Tanazia

Chapter One: Finding Out

Scarlet's POV

The old wooden door slamming open was enough to jolt me out of my nightmare and I could barely peel my eyes open before a hand curled into my hair and I was picked up. Pain skimmed along the roots of my hair making me wince as my father's gruff voice filled my ears.

"You were supposed to be up five minutes ago, you lazy whore. Hurry up and get breakfast ready," his vile breath fanned across my face as he spoke before throwing me down onto the old wooden floorboards of the attic.

"You have to clean the entire house today. I want every room spotless, including my office. We have a very important guest tomorrow and you have to keep your disgusting self in this room until he leaves."

"Yes, Alpha Dwayne," I say quickly.

I listen to his footsteps as he stomps away from my attic room and down the steps. Finally opening my eyes, I look around my dingy room and take in the familiar grayish green walls, the creaky wooden floors, and the old slanted ceiling. I looked carefully for any more cracks in the floor that would give me splinters and I try to ignore the black mold growing in the corners of the room. Wishing I could take a shower, I rub my scalp and shift around as my body shivers, covered in sticky sweat from my horrifying nightmare. Looking down at my scuffed feet, I quietly get up and make up what is supposed to be my bed before stripping down. What was considered to be my bed, was actually a blue threadbare blanket that I had been using for years. The color had almost completely faded from it and there were colorful stains covering most of it. Dragging my attention from the aged cloth, I throw on a pair of old faded skinny jeans that had fit my small figure for the past three years. I pull my greasy red hair into a messy bun on top of my head and focus my attention on the cracked mirror on the wall. The girl staring back at me was something I never wanted to see. My white wolf hadn't talked to me in the past month and I was beginning to worry that she had abandoned me. Pushing away those thoughts, I pick up a big black faded sweatshirt and pull it on over my head before slipping on some gray ballet flats.

Taking one last look at the thin blanket that I use as my bed, I hurry down the long wooden hallway towards the attic steps. Looking in each room as I pass it, I notice that most of the servants in the pack house are still comfortable in their beds and their rhythmic breathing creates a pattern that I follow in my mind. Looking outside from the huge window on the stairs, I see that the sun has yet to paint the sky with another one of its amazing mornings and I guess that the time is around 4 A.M.. Wishing I could sit down and sketch the horizon, I rush down the steps, making sure my footsteps were to light for anyone to hear, and quickly dart down the long familiar hallways and into the kitchen. Looking around the big space, I begin to work around the same equipment that had been here for years. I hurriedly grab bowls and plates to set on the table before rushing back to the kitchen to begin stirring the eggs and firing up the stove. Popping a few loaves of bread into the many toasters, I place pans on the stove and manage to pour all the eggs into the skillets without spilling anything. Moving on to makeup the pancake batter, I grab the biscuit batter as well and begin on that.

After I begin to pull the now scrambled eggs off the stove, I hear a light gasp as Mary, the only other cook here, comes into the kitchen. Mary was an old werewolf who had worked here for years and was the closest thing I had to a friend. She was a tall brown haired woman with smooth skin and a beautiful figure. She didn't look like she was 42, but she was old enough to be my mother. I however considered her to be my grandmother, as Mary worried more than any other mother ever could.

"May," she whispers my nickname before carrying on, her voice louder, "deary, what happened to your neck. You're bruised black and blue," the old woman breathes out as she rushes towards me. She doesn't care that I'm the omega of the pack, she just wishes that I was safe. Her slim fingers brush over my neck.