*Rose*
“Three million dollars is an awful lot of money for only a few months’ worth of work.”
Quiet voices filter into my ears from the living room, and I pause to listen, hoping that my parents are not discussing me.
Then… I hear my name, and I know that they are talking about me. Again.
“Rose is a fine young woman,” my mother is saying. “Any Alpha would be happy to have her.”
“I know, I know,” my father agrees. “I definitely think it’s worth it for us to send her.”
An Alpha having me? I don’t know what this is about, but at least it’s not about a job.
The last time I caught my parents talking about me was right before I found out that they’d gotten me a job at the sewage treatment plant of the pack neighboring ours. Not exactly the glamorous job the daughter of an Alpha would expect. But I’d taken it and worked there for a few years to help my family with their enormous debt.
“I know that it would be the answer to all of our prayers, Karen,” my father adds, before confessing, “But I’m worried she won’t be able to do what they want her to do. After all, our little Rose isn’t that bright. She can be a real idiot sometimes. She might not even know which hole to put it in.”
My father’s harsh words sting as I try to figure out what they are talking about. Do what?! I couldn’t help but think about all of the times he had called me names. Idiot isn’t that bad compared to some of the other things he’s called me. Still… It hurts, and I realize that tears are stinging my eyes.
Why can’t my parents just love me like the other kids I know who have parents that love them unconditionally?
My father, Alpha Howard, and my mother, Luna Karen, are not very good at keeping the books up to date for the pack. That’s because the money isn’t there. And everyone knows they’ve dipped their hands into the coffers to pay for projects at home.
When our natural resources began to dry up a few years ago, my parents were no longer able to hide the fact that the pack was in massive debt–and that they’ve been the ones spending most of the money.
So… I’d done what I could to help them, and I would do it again now if I had to. My pack means so much to me, despite how awful my parents can be, someone has to take responsibility for saving the pack.
I kept listening, pretty confident that I wouldn’t get sent to a sewage treatment plant. I’d ended up getting fired for throwing up on the job too many times…. Go figure.
“This is different than last time!” My mother sounds annoyed, and even though I can’t see them through the crack in the doors where I am listening, I can practically see her rolling her eyes.
“She’s not going to throw up all over the Alphas!”
“You hope,” my dad says, and that catches me off guard. Before I can think too much my dad continues, “But there will surely be daughters of Alphas and Betas from all over the kingdom trying to get this position. Why in the world would they ever choose Rose? She’s hopeless!”
So this is about a job. I try not to frown at my father’s lack of faith in me. Even though I don’t even know exactly what they’re talking about. Maybe he’s right to feel that way. Maybe I’m not capable of doing whatever it is they are talking about.
The idea that I’m about to embark on another awful job makes my stomach twist into knots. As unbearable as it is to live with my cruel parents, at least here, I know what to expect. It’s not as if I can just leave. I am the Alpha’s daughter. If I left my home before I married, it would make everyone question what was going on here and destroy the pack’s reputation; my parents would never allow it.
But the way they are talking at the moment makes my palms sweaty and my head feel dizzy. I wish I could’ve left a long time ago.
I need to know what it is before I form an opinion, but I’m too scared to move forward because I know I will be punished for eavesdropping. I adjust slightly on my feet, and the floorboards squeak, which should’ve let them know that I was there, but they keep talking.