Chapter 6

• It didn’t look like a training session at all, as everyone’s eyes focused on me.
• “Aliyah has something we’d like to see.”
• I turned to the man who had spoken, trying to hide my growing unease. I recognized him as Marcus, the guy who first approached me when Brayden introduced me to his friends.
• “What do you mean?” I asked, fisting my hands which had begun to sweat.
• “Aliyah, we’ve heard about your unique abilities. We want to witness them for ourselves.”
• “U-unique abilities?” I looked at Brayden, hoping to find answers to my growing confusion. He avoided my gaze, his expression unreadable. The silence between us was deafening, increasing my fear.
• “Brayden, please!” I pleaded. I needed him to explain what they meant by his friend. Why the heck was I in front of them anyway, as though I were a circus performer?
• Brayden remained silent, his eyes darting around the room as if he hadn’t heard me.
• I stood up and stepped toward him, even though my legs began to shake. I had no choice but to confront him directly, anyway. “Brayden, this is not fair. I deserve to know the truth. What did they mean? And why did you bring me here?”
• “We want you to remove your clothes.”
• The walls seemed to close in on me as I struggled to comprehend the words that had just come out of Brayden’s mouth. How could he have brought me to this place, only to subject me to such humiliation? Was he even serious? My mind raced with questions, desperately searching for answers. Why would Brayden make such a bold request?
• “Why… why do you want this?” I almost begged.
• “We want you to shift into a wolf so that we can check out your fur color,” he informed, shrugging nonchalantly. “This isn’t about forming any kind of link between us, not genuinely anyway. I’m simply curious, that’s all.”
• “But, I… I thought we were… You know I’m not a...” I couldn’t even form a sentence about how shattered my soul was.
• It was then a woman in a push-up bra and leggings stood and walked towards him. She was the one who shot me unpleasant stares when I stepped into this training hall for the first time. Now she was glaring at me exactly the same way. “Tell her, Brayden. Come on, enlighten the poor girl.”
• “Tell me what?” I demanded, immediately wiping the bead of tears that rolled down my face. My hands were itching to throw my chair at his mocking face.
• “Alright,” Brayden snorted, shaking his head as he turned to me. “We just got a betting game. My task was to flirt with an omega. Sorry, but you were the subject that entered my mind. So no offense.”
• My blood froze as I heard his response. A betting game? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The tears that had momentarily stopped began to flow freely again. That moment, as I watched Brayden laugh with his friends, my sweet memories with him turned bitter. It was like I was staring at a stranger, someone I didn’t recognize anymore. How could he have played with my feelings like this? Was this even real? Were those passionate gazes and sweet words just part of some cruel game? It felt like a punch to the gut, realizing that our entire relationship may have been built on a bet. How could I have been so blind to his true intentions? How could someone I trusted and loved engage in such a hurtful game?
• “Strip anyway, slave!” one tall and tattooed guy shouted. “If you can’t shift into a wolf, at least you can dance to keep us entertained.”
• The sound of snickering and derogatory comments filled the room and made me small as I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to shield myself from their brutal words.
• “Strip! Strip! Strip!”
• “Come on, babe. There must be a decadent body under those maid’s clothes.”
• “Oh, don’t be rude, you jerk. We need to be sure if it’s her first time. She looks like a virgin.”
• That’s it.
• I couldn’t take it anymore. The humiliation became too much for me to bear. I needed to be respected and valued for who I truly was.
• “Do you really think you know who I am? I’m not what you assume me to be!” I spat, glaring at their stunned faces. Well, I needed to be respected and valued for who truly was. “Yes, I’m a maid, but being a maid doesn’t define me or make me any less worthy. One day soon, I’ll be curing the diseases of my people, or maybe one of you will end up in my emergency room seeking help. So if you value your lives, treat me with respect!”
• The room fell silent, and everyone’s eyes locked on me. They stared at me as though they had witnessed a baby talking for the first time. Then, without warning, Brayden waved in the air and broke the atmosphere with a frantic chuckle. “Well said! Now, get out of here. We’re done toying with you.”
• Why Brayden? My mind screamed. I thought he loved me. I was stupid! I should have known that this was all but a big game, and I was the one who had lost! I should have listened to Grandma Estelle when she warned me about getting involved with someone like Brayden. Now, I was standing in front of him, shattered to the bones.
• Avoiding eye contact with anyone else, I sprinted away, eager to leave behind any evidence of my foolishness in that training hall.
• As I ran, tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision. The pain in my chest was overwhelming, but I refused to let it consume me. I needed to find some comfort and heal from this heartbreak.
• There was only one person I wanted to run to. So, without wasting any more time, I ran towards our room on the ground floor of the mansion. I just hope things work differently than what happened today.
• But upon reaching the doorstep of our room, I noticed that the door was slightly ajar.
• “G-grandma?” I pushed the door open slowly. “Are you—oh, my God!”
• She was on all fours, and gray furs began to cover her body. Her face changed into a wolf’s with the same pale gray eyes. I blinked so hard that my sight almost turned red as I watched her, hoping that I was in a long nightmare. But everything was real as the coldness of the floor crept up my body when I slumped in front of her.
• “W-why? Why didn’t you tell me about this? So it means—”
• “Run!”
• I gasped as a desperate voice penetrated my head. Although I couldn’t explain how paranoid I was, I could tell that it was Grandma’s voice screaming in my head.
• But how did she...
• “You have to get away before they find you!”
• “F-find me?” I frowned as my knees got weaker by the minute. “W-who is after me?”
• “I have no time to explain, my child. But the savage was the one who wanted you dead, like your father!”
• “We’re... we’re not related?”
• “I’m not your real grandmother, but I have loved and treated you as my own!”
• My chest tightened as I stared at her helplessly. She continued her transformation until, finally with one last howl of pain, the change was complete. Grandma Estelle stood before me; an old gray wolf. She was totally different but still, I wanted to run toward her and embrace her so hard. My Grandmother Estelle—she was the only one I got. I didn’t know what to do if I lost her too!
• “They are coming for you!”
• My first instinct was to call out for help or run away screaming. However, as soon as our gazes met, Grandma Estelle gave me a pleading look that kept me rooted to the spot instead. She opened her mouth and howled long and vociferously, which sounded like agony emanating from deep within her soul. The sound made my stomach lurch, and then, without any further warnings, she begged me, “Aliyah, you must go now!” She tried explaining what had happened, but only words got stuck in her throat while she begged for forgiveness.
• The next second, something sharp pierced Grandma Estelle’s back like lightning. Suddenly, everything became still. Blood seeped out of her wolf body and smeared on the floor.