Chapter 2

Claudia's POV When Fiona rushed into the kitchen, she saw Isaac carrying me in his hands. It was not exaggerated that she did "rush" into the kitchen and not like the well-bred young lady she appeared to be, which I attributed to her possessiveness of Isaac. In the Crimson Shadow pack, whoever had eyes knew that Fiona was paranoid about Isaac, almost to the level of a lioness who protected her cubs, and clearly saw herself as the next Luna. This might be the first time I felt grateful to see Fiona. Isaac stopped moving his hands and threw me out casually like a broken rag doll. I fell to the ground and all I could do was make a painful huffing sound. Isaac explained casually to Fiona, "Just bored." Fiona was amused by Isaac's gesture and she looked in a good mood as she said to me, who was struggling to get up from the floor. "Dirty puppy, I don't know why Alpha still keeps you. You don't even have a wolf." She pressed her shiny nails against her pink lips and pretended to think. "Well, but even if you had a wolf, then your wolf would look just like a dirty puppy like you!" she said, and left with her breakfast, saying goodbye to Isaac in a sweet voice. Isaac's POV Fiona often sought out this traitor's daughter for fun, and I used to bully this girl with Fiona when I was a child, as all the kids of our age did. But I was almost an adult now, and with the burden of being the next Alpha on me, I just didn't have time to toy with a slave Omega. And Fiona was getting awful now, she was always fussing and chattering, and I really hated noisy women. But the girl in front of me intrigued me, she always shuddered at the sound of my voice, actually I had little interest in insulting and suppressing her. But as the next Alpha, everyone's eyes were always on me. This was all I could do in the face of a traitor's daughter. But she was really doing these long hours of housework very well, and at least the breakfast she cooked was quite better than I'd ever had. I ate my breakfast as I watched that skinny body doing her business. I knew she could feel my gaze, and she cringed under it, which gave me a strange sense of satisfaction. "It makes no sense to do that, you shouldn't bully a girl." Caesar, my wolf, spoke to me in my head. "Really, a girl? She's the daughter of a traitor." "You obviously saw it, the bruises on her body, which must have been done by Fiona." "So what, that's what she deserves." "Whatever." My wolf clearly didn't want to pay attention to me and hid deeper into my thoughts. I could certainly see the bruises on her body, as large and small bruises of varying shades were all over her exposed tiny arms and legs. I was curious how long she was going to tough it out. Other maids always found every excuse to rest during work, but I never saw her resting. It seemed that her life consisted of nothing but working and being abused. I deliberately threw the fork on the floor and she hurried over to pick it up. Then she replaced it with a clean fork and handed it to me with both hands, with bowed head. Her right hand was swollen like a croissant, either sprained or broken. Tut-tut, it was distracting to watch her. "Get out." I let her go and the swollen wrist felt like a slap in my face. The food in my mouth had also changed in taste, and I took two random chews intending to leave the kitchen. Before I left, I snuck the kitchen key back into the closet. As for why I did that, I didn't know. Let's just say my wolf was taking pity on her. On the way to training, my wolf came out to talk to me again, and oddly enough, he always had good will for the girl. He asked, "Why did you lock her in the kitchen after you saved her yesterday?" "I don't know where she lives, and Fiona will beat her to death if I don't lock her up." "Oh, you're like a little boy who accidentally picked up a stray cat." "She's more like a puppy than a cat, I guess, the kind that has to whimper around you when she gets kicked." "You're soft-hearted. So now that you've picked it up, keep it up." Caesar was definitely implying something to me. "Keeping such a stray dog that will bite its owner is better dead on the streets." I responded with vicious words. Being soft-hearted only because that would reflect badly on my family's reputation if she died here. Right, that's it. That's the reason. Claudia's POV Even for me, today was very unlucky. A bunch of boys and girls of my age came into the kitchen, most of whom were Fiona and Isaac advocates, so their attitudes towards me would be easy to guess. "WOW, look at her, you'd think she just crawled out of the fireplace." I remembered the guy, Alex, who was Fiona's suitor, and he used to throw me off the second floor in front of Fiona to "show his manhood". "That's right. She's so dirty. My family's slaves are ten times cleaner than her." I tried to flee the kitchen on unsteady feet and Alex immediately grabbed my right hand to block my way. I let out a cry of pain as he just caught me where I had broken my bone. "Oh, you're hurt." He exaggerated, "I'm sorry about that." and pushed me back into the crowd. "Serve you right, traitor's daughter." "Keep her away from me. She has the filthiest blood on her." Alex casually picked up a croissant from the table and dangled it in front of my eyes. "I suppose you've never had one of those." Indeed, even just a piece of croissant was a luxury for me. Every time I made a croissant, its scent could make my mouth watery. "I'll give you a treat if you bark like a dog." They gathered their eyes on me as if I could bring them so much joy by barking. My silence made what they said harder and harder. "Bark, puppy. Say 'I'm a traitor's daughter, I'm a bitch. " Alex mimicked me in a thin voice. "You see she doesn't even react. No less than a witch's child. She's a monster without a heart." "Witches are dirty bitches." My mother's face flashed through my mind, and I didn't know where I got the courage or if it was from a moment of anger. I looked at the man who had insulted my mother and spat at him. "You son of bitch, my parents aren't traitors!" He kicked me in the stomach, which made me vomit even though I didn't eat. I was kicked to the ground and one of them grabbed me by the neck, "How dare you! Your traitor parents were executed by Alpha." "Go ahead. Admit that your parents are traitors." The others chimed in. I gritted my teeth and tried not to make any sound until I felt a strong blood smell in my mouth. "That's enough! " A commanding female voice came from Luna. The children's "play" had obviously affected her mood for dining. The crowd surrounding me finally dispersed and I got up from the floor, bowed to Luna and left the kitchen. Luna hadn't even looked at me all that time. I was like air to her. Now I felt like the basement I lived in was heaven compared to the kitchen. A place that was damp and dark, yet undisturbed by anyone. I made a simple splint out of twigs and rags to wrap my broken hand. Then I took out the herbs I had hidden in the cupboard, crushed them and put them on the wound, as taught by my mother. Witches always kept their habit of seeking out the right herbs to treat injuries. It was a good thing that my mother taught me these when I was a child, or I would have died long ago. After all, no doctor would treat the daughter of a traitor. Tending to the wound, I pulled a well-worn picture book from under the floor tiles. By the faint light of the candle, I looked intently at the world in the picture book. It was a completely different world than mine, a warm and soft world. Looking at the calendar hanging on the wall with the days I had circled with crayons. In three months, I would be an adult. The thought of leaving this hell soon gave me hope in my heart again.