Chapter 4

What kind of life is this?

Camilla asked herself. All her life, she had been praying for one thing: peace and comfort, but all she could ever get was the opposite of what she had always wanted. She now realises she will never meet her mother again. Her father will never love and accept her as his daughter, and her wolf, which she had been waiting for all her life, will never be with her again. She didn't know why it hurt her so much knowing she would never have a wolf like others. If only her mother had told her she was of human blood when she was still young, maybe she couldn't be hurt because she would have never waited to wolf out.

She curled herself into a foetal position, panting for breath like an athlete. Her stomach was growling because she hadn't eaten anything for hours; her throat burned because she was thirsty; and the heat in there wasn't helping at all but was worsening her situation, and the air quality was getting worse. She wished that Karina would never have said that Ash took care of her because she was not only the one in trouble but Ash as well. In their pack, her father was feared and respected. Each member was to follow his orders, and anyone who would dare go against him would be banished. Although many had been against that punishment, they would dare say nothing because her father was the alpha and no one could oppose him. The few who had escaped such punishment were turned into prisoners, and they did slave work for the rest of their lives.

"I hope you are okay, Ash." Please be okay. "I will never want you or your family to suffer because of me." She mumbled, hoping her words would reach him somehow. If only she had her wolf, she could have mind-linked him.

Light rays shone all over the dungeon, making Camilla stand on her feet. Someone had opened the door. She could hear their footsteps approaching, and a familiar voice rose. "Pick her up." Take her to the best room in the mansion and bathe her. Make sure she puts on a nice dress as well. Karina ordered, and she had to pinch her hands to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "Ouch!" She screamed. when pain surged all over her body. "So, I am not dreaming." From which direction did the sun set today? "Did she step out of bed on the wrong leg?" Camilla couldn't help but wonder.

She looked around, hoping to see anyone other than herself, but there was no one. She believed the nice treatment was offered to her when four maids with matching cream uniforms asked her to follow them. She wasn't even given a chance to ask what was going on. She was walked upstairs, led to a bathroom, and they bathed her, starting with her hair. They scrubbed her skin and dried her when they were done. After blow-drying her hair, they applied lotion to her skin and led her to the walk-in closet adjacent to the room.

"Which dress will you be wearing today, Miss Camilla?" One of the maids, who looked older than the rest, asked her.

"Huh? I don't get to choose what to wear and what not to. You must have been mistaken. "I advise you to let go of me because once Karina finds us here, we will be in deep trouble." She warned them, running to the trash can where her dress was discarded.

"Darling, what are you doing at the trash can?" "You need to get ready quick!" Karina walked in with a satisfied smile on her face. "Mh! "You are so beautiful, darling." She touched Camilla's face and then kissed her forehead. "I should as well hire the four of you." She smiled at the four girls who were holding four different types of dresses in their hands, and then turning to Camilla, she advised, "Darling, you better be quick." Pick one of these dresses and put it on. "Don't keep your father waiting." With that, she exited the door, the smile on her face widening.

"What is happening?" Camila turned to ask the four ladies, who shrugged their shoulders. Picking a red dress, the ladies helped her put it on, applied some light make-up to her face, and took her downstairs, where her dad, Karina, and her step-sisters were waiting. Her father was wearing a black tuxedo, Karina was wearing a black dress which hugged her perfectly all her curves, and the twins had put on matching mid-thigh-length red dresses with heavy make-ups on their faces. In short, they all looked beautiful.

"What is happening?" She asked, her heart racing wildly. She didn't like the creepy smiles crawling on their faces, especially Karina's. She had never treated her like a daughter, and she was suddenly calling her darling. "No way! Something is definitely wrong!" she thought, staring at the mischievous glitter in their eyes.

"You are beautiful, honey." "You remind me of your mother in her teen years," her father closed the gap between them, pulling her into a hug. "You have always wanted me to accept you as my daughter, right?" "Well, today is the day." He pulled her cheeks, playful, leaning in to peck her cheeks.

"Sister Camilla, Alpha Killan is hosting a post-full moon party, and he has invited everyone." "Dad thought it would be best if we took you with us." Larissa said sweetly, strengthening her hair.

"Yes, sister Camilla." "It's no use for us to treat you like a piece of trash because the truth is that you are our father's daughter and you always will be." Lakisha kissed her cheek. No matter what they said, her heart didn't believe it all. It was so sudden for them to accept her. Just the other day, they beat her up, threw her into the wolf's den, beat her up again, and locked her in the dungeon. She was definitely missing something. Before Camilla could process any of the things said, she was practically dragged into the black SUV waiting for them at the gate, and they started their journey towards the Midnight Moon Pack. All through the journey, although her father and stepmother grinned at her all the way, her heart didn't stop thumping wildly. Her left eye never stopped twitching, and she felt nauseous. All she wished was to reach the venue, then she could slip out of the crowd and sit somewhere on her own to try to process all that she had heard. Her mind slipped back to Ash every now and then. She hadn't seen him when she woke up, and she didn't feel good about it either.

She thought of asking her father about him, but she swallowed the question, making herself believe that nothing bad would happen to him. It was good that Larissa had a crush on him; that meant she wouldn't let their father do anything bad to him. Larissa would always protect him.

"We are here, Alpha Cameroon." The driver drew her out of her deep thoughts. She got down and took a deep breath, looking at the beautiful mansion in front of them. It was huge compared to theirs. She was sure it could accommodate almost every member of their pack. Its walls were painted with gold, symbolising wealth. Its large doors were painted purple, and her high school history said the colour symbolized leadership.

"It's beautiful!" She mumbled, staring at the roof, which was decorated with neon lights. It reminded her of her childhood Christmas back at her mother's house in the woods. During Christmas, her mother would buy the neon lights and have them around the house.

"Let's go in darling." Karinna held her hands helping her in the stairs at the door. Shoving her mother's thoughts away, she took a deep breath ready to face whatever was coming.

They were welcomed with loud music pulsating from the speakers placed at every corner of the building. There were a lot of people whom her father stopped to greet once in a while. He introduced her to them as her daughter, causing her to narrow her eyes in shock. She even doubted the feeling inside her. Maybe what she was told was true. Maybe they had finally accepted her. Forcing every doubting thoughts at the back of her head, she decided to smile, genuinely and embrace her new happy life.

"That's Alpha Killan," her dad nodded at a gentleman wearing a three-piece purple suit, matched with black leather shoes, and a purple watch on his wrists, who was heading down to them.

"Alpha Cameroon! Luna Karina!" He shook their hands, his piercing blue gaze boring deep into Camilla's face. "And this is?" "I have never seen her." He asked, leaning in to sniff her hair. Camilla stepped backwards curling her lips in disgust. “Pervet!“ She muttered inwardly and then frowned when Alpha Killan chuckled left her wondering if he had read her thoughts. She had heard Alpha's have the ability to read someone's thoughts but she wasn't sure about that yet. Who could she ask anyway?

"My last born daughter, Camilla... Camilla Rasort." Her father smiled, signalling for her to shake his hands.

"She is beautiful," he said, squeezing her hands. Feeling uncomfortable, Camilla pulled them away from him, a deep frown clouding her pretty face. No one had ever touched her that close except for Ash, and that was whenever he was hugging her or rubbing her stomach and back during her menses. They hurt like hell, but Ash's soft and warm hands always managed to do wonders.

Karina pulled her into her embrace on the basis of her behaviour, flashing an apologetic smile at Alpha Killan and saying, "Pardon our daughter." "She doesn't feel comfortable around men." She laughed nervously.

"Uhh! Sorry, Miss Camilla. "I never knew you were the type that forbade touching especially from men." Alpha Killan smirked at her, his eyes glowing with some mischievous glint. Feeling uncomfortable under Alpha Killan's unreadable gaze, Camilla excused herself and went to sit in the beautiful garden they had passed while walking in. It was quite from the noise inside, and no one was there giving her some awkward looks. She was never going to get used to those gazes because all her life she had always been locked inside, but then she didn't have anything to complain about because finally her prayers had been answered! Her parents will no longer treat her like a slave but as one of their own. "I can't wait for this party to end and to go back home. Ash will be intrigued by this news. She smiled inwardly, going back to the mansion where she found her parents sweating under that hot building with thousands of people surrounding them. The wide smile on their faces had disappeared and were replaced with pale looks! It's like they had seen a ghost, and no matter how hard she tried to calm her racing heart, she found herself not able to do it. Her left eye was twitching again. "What could be happening?" Oh, heavens, save us!

She prayed silently, approaching them with wobbling legs and shaky hands.