Chapter 7- Sneaking In To Watch Me Naked
AVA ~~
I was woken up by a loud bang on the door.
At first, I didn't even move. My body felt too heavy. My eyelashes fluttered open slowly, and I squinted against the morning light shining through the small crack in my window.
I groaned and shut my eyes again. The light hurt. Everything hurt.
My head was pounding, my body was sore, and my chest… my chest still felt like it was caving in. I must've cried myself to sleep, but I couldn't even remember when I stopped. I just remembered tears… and pain… and silence.
I dragged myself off the bed like someone who had no life left in them. My feet touched the cold floor and I shivered.
I already knew who was behind that door. I didn't even need to ask.
Why couldn't they just leave me alone?
They had already told me I was being taken away tomorrow. Couldn't they at least let me have these last 24 hours in peace?
Just a day.
Just one more day in this prison before they send me to a bigger one.
I opened the door slowly, expecting to see the usual blank or angry expression.
But what I saw instead…
She was smiling.
My aunt was standing there, smiling like everything was fine—like she hadn't just ruined my life the night before. A full, wide smile like this was a celebration.
I just stared at her. I didn't say anything.
"Breakfast is ready," she said sweetly. "Freshen up and come eat."
What?
Did I hear her right?
Breakfast?
She hadn't offered me a meal in years. Most days I either went hungry or ate scraps from the kitchen floor after everyone else had finished. So why now?
Why was she calling me to eat now?
Why was she smiling at me?
Did she suddenly grow a heart overnight, or was this another game?
"I'm not hungry," I muttered coldly, starting to close the door.
But before I could shut it in her face, she shoved her hand between the frame and stopped me.
Her sweet smile disappeared in an instant.
"If you don't want to lose your fingers right now and show up to the Alpha's pack with six fingers instead of ten," she growled, "you better go back inside that room, freshen up, and come eat like a decent girl. You have four minutes."
Her voice turned threatening, and I nodded quickly, my fear rushing back.
I didn't say a word. I shut the door and stepped away, heart pounding, trying not to cry again.
I stripped off my clothes and rushed into the bathroom. I didn't even check the water temperature—I just scrubbed quickly and stepped out in under two minutes.
I didn't care if I was fully clean. What difference would it make? No one was going to look at me like I was anything more than dirt.
I threw on the only dress I had that didn't have a hole in it… yet. A faded gown that used to be yellow, now it looked more like a dying gray. The edges were worn, threads sticking out like weak arms waving for help.
I stepped out into the living room.
They were all there.
My aunt, my uncle, and then I noticed someone else. A stranger.
Oh. That explains it.
They had a guest.
That's why they were suddenly acting so kind. That's why they wanted me to come eat. They were pretending to be a good family—for show.
They were laughing and chatting.
"Ava, darling," my aunt called out in a sugary voice. "Come join us. The food's getting cold."
Darling?
I wanted to throw up.
She had never called me anything but useless or stupid or "this girl" since I got here.
I nodded and quietly sat at the dining table. My hands shook as I reached for the chair.
This was the first time—ever—that I was allowed to sit at the dining table with them.
She placed a plate in front of me, filled with warm, steaming food.
I stared at it for a second.
It looked too good to be real. Eggs, fresh bread, fruit on the side. My stomach growled loudly, embarrassing me, and I quickly dug in. I didn't even think. I was so hungry I barely chewed.
It was the first good meal I'd eaten in forever.
I finished in minutes, not because I wanted to rush, but because I couldn't help it. My body was starving.
My aunt smiled as she looked at my empty plate.
"Are you done?" she asked in that same fake sweet voice.
I nodded, wiping my mouth and standing up, hoping I could escape before whatever trick she had planned next came out.
I was already halfway to the hallway when she dropped the bomb.
"Alright then," she said brightly. "The pack guards are waiting for you outside. They've come to take you."
I stopped walking.
My heart stopped.
Literally, for a second—I think it did.
Everything froze around me. The food I had just eaten suddenly felt like poison sitting in my stomach.
"But… wasn't it supposed to be tomorrow?" I asked her in a whisper, my voice trembling. I could already feel tears gathering at the corner of my eyes, blurring my vision. I hadn't even processed today yet—how could it already be the day?
She didn't blink.
"Yes. But they insisted on today," she said calmly, like she was talking about the weather. "So I agreed to it. Besides, they already paid for you. That gives them every right to take you whenever they want."
So it didn't even matter what I thought or how I felt. I wasn't even worth a conversation.
I was sold.
I turned slowly toward them, trying to keep my voice from cracking.
"Since no one told me… can I at least go inside and arrange my things?" I asked.
They both shook their heads without hesitation.
"There's no need," my uncle replied, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "You won't be needing those rags. The pack gives every slave a uniform, and that's all you'll wear from now on."
That was the moment it truly hit me.
I didn't say anything else. There was nothing left to say. I just stood from the table and my aunt pointing silently toward the door.
I walked toward it.
So that's what breakfast was for. A final meal to make me look "presentable." Not because they cared. But because they didn't want to look bad handing over a half-dead girl to the Alpha's guards.
How thoughtful.
"Don't worry about your clothes, Ava," my aunt said behind me. "Nobody wants them. Not even the poorest of the poor. I'll throw them all away and use your room as extra storage. Try not to die."
She laughed as she said it. Like it was a joke.
The front door opened, and the cold breeze slapped me awake. Two tall guards stood outside. Their faces were expressionless, like they had done this a hundred times.
They pointed to a black Car waiting just a few feet away.
Without saying a word, I walked toward it.
I climbed into the car and sat there, numb. I was trying not to cry, but the tears were already winning. They rolled down my cheeks nonstop. My nose was running too. I wiped it with the back of my hand, embarrassed, but I couldn't help it.
One of the guards finally spoke.
"You should save your strength," he said without looking at me. "You'll need it once you reach the pack. A lot is waiting for you there."
His words didn't help. If anything, they made the fear worse. What could be worse than this?
The ride felt like it lasted forever. Trees blurred past.
By the time we stopped, I was numb again.
We had arrived.
The guards led me inside, saying nothing. I followed them.
We walked through long halls that smelled like pinewood and smoke.
Finally, they stopped at a small door and opened it.
"This is your room," one of them said, tossing a bundle of clothes onto the bed. "Get dressed. You have five minutes. The Alpha is expecting you."
Then they left.
The room was tiny—barely enough space to breathe. Just a single bed, a small sink, and a cracked mirror on the wall.
I walked to the bed and picked up the clothes.
The slave uniform.
I stared at it for a long time, before finally undressing and putting it on. The fabric was rough. It smelled like bleach. I looked at myself in the mirror.
Who was this girl?
She looked… empty.
Just as I was about to open the door to leave, something hit me.
I don't even know where the Alpha is.
I froze.
Oh no. I don't know where to go.
Panic crawled up my throat.
"I'm doomed," I whispered to myself, placing my hand over my forehead. "This is day one and I'm already messing up."
I took a deep breath and stepped out of the room anyway.
I'd have to guess. Maybe I could find the Alpha's chamber just by instinct.
I walked slowly through the halls, hoping no one would yell at me or punish me for being lost. My hands kept shaking as I touched the cold stone walls to guide me.
Then I saw it.
A grand door—tall, carved, with gold handles and a dark wolf insignia in the center. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.
This had to be it.
I swallowed hard and reached for the handle. My heart was beating so fast I thought I'd pass out. I didn't even knock. I just… opened it.
And that's when I saw something that made my whole body freeze.
"So… you're the one who's been sneaking in to watch me get naked?"