★ELOWEN★
SLAP!
My head whipped to the side from the force of my step-sister's slap. My hand came up of its own volition, clutching my cheek as the sting burned unbearably. My eyes watered but I didn't dare cry. Instead, I stared up at Mira, eyes wide with shock.
"You slapped me." It wasn't a question.
"And I would do it again." She seethed, her azure-blue eyes gleaming with anger and violence. It was only when she flung a stack of papers I'd realized what she had been holding in her hand. They were the letters I'd received from Eldorado two days ago. Letters I'd been searching for.
"How dare you, smelly cunt, letter my man."
I stared down at the scattered missives, and then at her.
"Mira, we both just met Eldorado yesterday. How is he your man? He asked to write to me and I agreed." I'd taken my hand down from my cheek.
Mira scoffed and rolled her eyes then picked up all the letters from the ground and—like a spoiled child—matched to Joy—her mother and my stepmother—and showed her the letters.
"Mama, see! Elowen is writing to Eldorado! How dare she letter the man I have my eyes on!" She stomped on the ground and I almost let my distaste for her show through a scoff. But it would be considered disrespectful and I might lose the right to the one meal per day I was on. As to them, I was only a mere servant child. Someone not worthy of feeding.
Even the omegas lived a better life than me.
Joy collected the letters and tore them into pieces. I wasn't in love with Eldorado. Hell, I'd just met him the previous day, but he was a kind man. A… friend.
"You want to become like your mother, Elowen? Who taught you to put your eyes on a man who belonged to someone else?!"
My ears rang, I couldn't believe we were even having such a conversation. "Mother I–"
"Don't you dare, Elowen! Don't you dare refer to me as your mother," she spoke through gritted teeth, her eyes wild with hate. "Your mother died miserably after sleeping with my husband and giving birth to a curse like you!"
A gasped tore through my throat. It was her everyday anthem for me whenever I'd made the mistake of referring to her as "mother". I should've gotten used to it but I just couldn't. Not only that I'd never met my mother—she died at labour—but because Joy kept reminding me that I was an illegitimate child, whom even animals deserved more respect than.
I took my eyes down and bowed softly. "Apologies for my insolent behaviour, I shall never write to Sir Eldorado anymore."
Mira harrumphed and sat beside her mother, reading the newsflash on her cell.
I continued sweeping the sitting room, I was almost finished when father walked into the room. His eyes landed on me, and then on my cheek, which was undoubtedly red, his mouth opened, and for a moment, I felt hopeful that finally he'd noticed me as someone other than a servant child. But he only pursed his lips and turned away, draining my hope.
I swallowed, trying to keep my tears at bay. I needed to leave that environment unless I would become a teary-eyed mess.
I bowed curtly to him and moved towards the door but his words halted me;
"Have you lost your manner of respect, Elowen?"
My heart thundered at his words. I was at a respectful distance away from him, and so I bowed curtly and greeted; "Good day to you, F- Sir Dorian."
He nodded and took a sit on one of the plush couches in the living room. I attempted to leave, again.
"There's news. Sit down, Elowen."
I frowned and turned to him. News that included my presence? That was new.
I sat on the farthest seat away from the family of three, father retrieved a sealed letter from his suit pocket. My face fell, I'd seen that particular seal type too many times to know it was from the SinBound Pack. Probably from the Valeric Family themselves.
"The news is… the news is bad." He sighed wearily, rubbing his forehead as he opened the envelope. The seal had already been broken, telling that he had already read it.
Joy scowled. Mira sat up in an attempt to see the content of the missive.
Father sighed before he started; "The Alpha of the SinBound Pack, the Valeric Family that is, has requested Mira's hand in marriage."
The living room became silent for a heartbeat, then two, then three, before Mira chuckled humorlessly.
"No… no that is a lie, Father."
Father stared at Mira dead in the eyes, signalling that indeed it was not a lie. When none of her parents spoke again, Mira fell to the ground with a gut-wrenching scream. "No, no! No, Father—I cannot marry that man! I cannot marry that very cursed man, Father!"
She crawled and hugged her father's leg, tears and phlegm decorating her face. "Father, please. Mama please, I can't marry that man. All his previous six wives are all dead! I cannot marry a man that kills his wives!" She sobbed, crawling to her mother's feet. "Mother, please say something."
Joy sighed, "There should be a way, Dorian. We cannot give Mira, our only daughter, to that wife killer!"
"There is no other way, Joy. The dowry is twenty heavy gold bars. He would uplift my status from just a noble werewolf to an advisor, there's really no way."
And it was then I saw it. The worried look in Joy's eyes that slowly turned into greed. My stomach lurched at the thought that this family would always choose material things over their own children.
I glanced at Mira, she had stopped crying. All of a sudden, she stood up her, her crazed eyes boring into me. My heart dropped to my stomach at the look in her eyes.
"Elowen, dear," She called softly and sweetly as she approached and sat by my side. "Why don't you marry the Alpha of SinBound Pack in my place, Elowen?"