Alora.
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I looked around the room, a smile on my face. I found the light switch in the wall and I turned on the lights despite the room being bright enough.
The chandelier turned on, reflecting its bright lights on tbe room and seeping through the dust. I coughed and walked deeper into the room. Managing to walk with the side of my feet to avoid pressing it painfully against the floor.
The bed was huge and soft, but what took my breath away was the view from the windows. Outside my room was the garden just in the backyard. It's beautiful short trees and chirping birds. I could see them all, even the small fountain at its center that housed the ducks.
With the sun shining, it looked like something off the pages of one of those story books Jax had read to me when I was little.
And I smiled, touching the dusty windows as I coughed again, feeling my nose getting wet from all the dust. But I didn't mind. This place was mine.
"He should have told me before he opened this room. If I knew he was going to give it to Alora, I would have had it cleaned." I heard Lana's voice outside my room and I backed away from the window. Glad she was here already.
The door opened to reveal Lana and her twins behind her. Lana had tied her hair with an African themed scarf and she wore a black long skirt and purple top. There was a frown on her face as she pulled open the door.
"It's like the dust fairy came to poop here." She uttered in disdain as she looked around my room.
Camilla and Carmen followed their mother in. They wore matching outfits this time with blue jean shorts and pale blue crop top that exposed their stomach, then blue sneakers to match.
Carmen had left her brown hair falling over her shoulders while Camilla had her dyed blonde hair in a ponytail, revealing the brown undergrowth.
"Hey you!" Carmen greeted me as she stood in front of me, hitting me playfully on my shoulder. "You seem to put Ares in a good mood today, for him to give you a room. He didn't even give Seth when he pleaded to stay with him." Carmen laughed and Camilla stood behind her with a frown.
"Thank God." Camilla whispered softly, but enough for us to hear and Carmen turned to her.
"You're just angry he scolded you on the way upstairs." Carmen teased.
"No, I'm not." Camilla said before storming off to her mother who was bringing in more cleaning supplies.
"Don't mind her, she's pissed because the Alpha warned her never to touch you anymore." Carmen said, before skipping off to her family and I raised my brow at her words.
Ares had warned Camilla never to touch me?
That was weird considering he didn't even like me in the first place. Ares' actions lately had been confusing me but I didn't have the time to think further as Lana yelled.
"You're such a lazy brat. And no, you're still grounded." She was saying to Camilla who frowned and stomped her feet on the floor.
"Alora." Lana suddenly turned to me, her eyes filled with worry as she drew closer.
"Huh." I answered, feeling chills down my spine at the attention as the twins had turned to look at me too.
"The Alpha mentioned that you hurt your feet. I was shocked to see the broken glasses at the dining table but I figured it must have been some accident last night. Are you ok?" Lana asked, looking at my feet as if she could see underneath it.
I nodded once and Lana rolled her eyes before taking the sleeve of my dress and leading me to the bed, then shoved me softly against it.
"Let me see. Isabel can't come in today because of her Neuro….what did she call it again?" Lana asked, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully.
"Neuroscience." Carmen chipped and Lana eyes shone before kneeling in front of me and taking up my feet.
"Yes. Neuroscience test. She had that today but by evening she should be here or tomorrow." Lana said before turning the side of my feet to see the cuts. A gasp escaped her lips as she looked at it.
"This is pretty bad. I think you should see the pack doctor to get this treated." She said, horror filled her face as she tried to avoid touching the cuts but whenever she did I hissed softly.
Unconsciously, I turned to see Camila who stood far off with her phone in her hand. Tears had gathered around her eyes and I could see them glittering under the lights.
She tucked her phone angrily in her pocket before she wiped her cheeks then looked up, locking eyes with me.
She turned to her sister who was peeking over her mother's shoulders as they looked at my feet, unknown to them that Camilla had been crying.
Her face filled with horror as she realized I was the only one that had seen her and I wondered why she was crying in the first place.
She looked away as she folded her arms and rested against the wall angrily.
"Hmm, I'll let Ares know downstairs before he leaves, but for now let's start cleaning up here." Lana stood and grabbed a broom.
"Camilla start with the bathroom and Carmen the closet. Hurry, the elder is arriving in two days. Preparations for the pack ceremony is in the next four days." Lana ordered as Camilla groaned, backing away from the wall.
"Why do we have to help her clean her room? It's hers so she should do it herself." She said before storming out in anger, slamming the door in anger and sending bolts of vibration through me.
Lana cursed in Spanish, throwing the broom as she started to leave when I touched her shoulders. She stopped in her tracks as she turned carefully to my hand on her shoulder.
Why had I even done it in the first place?
I snatched my hand away, before picking up the broom. "I'll clean. Just teach me how." I said softly as Lana sighed, turning to the door and back at me.
"Ok come on."
I never knew cleaning would be this difficult as we dusted the room and cleaned the bathroom and closet. Lana thought me so much since my mother didn't see the need to do so.
Looking back at the time we had gone to Jax's house, I remembered her words.
"Mother. What are we doing here?" I asked, looking around the sitting room and ignoring the footsteps.
"Shut up you brat! I told you we would be given as a slave to the Alpha today." She half yelled at me and I nodded.
"Oh yeah. Do you think he would ask me to clean his home? I heard that's what maids do. But you didn't teach me any of that. So how would I please him?" I asked innocently as my mother scoffed.
"You are so naive it disgusts me. You are fifteen, stop acting like a damn child!"
"I don't understand." I replied, growing even more confused as the room filled with a deadly aura that almost had me falling to my knees but my mother quickly spoke.
"You would be pleasing your new master in another way." She said before she fell to the floor, her head touching the floor as she bowed. My father followed and I frowned in confusion.
I remembered her words. It was like she knew already the kind of slave I was going to be. A slave for pleasure she hadn't told me. And I had become that, pleading Jax with my body instead. I thought of Ares doing the same to me, he had never made such an advancement but I readied for it.
Trust had cost me so much.
I shivered at the thought, quickly focusing on cleaning the windows and by the time we finished, my stomach was growling in hunger.
Lana and Carmen burst out in laughter and they carried the cleaning supplies and headed for the door.
"Come on, let's go downstairs to eat. Raya must have finished preparing breakfast." She said before leaving the room.
I nodded, looking back at my room. The bed had been laid with thick bed sheets that Lana had brought in. There was no single speck of dust anywhere and Carmen had placed what she called an air purifier on my bedside table and then sprayed an air scent, giving my room a vanilla scent.
"You can't still believe it's yours right?" Carmen's voice tore me away from my thoughts and I nodded, offering a soft smile.
"You know this is the first time I'm seeing you smile. Raya mentioned you did that often with her and I grew jealous." Carmen chuckled nervously, running her hand through her hair.
"You don't have to be jealous, " I answered softly, feeling my cheeks go red. This was kinda the first time I was having a conversation with Carmen alone.
"Well. I kinda figured you didn't want us to be friends because of what my sister did to you." She said, looking away.
"No. I have never had any friends." I whispered, looking at my feet nervously.
"Really why?" She asked and I shrugged.
I've always been stuck in the woods when I was younger, seeing other kids walk past from school with their friends. Or hanging out in the woods, which was rare because they thought I was an animal most of the time.
While the last years of my life were being locked in Jax's room.
"I don't know." I replied after a while and Carmen nodded.
"I feel like you know why. But you don't want to talk to me yet. I pray that someday we become so close that we share secrets with each other." Carmen said.
Share secrets?
I didn't think I'll be able to tell anyone the secrets of my heart, the things I have gone through. The pain, sorrow and abuse. It disgusted me.
I disgust me.
I pulled down my sleeves unconsciously and Carmen sighed, turning to the door.
"Come, let's go have breakfast." She said, before I followed her out of the room.
My feet had started to hurt again, as I walked with the side of my foot. And climbing down the stairs was worse with Carmen chattering in front of me about one Korean drama she talked about. I could barely understand the story at all but I listened.
"Alpha." Carmen greeted, as we entered the sitting room with Ares, Seth and Victor eating on the dining table.
I looked to see Ares staring at me as Victor and Seth spoke to him whole, pointing at an iPad.
I bowed my head gently at him like Carmen had done and he said nothing before looking away from me.
I swallowed before following Carmen, almost tripping on my feet when I heard his voice behind me. All the hair at the back of my neck standing up as shiver ran down my spine.
"You're coming with me after you're done." He said as I stopped in my tracks and turned to him. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Carmen stop in her tracks too, as he looked back in surprise.
Victor and Seth had stopped too, looking up at Ares in shock. But he paid no mind to anyone as he continued eating, stopping only briefly to turn to me. His green eyes locked with mine.
"You're going shopping with me."
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