MARIAN.
"Why are you still sleeping by this time?!" My mother's voice echoed in my ears, ringing in my head as it jolted me out of my slumber, and following her voice was something cold washing over my skin.
I sprung up at once, pain zinging down my spine, and I winced, trying my best to swallow the bile at the back of my throat because I knew that showing any hint of pain would only worsen my case.
"Why do you think you of all people have a right to something as luxurious as sleep?" The stinging pain on my cheek got rid of any kind of sleepiness that I felt.
My eyes opened fully, and I was staring into my mother's blazing eyes. I could literally see the flames that shrouded her entire being, and I felt my stomach tighten. "I'm so—"
I didn't get to finish tending my apology before my mother's palm struck my cheek again, causing a shiver of pain through me s her hand fisted into my hair and she yanked me out of the wooden bed I'd been sleeping on, putting me in a sitting position.
"I do not want to hear it." She spat, staring at me as if I was a worthless piece of garbage. I was used to it already, ever since my father died, the loving woman I knew as my mother, Celine, had become nothing but an unbearable witch.
I stayed up most nights thinking about the horribly brutal treatment that I've had to endure the entire day, and I wondered if she was really the woman who gave birth to me.
"Do you not know how important today is?" She hissed, her anger brimming so hot that I felt the heat on my skin. "You think an apology is going to save your skin?"
"Get the hell up before I pounce on you right now!" Her voice was loud enough to make the ground quake, and not wanting her to repeat herself because that would be bad for me.
I hurriedly stood up and kneeled before my mother, my head lowered as I heard her continue her usual daily routine of insulting and reminding me just how much she regretted being my mother.
"I don't know why I agreed to keep you as my daughter, hours of labour only to give birth to a thing like you." I dared not look into her eyes, I couldn't risk her seeing the tears that welled up in my eyes.
I should be used to this kind of treatment already, I should have developed a thick skin, but something about hearing my mother talk to me like she always does was always breaking something in me that I thought had already been broken.
"Your useless father had persuaded me, talked me into giving birth to a worthless weak, no less than a human, and I hate myself every day for letting myself listen to him." She was fuming now.
I took my lower lip between my teeth, and bit down on it so hard that I felt blood explode in my mouth, my vision blurry, eyes glued to the ground.
"Now, you should already know that tonight is the big mating ceremony, and our pack has been honored to host the event of the year," she paused while I listened.
"You're going to put every single useless bone in your body to work, and I must not see you slacking off or you're going to pay for it with your life." She added.
Tonight was the big mating ceremony, and it usually would have been hosted by the bigger packs, but for some reason, the baton had fallen on our pack.
We got the news a month ago, and preparation had started at that moment. I worked day and night, making sure that I did everything while the other maids that should have helped slacked off, but what was I thinking? That my mother would notice my efforts?
She never noticed anything or anyone other than herself since my father died.
"The three most powerful and influential Alphas in the world are going to be present, I need you out of there before they come because I can't have your misfortune rubbing off on the rest of the pack, do you understand me?"
That was my cue to respond, and at this point it was a race between how fast I could respond and how fast her leg would connect with my stomach.
Her leg won the race yet again, I didn't even get the chance to breathe as pain pulsed through my veins, my muscles pulled taut and I felt a lump immediately lodge at the back of my throat.
"What did I say about you responding to me when I speak?!" My mother barked while I writhed on the floor, her kick had opened up old wounds that I thought had been healing, but I knew my mother enough to know she wouldn't care.
"I'm sorry, mother, I'm—" I felt it before I could see it, her handbag connecting with my temple, drawing blood and making my vision blur, fading in and out.
I shouldn't apologize. Why do I keep forgetting about how worse an apology makes things?
I felt another apology on the tip of my tongue, my eyes burning and brimming with tears I dared not shed while my mother was still in front of me.
"And what did I say about you calling me mother?" She had told me that she hated it, told me that whenever I called her 'mother' she felt like peeling her own skin off, that was how much she hated me.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I understand, Ma'am." I said quickly, still averting eye contact, and I heard as my mother sighed, I felt her eyes boring holes into my skin.
"My goodness, I really should have killed you when I had the chance." She spat, and soon, I heard the door closing and I knew that she was gone.
The tears that I'd been holding back suddenly started pouring down as if someone had opened the floodgates, the hot tears stung every part of my skin they touched.
Sniffling, I staggered to my feet. My legs still hurt where Madison had intentionally stepped on me multiple times, and the bruises from the whipping I got from the guards two days ago still pulsed.
I picked up my working clothes, and got ready to leave my room when my eyes landed on the gown I'd hung behind my door, fear gripped me, but I relaxed again because if my mother had seen it, she would have ripped it to shreds.
"Thank god she didn't see it." I muttered to myself, touching the soft fabric and smiling as I thought about the reason I'd carefully crafted the gown night after night.
Today, at the big night of the mating ceremony. My childhood best friend and boyfriend, Alpha Malcolm Roberts, would be proposing to me.
Being wolfless and without any features, getting by in the pack had been nothing but hell. But the only constant, good thing in my life had been Alpha Malcolm.
He had promised that he was going to propose and officially make me his mate whether I awakened my wolf or not as soon as I turned twenty, and coincidentally, I turn twenty today.
Smiling, the pain suddenly became a thing of the past as I skipped out of my room, and started getting to work, making sure that I did everything perfectly, and put them in their perfect position.
It had only taken me over thirteen hours to finally get the hall ready, but I was glad that I was finally done. After tonight, I will be free, I will be spending the rest of my life with the man I love, and who loves and respects me in return.
The thought alone had made it hard for me to wipe the smile off my face, I couldn't wait to finally be declared as Alpha Malcom Roberts mate.
"Oh look, it's the wretched girl," Madison's voice jolted me out of my thoughts, and I felt a cold shrill down my spine. "You look really creepy when you smile."
Ignoring her, I clutched the empty bucket tight in my hand and started walking, but I hadn't gone far when I felt something grab onto my hair, yanking me backwards until I fell ass first to the ground.
I swallowed. "Don't cry. They'll keep preying on you if you show them your weakness." I muttered to myself, but it was already late. They knew I was weak, and they bullied me day after day.
"Listen to me because I'm only going to speak once," Madison started, her height intimidating as she hovered over me. "Tonight is a very special night, don't ruin it for any of us."
Unable to do anything, I only nodded my head meekly even though the thoughts running through my mind weren't meek at all.
I wished she would die. I wished her and the nasty maids that followed behind her would just disappear forever. It's a wish I've been making since forever, but despite the fact that it never came true, I didn't stop wishing.
"Good, you're lucky I'm in a good mood today." She said before walking away, and I couldn't help but wonder why she got to live a good life when she was a maid.
Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I hurried back to my room, the event kicked off in an hour, and I needed to get ready. I rushed to the general bathroom, and slowly bathed myself,
Bathing was difficult thanks to the opened wounds and bruises, but still, I managed to wash my skin. I stared at the scars on my body, and I swallowed the bile in my throat although I couldn't do anything about the tears that streamed down.
My skin used to be so clear and radiant.
Getting out of the bathroom, I walked back to my room to get ready, and a little over an hour later, I was finally ready. I walked out, my heart pounding in my chest with each step I took towards the extremely large hall.
Thankfully, I was able to blend with the other guests, and I made it in. The happiness in my heart overcame the sadness I felt as I searched for Malcolm with my eyes.
Eventually finding him. "Malcolm!" I called happily, chuckling as I rushed towards him, but the man I was met with was totally different, he didn't look like my Malcolm at all.
"Are you okay?" I asked, my cheeks burning so hot that I knew how hard I was blushing. "Did something happen?"
"No," Malcolm responded and I let out a sigh of relief. "I was just thinking about us." He said, and I smiled because I'd been doing the same since this morning.
"Really?" I blushed even harder. "I was doing the same, what are you thinking about? Wait, you haven't wished me a happy birthday, I should be mad at you." Malcolm smiled, but it was different.
"Happy birthday, Marian." He said and I chuckled, my goodness, I love him so much because he's so cute and strong and mine. "But I don't think I can do this anymore." He added, and I felt a familiar sense of dread spreading rapidly through my being.
I chuckled nervously. "Wh—What? What are you talking about?" I asked, I could feel the thousands of pairs of eyes on us, but I couldn't care less.
"This," he replied, gesturing between me and him. He wouldn't even look at me as he spoke. "I don't want to do this anymore, we're not compatible with each other. I found someone better and I hope you understand."
"What?"
And before I could piece things together, his voice came again, loud and clear this time. "I'm rejecting you as my mate, Marian Alford."