Chapter 6

Once Darren faded out of her eyeshot, Amelia surprisingly found that she started to hesitate.

She was hesitating about the destination of her trip.

The big city was too much for her to handle. She had never been with too many people before and she was a little afraid of doing so. 

When she left the packhouse, she had planned to go to one of those little towns far away. But Darren told her to go to the city. She obeyed out of instinct.

Throughout her whole life, there was always someone to tell her what to do. Even if she disagreed, she wouldn't be listened to. To live under others' instructions had become her living habit. Facing Darren, she still did it out of habit.

But now Darren was gone, so did the pressure that had been messing up with her head. Now she was able to think clearly. For the first time in her life, Amelia found that she was totally free from wolves now and completely belonged to her own. She suddenly had this strong impulse to cut off her connection with all the wolves after apologizing to Darren.

She knew Darren was a nice guy, gentle and caring too. But he was still a wolf. And wolves are all intimidating. Her tragic living experience with her ex-husband had destroyed all her faith in wolves. To her, they were all cold-blooded creatures who loathed a weakling like her. 

When she was drugged to be a stone, even her parents gave up on her easily. They just showed up once when the doctor announced his diagnosis. When they heard her "illness" was incurable, they left without leaving a word.

She was once abandoned by the whole world. And she definitely didn't want to experience that anymore. If her true mate somehow got tired of her in the future and then abandoned her as the others did, she might not be able to survive it.

It's not like she didn't trust Darren. It's just she knew clearly how much wolves crave power. Plus, Alpha wolves are extremely possessive of their mates. She liked the feeling of being around Darren but she didn't want to be possessed anymore. She didn’t want to be locked up once again. And she hated to be played like goods.

Tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes silently. Amelia quickly wiped them off. The train had passed two small stations. Amelia noticed when the train stopped, there wasn't any ticket inspector showing up. She could get off at any station as long as she made the move.

Neither did she have a cellphone nor did she exchange contact information with Darren. She was a wolfless wolf without a strong scent. If she got off the train at one of those small stations, she was sure that Darren would lose track of her. She could give him a phone call to apologize later and then start a new life. 

A completely new life without wolves. Amelia found that idea tempted her a lot.

She bit her bottom lip nervously, then changed her seat to the one which was close to the door. She stared at the door blankly, wondering, hesitating, whether she should get off the train at the next station or not.

As if noticing her hesitation, a plump lady in her 50s moved to her opposite. She wore a fancy blue suit, looking elegant and professional. When Amelia averted her confused eyes on her, she showed Amelia a very kind smile.

"Hi, there, I am Pearl, a florist living in Oakville. What's your name, young lady?" 

Amelia knew Oakville happened to be the next station. She hesitated but answered this human stranger, "I am…Anne." She remembered to use a fake name at the last second. It was her first time communicating with a human alone. She was cautious about this woman's sudden approach.

Pearl had already known what Amelia was. A teenage girl ran away from her home. Her thin clothes, her shabby packsack, her timid facial expression, and her puffy eyes had explained everything. She had seen many of them before. And she was interested in each one of them.

"Hi, Anne, did you get into some trouble?" Pearl spoke to her with the kindest tone she could ever fake out. "If you need help, you can just ask. I have a granddaughter about your age. I would love to offer you some help," she kept her kind smile. "Do you need a job or a place to sleep?"

Amelia indeed needed those things, but she didn't trust this kind lady. Pearl somehow reminded her of those “kind” ladies in the little town where she and Ian lived. 

They all dressed in fancy clothes and wore delicate makeup. Each morning, they stopped at her wheelchair, pretending to be concerned about her. But their eyes were all fixed on Ian, and so did their compliments and admirations. They were all fascinated with Ian’s handsomeness, using her health condition as an excuse to get close to him. None of them ever bent her neck once to ask how she was doing. And some of them even slept with Ian right in front of her.

"No, thanks," Amelia refused Pearl determinedly. Her appearance aroused anger and pain in Amelia’s heart, and reminded her how cold and cruel humans could be. They aren't any better than wolves. Even if she escaped from wolves, there was no guarantee of a good life.

Amelia depressingly found that she was never going to have a decent normal life. To stay with Darren, at least he was…No. Amelia was still afraid of doing so, but she had lost her courage to escape.

She curled herself up at the seat, hugging her knees tightly with her face buried in her lap. It was a gesture of communication denial. Pearl frowned unpleasantly but eventually gave up. Amelia was a beautiful girl but obviously weak, seeming could be dead easily. It was not worth it to kidnap her.

When the train stopped at the next station, Pearl got off it without saying an extra word. Amelia watched the train door close behind her back, and slowly accepted the fact that she could never escape from wolves. 

She was too weak to do so, and she was too timid as well. 

Amelia hated herself for that.

After Oakville, the train stopped twice before it finally arrived in the city. Following other passengers, Amelia went into the central station of this huge monster. People here were so much more than in any town she'd ever been. Amelia felt her head hurt because of all those buzzy noises. 

She found a public phone booth in the station but didn't call the number Darren gave her.

She had made up her mind to make a living by herself. No matter how hard it would be, she must try to do it.

She followed the stream of people and came to the noisy street. Outside, those skyscrapers mixed with crowded cars, and loudly yelling people, made her head buzz.

Amelia took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and then went to the nearest newsstand. She saw on TV that people used to look for jobs in newspapers. She hoped it still worked.

The owner of the newsstand was a middle-aged man who was bald but had a kind heart. A beautiful but homeless girl like Amelia could easily draw unnecessary attention. He couldn't help but ask, "Need any help, young lady?" 

Amelia indeed needed his help. She found those newspapers hard to read. She couldn't find where the recruitment ads were. "Yes," she replied to the owner nervously. "I need a job. Do you know where I can find one?" 

The owner eyed her with a worried frown, "How old are you?" he asked. "You look like a 16."

"But I am already 19," Amelia explained. "I am a grow-up. I swear. I can do work and…jobs," she was very nervous.

The owner hesitated for a while, then jerked his chin towards several shops around the huge plaza, "They recruit waitresses almost every day. You can try it. But you'd better get back home. It's not safe for girls like you to be in the city alone."

Amelia bit her bottom lip. She got that a lot as she was the weakest in the pack. Her parents, Ian, and all her packmates, repeatedly told her that she needed to stay at the packhouse. Because she was useless and could only make trouble. But now she wasn’t in the pack anymore. And she needed to work to earn her own living.

"Thank you very much. But I can do it." Amelia said that as a promise to herself.

Shen then turned and walked towards the shops the owner pointed to. When she got nearer, she noticed there was a fried kitchen restaurant, an ice cream shop, a coffee shop, etc. All were related to food. 

Amelia took a deep breath and then went into the coffee shop. The guests there looked less cranky.

She told a girl in a green uniform that she needed a job. The girl invited her into a small office.

A few minutes later, a young male walked in. He wore a green hat like the girl, looking like a college student.

“Hi, I am Ned,” he introduced himself, then sat behind the desk.

He then asked Amelia a few questions. When it came to work experience, Amelia answered she had none but was very good at cooking and cleaning. He then asked why she wanted to be a waitress in the coffee shop. Amelia said, "Because I need to earn some money." 

That was frank but kind of disappointing. Ned hesitated about the decision. He could see Amelia needed a job, but clearly, she was incapable of having one. She was too shy and too naive. When she spoke to him, she was nervously trembling.

He sighed, then asked Amelia to leave her phone number, "I will let you know once we make the decision." 

It's a polite way to express refusal. Amelia didn't get it.

"When will the decision be made?" she asked nervously. "I don't have a phone. I can wait or come back when you make the decision."

Ned felt embarrassed and doubtful. He had never seen a grown-up who didn't have a cellphone. "Then do you have a landline or an email address?" 

Amelia shook her head. She knew cellphones were important nowadays, but she couldn't afford one right now. Ian never allowed her to have one.

"Then where do you live? You cannot live in a house without a telephone," Ned started feeling that she was a homeless person. And Amelia was.  

"I don't have an address yet, but I will find a hotel later. After I find a job," she explained uneasily.

Ned scratched the back of his head. He now started to think Amelia was a run-away teenage girl. He even considered calling the police. But his cellphone suddenly rang and it was the shop owner.

Ned picked it up and then walked out of the office after apologizing to Amelia.

Amelia waited in her chair quietly. The owner on the phone was growling, "Ned, are you interviewing a girl named Amelia?"

The owner was an old skinny man in his 50s. He was usually harsh to all his staff, but now his voice was nervous and shaking as if he was frightened by something.

"Yes, I am," Ned replied quickly, then asked him. "Are you all right, Mr. Russel? Your voice is … different."

"Forget about me!" the owner spoke rudely. "Give the job to her and pay her a week's, no, a month's salary in advance." 

Ned's lips hung agape, "What?"

The shop owner shouted again, "Give the damn job to her and pay her salary! Quickly!"

Ned was confused by the owner's decision, but he answered "Sure," as the owner sounded pretty serious.

He went to another office to get the cash and then put it in an envelope. He then walked back to his office.

"Congratulations, you're hired," he announced to Amelia with confusion.

Amelia's eyes lit up. She covered her mouth with her hands. There was excitement and disbelief written all over her face, "Really?! Oh! Thank you. Thank you so much." She repeated with tears in her eyes.

Ned scratched the back of his head again, then passed the envelope to her, "It's your paycheck for the following month. Find yourself a place to live. Your work starts tomorrow."

Amelia widened her eyes in surprise, "Do you all pay your employees before they even start to work?"

The answer was a hard No. But Ned had no idea of how to explain to her about the paycheck, so he just shrugged his shoulders, "Yes, of course. We all pay in advance. It's a kind of international convention."