Groaning, I rolled out of bed at 3am to get ready to prepare a large weekend breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, sausages, tomatoes and hash browns for the entire pack and the visiting alpha and the pack members he'd brought with him. I had a lot to do before the rest of the pack woke up so I had to be up long before them.
I checked the calendar for today's date and realized that it was my eighteenth birthday.
"Happy birthday to me." I mumbled to myself.
After my family died, I decided that my birthday wasn't worth celebrating anymore, not that it was ever celebrated. It was just another day for me, another year I aged, another year older.
In the kitchen, I gathered everything that I needed. I worked without stopping, and silently. The only sounds you could hear was the frying of breakfast and the knife as it sliced through the fruits that I was cutting up. I was waiting until the last moment to cook the toast, I didn't want it to go cold.
When everything was cooked and set out, I checked the time. Three and a half hours had gone by since I started cooking breakfast.
I was just setting the fresh toast and orange juice on the table when the pack came from upstairs and through the front door. Having smelled breakfast cooking made them swarm towards the source to appetize their hunger.
After I was done with breakfast, I began with my chores. I swept, washed and polished the floor first. Then moved onto changing the bed linen on all the beds upstairs. And when the dirty bed linens were in the wash, I moved onto washing up every single plate, fork, knife, glass, serving dish, bowl and pans from breakfast. It was a daunting task but I did it any way.
"You."
I jumped out of my skin when someone said my name from behind me. I cringed away, expecting the slap which came shortly after. The force of the slap made my left cheek, I fell to the floor.
"Yes, Alpha." I mumbled.
"Winter's coming in early, go cut wood for the winter, then report back to me when it's done." Alpha said.
"Yes, Alpha." I mumble.
I hurriedly got up from the floor and went to change my shoes. As quickly as I could, I raced across to the shed and grabbed the axe from inside it.
I spent most of the morning cutting, carrying and stacking firewood for the winter. At the end of it all I was tired and hungry but I still had to make lunch, finish my chores and cook dinner. I didn't really have time to think about much else.
Tonight's a full moon. My wolf's voice spoke. Holy smoke, I forgot about that. At the turning just before every season, there was a full moon. The Alpha and Luna of pack normally lead their pack in the Full Moon Run in their wolf form. and now I'd have to make sure every member of the pack had spare clothes to put on after they'd shifted back.
Stacking the last of the firewood, I took of the muddy boots and put on my 'house shoes'. I went to see the Alpha to report to him that I'd finished cutting the firewood for the winter. He's most likely going to give me some sort of punishment just for his own enjoyment or something, or make sure that he gives me extra chores to do.
I walked down the hall that lead to the Alpha's office and knocked on the door. When I was told to go in, I did. I stood before the Alpha, head down and waited to be addressed.
"Have you finished the firewood for the winter?" Alpha asked.
"Yes, Alpha." I mumbled.
"Good, now go make lunch and get out of here. The last thing I need is for you to embarrass Red Bone in front of our guests." Alpha said. While he was saying this, he walked towards until he was right in front of me. He balled his hand into a fist and punched me right in the eye. Like this morning, I fell to the floor but never cried out in pain, I just took it.
Hurriedly, I picked myself up from the floor and went to make lunch. I'd been making lunch for an entire pack since the I was eight years so I was a professional when it came to preparing three large meals a day for a pack.
I was in the middle of slicing fresh meat for sandwiches when someone cleared their throat. I looked up only to put my head down just as fast. Jon, the guest alpha stood on the opposite side of the bench just watching me as I sliced meat for lunch.
He sat down on one of the stools as I turned to grab the many loafs of bread that I'd need to make lunch. It frightened me a little to be watched by him. Was he watching me just to see if something happened? Or did he suspect something was going on?
"How did you get that black eye?" He asked. I gulped down saliva and tried to think of a lie as quickly as possible.
I, ah, I fell down the stairs earlier, very clumsy person I am." I said. I went back to making lunch.
The last thing I needed was to be caught talking to someone of a higher rank than me or get caught for not doing what I was told to do. Whether I was caught or not, I was going to get a beating anyway.
"It doesn't seem as if your sure about that." He said.
My eyes dart across the floor. Trying to think of what to say. Was he catching onto what was going on behind the closed the doors of the Red Bone Pack?
"I-I'm sure." I said.
It was the only thing that I could think of to say to him without getting into trouble. I continued to make lunch for everyone, I did this so I wasn't caught not doing what I was told to do.
After I done preparing lunch, I set it all out on the dining table, drinks and all. During all of this, Jon watched me and then eventually followed me into the dining hall for lunch. He sat down on at the table and I went back to the kitchen to clean up and then make myself look scarce.
If the Alpha saw me hanging around, he wouldn't even bother to make sure no one was around before he beat me, he'd just do it. The Alpha didn't care about what his pack saw, but if he had guests then he'd find ways to beat me every day or every time he felt like, no matter if Red Bone had guests or not.
I found myself going back to the place my childhood home was. For some reason, I felt like the Alpha and Luna was covering up the real truth of what happened the night my family died, or even if my family died. Back then, Luna told me that their bodies where in the house and were recovered, there was a funeral for them but I wasn't allowed to go. Luna claimed that I was too traumatized from witnessing what I did and that I needed some time on my own to heal.
YOU ARE READING
Tangled In Moonlight (Starlight Trilogy Book 1)
Hombres Lobo(CANNOT BE READ AS A STANDALONE). Elenora was 5 years old when she became the soul survivor of a fire that took the lives of her family. With no other family she can turn to, Ellie's forced to live in a pack that hates her and who blame her for kil...
