Jennifer's POV:
"Jennifer, you bitch! Where is my pearl necklace?" Barbara yelled from outside the door.
Startled by her voice, I stuffed the pearl necklace back into the wooden box in a hurry, and then stashed the box under the pillow to hide it.
I had barely straightened up from the bed when the wooden door of the room was kicked open. Barbara rushed in with a group of werewolves, followed by Luna Debra, whose face was covered with a thick layer of foundation, but unfortunately, it could not hide the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
These two women always dressed up extravagantly, as if they wanted to flaunt all the jewelry they owned in a single outfit.
"Luna Debra, Miss Barbara, what can I do for you?" I asked politely, saluting them as usual with a friendly smile on my face.
"Jennifer, where's the pearl necklace I usually wear?" Barbara growled, grabbing my collar and glaring at me. "You bitch! You always have sticky fingers. You're the one who cleans my room. Where did my favorite pearl necklace go? I can't find it. Did you steal it?"
"Miss Barbara, I didn't take anything from your room. You can't accuse me without evidence," I replied patiently in a tone that was neither humble nor pushy.
"You shameless bitch! How dare you talk to me like that? You want evidence? Let's find it right now!" Barbara spat, shoving me backward. Then, she turned to the werewolves she had brought along and ordered them to search my room.
My small and shabby room was soon turned upside down. The old quilt on the bed was thrown to the floor, and the small wooden table and stool were kicked over with loud thuds. What was worse, I had to watch Barbara walk all over my quilt in her expensive high-heeled shoes. She even picked up the half-empty kettle that had fallen on the floor and poured the water on the quilt. It was as if she was taking this opportunity to vent all her anger.
I tried to keep my face expressionless as I stared at the ruffians turning my room into a mess, but resentment gripped my heart and seeped into my eyes.
"How dare you glare at me? You'll suffer when I find the necklace!" Barbara shouted, driving her heels harder into my quilt.
I clenched my fists to suppress my anger and ignored her. After a few more seconds of watching the werewolves knock all my things to the floor, I couldn't bear it anymore. "Stop! I didn't steal anything. Why are you doing this?" I shouted.
"Why? It's simple. I am the Beta's daughter, while you're just a slave, a piece of garbage abandoned by others!" Barbara snickered at me.
"You're not noble at all. You are nothing but an orphan adopted by the Luna," I replied fiercely.
Before their deaths, Barbara's parents had been close friends with Luna Debra. That was the reason why Luna Debra had taken Barbara in. In terms of bloodline, I was much nobler than Barbara. I really didn't know what I had done to offend her. From the beginning, she had always disliked me, and stirred up trouble for me both in public and in private.
At this time, a she-wolf overturned my pillow, causing the small wooden box to fall to the floor.
"No!" I anxiously hurried forward to grab the wooden box. But just when I was about to touch it, Barbara stepped on the back of my hand. Her heel dug into my skin, drawing blood. I couldn't help but wince at the sharp pain.
"Bitch, what's the rush? Why do you care about this shabby box so much? You must be hiding something in it," Barbara sneered.
A she-wolf picked up the wooden box and handed it to her. Barbara opened the wooden box, revealing the pearl necklace that was lying in it.
I wanted to get up, but Barbara drove her heel harder into the back of my hand, pinning me down.
Jennifer's POV:
I was afraid that if I got up abruptly, I'd end up tearing my skin. The pain was too much to take. But compared to the physical pain I felt, the pain in my heart was even more.
"Luna Debra, look!" Barbara picked up the pearl necklace and triumphantly waved it in front of Luna Debra. "I told you that bitch stole my necklace! She just refused to admit it. How can a slave like her own such an expensive necklace?" she spat, glancing at me in disdain.
Looking at the necklace, Luna Debra frowned and nodded in agreement.
"We put a roof over her head, but she stole from us! How dare she? She must be punished severely," Barbara continued, trying to provoke Luna Debra even more.
"That necklace is mine! Miss Barbara, look at it carefully. It's not yours at all," I argued, biting my lower lip.
"Even if this isn't my necklace, it can't be yours either. Since you lost my necklace, I'll take this as compensation." Clenching the necklace in her hand, Barbara kicked me in the chest and then threw the wooden box to the floor.
"Luna Debra, you have to do something! Barbara is being unreasonable," I pleaded, turning to Luna Debra, who was my last ray of hope.
But Luna Debra just stared at me with contempt. "Since you lost Barbara's necklace, shouldn't you compensate her for it? You should just feel grateful that Barbara isn't holding you accountable for it," she said mockingly.
I gritted my teeth in anger. I knew there was nothing I could do against these two vicious women, so I had no choice but to swallow the insult and humiliation. At the thought that the necklace left behind by my deceased mother was being snatched away from me by Barbara, I almost lost control. I really wished I could tear the two women's faces apart and let them have a taste of their own medicine.
"Luna Debra, let's go. This bitch's room is so dirty. It's not worthy of your presence." Barbara held Luna Debra's arm and left arrogantly, with the werewolves following them.
"Bitch, you won't get any food for the whole day tomorrow. That's what you get for pissing me off," she added before leaving.
Tomorrow would be my eighteenth birthday, but it turned out that I was going to starve the whole day. Hatred bubbled up in my heart as I stared at their receding backs. One day, I'll make you pay for all the things that you've done to me! I swore to myself.
For a while, I sat on the floor with my knees pulled up to my chest, rocking back and forth in the dark and shabby room. The cold wind gushed in from time to time through the broken window, making me shiver from head to toe. It was not winter yet, but the weather was already freezing. Tightening my old apron around my body, I finally stood up, walked to the door, and closed it. The chipped wooden door creaked as it closed shut.
Then, I turned around, picked up the wooden box lying on the floor, and wiped off the dust on it with my apron. Tears finally trickled down my cheeks.
That pearl necklace had been left to me by my mother, who had died years ago. Whenever I missed her, I would take out the necklace and reminiscence about the times I spent with her.
In fact, I was not born to be a slave. My father, Lewis Smith, and my mother, Doris Smith, had been the Alpha and the Luna of the Rainbow Pack. I also had an elder brother, Jerome Smith. With the protection of my family, I had a great childhood.
But when I was seven years old, my mother died of an acute disease. It was said that bad things came in threes. Not long after, Beta Arthur and a few other traitors rebelled against my father and killed him. My elder brother took me away from the pack to keep me safe, but the two of us were separated during our escape.
After wandering around on my own for a while, I found myself joining the Dark River Pack. Of course, I didn't dare to reveal my true identity to them. From then on, I washed clothes and cooked every day, becoming a slave of this pack.
Later, I heard that Beta Arthur had become the Alpha of the Rainbow Pack. How could a traitor become the Alpha? It was laughable!
I carried all the wrongs and misfortune that I had suffered in my heart, including Beta Arthur's betrayal, my father's wrongful death, my brother's disappearance, and the way I was insulted and abused every day in the Dark River Pack. I wanted to do my best to become stronger so that I could get my revenge.
Jennifer's POV:
As I lay in the bed with the empty wooden box in my arms, hatred grew within me.
"Jennifer, you will succeed one day."
A voice startled me out of my daze.
"Who's there?" I asked nervously.
"Jennifer, I'm Eva. I'm your wolf. Happy eighteenth birthday!"
"Eva, I can finally sense you!" I cried, feeling a huge sense of relief. It was not until now that I realized that it was past midnight. I was officially eighteen years old, and my wolf showed up.
"From today on, I will always be with you."
"Thank you, Eva. I won't be alone anymore." I couldn't help but smile at the thought.
"You are never alone. And soon, you will meet your mate."
"Yeah, you're right! I'm an adult now. As soon as I get back the necklace my mother left to me, I'll leave this place to search for my mate."
Finding my mate was something that I was really looking forward to. I still remembered how much my parents loved each other. For some reason, I had a feeling that my mate would also be good to me.
The wound on my hand still hurt, and thanks to Barbara, my quilt was damp. I was curled up in bed in this pathetic condition. Although I was cold and hungry, I fell asleep with bright expectations.
Early the next morning, I went to Barbara's residence in the name of cleaning her house. The pearl necklace she had snatched from me was very important to me, so I had to take it back at all costs.
After entering Barbara's house, I went straight to her bedroom. The door was ajar, but there was no one inside. Counting my lucky stars, I rushed in and rummaged through her dressing table as quickly as I could. Unfortunately, I didn't find my pearl necklace. But what I did find was the necklace that Barbara usually wore. She had framed me and falsely accused me of stealing! And all along, her necklace was safe and sound in her jewelry box. It turned out that the bitch had made trouble out of nothing.
I searched every inch and corner of her room, but I still couldn't find my pearl necklace. Grunting in frustration, I left her bedroom to look for the necklace elsewhere.
I walked inward, wanting to try my luck in her closet. The strong fragrance of lilies drifted towards me all of a sudden. As I walked forward, the smell became stronger and stronger.
Somehow, as if by instinct, I knew that this was the smell of my mate. Who was my mate?
"No, I can't hold on anymore... Your dick is so big. It's so deep inside me!"
"You already can't hold on? Babe, it's just the beginning."
"Baby, fuck me! Drive me wild!"
The woman's lewd moans were accompanied by the sound of running water and the continuous sound of flesh slapping against flesh.
My heart leaped into my throat as I followed the fragrance and finally stopped at the door of the bathroom. As soon as I saw the two people intertwined in the bathtub, I felt sick to my stomach. They were so engrossed in what they were doing that they didn't notice my presence at all.
There were two werewolves having sex in the bathroom. One of them was the vicious Barbara, and the other was the shameless Kevin. Kevin would be the future Alpha. He slept with a lot of women and harassed me from time to time. I hated him to the core. I never expected that he and Barbara would be together, but they were a perfect match.
Oh, my God! Was this jerk supposed to be my mate?
Bile rose up my throat as I stared at the two of them with my feet rooted to the spot.