"Oh, my sweet darling, you just have to put up with her for a few more days, and she will be the last problem for us to worry about!” 

My eyes widened in shock. I couldn’t believe they were talking about me. Or could I be mistaken?

“But hold on, the Alpha is willing to pay us five gold coins for her. What is so remarkable about her?” Amelia heard Maureen, her foster mother scoff.

What does she mean? 

“We should just be happy that the Alpha is willing to buy her for that much; I didn’t make a mistake by picking her up that day and I can’t wait for tomorrow to come! They will take her away from here, and we will get the money!” 

My heart started pounding against my chest as tears started to roll down my cheeks and I bit my lips to stop myself from crying out loud. I knew they were monsters in human form, but I can’t believe they would go as far as selling me off. 

My foster father, George, had taken me in when I was just eight years old. He had picked me up on the street, and memories of that day flooded back. I remember it was raining that day, I was crying and walking around looking for my mother. I was later told that I had been abandoned by her on the roadside. 

Since I was brought here, my life has been hell on earth. I just couldn’t believe how people can be that cruel; there was no day that passed by without me getting severely beaten up and brutalized by them. 

I heard a footstep behind me and I quickly turned to see who it was. I knew I was in trouble as I had just  gotten caught eavesdropping on my foster parents.

“Sneaky little bitch!” Asher said before he grabbed my arm. My body began to shake uncontrollably.

“It’s not what you think”. I pleaded, whimpering in fear as a sinister smile appeared on his face. 

My foster parents were evil, horrible, wicked and downright diabolical, but Asher is the devil himself; the way he looks at me like a prey waiting to be devoured by him has always made my skin crawl. 

His dark blue eyes were scanning me up and down, and I realized I was wearing a shabby, moth-eaten silk night gown that had been passed down to me from Maureen; all my figure was visible since I didn’t expect anyone to be awake by this time. If I had known, I would have changed into something else or put on a coat. I tried to yank my hands from his grip so I could cover myself, but he tightened his grasp. 

“Now that you have been caught by me, you have to do what I want you to do, or else I will tell them you were eavesdropping on their conversation.” I stared in horror as he licked his lips lecherously. I took a deep breath, suppressing my fear.

“Leave me alone, Asher; I am going to do anything you want.” I claimed boldly.

“I should leave you alone. Are you sure about that?” He said before a malevolent grin made its way to his face.

"Yes, leave me alone.” He released his grips from my hand, and I tried to flee, but he grabbed my hair, pulling me and trapped me against him, my front to his back. That was when I knew I was done for. 

“You need a good beating, sneaky bitch!” He spat. 

“Please let me go.” I pleaded as he dragged my hair around before pushing open the door. I closed my eyes petrified, not daring to meet the eyes of my foster parents in the room.

“I caught a little mouse skulking around and eavesdropping on your conversation.” He roared in anger before pushing me to the ground. 

“Father… please, it was a mistake.” My voice trembled in fear.

“You were eavesdropping on us?” My foster father growled. I shook my head terrified as I watched my foster mother practically jump out of bed and walk towards me.

“You sneaky bitch!” Maureen, my foster mother, said before a slap landed on my face. I held my cheeks as pain shot through them. I lowered my head, afraid to look her in the eye. She raised her hands up again, and her sharp claw-like nails glittered in the light.

I knew I was about to get a good beating, and out of reflex, I tried to hide from her beating by sitting on the ground and curling intomy body, covering my head with my hands. It has always saved me from getting seriously injured, as it’s only my back that gets to suffer. My body was trembling as I bit my lips and shut my eyes tight while I waited for her to pounce on me. 

A few seconds passed by and nothing came, so I lifted my head and opened my eyes. My stepfather George was standing, holding Maureen’s hands in the air. She was breathing heavily as she glowered  at him, her face slack with shock. 

He had never stopped her from pouncing on me; instead, he joined her in pummeling me more. I stared on in shock too, as my heart felt torn at his out of character kind gesture. 

“George?” Maureen fumed. My body trembled violently at her furious voice, but I took the opportunity to plead for mercy.

“Daddy, I am sorry.” I pleaded, crawling towards him and holding on to the hems of his pants as I looked up at his face, hoping he had mercy on me.

“Alpha Devon’s men will be here first thing tomorrow; we can’t afford to mess things up.” He says this to Maureen before dropping her hands. She glared into my eyes menacingly and I swore I could see flames coming out of them, but she is the least of my worries right now; I can’t get sold to Alpha Devon, the monster of the Bloodmoon Pack.

Alpha Devon is so cruel that stories of how vile he is were told to children to scare them at night. Getting sold to him is like signing my death certificate, I don’t think I would survive living under his roof. Thinking of it alone sends a shiver down my spine.

“Please! Daddy, don’t sell me to Alpha Devon; I can’t get sold to him. I will die.” I begged as tears flowed from my eyes. 

“That’s better! It’s better you die, Evelyn.” Maureen cuts in quickly, her amber eyes glinting with malice like a hissing viper.

“Why doesn’t Selene go instead?” At the mention of her precious daughter's name, she darts forward towards me and strikes me again. 

“How dare you! We took you in, fed you, and clothed you, and now you think you are really my daughter. How dare you mention Selene’s name?” She flared up. 

Even with all the commotion going on, Selene was still snoring peacefully. The whole house could be burning down, and she would still be sleeping. She doesn’t do anything all day apart from waking up to eat and going back to bed. 

“Such a lazy spoilt brat.” I muttered under my breath almost instinctually, temporarily forgetting I was with my foster parents andhoping they didn’t hear me say that.

But I immediately felt a heavy blow strike the side of my face, knocking me backwards. My head smacked against the hard floor, and pain shot through my skull as I screamed in pain. Tears streamed down my face as I gently massaged the back of my head. 

“You bastard! How dare you call my daughter a lazy spoilt brat?" My stepfather roared. “Asher, take her and lock her inside the basement.” He commanded. 

My eyes widened in dread and terror at the mention of the basement. Terrible memories of the different times they had locked me in there for days and weeks with no food except stale bread and little water flooded back, and I shook in fright. I remembered the gigantic rats and cockroaches and other unknown creatures that crawled over my body in that pitch black darkness and panic set in. 

"Please, father, don’t lock me in the basement. I would be a good girl, I’ll do anything please!” I held his legs tightly as I kept pleading.

“Ungrateful bitch.” He said before throwing me off his shoulders, I groaned loudly as I fell to the ground again. He kept kicking me as pain flowed through my body; it felt as though all the bones in my back had broken into pieces. 

“Drag her out!” Asher did not hesitate to drag me by my hair. I held his legs, but he yanked my hands off. I dreaded the thought of ending up in the dark basement. I can’t end up in there again. 

I screamed loudly as he kept dragging me down the hallway. 

“Daddy please! Help me, please!” I kept screaming as Asher laughed hysterically, as he seemed to be enjoying seeing me wail and howl like a mad woman. 

My skin was lesioned as the uneven floor scraped against it, but Asher didn’t mind; he kept dragging me till we got to the front of the basement. He tightened his grip on my hair and opened the door to the basement.

"Asher, please don’t take me in there!” I begged him. He knew how much I hated the basement. An evil smirk appeared on his face. 

“This is what you get for being so stubborn!” He said before pushing me into the basement. I screamed as I rolled down the stairs in the basement. 

The intense pain put me in a trancelike state and my vision began to blur. Asher walked down the stairs, his footsteps ringing in my head and when his face came into view, a weird little smile was planted on his face and he scrunched down.

“Maybe I should have you before Alpha Devon gets his hands on you.” He mocked me as his fingers played with my hair. I shook my head slowly as fear gripped my body. 

What is Asher going to do to me? Several thoughts went through my mind. My entire body was in unutterable pain. I could not breathe as my vision blurred. My body seems to be shutting down. 

“No! No!” I begged my eyes not to fail me as they kept closing slowly, I gradually lost consciousness and then they shut completely.