[Seline's POV]
Glass clinked in the air as some of the he-wolves gathered drinking at a side of the table. Something about the way they laughed twisting a knot in me. I hated it. Guards of the Arrow Brooke Kingdom. "Having their way again," a whisper caught my attention, drawing me to two customers who sat on the bar seat in front of me.
"Those scumbags..." the other gestured. I wasn't much fond of anybody, but for some reason I liked their tone. It's true, those lowlife guards deserved every last bit of it.
The kingdom would have been much better with someone like them not being around.
"Hey, woman... Two drinks would you..." the very same two men requested... as I poured them some wine.
They gulped it up, taking their leave, but something about their scent seemed to spur me up. They seemed like bandits, but who was I to say that at the moment?
As I hoped to serve the other customers seated, my gaze went to some panther shifters. They had been there the whole evening. And I swore they were just staring at me.
I served the other customers seated before they eventually left after some minutes.
I poured myself a glass of alcohol afterward, downing it in a single gulp.
"What are you doing, Seline?" my bar partner attending to the other customers yelled. But I didn't consider him as a partner. For all I know, he had been running his mouth so much to get me fired from this job. No, he wanted me out in the first place, hating my very kind. I was used to it, the whole view they gave me, even here in Arrow Brooke.
The disgusting hybrid who couldn't even uphold the two races properly. Maybe that was why... why I found myself in this bartender, working my ass out for just a low-cut payment.
"Mother..." Should I be sad or happy? Those were the very thoughts that came to my mind whenever I think about her.
The same woman who I trusted would side with me in this very world, labeling me as nothing more than a mistake. But I wouldn't blame her as well, would I?
I gulped another glass, noticing those glares from him narrowed, as though he was ready to kill me at the spot, but I cared less about what he planned on doing.
I noticed some of the staff returning from their break as they served the other customers seated some wines.
"Lysander. The boss seeks your presence..." one of the master's guards, the owner of this club, said, making an entry.
"But we are both working right now," I wanted to say, but my words were silenced by the very same guards.
"What? This is an order from the master. And it only seems you have been slacking off this whole time..." he said, turning away from my side. "What to expect from trash like your kind..." I heard him whisper, but I didn't allow his words to falter me even by a little bit.
The very sly grin I received from Lysander as he made his way out with the guard.
I just had to get through today. I needed to. Today was the payment of my salary, and right now, I needed the money.
"Damn this," I muttered in a whisper, my clenched fist slamming softly against the table.
If only... sometimes I wonder why things had to be like this, why I had to be the one being looked at this way.
"You should take a rest, Seline. It seems it's time for your break," the other bartender Sasha and Landon arrived. We usually do a short shift of work, but hearing this from them was the last thing I would expect.
I gave no words, merely walking past their side. I could swear I heard his other partner grunt a little, her darkened gaze fixed on me.
The two of them acting so caring was only a ruse, a fake act of theirs. I had fallen for it at first, but one thing I had learned so easily is that here in Arrow Brooke, trust is a death wish card to play.
The two had also tried framing me once for a crime I never committed in the first place.
I made my way, stepping outside the bar. A slight shivering feeling coursed through my skin. The weather was really cold today. I lit a cigarette, feeling the flames warm up my fingers as I took a drag, inhaling the smoke swirling around me, and I hummed softly.
"The trash of my kind..." Those words still found their way to my mind. I should have been used to it by now.
My mother was a lycan, but my father, who I had no idea of, was told to be a warlock. And so, here I was, the hybrid born from them.
I had never set sight of my father before. All I was told by my mother was that he ran away and abandoned us for good and never cared to look back, not even for a moment.
Could it be because mom was pregnant with me, and he wasn't ready for it all? I mean, I was a mistake after all; at least, that was what my most darling mother had said.
I still remember those moments. For the first time, my mom's hands had slammed against my cheek.
"You have ruined me! I hate you! I hate your father! You both are nothing more than a mistake in my life! Curse!"
We were kicked out of my mother's pack since I was unable to shift when I turned 13. I tried, I really did, but what could I have done about it? That was the only reason... sometimes I wondered if that was enough for their actions. But the truth was just that mom had hated me from the very beginning, and those smiles she gave me from the start were nothing more than a false world I had made myself believe in.
I took another drag as I watched the cloudy sky with the droplets of rain that fell down, drizzling.
Could my life have been better, or was it just decided the very moment I was given birth to? Should I be used to this amount of hate I was given by everyone? The way they had always looked down at me, same when I was still in the pack with mom. I guess that's why they cast us away; it was a chance they couldn't miss.
Our life only got worse after that... "Mom... I hope she has taken her drugs..." I only wondered. The woman I hated the most turns out I couldn't look away from her.
In the end, the truth was that she was still my mom.
I turned, hoping to return to the bar since it was getting much colder outside, but just when I was about to take a single step further, a buzz from my phone caught my attention. I held it up, checking the username. It was him, my landlord.
I had promised him earlier today that I would see to it that I pay all the rent money we owed him.
"He must be calling for that," I thought, heaving another breath before I picked up the call and placed it against my ear.
"S... Seline.. darling." I heard him stammer before he eventually busted out in a chuckle. I was fond of his ways already.
"I'm sure you know that it's today..." he said.
"Yes, I will make sure to pay you your rent," I replied.
That was why I had to receive my payment today.
If I didn't, Mom and I would be kicked out into the streets, and I couldn't allow that.
Ever since we were kicked out of the Pack, I had to handle many things. Struggling at my age, looking for means to earn money—at least enough for a nightly meal.
I wanted to make it up so badly, thinking it was all my fault that we ended up this way. But while I was busy with that, it only turned out Mom was drowning herself in more alcohol and eventually turning into an addict. A single second without it turns her into something I wasn't able to envision.
The rent wasn't the only thing I had to pay. Mom had gone around owing countless debts, ones that were now put on me, and I had no choice but to pay. She was sick; I also had to get her some drugs.
"Can I really do this?" I thought.
"Hope you are still there, dearie.." I heard my landlord's voice snapping me from my thoughts.
"Just as I have said, it will all be settled today, so please don't bother us again..." I said. He chuckled softly, "I won't. For now, at least..." he replied, hanging up the call after.
That greedy man. He was a monster in disguise. I recalled when I made my way in one stormy night, the day Mom's illness had seemed to occur. I hurried to get her some drugs, only to find him awaiting my presence.
He had cornered me, "I'm sure a little wolf like you shouldn't be able to handle all this. Care to be my concubine, then?" he had said.
He would have said such without a single care, and all I could do back then was break down into tears. Even if I can't handle it all, even if it seems like it would be impossible, I can't give up now. I can't lose Mom... It doesn't matter that much if she hated me in the end; she was the only family I had.
I placed my phone back in my pocket, deciding to go inside, but just as I opened up the door, my path was blocked. My gaze rose to meet them, the same panther shifters I had noticed keeping a close watch on me.
"What are they doing out here?"
"Seems you are here," I heard one of them say. My legs slowly retreated backward as they approached my side.
In a blink, they circled me, a sly grin playing on their lips.
"Don't tell me this weakling is the one," the other said.
I left no words, barely maintaining my stance, but the last thing I was ready to do was show any sign of weakness. They must be here to cause trouble, but why me of all people?
One of them stretched his hand, grazing my pack of cigarettes, which I had placed in one of my pockets.
"I'm sure you don't mind," he said, taking one of the cigarettes as he lit it up, taking a drag before he exhaled the smoke. This time he was close, way too close.
"So sad that you're such a beauty. I mean, what a waste," I heard him say. My fist clenched in those moments, but just as I hoped to throw back some words,
"Is there a problem?" a voice caught my attention, drawing it to a stranger with a glass of wine in his hands as he made his way to stand in front of me, causing the men to distance themselves a bit.
"What were you guys planning to do?" he asked. But who was he? Why was he here? I could have easily handled the situation, but the moment he turned at me, his eyes meeting mine, my words almost caught in my throat. "Are you okay?" he asked,
This sudden ease... It felt like my breath had seized. I could feel my cheeks turning red. A strange scent emitted from him, one that seemed to draw me near. He was a stranger, so why did I feel this attached? Who was he? I could only wonder more.
I was calm, way too calm than usual. A side of me wanted those hands that held mine not to leave.
I couldn't look away. Why?
"I can handle them," I wanted to say those words out loud, but I only paused as he turned back at the panther shifters.
"Leave now, or face the consequences," he said.