Chapter 3 Three

• Zoraya:
• I couldn’t figure out what this pain was. Was it from eating after so long?
• Regardless, Zara was determined to get help for me. I was feeling feverish, an unease in my chest was making me shake in my body.
• "Help!" Zara screamed, her voice filled with worry. "Please help my child!" she cried out loud.
• Did she just call me her child?
• My eyes immediately filled with tears. I couldn’t explain how I felt. I was happy—happy to hear someone claim me as their own.
• The others might hear her words as nothing but barking, but she had touched my heart once again.
• My lips trembled as I watched her.
• I felt guilty for wanting love just a few minutes ago when I already had someone who loved me like her own child.
• "What is this dog barking about?" Julius yelled from outside the kennel. "If I hear you bark again—" he warned Zara, but she kept going.
• "Please help her! She needs assistance!" Zara pleaded again, desperation clear on her face. I couldn't get how people could not feel bad for her. How people around us couldn’t see the treatment we were getting. We would sleep in the cold dog house day in day out, every weather too.
• Julius unlocked the door and grunted, his expression darkening at the sight.
• "Did this bitch teach you to be a nuisance? Ugh! Dogs are supposed to be obedient," he yelled at Zara, and I immediately got a bad feeling.
• He was losing his temper again, and that was never a good sign.
• His eyes moved to me, and a dark look crossed his face.
• I was curled up in the corner, my arms wrapped around my body, my eyes fixed on his face, trying to predict his next move.
• "If you weren’t so filthy… I’m sure your punishments would be different," he muttered as he glared at me, then began to remove his belt.
• I didn’t understand what he meant by that.
• My punishments were always different.
• Sometimes, I was forced to run a mile on hot, rough ground. Other times, I went without food for days.
• Once he was done taking off his belt, his gaze shifted from me to Zara.
• "But dogs are just animals. They behave best when they’re tamed properly."
• His words were followed by a whip—Zara being the one to suffer the blow.
• The moment the belt hit her, she whined and tried to get away.
• My heart twisted in my chest at the sight.
• Zara was pregnant, and he was beating her.
• "No! Get away from her!" I jumped onto all fours and lunged at Julius, attacking him.
• The whip he had raised for Zara landed on my back instead. But I was determined to protect her.
• This time, I fought back even harder.
• The moment my nails scratched his arm, all hell broke loose.
• "Oh, you filthy animal! You probably have so many diseases—" Julius screamed, disgusted by my touch.
• He grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed me against the wall.
• My already fragile, weak body crashed against the hard surface.
• I felt like my bones had shattered.
• Julius kept beating Zara, who was now bleeding.
• I tried to get between them several times, but he was too strong. He tossed me around like I was a feather.
• "Please stop! Don't you see she’s pregnant?" I fell to my knees and lowered my head, bowing before him, begging for mercy for Zara.
• "Don't bark!" he yelled again, and my breath hitched in my throat.
• I bit my tongue to silence myself, realizing it was our voices that angered him.
• I wished I hadn’t complained out loud. Maybe then, Zara would have been fine.
• "Now, if I hear you two again—" He wagged his finger at us.
• Both of us remained silent as if we didn’t even have tongues.
• The moment he walked out of the kennel, I rushed to Zara and hugged her.
• Zara was now slumped on the ground, her breathing shallow, her eyes locked on the door.
• This wasn’t fair.
• She was only trying to get help for me.
• "Please—" I let out another whimper when I heard approaching footsteps.
• I quickly pulled away and hugged Zara, bracing myself.
• It had to be someone else coming to punish us.
• If we didn’t stop making noise, our punishment would only get worse.
• As I watched Julius shut the door, I assumed that was it. No one would come to check on Zara for hours.
• But then—
• The door suddenly swung open again.
• This time, a tall and broad man, someone completely unfamiliar, shoved Julius aside and unlocked the door.
• For a moment, I forgot to move.
• He was so handsome.
• His hair was perfectly cut, and his physique was unlike anyone I had ever seen.
• And then—
• My eyes met his.
• Amber eyes!
• His eyes were a shade so warm, so mesmerizing, that my heart skipped a beat.
• He seemed different from the others.
• His scent was so unique that even from a distance, it soothed me.
• He was looking at me too.
• In fact, he was staring at me.
• Did he not think I was filthy?
• He must not, because he just stood there, watching me, examining me.
• Was he sniffing my scent, thinking the same thing?
• But then—
• As I opened my mouth to ask for help, I saw his expression change.
• "Please help her!" I pleaded.
• And then, I saw it.
• He wasn’t different from the others.
• The way he gasped and stepped back made it clear—he didn’t understand my language either.
• The way his body flinched and he recoiled told me everything.
• He saw me as nothing more than a filthy animal.