The next day — Saturday
So many hours have passed, but I'm still in pain. My mother is trying everything to help me, but the more she tries, the angrier I get.
"Please allow me to apply this healing balm on your back; it'll promote the healing process." She tried to touch me, but I slapped her hand away.
She did nothing when I was being tormented by her stepdaughter; she stood by and watched Madison's abuses, and now she wants to help?
I hate her!
I hate her for putting me in this ugly situation; she is the reason why I look the way I do. My mother is the epitome of beauty. I remember I looked a lot like her when I was young, but as I got older, my looks dramatically changed. And the changes were not good ones, but terrible. My beauty began to slowly fade, my skin started drying up, and my skin became wrinkly at an early age. People look at me with disgust; they hate to associate themselves with me because of my looks.
How can a 17-year-old girl have the looks of a dying grandmother? It doesn't make any sense. Some people have claimed that I carry a curse.
Yes, I also started to believe that I bear a curse, but that belief disappeared last week due to some truth I stumbled upon.
I don't look old and wrinkled due to a curse, but rather because my mother made me this way. Yes! She did this to me for her benefit. At the early age of seven, my mother offered me an elixir that could promote and give me youthful skin; she claimed that the elixir would also make me live longer than most people. Trusting her words, I took the elixir regularly for years without fail, but I stopped after discovering the real truth.
I stopped the usage and immediately confronted her. I expected to hear a reasonable response or even an apology, but all I got were tears and many excuses. She went as far as begging me, urging me to continue taking the elixir. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard her words. I felt tempted to curse or even disown her at that moment, but where could I go if I disowned her? I have nowhere to go; I don't even know where my father is.
My father left home when I was four and never returned. Whenever I ask Mom about him, she never gives me a reasonable response. I don't even remember what my father looked like; I could see him on the street and not know it was him.
I have no relatives here, no aunties or uncles. I have no one.
And even if I chose to leave the pack right now, the Alpha won't grant my request. The only people allowed to leave the pack are those of age. I'll be of age in two days. Two days! I've been secretly gearing up and preparing for it.
I don't care what anyone says; I'll leave this hellhole once I am of age. Not even Madison can stop me.
Maybe there's a whole new world waiting out there for me; maybe I can find my true mate...
Oh, wait, I've given up on that. I was hoping that Celeb could be my mate, but that belief has also flown out of the window.
"Your phone is ringing; answer your phone." My mother brought my phone to me, but I refused to answer the call.
"Please answer your phone; it's Madison. She'll get mad if you don't answer," my mother kept urging me until I reluctantly received the phone and swiped the icon.
"Why couldn't you answer the fucking phone earlier?!" Madison's voice blasted through the speaker. "Are you trying to get on my nerves?!" She yelled again, but I stayed silent. My mother kept whispering, urging me to apologize, but I ignored her completely.
"Come to the Alpha's house; you know where to find me," then she disconnected the call.
What? What does she want from me again? Why is she asking me to go there? I don't want to. I don't want to see her.
"What are you doing? Dress up and go to her. I don't want to see you in pain again," my mother began pulling me up while ignoring my pain and anguish.
She forced me out of bed and quickly went to get my clothes. She picked up a big-sized gown and handed it to me. "Wear this and go to her. I know you don't like her, but you must do this, Linnea. You have to help me, help your poor mother. I also hate seeing you hurting." When I could no longer stand her presence, I snatched the gown from her, wore it, and immediately left the house.
I started heading to the Alpha's house and arrived about five minutes later; the Alpha's house and the Beta's house were quite close.
Once I reached it, I walked to the separate building behind the Alpha's house. The triplets lived in this separate house alone.
When I reached the front door, I found it unlocked, so I opened it and entered. The minute I stepped in, the soft voice of Madison reached my ears.
She speaks like an angel whenever she's with them; she tries hard to make them like her, and I think she's succeeding, seeing the way the triplets are all over her.
"You're here." When Madison saw me, she quickly approached me, then she dragged me to the triplets. They were all sitting together, and they appeared to be having a chat, but they immediately stopped conversing and focused on us.
"Sweethearts, allow me to introduce her. I realized I never did that," she smiled and briefly glanced at me. "Her name is Linnae, and she is my stepsister."
"She and her mother came into our house when I was seven years old, and I can still vividly remember the very first thing her mother said to me. Can you guess what it is?" She gazed at the guys with so much joy before returning her attention to me.
"Her mother said, 'Hi, Madison, I'll be your stepmother from today. This is my daughter, but you don't have to see her as your sister; you can see her as a pet, something to play with when you're bored."
"I couldn't understand what she meant by that, so I asked for an explanation. Do you know what her mother did next?" She paused and laughed, "Her mother went to her and pressed an invisible button on her forehead; the minute she did that, Linnea began to dance."
She paused and began laughing again.
Then she continued, "She literally started dancing! I was so shocked. That was my first time seeing something like that, so out of excitement, I repeated what her mother did: I went closer to her and pressed her forehead."
"Can you guess what happened next?" She paused and laughed again. "Linnea started to dance. She danced so hard, I thought she was a dancing machine." After laughing her ass off for the umpteenth time, she turned to me.
"Hey, Linnae," she called my attention, "can you show off your dance skills? You still got them, right? Show it to them; I'm sure they're also curious. Dance like you did back then," she instructed. But after waiting for some minutes without seeing my dance moves, she got frustrated and immediately descended on me.
She walked to me and nudged my shoulder, "Are you planning to embarrass me before them?" She whispered, but I stayed quiet.
"Hey, I'll kill you once we get home," she threatened as she nudged my shoulder a second time. She was about to do it a third time, but one of the triplets stopped her.
"It's okay, don't waste your strength on her; she's not worth it." Logan approached her. "We're not that curious either." He held her and kissed her on the lips.
After the brief kiss, he gave a suggestion: "Let's go shopping. We'll bring her along; she'll carry the shopping bags as her punishment. What do you think?" He cupped her cheeks and softly caressed her.