FATED TO ALPHA HUNTER BY VENNEH LISAH

𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐀'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕:

Lucy, Richie's mate, was in an excellent mood that morning. They were excited because the alpha of kings would be visiting the pack house that day. He had never been there before, and he was coming to inspect the pack house before he would fund it. We didn't know what to expect, but Richie and Lucy expected perfection and not a thing out of place. They gave Rina and me more tasks than usual, so many chores we both knew would never be done in time for his arrival.

But I wasn't excited because the funds would go into Richie's bank account, and the orphans would still starve and be sent back home from school for school fees. It was a horrible experience. I missed how Hunter ran things in the pack house, how he was a father to all and sundry. Those days were gone, and in its place was gloom and sadness. We were all in hell. My mate, I was told, died in an arson. We never said goodbye. I cried and was devastated for years, but at last, I accepted and moved on with life. Life didn't give me a lot of choices anyway.

We were sleeping together, and the next minute he was gone, and gone, I never saw him again. Rina and I had been dreading this day because the alpha of kings was visiting. The story going round was that he would disband a whole pack house if they didn't live up to his expectations, and the people in charge were severely dealt with. I knew Richie had placed me there with the hope that I would do something wrong and get the wrath of the alpha of kings. He didn't care about the orphans in the pack house and where they would go. It wasn't any of his business. But I also knew he needed the funds for his luxurious lifestyle, so he intended for us to give it our best. I knew he was in a precarious situation, just as I was.

My life has been anything but easy since I was declared a rogue and a slave. Growing up, I belonged to a pack. The unity it offered and the sense of family and belonging it gave were taken away when the hunters killed my parents and pack. I was given another pack almost instantly through my mate Hunter, but it was taken away too. I had never thought I would be a rogue until the person that was sired to me took it all from me.

He loved watching as I suffered, and he loved watching the pain and anguish inflicted on me. The difference between the sire bond and the mate bond was that the mate bond felt everything we felt, while the sire bond didn't. So Richie never felt what I felt. If he had, he would have treated me better.

Rina rushed into the room, her dreadlocks swishing past me as she dumped the fresh bed linen on the bottom bunk. There were ten bunks in every room, and there were twenty rooms. We had to clean and make up each room before starting lunch. Breakfast was something I hadn't had in years, same as Rina. She was my best friend, more like a sister, and she lost her mate alongside mine. Time was something we were already running out of in more ways than one.

I began stripping the beds, throwing the sheets in a pile on the floor. Rina walked over and yanked open the heavy black drapes, cracking the windows slightly to let in the fresh air. It was a cold morning, and the air had a chill to it, but I knew I would start sweating and welcome the cold draft in about twenty minutes.

After stripping the bed linen, I started making the beds. The most challenging part was the top bunks, which could be difficult to get flat. Richie and Lucy didn't like wrinkles in the bed linen, and they always checked. Lucy twisted her whip between her hands while inspecting each bed.

I shuddered at the thought of displeasing her and making a mistake. The consequences were severe, and I had lost count of the times her whip had left scars on my back. Even worse, she would dip it in harmful substances to prevent the wounds from healing properly. I longed for the comfort of Hunter's healing licks.

"Here are the pillows," Rina's gentle voice interrupted my thoughts as she tossed them to me. We placed them carefully on each bed, checking for any forgotten toys or misplaced items. Despite our efforts, we didn't have time to sweep the floors, and I knew Richie and his mate would punish us for it.

With five rooms left and only two hours before our meeting with Oliver Avril, we decided to endure the lashes rather than risk being late. Oliver was just as unpleasant as his brother, but we couldn't afford to miss the discussion about the welfare of our city.

He decided what happened to us, when schools would open and close, market days, and literally everything. It was even better when humans ruled, but they had given up on us and left us to live our own lives.

Rushing to the next room, we started the same routine all over again. Once finished there, we had to prepare sandwiches for the kids and pray to the moon goddess that we would finish before 1PM. If we were late, I knew Oliver would beat the lights out of us. It was a great disrespect to Oliver Avril if you kept him waiting, as he waited for no one.

By the time we finished, my arms felt like jelly, and my legs burned, threatening to give out under me. Rina was clutching her knees, looking around at the scarcely furnished room. The fireplaces in the corner of each room were the only source of heat, and the windows were the only way to cool down this dreadful place. The fireplaces created so much dust and ash that settled on everything, making our job even more challenging in the winters. Richie had let the pack house go to waste.

Rina was breathing hard, and we still had to make lunches. Her eyes stared at me knowingly; we were going to be late. She knew, as well as I did, that today we were in for it. Her already pale face turned white as a sheet as she looked at the clock. We had forty-three minutes and over a hundred sandwiches to make for the children who resided here.

As we heard the clicking of heels on the black wooden floorboards approaching us, we straightened up, flattened our aprons, fixed our hair, and smoothed down our peasant skirts. We placed our hands behind our backs, eyes fixed ahead as Lucy entered the room. Her heels made a loud noise as she stepped in, with her glasses perched on her nose, and as expected, Richie was slightly behind her.

Lucy sneered at us, her lips pulling back over her teeth as they walked over to each bed. Rina's eyes darted nervously towards me. Lucy had a whip in her hand, twisting it in her fist before slapping it on her palm. Her eagle eyes scanned the room, looking for anything out of place. Her hair was pulled into a bun so tight on top of her head that it looked painful. Her high cheekbones and pointed straight nose made her face appear even more cruel and sharp.

She pushed her glasses further up her nose, and we remained like statues, our eyes following her movements. Despite this, we were completely still.

Lucy ran her fingers over the window sill, and I noticed Rina tense up as her eyes flicked towards it. I followed her gaze and saw the sill was covered in soot. Lucy clicked her tongue and held her fingers up to show us. I swallowed hard, my mouth going dry.

"What is this?" she snapped, rubbing her fingers together and causing the ash to fall to the floor. Her eyes darted towards it, and I could tell she had noticed one of the kids walking with dirt through the room. She pursed her lips, and I couldn't decipher if she was happy or unhappy. "Who was supposed to clean the windowsills?" she snapped.

Rina raised her hand but didn't say anything. I could see the fear in her eyes as tears began to brim.

"And the floors," I raised my hand, my stomach sinking. I knew she wouldn't miss it. I couldn't understand how we had lowered ourselves to this level. Our mates had given us so much power, but it had all been taken away, and we were left almost like beggars with no say.

"Rina, you get three strikes, one for each windowsill," Lucy stated, and Richie nodded in agreement. Rina pressed her lips together and held out her hand, palm down. Richie shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but that's not good enough. We have important visitors today, and I need to show them that I don't slack on discipline," Richie said, his tone stern. I watched as Rina's bottom lip trembled, knowing he wanted her back in line. The thought of what was to come made my stomach churn.

The punishments were always brutal, but the worst part was knowing that these two maniacs derived pleasure from inflicting pain on us. Lucy, in particular, liked to show off her handiwork. She would leave us with bruises and marks that would make us look worse when we had to see Oliver. She seemed to take pleasure in branding us dark, as if we were her property.

Rina untucked her blouse from her skirt and shrugged it off, leaving her in just her thin bra before grabbing onto the top bunk with her hands. I turned my gaze away, unable to watch as the whip sliced through the air and landed on Rina's back. I winced with each strike, but Rina knew better than to make a sound. Any noise would only make it worse.

I looked over at Lucy, wondering where she got the strength to whip people with her big baby bump. It was sickening to think that someone could be so cruel and heartless.

"Ania, it's your turn. Three lashes for each room," Lucy squealed. I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat. Rina went to say something, but I shook my head. I knew she was going to say that half of them were hers, but there was no point in both of us being unable to stand properly.

"Hurry up. I don't have all day. The Alpha of Kings will be here soon. You better pray he leaves a good donation, because if he doesn't, I will kill you myself," she snapped, and I laughed. "You can't do that. Your mate is sired to me. I die, he does," I chanted, and they both laughed. "We've got news for you, Ania. Last night, Richie broke the sire bond with the help of a sorcerer. He's now free. You are useless to us now," she spat. My heart sank. Anything could happen anytime. I could actually die. I quietly did as they wanted. I dreaded continuing to argue.

As I pulled my blouse off, Rina's eyes welled with tears and she took the same position as me. I focused on the blue swirl pattern on the comforter of the bottom bunk, trying to distract myself. However, when Lucy tossed her whip onto the mattress in front of me, I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. I heard the sound of her pulling a thin chain that was usually wrapped around the headrest handle.

I never understood why they abhorred me so much. I knew I was about to be attacked, but I never asked for her mate to be sired to me. I gritted my teeth as the first blow streaked across my back, making it arch, and I fought the urge to scream. My mouth was opened in a silent scream.

"Stay still, or I'll double it," she snapped. I clutched the frame of the bunk and gritted my teeth, focusing back on the patterns on the comforter, trying to block it out. She didn't hold back. I could feel each slice and the skin splitting further open where it was hit more than once. My blood sprayed on the comforter on the backswing. The skin on my back raised and lowered. I could feel the trickle of blood running down it, feel the intense burning, and my back was carved to their liking.

Tears streamed down my face, falling onto my black doll shoes and the black floorboards. Rina whimpered behind me, likely at the sight of my back. However, I didn't make a sound, fearing a worse punishment.

Lucy took a deep breath, as though she was exhausted from dishing out the punishment. I shuddered, feeling a violent burning sensation on my back, and warm blood trickling down.

"Now clean yourselves up. I'm being lenient today since someone else prepared lunch. You girls may leave now. Rina, help her clean up before going to Oliver's meeting," Richie said, standing silently by. I cringed as I turned to face him.

"I curse the day our paths crossed," I whispered, making sure Richie could hear me. His lips tugged into a wicked smile while I trembled, trying to stand up straight. However, he didn't say anything. Lucy flicked her hair, which had escaped her bun, back and pushed her glasses up her nose before snatching her whip off the bed and rewrapping her chain onto the headrest.

"Well, you girls have made me all frazzled; I better clean myself up," she said as if we had done something wrong. I watched as they left the room before collapsing onto the bottom bunk. The movement caused me to wince. Rina came rushing over, examining my back carefully, trying not to touch the angry red lines that were split open.

"I'll be back; I'll clean it up," she said, her teary eyes looking down at me. I glanced at the clock on the wall.

"We don't have time," I chimed in, reaching for my blouse. But she ignored me, rushing out of the room and returning with a wet cloth and a bandage.

"We really don't have time," I told her firmly, grabbing her hands as she stepped closer. Our eyes met, and she smiled sadly.

"We're as good as dead anyway. What does it matter if we're late to our own funeral?" she said, and a lump formed in my throat. I tried to swallow it down, but she was right. I wasn't bound to Richie anymore. If he had told his brother that the bond was broken, the prick wouldn't hesitate to end us. That's what they all wanted anyway. I nodded my head; we were going to die anyway, so what did it matter if we were late?

I let go of her shaking hands and turned slightly, hissing as she draped the herb-soaked cloth on my back. She left it there before unrolling the bandage. I held onto the tips of the cloth covering my shoulders while she wrapped the bandages around my torso. The dressing wasn't long enough to cover the top half of my back, but the cloth stuck to the drying blood and held it in place. She tied it off when she was done and held it in place. I let my arms fall, and the bandages lifted my bra, pushing up my chest.

Rina helped me slide my arms into my blouse, and the wet fabric felt cold on my back, but it soothed the burning sensation caused by the cuts that now joined the rest of my scars. I cleaned Rina's wounds with a wet cloth, but her skin only puckered and looked angry and raw, though thankfully she wasn't bleeding. She pulled her blouse on and turned to face me, with a sad expression on her face and tears welling up in her eyes. This was it; there was no escaping it.

"I can ask for another day, maybe the prick..." I shook my head, silently pleading for her to remain quiet and not speak out against Richie. Rina would be punished again if she did, and I was fine with enduring the pain. There was always someone lurking around, listening and looking for an opportunity to get us in trouble. She began to say something, but then closed her mouth and nodded instead.

She grabbed my hand and gave it a soft squeeze, which I returned as we left the bedroom. Walking down the long corridors, passing each room, I had a feeling that this might be the last time we walked those halls, the last time we saw the little faces we helped clean and the little hands we held. The corridors were silent as we made our way before taking the spiral staircase to the floor below.

The slate floors were cold, and I could feel the chill seeping into the thin soles of my shoes. Lucy had said she wouldn't waste money on us, so both our shoes had holes. We had to make soles from bits of cardboard to fill the holes on the bottom of our doll shoes.

As I walked out and into the corridor leading to the front door, Rina looked at me and whispered, "I have a bad feeling about this, like we are going to die." I understood her because I was feeling the exact same thing.

I pushed on the double doors and watched as kids played on the run-down play equipment outside through the glass. Rina and I stepped out into the biting fresh air. It was cold and overcast, with the clouds hiding the sun, making it feel gloomy – exactly how I felt.

The kids all stopped playing and rushed over, grabbing and reaching for us, wanting to play. We lingered a bit, enjoying seeing them and saying goodbye before going to the meeting. Just then, a sleek black car pulled up and parked on the curb. The windows were tinted so darkly that you couldn't see who was in it.