ONE; before she was broken

The state university was a world of power, riches and connections. The werewolves rulled, and a few well connected humans -- if they were rich enough came under werewolf protection. Each protected human wore an armband that said 'belonging to,' and then the name of the werewolf under whose protection the human was.

   Alecia found it disgusting that people should willing submit themselves to werewolves as slaves, all in the name of protection, and no matter how much her half werewolf, half human friend, Helen convinced her otherwise, she was not going to succumb to the lure of coming under protection.

    Her parents did not want that for her in anyway. They had strictly warned her against 'being protected,' she had even been banned from ever speaking to werewolves. Her mother had not wanted her to school up at the state, but since she had no choice, as it was the only school that had offered her a scholarship, she had to take it.

    There was a knock on the door, and Helen came in before she could even answer. Alecia smiled to herself, she could not stop being thankful that Helen was her friend..

   She had needed to study a lot to retain her scholarship, and if there was something her campus students hated more than a human who was not connected enough to be under protection, it was a girl who always had her head stuck in a book. Helen had looked beyond the bias and chosen to be her friend, Alecia could not tell why a rich half werewolf would want to befriend a poor human girl, but she was grateful for the friendship.

    Helen smiled. ''There's a party tonight and you're coming with me!!''

    Alecia stared at her friend warily. Helen had that gleam in her eyes that she always had anytime she was talking about werewolves.

    "You're not planning to take me to a werewolf party are you?''

    One of the reasons why her father did not like Alecia to hang out with werewolves was because they drank a lot of alcohol and smoked a lot, a bad influence to humans who's body did not handle that assault very well.

    Helen shrugged. ''It's just a little get together for those who want to come under protection to get to know their new masters.''

    "Helen!'' Alecia was stunned. ''''I have already told you I would not be protected .... my parents don't want that for me and --''

   Helen raised a hand. ''I know! blah blah blah you don't want to be anyone's slave -- I really don't know what's so interesting in your 'freedom' anyway. You should see the privileges Protecteds are enjoying.''

    "I don't care! I still don't want a werewolf master." Alecia said stubbornly.

    Helen shrugged, a coy smile on her face. ''You know if a werewolf accepts to protect you, you might even be lucky enough to get fucked by a werewolf.... You know they'll so great in bed --''

   Alecia choked on her own saliva as her cheeks turned beet red. ''Helen! What has gotten into you!''

    ''Gotten into me what? Why are you acting as though you haven't --'' Her eyes grew wide as saucers. ''OMG! Do you want to tell me you're a virgin?''

    Alecia blushed even more. ''I don't know what that has to do with anything --''

   ''Oh no way!'' Helen continued as though Alecia hasn't spoken. ''You must come with me to this party. Trust me, you need this!''

   Alecia shook her head stubbornly.

  "Okay okay! I promise. You don't have to pledge to any master if you don't want to, and you don't have to have sex with anyone -- if you don't want to,'' Helen added hastily, then her face grew sorrowful. ''Would you come to this party for my sake? Because of our friendship?''

    Alecia bent her head. She really did not want to disobey her parents, and from what Helen was saying, she was sure she did not want to go the party, but -- Helen was the only friend she had on campus, and when she pleaded with Alecia like that, how could she say no. 

    "Okay, I'll come."

   "Good!" Helen said excitedly. ''Now all I need to do is bring real clothes for you, then you're all set."

    Alecia looked down at the white blouse and jeans trousers she wore, she could not find anything wrong with them, but apparently, Helen had other ideas. She dashed off to her own room, and came back later with an assortment of clothes and a make-up kit. 

    Alecia was beginning to regret her decision to go out with Helen with each passing second. Helen had made her wear a very short, black leather skirt that she was sure would indecently expose her black lace pants when she sat down, the red top her friend had forced her to wear was no consolation. The neckline was cut very wide open, exposing her chest in a way that mortified her. Emberassed, she covered her chest with her hands.

   Helen smiled. ''You know, you'll attract more attention to your boobs if you keep cradling it like that in your hands -- and there's no need to blush at the slightest provocation. Seriously, I do not understand why you have to be so self conscious. You're very pretty, with the kind of face that would make a man want to protect you -- whether he were werewolf or human, and your body, your curves -- men would kill each other just for a chance to rock this body.''

    Alecia bit her lip as she felt heat crepe up her cheeks again. She studied her finger nails. She couldn't understand why her friend was talking in this manner, it was strange, different from the kind of conversations she was used to. And she looked different, staring at the mirror, she could not recognize the girl she saw there. She looked ... she looked like a whore. She was glad though that for some reason, Helen had chosen not to cover her face with make up, saying something about wanting everyone to see the innocence of her beauty. 

    An idea suddenly occured to Alecia, and she snatched her woolen jacket from her bedstand and draped it across her shoulders. Good! Now she felt more like herself.

     "Oh no you don't!" Helen scolded, snatching the jacket off Alecia's shoulder. "I did not dress you up with my Givenchy only to have you cover it with that --'' she pointed at Alecia's jacket, her face scrunched up I disgust.

    Alecia shrugged and tossed her jacket in her wardrobe. She already regretted this. She was beginning to feel like a priced lamb that was being sold off at the slaughter.

    She followed her friend meekly into a waiting car, silently apologizing to her parents for the disobedience.

*****

Her skin felt smooth, but not silky. Who was it that had the silky skin? Ryder caressed the lower thigh of the curvy redhead who sat next to him. She bit on her fingertips, giving him a coy smile. She was too willing and he was too ready to take.

“I've always wanted to see how your bed looks like,'' she was saying.

    He raised his eyebrows. “My bed is in my apartment you know? Want to get tangled in my sheets?''

    The girl giggled. “Hmm, are you really going to bring me into your apartment?”

   “Maybe,” he said, running his hand further up the girl’s leg.

     Footsteps directed his attention to the mostly shut door just in time to catch a glimpse of a short black skirt. Part of one long leg filtered through the crack. Interesting. Who was outside that door? He stood from the couch.

    “What are you doing?” the redhead asked.

    Ryder raised one finger to his lips as he tapped the door open just enough to reveal a beautiful brunette talking to Helen. He bit on the side of his lip. She was hot. The girl had long legs that reached from under her skirt. Her thighs were probably silky smooth instead of leathery from tanning too much. He followed her legs up, reaching her curvy hips. Nice. He liked curvy hips; they touched something primal in him. But that hair. He had never seen such long strands of chestnut curls that fell to the dip of her back in smooth rolling waves. He could run his hands through it all day and never get bored.

    The girl turned just enough to reveal high cheekbones and full lush pink lips. She smiled and her whole face brightened. The girl was perfectly made and illuminated innocence. Her eyes shone with a lightness. There was no harsh slap of life in her face.

      “Who’s this girl, Kat?” Ryder asked.

    The redhead walked to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked through the crack. “maybe one of these humans trying to catch the eye of a werewolf tonight.''

   "I want to meet her.”

   “What about me?” Kat crossed her arms.

    He didn’t answer her until the girl and Helen left the other room.

“I’m done with you.” He walked through the door.

    He made for the door the girl and Helen had gone through and opened it. The room was empty. Ryder looked up the staircase. He couldn’t just follow her. He leaned against the staircase and listened but heard no one approaching. He looked at his watch. He needed to get to class before he was late. He’d have to ask Helen about her later.

 

     Upstairs, Helen showed Katie around. “There's a strong bond here, it's a werewolf thing. You'd find anyone here would be willing to come to your aid should you need them“

   "But I could never belong here. Have you forgotten I'm hunan,” Alecia said, wrapping her arms around her waist.

“Intelligent girls are always welcome. We take care of our own,” Helen said. “We understand some of our girls have financial limitations too, but we’re not snobs and welcome all.”

     Alecia nodded, a smile nipping at the edges of her lips. Hadn’t she always heard rich girls were snobs? But Helen didn’t seem like one. She seemed friendly.

     Helen stepped in front of her. Her light brown hair swayed behind her. “There is a party tonight. You can meet many of the girls and decide if protection is right for you.”

“I don’t know,” Alecia said. At the party there would be drinking and possibly drugs. 

What if some sleazy guy hit on her?

“Don’t worry, it will be tame,” Helen said. A smirk crossed her face. “I’ll keep an eye on you. I know you’re new to campus life.”

     Alecia looked around the upstairs parlor, glancing at the tan furniture and the grand piano that stood in the corner. What could it hurt to go? She didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want, and no one was going to for  her to pledge. If anything, she could even learn more about her college outside books and academia -- and Helen had said the party would be tame. It didn’t sound like she would have to worry about drinking and sleazy guys. No, she needed to stop being so legalistic about everything.

    “All right.”

    Helen clapped her hands in front of her. “Tonight will be fun.”