Chapter 7 - The Second Me
A little figure in a dress made of rags stepped into the dining room. Her appearance brought on hisses and jeers from the Goldhill Pack members. She lowered her head in submission and I had a fleeting image of myself from a year ago in her place. My heart immediately went all out to her. "Sir," she addressed Alpha Jackson, "would you like dinner to be served now?" Jackson's icy eyes settled on her being. "Yes," he said frostily. "We are all very hungry. What took you so long?" The girl winced and cowered into herself, trying to shrink. "I - I am sorry. I was waiting for your request to -" she tried to say but Jackson roared, "That is no excuse!" Mr Fairs strode forward and bristled past me to stand before the girl. He raised a hand, his posture furious. I understood at once what his intentions were.
I pounced on Mr Fairs and tackled him to the ground. With a grunt of pain, he fell to the floor. I straddled him and twisted his right hand behind his back. "You do not hit a girl," I growled, hitting his head against the tiled floor. He groaned in agony but I was too blinded by fury. I turned him around to face me and punched his stomach. I was too angry to fully register that people were screaming and running out of their chairs. I felt a pair of strong hands that I felt hatred towards grab my shoulders. I half-turned and snarled at Jackson, narrowly missing his fingers with my teeth. I turned back to the repulsive man before me and raised a fist to hit his face. Before I could deliver the blow, however, another hand caught my fist. But this hand I trusted. I felt the tingles and I stopped. I got off of the man and spun round to face Kyle.
"Thanks," I mumbled, feeling the heat already creeping up my cheeks. "No problem," Kyle said, smiling a bit. I faced Jackson and said stiffly, "Get that man medical attention. I will attend to the girl." Jackson frowned. "There's nothing wrong with her," he stressed with incredulity. I felt like slapping him. "I wouldn't bet on it," I muttered before turning to the girl. She quivered before me. My heart broke, she looked just like me in the past.
"Don't be afraid of me," I said gently. "I only hurt the mean people." The girl's lips twitched slightly and I grinned at her. Taking her small hand in mine, I brought her up the stairs. "Where do you sleep?" I asked, although I had a slight hunch at the answer. The girl whispered hoarsely, "The ninth floor, ma'am." I was right. "Don't call me ma'am. It makes me sound ninety," I protested.
We climbed the stairs. As we walked, we talked. "So, what do I call you?" the girl questioned curiously. I smiled. "My name is Kim Marie," I replied. The girl gasped and pulled her hand out of mine. She turned to face me and I saw that her mouth was open. Her eyes were wide too and she looked shocked beyond words. "K-Kim Marie?" she repeated, unsure. I nodded, frowning a little and asking for answers. "Well," the girl hesitated, "you're supposed to be dead." My own jaw dropped. Dead?
"Well, I'm alive and kicking so that must have been false," I tried to joke and lighten the atmosphere. "Look, let's go to the tenth floor first." We resumed climbing the stairs but in silence this time. When we finally reached the tenth floor, I opened the door carefully and found that it needed to be oiled. The room was even gloomier than before. It was empty, as always, but with a few rags that were either clothes or a makeshift bed. The little girl groped in the dark before lifting a torch. She switched it on and a thin beam of light lit the eery room. I left the door open for the sake of light and I sat on the floor with the girl. "So, tell me your name, how you got here and how you came to think I was six feet under," I suggested and the girl began.
The girl's name was Harmony. She was a little redheaded girl and was very pale. She had not had a lot of sun. She was much too thin and only had worn out clothes to wear. She was thirteen but smaller than even me, which was saying something. After I had left, Goldhill Pack was out of people to cook, clean and wash for them. Harmony had been found wandering around, hungry, thirsty and alone without her parents. Her pack had been obliterated by rogues and she had lost her whole family. She was the only survivor. Alpha Jackson, seeing a solution for the pack's welfare problems, had told Harmony that she could stay but had to earn her keep. Thus, she had landed a job as Pack Maid and Punching Bag, just as I had before. Harmony wasn't even a pack member. They had never included her into the pack. Jackson had threatened to throw Harmony out if her work was unsatisfactory or if she ever complained. To Harmony her little occupation was what kept her from rogues or hunters.
Harmony had been told that Goldhill Pack had executed me when I had dropped a dozen ceramic cups. By planting the idea in Harmony's head, she thought that Goldhill Pack was extremely brutal towards any house-cleaners and that there was no hope in escaping Goldhill Pack. I was furious by the time she had finished her tale. I straightened out a few things and cleared the air. I told her my real biography and promised to be her companion for as long as I was staying.
Harmony's dull blue eyes were now completely alive with happiness at having a friend. When Harmony bade me good-bye and good night at the door, she looked torn. I was just about to descend the steps when she threw her arms around my waist, which was as high as she could go. I only hesitated a while before wrapping my own arms around her. "Thank you," she said, her voice muffled. I pulled back and saw that Harmony was crying. I knelt down in front of her and wiped away her tears with my thumb gently. I kissed the top of her head and hugged her once more. Wishing her sweet dreams, I left. Now to take care of a certain jackass alpha.
As I ran to the dining room where I knew Jackson would be, all the anger and sadness I had felt for Harmony but had suppressed for her sake resurfaced. It bubbled, threatening to spill over and wash anybody in a tidal of scalding matter. I broke into a full-out sprint and, as I neared the dining room, I saw Jackson look up and see me. Possibly, the sight of me running to him excited him for Jackson stood up, face lit up like a Christmas tree, and extended his arms to me. I was too far away for him to see the tears in my eyes or the agitation on my face. But as I neared, Jackson seemed to realise something was wrong. Before he could react, however, I tackled him in front of Eclipse Pack and Goldhill Pack.
Securing his arms to his body with my legs, I sent a punch at Jackson. My fist connected with his ribcage and I heard a satisfyingly loud crack. I continued my assault on him without stopping. Jackson groaned and yelped in pain many times but I knew that he was only feeling a margin of agony that Harmony had. "How. Could. You!" I screamed at him, accentuating each word with a blow. "A child, Jackson. A thirteen-year-old girl! She is starving and you are here," I glanced at the table, "eating apple pie! She is nothing but a child!" I felt strong arms lift me once more. Instead of stopping, though, I continued thrash around in Kyle's hold.
"Kim, stop!" Kyle commanded, using his Alpha tone. I felt my wolf lower her head and submit to Kyle's wolf and I did too. I fell limp and Kyle put me back down. Jackson was still trying to get up, wincing as pain shot through his ribs. "Kim, what was that about?" Cole asked, awestruck. I wiped away the tears of anger that had welled up in my eyes. "That-That bastard that stands there," I croaked out, pointing at Jackson, "has taken advantage of the situation of that little girl. Harmony. She has no family and no pack. They were wiped out by rogues. She came here, after I left, starving and dying of thirst. And what does this oh-great Alpha do? Does he offer her refuge? Bring her into the pack? No. Instead, he takes her in and tells her to work her fingers to the bone twenty-four-seven just so that she gets that little dump of a room upstairs. Harmony doesn't know how to defend her rights. She only knows that to stay alive, she has to live here in this god-forsaken pack." My voice cracked at the end but I didn't care. Tears were silently streaming down my face.
I was about to apologise to Kyle when he did something completely unexpected. He brought back his arm and swung it at Jackson's chest. His hand made contact and Jackson crumpled to the floor. Kyle stood over him, clearly the dominant Alpha and, though he did not rain any more blows on him, his eyes blazed with fire that could not be easily extinguished. "I should have let Kim kill you," he spat out contemptuously. With that, he spun on his heel and stormed out of the room, Cole, Chance and I on his tail.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hoped you like this one! I personally enjoyed writing it. What do you guys think about Harmony? Feel sorry for her? I do. (: I think Harmony should look like Annalise Basso, except much younger.
YOU ARE READING
A Reject (Completed)
WerwolfKim Marie Fairs was never wanted. In her pack, she was treated like dirt. She was regarded as nothing but a maid. When things became too much to handle, she finally left. Her life changed and she was transformed. But what would happen when another h...
