Alora
I walked nervously towards Lana as she stretched her arm out to me and I gulped taking the spice from her as she sighed and went to lower the stove and stir whatever she was cooking.
I glanced at the small container in my hand and the words that were written on it. Sweat filled my palm as I thought of what it meant. The writings were foreign to me and I didn’t know what it was.
I figured it was English but while I could speak I couldn’t read nor write. I wiped my palm against my dress as I gulped, glancing briefly at Lana who was cutting some vegetables.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell her no matter how nice she was, I just couldn’t tell her that my twenty years old self was dumb as well as dyslexic. I remember a few of the children in the pack laughing at me when I had helped one of them pick her textbook that fell from her bag. I had tried to pronounce what was written on it when they all burst out into laughter.
Since then I had never picked up any book. It wasn’t like I needed to learn to read and write anyway. I was a slave, nothing more and books didn’t matter to one.
“Violeta?” Lana’s soft voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I gasped, stepping backwards nervously.
“I– I..” I stammered when the door slammed open and Seth walked in. I jumped immediately at the sound and at the sight of him.
He was wearing a black suit and a white shirt that was currently stained with blood that dripped past an open wound on his temple. There was a heavy frown on his face and his eyes didn’t waver at the pain that throbbed his temple.
Instead those grey eyes glanced hatefully at the kitchen before it fell past me and he narrowed his eyes. I suddenly felt all the hair at the back of my neck stand as I stepped backwards in fear.
I didn’t like Seth, and it was obvious he hated my guts too.
“What happened Sir?” Lana spoke up, her eyes filled with worry as she stepped forward, dropping the knife on the island.
“Where’s the nurse?” Seth’s gruff voice asked, shifting his gaze to the older woman and she nodded.
“Isabel? She went to change, she’ll be back soon.” Lana said and Seth groaned angrily.
“I’ll get you water. Please sit, you’re dripping blood everywhere Sir.” Lana said and Seth frowned at the mess on the floor before dragging out a stool and sitting on it like a petulant child.
“Alora?” Lana called my name and I turned sharply to her. She pointed to the fridge. “Hey water for him, I’ll go find Isabel.” She said before washing her hands and dusting it off her apron as she left the room in a rush.
When the kitchen door closed, I suddenly felt my heartbeat increase as the room suddenly felt smaller with just me and Seth. I said nothing as I started to head to the fridge just a few steps away.
I immediately felt Seth’s gaze in me, but he said nothing as they bore holes into my back and I prayed he wouldn’t say anything to me because I was too scared to even look him in the eye how much more to speak to him directly.
Taking out a jar of water and a glass cup I headed back to him. I walked carefully towards him before dropping the water and pouring it into the cup. My hands shook as Seth didn’t tear his gaze away from me.
“You look familiar.” He said and I felt fear shoot up my spine and the cup slipped past my fingers, dropping on the floor and shattering immediately into pieces.
Seth leapt backwards, a curse flying out his lips. “What the hell is it with everyone throwing glasses at me?!” He spat angrily and I bowed my head immediately submissively.
“I’m sorry!” I cried before falling on my knees and picking up the broken pieces of the cup when it pickled my skin, tearing it as I drew my hand back with a hiss.
“You’re stupid.” Seth said angrily, raising the jar to his lips and gulping the contents before the door opened again.
“Alora!” Lana screamed rushing towards and pulling me from the floor as she snatched my hand.
“Beta, Isabel said she’ll meet you in the sitting room.” Lana directed to Seth who said nothing but spare me one more glance as he left the kitchen. I finally breathed out a sigh of relief.
“What happened?” Lana asked and I said nothing snatching back my hand from hers as she sighed.
“I dropped a cup by accident.” I answered gently, looking down at my index finger that had started to bleed slightly.
“Are you ok? You’re hurt and you’re bleeding.” Lana said worriedly and I kept my gaze on the small cut and a tiny smile threatened to break out my face but I forced it down.
I’ve bled more.
This was small compared to what I’ve been through the past years. Jax had done worse, my mother had done worse, my father had done worse. This was nothing.
“It will heal.” I answered lightly, looking up at Lana and she sighed.
“So because it would heal, it’s okay to get hurt?” She asked, her brown eyes staring at me sadly and I felt my heart pickle at her words.
I didn’t answer, unsure of what to say as Lana took the sleeve of my arm and I stared at her in confusion.
“I know you don’t like getting touched.” She smiled before leading me to the kitchen sink and putting on the tap.
Pushing my finger under the running water, the blood soon cleared off the wound and Lana took out a band aid from her apron.
“Isabel insists I always had one with me incase I cut myself in the kitchen.” Lana smiled, before taking my sleeve and blowing off the tiny drop of water that remained on my finger and peeling off the covering of the band aid and placing it gently against my injury, covering it properly.
My eyes stung with tears as I relaxed, watching Lana treat the injury like it was something big and life threatening. There was a tiny feeling of appreciation in my heart and for the first time, I felt a bit warm inside of me.
Lana stepped backwards, dropping my sleeve as she smiled at me.
“I know you’ve been through a lot. And I don’t know if it’s ok to tell you that you can come to me anytime and you can tell me anything. Ok?” Lana asked and I hesitated as a memory flashed in my head.
“You can tell me anything. I’m rich.” Someone had told me and I had ended up as a slave instead.
I stepped backwards, looking down at my feet. I said nothing to Lana. The first time someone had said that to me I was naive, but I knew now that kindness comes with a price. It always did.
And I had already had everything taken away from me. I had nothing else to trade.
“Did you have breakfast yet?” Lana asked and I shook my head, making her sigh and pull out the stool Seth had been sitting on.
“I’ll heat up the pancakes for you.” She said and I nodded as she placed the wrapped pancakes in the microwave before taking a mop and started to wipe the drops of blood on the floor from Seth.
I watched her and she scoffed, looking up at me. “Don’t mind Seth, he must have gotten into a fight with the Alpha again. The two seem to fight a lot, but that’s normal. They are childhood friends.” Lana started, pushing gently the broken pieces of the cup away.
“I remember when Seth was found in the woods abandoned by his parents. The Alpha had been the one to find him and they had become close. Despite being a few years older, Ares had treated Seth like his younger brother.” Lana took a broom and swept the glasses away before she took out the pancakes from the microwave.
“They might fight now, but they’ll resolve it quickly. Seth is closer to the alpha than the others. Victor is mostly running errands and Alberto keeps the clubs running.”
Lana slid the plates to me and I stared down at the brown food. Pancakes. Jax had forbidden me from eating anything that would make me fat. I had eaten mostly salads or vegetables and it didn’t help that Jax was vegetarian.
I cut out a piece of it and pushed it between my lips. A tiny moan of relief escaped my lips and Lana laughed, slapping me against my shoulders.
“You didn’t even use the syrup. We have different flavors.” Lana giggled, sliding three bottles of goo before walking back to the pot against the stove.
Not knowing how to use the syrup and being unable to even read which flavor it was, I ignored it and ate the pancakes that way all the while listening to Lana talk about different things.
Sometimes the girls came to the kitchen to complain about the work especially Camila who Lana had shouted at a lot of times for stealing pieces of fried meat.
Thankfully, Camila said nothing to me all the while she came. I stayed away from her, helping Lana do the dishes since I couldn’t do anything else.
Carmen had been caught two times in a row sneaking to watch the Korean dramas and Lana finally found a way to hide the remote causing Carmen to ignore her mother all day.
Raya had finally finished her work and joined us in the kitchen. She was talkative and I knew things I didn’t want to. But apart from that she was friendly and did most of the work while I sat at the table figuring out how to cut onions.
I ended up crying most of the time.
Isabel didn’t return, Lana said she had followed Seth to the pack hospital to give the food to the nursing mothers.
And when night reached I almost wished they didn’t have to leave. Lana had set the table for Ares when he returned and she grabbed her bag and faced me.
“I’ll be back in the morning. Make sure to eat dinner.” She said, smiling at me and I nodded.
“Mom! Come on! I’m tired!” Camila groaned, standing at the door as Carmen came to stand by me.
“Try to find the remote for me please.” She pleaded, battling her brown eyes at me and I nodded gently, making her squeal in joy and join her sister at the door.
“I better call Stephen. He’s mad at me for not picking his call earlier.” Raya said and Camila rolled her eyes.
“I pray the girl he’s cheating on you with picks up the call so you finally realize he doesn’t care about you!” She yelled and Raya frowned before running after Camila who pushed the door open and ran outside.
“Come here, you nasty brat!” Raya yelled after her and Carmen giggled, following them outside, leaving me and Lana in the sitting room.
“Goodnight, Violeta.” She said softly and I didn’t respond.
I didn’t want to be left behind in this big house with Ares. It suddenly felt like I was back with Jax and it scared me.
“Try to stay away from Ares, he is hot tempered and heartless but he doesn’t mean any harm.” Lana said before she reached for my sleeves.
“You can keep the jacket. I’ll tell Camila, she’ll probably scream at you for a while but she’ll get over it.” She smiled before staring at me sadly and smiling.
“We are all glad to have you.” Lana said before she left me and walked towards the door, waving at me and closing the door behind her.
I sighed painfully, staring at the door as a heavy silence fell upon me.
A thought crossed my mind. Ares was out, there was no one home and Lana had said Ares would be back around midnight.