Kaya
The loud voices outside the house seep through the open door in the servants' quarters—a warning sign not to go in that direction. I turn around, making sure my shabby old jogging shorts don't make even the slightest noise.
But then, the wooden plank under my feet suddenly creaks from the pressure of my weight. I freeze, absolutely terrified. I know every single plank that makes up the floors of the pack house. I know exactly which ones make a noise when stepped on. How could I have forgotten? Silently, I scold myself for the careless mistake.
Slipping off my worn-out shoes, I tiptoe through the dimly lit corridor of the first floor, holding my breath almost instinctively. The door is just ahead—so close. I round the corner, my heart hammering in my chest when suddenly, my right foot hits something sharp.
Pain flares as the jagged edge tears into the skin around my big toe's nail. I stumble, crashing down onto the floor, my elbows slamming into the wood. A rusted nail. At least I haven't stepped directly on it.
"Look at you, crawling on the floor again like the little worm you are—what a miserable display!"
I flinch, my breath hitching at the sound of a familiar voice. Yulianna.
She stands over me, vile and arrogant, as always. Her long, straight black hair flows down her back, reflecting the dim orange lamplight like the surface of a dark lake under a blood moon.
Tall. Slender. Beautiful. The perfect female werewolf. Too bad she is just an omega. Like me. What a waste.
Her deep brown eyes bore down on me, sparkling with undeserved dominance as she moves her leg slightly forward. The tip of her gray shoe nudges under my chin, forcing my head up as if I'm too dirty to be touched by anything other than her foot.
Despite being just an omega and working as a servant, her unreasonable hatred for me is the only thing that makes her feel unclean, and yet, she can't help herself. That's why she has others to express that dirty hatred in ways she cannot.
Two of her closest friends, the omega twin girls who follow her like a second shadow, stand at her sides, smirking in unison as they watch my lips tremble from the pain of her shoe pressing into my chin.
"Where were you going, little rat?"
Yulianna's low, strangely authoritative voice sends a chill down my spine. I part my lips, but my voice is trapped in my throat. Only a quiet whimper escapes, and their laughter echoes through the corridor.
"Ah," Yulianna says, jerking her foot upward. Pain flares through my jaw as I clamp my mouth shut. "I forgot that you can barely speak. Pathetic, as always."
I drop my gaze to the floor, pressing my lips together as the insults rain over me again. One of the twins, Marina, kicks my old gray sneakers toward me before wiping her foot on my shirt in disgust.
"Don't scatter your garbage around here, you traitor. And if you don't know how to speak properly, at least learn how to say 'I'm sorry' when proper wolves address you."
Yulianna shakes her head at her friend, a playful gesture as if scolding her, but her lips are still stretched into a grin.
"Marina, you're being too harsh on this poor creature! It's too much to expect someone like her to know how to act properly. If anything, I think it suits her perfectly––as a wolfless daughter of a traitor, the best she can do is keep her filthy, lying mouth shut!"
Stepping over me, Yulianna leans down and grabs a fistful of my brown hair. A sharp sting shoots through my scalp as her claws scrape against my skin.
She smiles, flashing her fangs for a brief moment before pouting and clicking her tongue.
"This miserable face is getting on my nerves. You're lucky I'm in a good mood today. Otherwise, I'd have told the Alpha that you'd made a huge mess again. I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you another preventative beating."
Her grip tightens, and she shoves my face down toward the floor, mere inches from the rusted nail. My throat constricts, fear clawing at my chest. If she presses just a little harder…
"Get rid of it before someone else gets hurt," she hisses. "And make sure I don't see you again until tomorrow."
"Yes."
The single quiet word barely leaves my mouth before her anger flares again.
She yanks my head up sharply, my hair pulling painfully at my scalp. My entire weight hangs from her grip, and when she bares her fangs, my body trembles.
"Stupid bitch."
She shoves me back onto the floor, then turns away, smiling at her friends. With a flick of her hand, she gestures for them to follow.
"Let's go, ladies. I hear the gammas need some assistance with their baths!"
The twins giggle and follow behind her, like two brainless dolls under her spell.
Silence returns, but the weight of humiliation presses down on me. Tears burn my eyes as I force my nails under the wooden plank, whimpering when one of them breaks under the pressure. I struggle, biting back sobs, trying to pry the faulty board free.
I pray no one hears me.
When I finally manage to pull it loose, I snatch my shoes and dash toward the servants' quarters, hoping one of the male omegas is still available to fix the floors.
This encounter with Yulianna… it could be worse. It can always be worse.
Because here, I am nothing but a powerless slave; a wolfless daughter of a traitor whose betrayal cost the current Alpha his father's life.
Everyone hates me, even though I've done nothing wrong. No one from my family has. And yet, I have to bear this awful branding for the rest of my life.