"Move out of the way, useless rat."
That was the first thing I heard when I walked into the living room. My younger brother, Cory, didn't even look at me. He shoved me hard into the wall. The glass cup in my hand slipped and shattered on the floor.
I froze in shock.
"Are you blind too?" he snapped. "Clean that up before I step on it."
I knelt down quietly and picked up the broken glass with my bare hands, as blood dripped from my palm, but no one cared.
"Don't just sit there like a dead dog," my mother hissed from the couch. "Do the dishes and sweep the floor. Don't also forget to Iron Cory's clothes. At least try to be useful."
"But I just woke up," I whispered with a slight frown.
"Then wake up earlier next time. Lazy, good-for-nothing she goat."
I looked at my father. He sat in his usual spot, his eyes stuck on his phone. He never looked up. Not even when they dragged me by the hair or slapped me bloody. Not even when he did it himself.
"You heard her, dog," Cory grinned. "My clothes are by the door. Wash them again. They stink."
"I already washed them yesterday," I said softly.
He stepped forward and slapped me on the forehead.
"Then wash them again. You think you're doing me a favor huh? Dumb little runt."
I bit my tongue and turned away.
But then my father stood up slowly.
I froze in fright.
"Getting bold now, huh?" His voice was sharp. "Talking back like you matter now uh."
"I didn't—"
His belt flew across my face before I could even finish my words. Pain shot through my cheek and down my neck.
"You think I care what you did or didn't do? You're a disgrace. And you should have been drowned at birth."
He whipped me again and again. Across my back, my arms, and my legs. I dropped to the floor, shaking . I didn't make a sound, because I had learned to cry in silence.
Mother chuckled from the couch and said. "She makes such weak sounds like a dying animal."
"I wish she'd just die already," Cory muttered.
When Father stopped, he threw the belt aside and kicked me hard in the ribs, making me see stars.
"Get up and clean this house before I give you something real to cry about."
I dragged myself up quickly, even when my knees were weak and trying to betray me. But I stood up anyway. I watched mother walked over and yanked my hair.
"Maybe if you were a real wolf, you'd be worth something," she whispered in my ear. "But you're not. You're just a discarded piece of trash."
She spat in my face and shoved me down.
"Mother, I'm twenty-two," I cried out. "I'm not a child anymore."
"You're nothing," Father snapped. "Not even a woman, or a wolf. You're not my daughter."
I limped away, pulling my bruised body to the bathroom as tears streamed down my face.
I cleaned, washed and mopped. And I also folded Cory's clothes again. I did everything, just like always.
And when I finished, I went back to the living room.
But the moment I stepped in, the smell of Chinese takeout filled the air, making my stomach twisted painfully. Reminding me that I hadn't eaten since yesterday, but I knew better than to ask.
The table was full. My family laughed and joked like I wasn't even there.
As I turned to leave, my father called me.
"Aria."
I stopped.
Then he tossed a crumpled dollar bill at me.
"Go buy my bourbon. The cheap one with the red label. And cigarettes. Don't mess it up."
I caught the note and nodded.
"Of course she'll mess it up," Cory said, chewing loudly. "She can't do anything right."
"Let her go," Mother said with a grin. "The house looks better without her."
They all laughed.
I stepped outside.
The cold breeze stung my skin, but it felt good, as it numbed the fresh bruises on my skin.
When I reached the store, the cashier gave me a dirty look.
"Didn't think the freak would show up today," she muttered.
I ignored her and dropped the crumpled bill on the counter.
"The usual."
She rolled her eyes and tossed the items into a bag.
As I turned to leave, Elder Rosa walked in.
Seeing her, a smile crept up my face.
"Aria," she said, opening her arms.
I stepped into her hug. It was the first kind touch I had felt in weeks.
"How are you, sweetheart?" she asked.
"The same," I whispered.
She gently touched my bruised face and led me to her office.
I sat down, clutching the plastic bag tightly.
"They're still hurting you, isn't it?" she asked softly.
I nodded.
"They all beat me today. Father hit me with his belt. Mother spat in my face. Cory made me wash his clothes twice just to embarrass me."
Tears filled Rosa's eyes. "You can't keep living like this."
"But I have no choice."
"You do. One day, you will."
"When would that day be? I'm not a wolf," I whispered. "I've never shifted. They say I'm cursed. That I should have died when I was born."
"They're wrong."
She held my hand, even when I tried to pull away, and wiped my tears and handed me a clean tissue to clean my face dry.
"If the goddess gave you this pain, she's saving something great for you."
I stood up slowly.
"I should go before they throw me out for taking too long."
"I'm always here for you Take your time."
I nodded and left.
Once outside, I looked up at the stars. It all looked so peaceful up there but I was stuck down here. A slave to my family. A joke. An omega daughter who didn't belong.
Sometimes, I dreamed of a day when I wouldn't be a joke anymore. But would that day ever come?
On the way home, I thought about the cruel things my mother always whispered when no one else was around. She would corner me in the hallway, pressing me hard against the wall until I could barely breathe.
"You know why I really hate you, Aria?" she would say with a cold smile. "It's because you're not my daughter. You never were. I only call you mine because your stupid father is too blind to know the truth."
I would never forget the day she told me everything.
She shoved me hard against the wall again and leaned close to my ear.
"I poisoned your real mother," she whispered slowly, like she enjoyed every word. "She was in the hospital, fighting for her life while giving birth to you. I slipped wolf's bane into her IV. I watched her scream and beg until she finally stopped breathing."
I froze. My body went cold, but she smiled wider.
"Your father didn't know. Of course, he didn't. He was too busy screwing around with me while she was alive. He still thinks she died because of some birth problem. Poor man, he's so sweet."
She laughed like it was the funniest thing she had ever said.
"I loved him. I still do. But he was hers first. I had to get rid of her. And you? You are the disgusting little reminder of her. Every time I see you, I see her. That's why I will never let you have peace. I'll make you suffer until you're cold in the ground, just like your useless mother."
Her words cut me deeper than any slap or kick. She hated me for something I couldn't control.
And the worst part? My father still didn't know. He hated me for something I didn't do.
But in this house, the truth didn't matter. The truth was just another weapon they used to break me.
I remember when I went into heat for the first time, I was sixteen. My body burned in ways I didn't understand. I went to my stepmother for help, hoping she would finally care.
She looked at me with disgust and threw some old herbs at me.
"Figure it out yourself. Don't come crying to me."
That night, I curled up in a cold corner, holding my stomach as I shivered in pain. I stayed quiet, because I had learned to suffer in silence.
Even when my ribs cracked. Even when blood ran down my legs after Father's brutal kicks. I didn't scream. I couldn't.
One day, my stepmother burned me with a hot iron because I missed a wrinkle on Cory's shirt. She pressed it hard against my arm until my skin peeled.
"Maybe this mark will remind you to do better," she's said.
I didn't know why I kept going. But deep inside, I hoped maybe, just maybe, I would find my mate someday. Maybe he would love me. And maybe that would finally be the day these nightmares will eventually end.