NINE

Nine didn't sleep.

She couldn't. Not with the fact her whole body felt like a truck had rammed itself over her and the fear that anything could happen, that at any moment, he'd wake up and try hurting her again.

It didn't.

All her instincts screamed at her to run, run as fast as her legs could go, but moving hurt and in a hotel like this, running would cause a scene. A scene that Nine knew wouldn't be in her favour. She knew that this man, whoever he was, had enough money to make it look like she had been the one to force herself on an intoxicated him and who would believe a girl with looks like her?

Nine waited till the sun came up and tried sitting up. Her waist and legs protested at the action but she fought the need to give up down. From a corner of her eyes, she could see many more bruises that he had given. Bruises that meant he had used all his strength to keep her down.

Inhuman strength.

Her brain made her aware that she had just been raped by a werewolf, and a werewolf meant a Noble Family. People no one like her dared cross paths with unless they were ready for punishments, and Nine knew she had enough on her plates as it was.

She managed to walk out the bed to the bathroom and clean herself. Her middle throbbed as she tried cleaning whatever was left of his semen on her body and walked outside with a towel. Their clothes laid around the floors, hers in pieces and his—

His were still thankfully intact.

Nine picked up his hoodie and trousers, wearing them on before walking to the wad of money that had been thrown to a side of the bed and pocketing it. A part of her felt disgusted at the fact that she still took his money, like a whore, but she couldn't just leave it behind. Coming back empty handed to Mom after staying out so long would just mean more punishments.

Slowly, she stood erect again, ignoring the pain it caused before her eyes fell on the male still sleeping on the bed.

His black hair was splayed about his face, a peaceful look on it as well. His skin seemed to glow from the sunlight shining through the window and his body seemed to have been carved from bronze by a master carver at work.

How could anything so beautiful be so—

She fought back the tears coming to her eyes. There was no need to cry about it. She had brought herself on it anyway. Men were not to be trusted and she had been the one to willingly take him to his room.

Turning away now, she walked to the door and opened it but before she left, turned around to look at him again and say in a small voice. "I hope I never have to meet you again," And walked out of the room.

In minutes, she was down at the first floor, walking out the elevator and past the reception area with the hood over her face. The woman there wasn't the same as last night, which Nine was grateful for. "Are you okay, Miss—?"

"Nine," She cut in. She knew the woman was just trying to be polite with the way she addressed her, considering how only rich people could manage a room there but Nine wasn't up for pretense anymore. "And yes, I am alright."

The lady had a look on her face that she had seen a million times when she told people her name, but Nine didn't bother about it. Instead, she continued her walk out and boarded a taxi to take her back home.

Home, in this context, wasn't a safe place anyway, or somewhere she felt loved in, but it put a roof over her head and gave her somewhere to sleep. In the taxi, Nine rested her head on the car window, her eyes staring out. The car seemed to go through many roads and houses before it suddenly got to more cramped ones that had barely any space between them, and even though the windows were rolled up, the sewage smell still managed to get through it.

People could be spotted in dark corners, whispering words and staring at the taxi as it passed by with wild look in their eyes. For anyone who came from the upperlands to her place, the lowerlands, they would probably have passed out if they had gotten as far enough as she had, but people like Nine who were born there had grown used to it.

When the cab got as far as it could go, she walked it, realizing the pain between her legs had lessened and continued her walk down the road before stopping at a metal gate that had a bald, burly man standing in front of it who let out a smirk when she got close enough. "Oh, Nine. You can't help but put yourself in trouble, can you?"

She said nothing.

"What's it?" He asked, now opening the gates. "Cat's got your tongue? You're always so fiesty."

He was one of the people that liked to torment her when he could, and she sometimes found herself fighting back, but today was different. Today, all she wanted to do was return to her room and find a way to stop the disgust pooling up in her stomach so she ignored him, walking past the open gate now and entering.

"Mom's promised to skin you alive when she sees you though,"

Nine froze.

Her heart pulsed at the word, but she said nothing about it. She continued her walk into the house, ignoring the loud mocking laughs he made as she did so. As she got into the house now stepping into a red wall spacious room. Her eyes landed on the new girls that had just gotten in some days ago. They seemed to still have their happy faces on, giggling and laughing at each other. 

They had no idea, what was in store for them.

She kept walking now, hood still on her face before she reached a room and walked in. Inside it held a bed, cabinet and a coffee table that had money and jeweleries on it, then behind the table, in an armchair, sat the woman everyone was made to call Mom.

Mom was a triple sized woman, with double chins, barely any neck, a tiny nose and full lips that were always curled in disdain. Though she was the only one to have a working fan in the house, she always managed to sweat in huge amounts then wear heavy scented perfumes to hide her smell, which didn't work, but just gave the room a sickly sweet smell.

When Nine had first met Mom, she had not been this obese, but the nastiness had lasted through the years. Mom dealed in 'adopting' children that she sent to motels, whorehouses or people who wanted breeders. Yet, Nine had been sent to neither. Not because she was lucky, she had never been lucky, but Mom had never wanted her in the first place. 

The orphanage Nine was born in gave children numbers as names to signify the numbers in which they came and many Nine's had come and gone, but she never did. So when Mom came to get children, they had made it compulsory for her to take Nine first before the others she wanted and due to her onyx wide eyes and plain look, no one ever wanted her, causing Mom to work Nine to death in a bar but she didn't mind. She knew that as long as she worked hard enough, she'd eventually get enough money to let her go.

One day.

"So the little rat has decided to crawl back into it's hole, come closer and kneel before me."

Nine did as she asked, hands behind her back. Mom's voice was tiny, scratchy to anyone who heard it. Like metal scraping on the ground. "Where the fuck have you been, you ugly piece of shit? "

"I—" Nine stared at the ground, hands behind her back. "I was caught up in a—"

The slap made her cheeks sting but she said nothing as the woman began to speak to her face, spittle flying out. "The fuck do I feed you for? Missing work?! Not returning home?! Thinking you better than me now, huh? Cause I decided to take pathetic you in and you're suddenly thinking you can do whatever you want?!"

She said nothing.

"I'm talking to you!"

Nine let out a cry as her hair was roughly pulled up as Mom continued. "You better tell me where you were or I would give you more lashes than—"

"I brought money!"

She felt the hands on her hair reduce by a hairs breath and used the opportunity to bring out the wad of money and set it on the coffee table. Almost immediately, Mom's hands were off, taking up the Yudats and moving her greedy eyes on it before facing her with a sneer on her lips. "Where did you get this?"

"I—" What was Nine supposed to say? She was given it and raped? Mom wouldn't believe her, that anyone would ever want her and it wasn't like she cared. No one did. "Someone— Someone from the bar asked me to drive them around, last night, till this morning. You can ask Boss if you want. He saw him as well,"

She knew Mom wouldn't ask. She couldn't give a rats ass from where the money came from, as long as she enough of it. Nine watched her continue staring at the money, a now gleeful look on her face. "You got lucky this time. Get out,"

Nine gave a small bow and rose. "Thank you, Mom.". Then as she walked out, heard Mom say, "But you're gonna work triple shifts. Can't let you do whatever you want."

She knew that. 

Just one more day. One more and she'd be away from this place forever.