Sold to my ruthless mate

"Just one more chore to do, one more and I can have breakfast in peace."

Elena chanted the words like a mantra to herself. Her hands worked frantically as she scrubbed the tiled floors of her uncle's room. This was the last room to clean for the morning, before her cousins returned and made a mess of it. She worked with speed and efficiency, conditioned by years of doing house work. At this point, she hardly felt the harsh cleaning chemicals eating into her skin. She was used to it, too used to it.

The sound of the door slamming open made her jump and rise to her feet instantly. Her uncle Elijah, stood in the doorway. Elijah was the alpha of the Ash pack. Elena could tell from just one glance that he was in a foul mood. That was bad, just this morning he had been in a good mood, he even smiled. What happened?! Even if she wasn't the cause of his bad mood he'd still take it out on her!

She smiled, a gesture that betrayed the internal turmoil brewing inside her like a hurricane. "Good morning sir, how may I be of help?"

Elijah sneered. "How may you be of help?! How about you start by getting your lazy bum off the ground and doing some real work around here?!"

"I'm sorry, I .."

"Shut up!" He roared. "I wasn't done talking!"

She flinched and lowered her head. She could already tell that breakfast was looking bleak.

"You were supposed to clean the training hall today, why haven't you done it yet?!"

Elena raised her head, a slight furrow in her brow. "But I did, I did that first thing this morning."

His eyes narrowed. "Are you calling me a liar?"

She felt her blood run cold. "No, no, of course not. I'll clean it, right away."

He raised his chin, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. "Good. Now hurry up and get to it!"

Elena nodded. "Of course sir."

He stormed out if the room and slammed the door in his wake. Elena discovered that he'd tracked dirt into the room with him. A lonesome sigh left her lips as she bent down to continue cleaning. The vigour she had when she started, fueled by the promise of a warm breakfast had vanished, leaving her feeling exhausted. The biting hunger she'd ignored successfully was back full force, leaving her feeling even more tired.

When will this end?

An hour later, she was done with the room. Everywhere was squeaky clean. She felt a twinge of satisfaction as she gathered her cleaning supplies and left the room, heading to the training hall. As she approached, she could hear voices talking and laughing from inside. Her stomach flipped as she recognized the voices. She controlled the urge to roll her eyes. She walked into the training hall and the chattering stopped, all eyes turning to her.

"Oh look, it's our maid!" A high pitched female voice said, followed by a giggle that sounded like a fork being scrapped on a china plate. Elena stared at Susan, her cousin, and she just sighed.

"Hi Susan." She said and set down her supplies. "And Herald and Malia,"

"What happened? Did daddy dear have a row with you!" Malia said, skipping over to Elena's side. Elena wished they'd just go away and let her clean in peace.

"Do you care?" She said as she turned and stared into Malia's brown eyes.

Malia laughed, her voice was more pleasant to listen to than Susan's. "Oh come on now, no need to be rude."

Elena sighed heavily. She met Herald's eyes from across the hall. She couldn't place if he was looking at her with pity or disgust. "Please I just need to clean in peace okay, can you all kindly give me thrifty minutes?"

"But of course!" Susan announced with fake cheer. She turned to her siblings and said "let's go now, give the maid some alone time okay?"

Elena felt Malia sneak something init her pocket. Confused, Elena touched it. It felt like a sandwich. Malia winked at her and mouthed 'enjoy.' The three of them walked out of the hall, talking as they did.

Elena took out the sandwich. It was a simple bread and ham sandwich wrapped in foil. She said a silent thank you to Malia and devoured it in two bites. Her energy returned a bit. The cleaning went smoother than she'd expected.

Later that afternoon, Elijah exploded. Elena was done with her chores for the day, so she was in her room which was the attic, reading a book. She could hear her uncle's scream from her room. Her heart dropped and she rushed down to see what was going on. And so did Malia and Susan. They exchanged worried glances with Elena.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, wondering why Elijah was fuming in the kitchen.

Malia shrugged. "Daddy is upset about something I guess. Did you do all your chores?"

Elena nodded.

Elijah was pacing the kitchen. "Someone stole food from this kitchen." He said, his angry gaze travelling between the three of them. "Does anyone have any idea who?"

Elena shook her head. She was never assigned to clean the kitchen, so she hadn't neared it all day.

"Daddy, I know who did it." Malia said. Elena watched as Elijah's anger dissolved when he looked at his daughter.

"Yes sweetie, who was it?"

Malia turned to Elena. "It was her daddy. I saw her eating a sandwich in the training hall."

Elena felt like a bucket of ice had been dumped on her head. Ah, she should've know. She should've known that there was no way Malia would feel sorry for her and give her a sandwich. She should've known that it was a trap, that no one in this house wished her well.

Elijah's fury returned ten fold as he stormed up to Elena. "Elena," He said, his voice strangely calm. "Is what she says true?"

Elena turned to Malia. "But it was you who gave it to me!"

"Liar!" Malia screamed. "Daddy she's lying! Why would I give her anything?! She lying!"

"Malia!" Elena cried. "It was you..." She couldn't finish her sentence as the next thing that happened was she found herself on the floor with half her face numb and her ear ringing. It took her a while to realize that she had just been slapped.

She could hear Elijah yelling but his voice sounded muffled. She looked up through tears to find Malia smiling smugly at her. She couldn't even bring herself to react as Elijah pulled her up and slapped her again, holding her in place as her neck whipped to the side from the force of his blows.

She knew she was done.

Tears rushed down her eyes unbridled. She couldn't bring herself to stop them. After he had his fill beating her up, Elijah dragged her out if the kitchen and threw her in the hallway. She shakily rose to her feet, the pain starting to register. And register did it do.

She felt like her head was on fire, ready to explode at anytime. With tears clouding her vision, she walked back to her attic room and collapsed on the bed. She wiped her eyes and tried to treat her bruised face as much as she could do.

Her life was hell, she knew that since forever and she'd accepted that.

Elena knew no peace after the kitchen incident.

Elijah took every moment of the day to remind her that she was lying, disgusting thief. Elena went back and begged Malia to just tell her father the truth, say that oh it had been a mistake and she hadn't seen Elena take the food.

"Why would I do that?" Malia had sneered. She knocked Elena's hand off her. "You deserve to suffer for being the dent on this family. Aren't you even ashamed to call yourself a member of this family?"

Malia wouldn't listen, wouldn't do anything.

Elijah made Elena's life even worse. He seemingly manufactured chores out of nowhere to make her life worse than hell. He cut her food portions so she was working more but eating less.

Elena wanted to cry her heart out to whoever would listen, but her heart was dry. She couldn't even find it in her to do anything other than smile, nod politely and recieve the insults and abuse dished out to her.

Afterall, she believed that there was nothing she could do. She was above the age of mating and she was still unmated. Each blood moon came and went and the moon goddess in some sort of joke or irony refused to grant her a mate. It wasn't just her lack of a mate, she also couldn't wolf out. No matter how much she tried, it just didn't work. What came to every werewolf so easily ran away from her.

Elena felt tired and defeated. Even if she wanted to fight her uncle how would she do it? Physically she was almost the weakest in the pack. Malnutrition had told on her leaving her with extremely pale skin and a skinny body. Sometimes to herself she wondered how she was still alive.

***

Two weeks after the kitchen incident, Elena noticed some very unusual guests that came to visit. She had been cleaning out the water tank when she felt a surge of powerful energy that shook her to her bone. She crawled out of the tank and tiptoed to the living room. From her position at the top of the stairs she could peer down into the living room and see the entire space.

There were three men in the living room, having a hushed conversation with Elijah. The men looked fearsome, dressed casually but each of them had tattoos on their skin and piercings. Elena felt a shiver run down her spine as one of them felt her presence and turned, their eyes meeting directly. It took a lot of her self control not to make a sound.

"That would be wonderful, gentlemen." She heard her uncle say out loud. "I'll fetch her for you." She knew they were talking about her. Without wasting a second she turned and rushed back to tank, crawled in and pretended like she'd never left. Not long after Elijah came up to her and knocked on the tank.

"Get out of there Elena, you have guests." He said, his tone sounding too excited for her liking.

She came out of the tank. "Guests? But I don't know anybody."

"Beats me. Now, kindly keep your little mouth shut if you want to keep that head of yours."

Elena exhaled. She wondered what new diabolism her uncle was up to. What new ways had he invented to torture her pitiful existence?

She smiled. "Of course." Because what else could she do?

They walked down to the living room. The three mysterious men looked at her as she approached, she found that she couldn't read their eyes at all. That alone scared her. With Elijah or her cousins it was easy to look at them and assess their current moods. These men were totally blank. Elena stood there, unsure of what to do as they shamelessly checked her out.

"A little skinny," One of the men commented. He was the one who had met her eyes earlier.

"She will do." The other said.

"That's right." The last one said.

Elena was totally confused. "Um, excuse me," She said. "I'm a little lost here "

"Pack your bags and be down in ten minutes." One of the men said. "You're coming with us."

"And who are you?" She asked. Beside her she could hear Elijah take in a deep breath. She knew that if it weren't for their esteemed guests, she would have been on the floor recovering from a brain rattling slap.

"Less talk now," Elijah said. "Go and pack your things."

Elena glanced at him briefly, he was smiling. She went to her room and threw together the meager belongings she had into a small backpack. It took less than three minutes. She slung the bag over her shoulder and returned to the living room.

"Are you ready?" The man who'd met her eyes asked.

"Yes, I guess so." She said.

"Perfect. Let's go now." The men turned and walked out, filing out one after the other. Elena walked after them, not looking back.

"Remember," She heard Elijah say behind her and paused. "There is no home for you here anymore."

Elena felt a spark of anger for the first time in her life. The Ash pack was her right. She turned sharply and found herself glaring at Elijah. Her jaw clenched and she felt her nails cut into her palms from clenching her fists too tight. Elena was overcome with the very sudden, very violent desire to tear her uncle into prices right where he stood.

Elijah narrowed his eyes. "What with that look in your eyes?"

Elena instantly reverted to normal. "I've heard you." She turned and caught up with the men.

"May I ask where we are going?" Elena asked,

One of the men held the door of the car open. He looked at her and smiled. His smile seemed kind. "You're now a member of the Lycanfrost pack."

Elena felt her heart drop. "Lycanfrost?" Her eyes widened. "But that's the...."

"Just get in, okay? All your questions will be answered soon."

She looked at the three of them, she still couldn't read them at all. She entered the car and they drove off.

Her mind raced like the trees that they raced past. She had heard of the Lycanfrost pack, it was one of the most powerful packs, if not the most powerful. Known for raising ruthless warriors who expanded the pack with every advent. Any one who went to war against the Lycanfrost pack was doomed from the start.

Elena wondered why her uncle decided to send her to them. And she could only come up with one conclusion.

He had sold her.

She felt hope blossom in her heart. This could mean something good, something new. The Lycanfrost pack was huge, her own pack was not even compared to it. This could mean that she would be free. Free from Elijah and his evil and torture and domineering behavior. Free from Malia and Susan and Herald, although Herald didn't exactly bother her.

Her freedom was on its way, and she felt excited.

It had been so long since she last felt excitement, it settled uncomfortably in her stomach. It felt like butterflies, but not the good kind. She exhaled and closed her eyes, trying to relax before the ride was over.

She thought about her pack, about her father and the legacy he'd left behind. It pained her that she couldn't carry it on. But she didn't bother about it too much.

They arrived at the Lycanfrost pack at midnight. Elena was half asleep and was roused awake by the car screeching to a stop.

"We have arrived." One of the men announced.

They stepped out of the car, one of them holding the door open. Elena stared at the pack house out of the car window. It was huge. It looked like a medieval castle back draped against the starry night. The half moon gave light and made the castle look haunting. Some of the windows had light, further adding to the haunted look.

She stepped out of the car and followed them quietly like a lamb to the slaughter. They walked up the front doors and into the house. They walked through the halls, it was mostly quiet. They got to a door and paused. One of the three men opened the door to reveal a sort of servants quarters.

"You'll sleep here for the time being." One f the men said. "You will wake up by four am every morning and assemble. From there on you'll be told what to do."

Elena nodded. "Thank you."

She walked in and the door closed behind her. The room was dark but she could make her way across to an empty bed. The room was chilly but not enough to make her severely uncomfortable. She dropped her backpack on the foot of the bed, somewhere in the room she heard someone turn and sigh. She laid on the bed staring at the dark ceiling.

She could hear her heart beating loudly in her ears. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't calm down. It was too calm, too calm for he liking. She could hear her internal clock ticking and ticking. She guessed the reason she'd been unable to fall asleep was because of the sleep she got on the ride. She didn't know how long she slept for, but it felt like hours to her.

She turned over in the bed and sighed. Truth be told, it was softer than her bed in the attic back home. And it smelled better. Back at the attic everything was damn and dark. And then there were the bugs. She silently prayed this place didn't have bugs too.

Slowly, she began to feel sleepy. She cuddled her pillow and allowed the sleep to come.

***

She woke up to the sound of clamoring and people shouting. Elena quickly jumped out of bed, confused as to what was happening.

"What is going on?" She asked the nearest person.

The girl she'd asked paused and looked at her. "You're new right?"

Elena nodded.

"Alpha Marcus is visiting the servants quarters in ten minutes! Hurry and make yourself presentable!"

Elena gasped. "What?!"

The girl grabbed her hand and literally dragged her to the small bathroom attached to the room and threw water hastily on her face.

"Hurry!" She said, fear seeping into her voice.

Elena frantically washed her face and tried to smoothen her hair into a neat ponytail. The girl grabbed her hand and they rushed back into the room and joined the already formed line barely seconds before the door swung open and a man walked in.

Elena felt her breath escape her. She thought Elijah was intimidating and huge, but apparently there were men more intimidating than him.

Marcus was first off, very tall. He stood easily two heads taller than everyone in the room. His hair was long, tied into a ponytail that brushed the waist band of his pants. He had broad shoulders and a strong chin. His eyes were darker than ink more about feeling than their color, framed by long thick lashes. He was dressed in a white button up shirt that he'd rolled up to reveal powerful arms decorated with tattoos. Elena felt a pinch on her side and turned. She realized that everyone had their heads bowed.

"Good morning alpha Marcus" They greeted in unison. She bit her lip.

There was silence, broken by the occasional sharp intake of breath as the sound of Marcus' footsteps tracked back and forth the line.

"You," He spoke, his voice was deep and perfectly matched his looks. Dark and full of authority.

"Y-yes, Alpha,"

"You're fired. Get out of my sight."

The girl who'd just been fired started to cry. Elena heard shuffling and things falling. But she didn't dare raise her head up. Her breaths stopped in her chest when she heard Marcus' footsteps pause right in front of her.

"You're the new girl."

"Yes, I am."

"Wrong answer."

She gasped as suddenly she was lifted up her feet by her ponytail. Her hand flew up and she grabbed Marcus' hand, trying to pull him off her. She was brought face to face with him

"Next time, if I do not give you permission to speak, keep your little mouth shut, okay?" He said as calm as stagnant water.

Elena nodded. She saw him smile, those dark eyes light up with sadistic intent.

"Good girl. You learn fast." He dropped her like she weighed nothing. Elena didn't like how his praise settled in her belly. She quickly composed herself and got back in line. Her scalp burned and she was sure she'd lost some of her hair.

She was beginning to doubt that this would actually be freedom.

The inspection took four more minutes and then Marcus turned to leave.

"New girl, you're coming with me." He said. "Be outside in not more than two minutes."

Elena nodded, not saying anything. As soon as he left the room, there was a collective exhale.

"Oh my gosh, you have tough luck." Elena heard someone say. She turned to see the girl that had helped her get ready. The girl was holding her backpack.

"Thank you," Elena said as she collected her backpack. "What do you mean by I have tough luck?"

The girl sighed. "Alpha Marcus has chosen you to be his personal servant. The previous girl he chose lasted a week and killed herself."

Elena blinked. "What?"

"My name is Nina. I wish you luck."

"I'm Elena. Thank you Nina."

She turned and left. Outside Marcus was waiting. He didn't even glance at her as he said

"Follow me."

Elena obeyed and did as she was told. She couldn't get Nina's words out of her head. What kind of work would make someone commit suicide after one week? If the story did turn out to be true them she was done. Elijah wasn't even that bad, at least she hadn't once contemplated suicide.

"You'll be attending to my every need." Marcus spoke suddenly. "Your room will be next to mine, whenever I call for you you just answer within thirty seconds. Failure to do so will result in severe punishment."

Elena opened her mouth to speak then remembered he hasn't given her permission.

"What is your favorite feature about yourself?" He asked. "You may speak."

"My lips."

"If you push me, you'd find yourself lipless for the rest of your life."

Elena glared at his broad back.

He paused in front of a door. "This is my room." He turned to the door across. "And this is your room."

Elena glanced at the two doors and nodded.

He opened the door to his room and pushed her in. It was messy, but nothing she hadn't seen. "You're to make this place as neat as it should be. I believe I don't need to tell you what happens if you fail?"

Elena wanted to run. Marcus trained his eyes on her, cold, unblinking eyes. She nodded meekly.

"Mealtime for servants are 12pm and 6pm, if I so desire it, I may invite you to eat with me. If you finish your duties on time you may retire early for the night."

Elena nodded. Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all.

Ha! The irony.