Ivy~

It had been two long and painful days of looking at the sunset from the little glass window of my room. Hoping Aunt Celeste would walk in any moment from now, and finally, all these would be over.

She hadn’t come.

The door opened in front of me and a woman walked in, blonde hair and dirty brown eyes looking at me with the same disgusting look all of them did.

“You refuse to eat?” She growled, charging towards me.

Instead of hitting me, she pushed the tray of rice and omelette that had now gotten cold all over my bed. The tray tumbled, food spilling onto the bed and on my clothes.

“Are you trying to get us all killed? We already want you dead but of course it wouldn’t be your choice to make, neither would it be by starving yourself to death.” She yelled, the hate in her voice dripping with venom.

“Consider yourself lucky to have lived this long, foolish brat!”

I didn’t understand. In a small, strained voice, I whispered. “What have I done to make you hate me this much?”

She looked stunned for a moment then burst into a wild laugh. “The little traitor can speak.”

When her laugh died down, she rushed for me, grabbing my jaw between her fingers, forcing me to look at her.

“Your entire existence is the reason most of us don’t have families to return home to. “Her grip tightened causing me to wince. “Why should you then get to live?”

Just when I thought she’d snap my jawbone in half, a voice behind her stopped her.

She released her grip and turned to meet the girl who had just walked in.

“What do you want, Camille?” She rolled her eyes.

The other girl, no more than around my age, maybe even a little older, sent a glare to the woman as she spoke. “I clearly remember Alpha Lucien warning us against harming his guest. So what exactly are you doing?”

The woman tensed slightly, but only for a second. “And what are you going to do about it? You seem to forget that I am far older than you in age and ranking. You kids these days lack respect for your elders.”

“I am sure that rank can easily depreciate along with your life once I report you to Alpha Lucien.”

This time she stiffened. “You won’t dare.”

Camille gave a smug smile. “Try me.”

The other lady huffed, sending me one last death glare before storming out of the room.

Camille shut the door behind her, the soft click sounding far too gentle for the storm that had just passed.

I sat frozen, my fingers twitching at my sides, unsure if I should wipe the cold food from my lap or keep still in case this was some sort of trick.

She stepped closer, her eyes assessing me in a way that felt neither cruel nor kind, just calculating.

“Eat,” she said, her tone not unkind but not exactly warm either.

I glanced at the mess on my bed and almost laughed, except the lump in my throat wouldn’t let me. “It’s… ruined.”

Camille sighed, glancing at the food-stained sheets before shaking her head. “I’ll bring you another one.”

The words were simple, but my chest tightened. No one here had offered me anything without a price attached. She looked so hardened for her age.

As she turned to leave, I found myself blurting, “Why did you stop her?”

She paused with her hand on the doorknob, her profile shadowed in the dim light. “Because Alpha Lucien said not to harm you. And unlike the others, I don’t plan on being stupid enough to test his patience.”

Her voice was cool, but I caught the faintest flicker in her eyes, something like curiosity, or maybe pity.

“Besides…” she added, glancing back at me, “you’ve already got enough enemies here. You might survive longer if you have at least one person who doesn’t want to see you dead.”

“Why?” I asked.

She looked at me, her eyes softening for a second then hardening in the next.

“Just because I didn’t hit you doesn’t mean I still don’t see you as a descendant of traitors.”

Before I could ask, she was gone, leaving me with the silence, the stains, and a question that burned deeper than hunger.

Why did everyone here seem to think I deserved to die?

~••

Camille had come, dropped my food, and left without a word, and though I fought the urge to eat anything I was given. My stomach had other plans.

When evening came, a familiar knock came from the other side of the room. A man, he looked a little like Lucien. Not exactly identical but definitely on a different ranking from all the other men who had come in.

“I am Dante. Alpha Lucien wants you dressed and ready in thirty minutes.” He dropped a shopping bag next to my bedside table. “Don’t waste his time.”

Before I could nod he was gone. I opened the bag and immediately swallowed. It was beautiful, nothing I could ever afford in a lifetime.

A long black dress that had a high slit on the right side. Why would he give me this?

The door opened another minute later and three girls walked in and started getting me dressed, doing my hair and makeup. It all happened so fast I couldn't even catch a breath until they had done.

They stepped back exactly thirty minutes later and I caught my reflection in the mirror.

The dress was an exact fit, hugging my body in all the right places. I looked gorgeous. It was so surreal, I nearly smiled.

Key word, nearly. It stopped midway when I caught a glimpse of the three girls behind me shooting their ugliest and dirtiest looks in my direction.

They led me into the hall until I saw the man from earlier waiting right outside by a parked SUV.

He opened the door for me.

“Get in, he has already been waiting for over an hour.”