Chapter 16 No Mercy
NIA’S POV “You disgust me!” “I just hate to see your face so much!” “How did you even end up here!” The ladies kept saying as they kicked me all at once with no mercy. I lay there on the cold floor, crying my eyes out while using my weak hands to protect my head. But that didn’t stop the pain from reaching my core. I’m their frustration bin. I do not need to do anything wrong for them to come at me. It feels like somebody has opened the gates of hell since the beginning of today. I have been hammering left and right. Out of my desire to act dutiful, I had left Perry’s side despite her warning for me not to. The maids didn’t forget that I was with the assistant Beta’s sister and thought it wasn’t my place to be. Here, I receiving punishment for thinking too highly of myself. The tears stung my eyes so severely for a minute, it felt like I would go blind. “You bitch!” Another yelled with so much vigor, and she sent a lasting kick to my belly that had my guts in pieces. “In your next life, you would choose the right place to be. Bitch!” My wolf was too weak to fight back; how would I ever be able to fight against five wolves? I would smashed to pieces in less than five minutes. They took turns to spit on me before finally letting go. I didn’t move an inch until there was no sound around me. Sitting up with difficulty, I groaned hard at the intense pain in my bones. I looked around the spot they had dragged me to, and I wrapped my shaky arms around my knees, sobbing quietly. We were at the back of the kitchen, where no one could quickly rescue me. Shouting would have also been a waste of energy. I could feel my face swelling, and I tasted iron on my lips. Touching the lower lip softly, I realized I was bleeding. Burstips and broken bones are just perfect. I wish I could understand the level of their contempt for me. Just a chuckle from me would trigger their wildest demon. Nothing I do seems right. My existence in itself is all wrong. These newly inflicted pains would take ages to heal since I am half-wolf. I don’t know how long this will continue. But I doubt I would last a year and not end up dead in the corners of this packhouse someday. I managed to get up, and my legs shook so hard I had to lean against the wall to keep steady. My wolf whimpered in pain at the state I was in. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.” I assured myself weakly. Returning to the kitchen in this state would only draw unwarranted attention, and my bullies might think I am trying to send a silent message to them, which is why I am going to head to the room first and have a change of clothes. Feeling safe in the four corners of the room without my devilish roommates around, I sat on the cold floor and wept intensely. I searched for my phone, thinking I should call Kingston and share my woes with him. But I had a rethink; calling him would only make him worry unnecessarily about me. Being conscious of the time to return to work, I changed into another work attire and stepped out of the room. A heavily built individual blocked my vision. Raising my head, it turned out to be the assistant Beta. “G… good day, Beta.” I stuttered, unsure of how to address him. He snickered, “I’m not Beta yet. How are you doing, Nia?” His cordial approach sounds foreign to my ears. I didn’t realize I was staring at him, mouth agape until he touched my face. “What happened to you?” Shit! I practically forgot about my bloated face. I shifted away from him quickly. “Oh, don’t mind me. I can be very careless sometimes and end up hurting myself. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and ended up slamming my face against one of the poles.” Ezra looked behind him to figure out where a pole stood in the hallway. “It happened outside,” I added, hoping I was convincing enough. Whether he believed me or not, he probably thought not to pry further. I feel glad that he didn’t bug me on the topic. I don’t want to portray myself as such a terrible weakling.
“I have been looking for you all day.” He mentioned. “Why? Did something happen to Perry?” “Oh, nothing happened to her. It’s just that I did something without your knowledge, even though the right thing to do was keep you informed before taking the step on your behalf.” “Okay.” I drawled, still confused as to what he might be driving at. “I paid part of your debt to Alpha. So you have just a year and some months from now to work in the packhouse to pay him back.” I blinked slowly, trying to ingest everything he just said. “Is there a reason why you paid my debt?” His level of confidence seemed to drop, and he looked anxious. “Yes. I wanted you to keep to Perry’s side for as long as possible. Be her assistant and caregiver. I know by the time your work is over here, you both will have established closeness.” “What makes you think Perry wants to be close to me?” “Because she has never stood up for anyone. And if you know about her hiding spot, you mean something to her. I know it’s wrong of me to burden you with this task. But I am desperate to save my sister from losing herself. I’m happy she let someone into her world. Perry has had me shut out for a long while. The mind portal we had opened to each other since we were young is blocked. It hurts that there is no closeness between us anymore. With you, I am sure she would be happy again, and if not all of her colors, she would at least get a bit of it back. Please, Nia. Be a confidant and supporter to my sister.” I gulped hard. My debt to the alpha is over; I know I am supposed to be happy but I am worried Ezra’s intention would be considered a bother. “Do you mind if I talk to Perry about this first?” He didn’t seem pleased with the idea; however, I guess he realized there was no other choice. “Alright then. Suppose that is what it would take. Let me know what you decide.” With a nod of the head, he walked away. Not waiting for another long minute, I hurried off to meet Perry. She was sitting on her back and scrolling through her phone on the bed. “Nia, I was expecting you to….” The smile on her face waned when she stared at me. “Who did that to you?” Perry asked, pointing at my face. “I tripped,” I said confidently, holding her gaze. Doubt lingered in her eyes, but my unblinking stare made her drop her guard.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.
She got off the bed and touched my burst lips. “You should be more careful. You can’t get hurt on the face, and it dents one’s beauty.” I gulped hard, swallowing the tears forming. “Thank you. I would apply some lotion to it.” “Don’t worry. I will get you one. It seemed like you wanted to tell me something the other time. What is it?” I rubbed at the back of my neck, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “Your brother proposed something to me. But I wanted to ask what you think before proceeding.” Perry’s eyes darted quickly, “did he say something horrible to you?” I shook my head, smiling. “Not at all; instead, he is worried about you and wants me to keep to your side for a while and help you get back to your feet.” She looked doubtful, “are you sure he said that, or was it your idea?” “He came to my room.” A blush crept up her cheeks, “so, do you want to?” Perry queried in a reserved tone. “If you want me,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t try me away. “I want you to be next to me. I have never felt this comfortable around anyone like I do with you.” She grinned from ear to ear. “Thank you for saying yes.” “Thank you, too. How about we savor all of these nice dishes.” She pointed at the tray of delicacies on the table in the middle of the room. I didn’t need to give an affirmation, and my belly loud rumble did the talking. Perry couldn’t hide her laughter, so I had to join in. I should get a good sleep tonight and forget about how awful my day went.