Chapter 2

Their heads snapped in the intruder's direction. Cora stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her anger aimed at Arya. Ace suppressed a growl, his arms slipped from under Arya and she fell to the floor. Her rickety arms clattered like spoons on the floor, she bumped her head again and groaned.

"She's a slave I can do whatever I want." Ace said.

Cora frowned at Arya, who cradled her head.

"A slave indeed," Cora circled Arya like a vulture eyeing it's prey. "She's scum." Cora turned to Ace and smiled.

"She's worthless." Ace snarled.

Arya pulled her legs to her chest. She wanted to turn into a ball, but this wasn't the place. She was glad she wasn't close to Ace anymore, but she had Cora's anger to deal with now.

"I like that we think the same way Ace." Cora ran her fingers along Ace's bulky arm.

Ace nodded and returned to his chair. Cora turned to Arya who stood on wobbling legs.

"I hope you heard that Arya. You're beyond worthless. Never forget it."

How could she forget with Cora always around to remind her?

Cora grabbed her breakfast plate and stalked out the front door. Arya still had Ace to take care of.

***

Arya set the plate of food in front of him, her body trembling as if serving him was the hardest thing on earth. It had to be with her malnourished body.

Ace watched as Arya picked up her mop and began cleaning again. She was so fragile to the point of nearly broken. He watched her body sway and the corners of his mouth curved up. He was glad it was just the two of them in the restaurant. Cora disrupted him earlier.

He sliced his sausage and brought it to his lips. Arya barely looked his way.

"Why are you looking at her that way? It's annoying." His wolf said, catching Ace off guard.

He shifted and straightened in his seat. Luckily no one could hear his equally as annoying wolf, but him.

"She's a slave, I'm not doing anything wrong." Ace thought to his wolf.

He caught sight of Arya's battered arm. Then down to the exposed skin of her legs. He set the sausage down when he saw her legs had open wounds. The sight of her brokenness played at him in ways he didn't understand, or did but refused to accept.

He wanted Arya to look at him, but she kept her gaze averted. He looked at his discarded fork. He flicked the fork off the table and it clattered on the floor.

Arya looked up then noticed the fork sitting on the floor.

"Pick it up." Ace ordered.

Arya nodded, she set her mop aside and practically tiptoed to him.

"Hurry up Arya." Ace growled.

Arya lowered herself to his feet. She looked up at him, he realized how tiny she was. It made heat rush through him just thinking about it. Her small hand wrapped around the fork and she held it out for him.

Ace eyed the fork and Arya's little hand. He took the fork then looked at her dirty face.

"You're too slow." He said.

Arya fought the sigh on her lips. She nodded and went back to her mopping before the rest of the crowd joined them.

Ace was done eating though continued to watch Arya. She only mopped with one hand. He grimaced at her limp hand and became uncomfortable in his seat. Ace reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, he made sure Arya didn't see it. He slipped behind her and ducked into the kitchen. He found the key in the cupboard yesterday. He slipped it back in before making sure Arya wasn't paying attention then he ducked out through the kitchen door.

Minutes away from the restaurant his wolf started up again.

"Why did you lock Arya in the kitchen last night?"

Ace groaned, "I didn't have a key to her room. I couldn't go that far without being noticed anyway."

"Why did you lock the outside door too? She was stuck in the kitchen all night."

Ace rolled his eyes, conversing with his wolf made him feel insane at times.

"I didn't want Cora to hurt her anymore."

He thought he felt his wolf roll his eyes. "If you say so."

Ace shook his head and continued walking back to his house. He knew his parents were heading to the restaurant to have breakfast with the rest of the pack.

Back at the restaurant when Arya was finished with her chores, uproarious laughter and chatter burst in with a group of rough pack members. Arya swallowed, she should have left before they came in. Each one of them were massive men. A few women marched in after them, but they didn't spare Arya a glance. The men though fixated on her like a cat on a mouse in a corner.

"Well, well look what we have here." A man with thick black hair rolling down his back said.

Arya gulped as the Alpha and Luna marched after everyone else. They took up their seats on their reserved table.

The men chuckled and grabbed their breakfast.

I have to get out of here, Arya thought. She lifted the bucket and turned to leave when she was pelted with a lump of bread.

"What?" She whimpered.

The laughter in the room grew. Another lump of bread hit her head.

"Aren't you hungry freak?" A man with blond hair barked.

"The thing looks like she doesn't eat at all." The woman beside the man who first tormented her laughed.

He stood from his table. His long black hair swaying behind his back.

"Play nice Rosen," the woman said.

Rosen laughed. "This is the traitor's daughter. Spawn of darkness, aren't you?"

Arya shrunk back and shook her head. Her parents weren't everything they said, she knew it in her soul.

"Oh really? You don't know the filth your parents were?"

"Your mother was a whore!"

Arya cringed, she shut her eyes and took deep breaths. Pieces of bread hit her head again. It will all be over soon, Arya told herself.

"She was the filthiest bitch in the pack!" Rosen yelled and the crowd cheered.

Arya continued to shake her head. It wasn't true she told herself. Why did she let herself be seen?

"You're the traitor's daughter! Say it, you've got dirty blood." Rosen screamed in her face.

"No…"

"You bastard!"

"Say it! Tell us what you are! Traitor's child!"

"No!" Her voice silenced the crowd, before she could think she spat in Rosen's face.

Her eyes went wide. Rosen wiped her spit off his eyes and growled, his blur eyes turned bright yellow. Arya swallowed. His boot kicked Arya like a football into the wall.

Arya screamed. Rosen picked her up and slapped her, hurling insults at her. Arya shut her eyes and took it all. She'd never taint her parent's name, let everyone else do it, but she never would.

"Enough!" The Luna stood.

Rosen tossed Arya's bloody body to the ground. He spat on her dress and walked back to his table.

"Can't I eat in peace?" The Luna asked.

Some tried to protest, but she silenced them.

"That is quite enough. I'd like to eat in peace without any noise!" The woman with long blonde hair and curvaceous body demanded.

Her blue eyes turned to Arya.

"And you. Get out of my sight this instance."

Arya couldn't move her battered body fast enough. The Luna's gaze was like fires spewing from hell aiming at her skin. With tears running down her face she disappeared into the kitchen. She curled into a ball and tucked herself into the cupboard to sob.

She got a broke nose and shattered ribs for her bravery. She remembered her mother, Arabella was the most beautiful woman in the pack despite what those disgusting men said. Arya was only six when she lost the only people who knew what real love was.

She was still a child when the horror movie started. At least if she had a sibling to go through the motions with, but she was truly alone in this world.

After an hour of hiding Arya emerged to the restaurant. They were all gone thankfully. They left their scraps and broken dishes. Arya picked at the remains, they barely left anything behind. Leslie let Arya survive on her own, providing a basement for her to sleep in was enough on her part.

Arya ate what she could find and cleaned up the dishes. She couldn't wait until she could retire to her room. She finished up and went downstairs to the lonely basement.

A dark and lonely basement in a cruel world had become her solace.

"I've never hated this place more." Arya said to herself.

She pulled out a box of herbs from under her bed.

"I've had bad days but, not this bad." She sighed.

She pulled the herbs in a tiny pot and set it on a little gas lamp, she took from the restaurant.

She pulled her legs to her chest and watched the blue flame heat her medicine.

Her mother taught her house to use herbs, it felt like a lifetime ago. If she didn't know how to heal herself she would surely have died at the hands of these monsters. And to think her father was one of them.

She pealed back the floor board, one of her favorite secrets and pulled out a book her mother often used. She brought the candle closer to the book. It was a book of spells and illusions. Best of all it was a great escape, it showed her a world beyond her hell. A world in the depths of her soul she was destined to find. Very soon.