Trouble.

Evie P.O.V 

Despair and confusion had been my companion ever since I was abandoned in the section assigned to the slaves. Working as a slave was pretty exhausting. The harsh words and the insults were things I would never get accustomed to, but I knew I was thicker than my skin and I deserved a proper explanation from Damon about why I was brought in here as a slave when I wasn't in any way affiliated to the Wolves.

I tugged the strand of hair that fell on my face behind my ear as I beat the beautiful Persian carpets with a club till there wasn't a speck of dust found in them. 

Ever since my encounter with Miss Kardashian, she had taken it upon herself to maltreat Miss Aurora and I. Most espespecially me.

Miss Kardashian had specifically assigned Miss Aurora and I to her building, where she had the authority to exert force on the two of us without being questioned. She would heap chores upon chores for us and would make us redo the chores till we were worn out and on the verge of collapsing. When we were done with the chores, we would be forced to work at other places before being sent back to the slave building. 

My routine every day was to go to Miss Kardashian's building before dawn and leave her house at noon to work for the other werewolves. I fervently hoped and prayed that I wouldn't be confined to this hellish place for the rest of my life.

A deafening silence enveloped the room as Miss Kardashian walked languidly to where I was standing. I ducked down my head, glaring at my toes whose cuticles seemed to have overgrown. 

"Don't tell me this is what you have been doing since." Miss Kardashian's venomous voice shook the whole room, making all part of me quiver. 

"You worthless slave." She attempted to smack me in the face but she was stopped midway, with her hands hanging in the air.

When it came to perfect timing, Miss Aurora was up to the task. She always came to my rescue before Miss Kardashian causes a wave of burning sensation through my skin.

"Ma'am, Cornel demands the presence of Evie in his chambers for urgent work.” Miss Aurora lowered her head out of respect for Miss Kardashian.

"I see you are interfering again." Miss Kardashian scoffed, with no response from Miss Aurora.

After a moment of silence that lingered on, Miss Kardashian finally broke the silence and said, "Since you had the effrontery to stop me, you will redo all the chores that she has done."

I glanced at Miss Aurora and felt instant pity for her. I was the reason why she was here and I couldn't feel any less sorry for her.

"You are not going to go until I whip you?" Miss Kardashian glared at me, clenching her fist by her side. 

I lowered my head, scurrying away as I made my way to Cornel's chambers. I could not help but ponder why Cornel demanded my presence. Apart from me cleaning his chambers and the whole building, we had never interacted. In fact, we have never passed the slightest smile. All the other Betas in this building were bossy, excluding Cornel who appeared to be the calm and reserved one.

I took in a deep breath, with reluctance to knock at the door at first. A lot of thoughts ran through my head as my clenched fist stopped midway in the air.

On second thought, I wondered why Cornel would only demand my presence. Miss Aurora and I both worked hand in hand when doing the chores assigned to us. So I found it suspicious when he called for me or maybe it was nothing serious and I was just overthinking.

I exhaled sharply and mustered the remaining courage that I had left in me as I placed my hands on the door knob. A creak from the door followed, and I grimaced at the sound. I slowly poked my head inside and quickly lowered my head when his eyes caught mine. He was sitting on a chair while smoking a pipe. 

"Change the purple drapes into a blue ones.” He pointed to the drapes hanging on the wall. 

"Yes," I muttered under my breath and walked nervously to where the folded drapes were placed at. 

I unfolded the drapes and began to hum a song that I was sure he wouldn't hear. But I was taken aback when he said, "You sing pretty well."

I stood still on a spot as I stole a glance at him. 

"Yes," I nodded, with no reply from him. 

I proceeded to remove the purple drapes. When I heard the sound of footsteps behind me, I paused what I was doing and turned around, clutching the drapes tightly in my hands. I had this feeling of uneasiness and nervousness, maybe it was because I was the only one in the same room with him. I bowed slightly, continuing my work as he stood next to me with his hands folded behind him while staring out the window.

"Where did you learn how to sing?” He asked, not taking his eyes off the beautiful scenery he gazed at. 

"It just came naturally,” I responded. 

" I want to hear you sing. Your hums are dulcet so I bet your voice would sound mellifluous"

"O-Oh," I cooed nervously.

I had a problem deciding on the perfect song to sing but after a few seconds of pondering, my mind went straight to one song that felt really familiar, though I could not place where I heard it. I cleared my throat in a lady-like way and started to sing softly, before increasing the tempo of my voice. 

Memories flooded my head and I felt a pang of pain in my heart as different faces flashed through my head. 

I squeezed my eyes shut and before I knew it, streams of tears began to rush down my cheek. I sang my heart out, forgetting about the fact that he was there and he was probably surprised by my reaction. 

Well, I didn't care. The only thing I knew was that I missed my family deeply, even though I had no idea who they were.

All of a sudden, I stopped singing when I felt a hand wrap me around the waist. I flicked my eyes open to see Cornel who towered over me with his face hovering over mine.

The expression that his face entailed was dark and cold. It didn't look like affection, it looked like I was about to be devoured by my predator. He strengthened his grip around my waist and trailed his fingers on my face. He licked his lower lips as I shuddered at the thought of what he was about to do. 

The rapid beat from my heart calmed as he released his grip around my waist, taking me by surprise. He suddenly grabbed my ass cheek and tightened his grip around it, and I winced in pain.

"No! what are you doing?" I protested.

As if I didn't exist, he paid deaf ears to my cries and pulled me closer to him, holding me tight till I began to suffocate. 

"Help!” I attempted to scream but my voice was suppressed as he covered my mouth with his hands. 

He pushed me to the bed and pinned my hands over my head while covering his lips with mine, stopping me from screaming. 

He bit me hard on my lower lips and I felt a sharp pain from that tender place. I attempted to push him away with my knees but as if he could see through me, he sent a hit across my right cheek and my tender skin burned in pain from the effect of his smack. 

"If you dare scream for help, consider yourself gone.” He warned, proceeding to tear my top forcefully. 

He landed another hit through my cheek and I let out a scream.

"I told you not to scream.” His eyes widened as he sent different slaps through my face till I felt the burning sensation on my cheeks intensify. 

He buried his face in my breasts as I let out a soft, yet painful wince. I squeezed my eyes shut in agony as hot tears rolled down my cheeks.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of shattered pieces of glass by my side.

And in a twinkle of an eye, Cornel's tight grip around me loosened as some liquid dipped on my belly. 

I opened my eyes, only to see blood trickling down Cornel's forehead to my belly. I screamed out loud as his eyes began to close at intervals.

Slowly, Cornel dropped next to me, unconsciously.

My eyes darted away from Cornel to where the bottle came from.

With fright, I glanced at the figure standing before the bed. He had anger in his eyes as he stared at Cornel's body. 

His fists were clenched by his side and my heart froze for a second as he averted his gaze to me. 

My eyes widened in shock as he stared at me, right in the eye.

It was more like he was trying to see through my eyes and read the depths of my soul.

My lips shook in trepidation as I tried to call him by his name.

"Da... Damon, you?"