Chapter 2: Last Chance
Natalie~
It had been five years since I'd watched my entire world shatter before my eyes. Five long, cruel years since my parents, my best friend, and his family were slaughtered right in front of me. The laughter of their killers still echoes in my ears, a cruel melody I'll never forget. I was left alive, though I often wished I hadn't been.
Five years since the Alpha condemned me as the traitor's daughter, stripped me of everything I'd ever known, and reduced me to this shadow of a girl, working in the pack house kitchen until my fingers bled and my back screamed for mercy. That was my life now—day and night, relentless work, with no end in sight. Though I was 18 now, but I had been a child of 13—barely in the eighth grade—when my life turned to ash.
Tonight was no different. I knelt on the cold tile floor, scrubbing at a greasy pot that refused to come clean. My red hair slipped from the makeshift bun I'd tied it in this morning. The strands clung to my sweat-streaked face as I swiped at them, smearing grease across my cheek.
"You've got grease on your face, Natalie," I muttered to myself with a bitter laugh. As if anyone here cared how I looked.
The sound of giggles broke my concentration. I looked up just as the kitchen door swung open, revealing the Alpha's twin daughters—Mira and Lila. Their glossy black hair and identical hazel eyes shone with life, the way only the privileged could glow and their laughter was like tinkling bells. They were two years younger than me, but unlike me, their lives had been filled with joy, schooling, and endless opportunities.
"Did you see how he smiled at me today?" Mira gushed, grabbing an apple from the counter.
"Oh, please," Lila scoffed, leaning against the doorway. "He was looking at me, not you. Carter likes confidence, Mira, and I have plenty of that."
"You're delusional!" Mira laughed, throwing a grape at her sister.