CINDY'S POV

"No, I didn't," I retorted.

I looked at my stepmother, who was surprised to see me fighting back this time.

"How can an 8-year-old kill an adult? As a matter of fact, you were with him when I found him lying on the floor unconscious."

"How dare you—"

"Enough," Alpha Luis cut Aunt Jezel off. He stepped in front of me to protect me from her.

"Don't accuse without proof. If you won't respect this event, you may leave now. Guards!"

In a second, two guards grabbed her arms and dragged her away. People moved aside to give way as Aunt Jezel tried to break free from their grip and screamed at the top of her lungs.

Stephany and Jenny ran towards their mother, hoping they could talk the guards into releasing her.

When the three were cast outside, the atmosphere of the mansion slowly returned to normal. The music continued, people talked, and Luis and I danced the night away. Everyone watched us as we devoured the wide space in the center with the gracefulness of our dance.

After our dance, Luis and I went to the balcony, where no one else was present. It was just the two of us. We talked under the full moon, sharing childhood memories and secrets that strengthened our connection.

But I heard a bell ring again. I remembered what the moon goddess said. When Luis said it was already 12 o'clock, I hurriedly excused myself and ran outside the mansion.

"Please tell me what your name is."

I heard Luis ask from the entrance, but I couldn't answer him because I was already running down the stairs while holding my dress up. I noticed my necklace slipped and fell on one of the stairs. I was about to retrieve it, but I saw Luis running down to stop me from leaving, so I left the necklace and ran towards my waiting automobile.

When I arrived home, a painful slap to the face greeted me.

"You, bitch! Making me embarrassed tonight? Is it because Alpha Luis is your mate, so you think you're superior now!?" Aunt Jezel shouted at me.

Jenny stepped forward, pointing at my cheap, worn, tattered clothes. The beautiful gown I wore was gone, and I was back in my old clothes. "And look at you. You're a piece of trash. You shouldn't belong here, Cindy. You should be grateful mom adopted you, so you should show some manners."

"You're nothing like your pet mice," Stephany interjected. "Both of you are pests in this household."

They were so angry that they started pulling my hair and slapping my face. I cried so much I almost couldn't breathe. I yelled for help, but no one came. Our house is far from our neighbors.

But they weren't satisfied. They put me in the dark storage room with nothing but old, broken furniture; dust and cobwebs were everywhere. They imprisoned me there.

"Let me out!" I yelled as I banged my fist on the door, but all I could hear was laughter from the other side.

That night, I cried until I fell asleep.

———

ALPHA LUIS' POV

I need to find the girl I danced from the party who also owned the necklace. I know she's my mate. My wolf is reacting to her presence, and for some unexplainable reason, I'm drawn to her. I want to protect her.

So I went to her residence, Lunaris family. My messenger indicated this is where she lives.

"Alpha Luis! What brings you here?" A middle-aged widow greeted me at the door. "Was it for my daughters, Stephany and Jenny?"

Her daughters, who were obviously lazy and nosy, peeked out from beside the door.

"No, I came here for your stepdaughter."

The lady frowned. "Who? Cindy?"

I didn't know her name yet, but maybe it's Cindy. "Yes," I said, unsure.

The lady frowned. "Oh, dear, Alpha. After she disrespected me last night, she went home and packed her things. She said she's going to your mansion to marry you for your money. I tried to reason with her, but she said it was her chance to escape this poor life since she had effectively seduced you that night."

What the lady said made me uneasy. My mate was after my money? Is that why she didn't tell me her name last night?

CINDY'S POV

I woke up to the sound of an automobile engine going off the road. I blinked, trying to decipher where I was, and realized I was still in the storage room.

Even though my stomach growled loudly because I hadn't eaten, I mustered all my energy to pound my fist on the door and screamed, "Let me out!"

Were they trying to kill me?

I stopped when I heard footsteps near the room. The small cat-door at the bottom of the door opened, and a tray containing a plate of leftover food and brownish water was dropped inside.

"Eat up! Thank us for still letting you live," Aunt Jezel's voice said.

"Auntie, please, open the door. I won't ever rebel against you again."

But she just laughed and walked away.

I don't know how many days passed while I was imprisoned in the storage room. It felt like forever. I hadn't bathed or seen the sun. They really treated me like an animal.

One day, I was lying on the makeshift bed I'd made when the cat-door on the lower part of the main door opened. The person who left my food spoke. It was Henry.

I quickly scrambled to my feet and peeked through the cat-door to plead with Henry to let me out.

"I can't possibly do it."

"Why?" I asked, my eyes streaked with tears. I was surprised my eyes weren't dry from crying all the time.

"You were a bad girl, Cindy. It's right for you to be punished like this."

"I thought you loved me."

He laughed. "You think so? Let me tell you the truth, Cindy. It wasn't you I loved. It was Jenny. Don't be so delusional."

Suddenly, Jenny appeared beside him, caressing her small baby bump. She smirked as she looked at me.

"Pathetic. He was just using you to be close to me. Who would want to be with an abandoned daughter like you?"

No matter how many insults they threw at me, I was still affected. It hurt so much that I'd served them, yet I wasn't worthy of their acceptance as part of their family.

When Henry left to go home, Jenny stayed in front of the storage room. She threw insults at me, saying I should be dead.

I was okay with their insults, really, but when she mentioned my father and how I'd killed my mother during childbirth, I snapped.

"Your family is evil. You should all be dead, instead," I said, and that made her cry.

Her mother and sister came to her and were shocked when Jenny told them what I'd said.

Aunt Jezel was furious. For the first time since she'd locked me up, she opened the door and stormed toward me. She grabbed my hair and dragged me outside.

I was almost blinded when the light hit my eyes; I hadn't seen sunlight for days. She dragged me to the stables. The horses neighed as Aunt Jezel pushed me into a pile of horse manure. My face was covered in it, and I could even taste it. I wanted to cry, but I controlled myself.

"That's what you deserve for being ungrateful to us. You want to be free, right? Well, then, go. No one would accept you, anyway. You'll come back here again, and you'll be cleaning horse shit again."

That night, after cleaning myself, I decided to follow my plan to leave the house for good. Even though my body ached from Aunt Jezel and her daughters' slaps and kicks, I packed my clothes and left my father's house, poisoned by her.

I walked past Henry's house and cried. Afterward, I wiped my tears and straightened my posture. I picked up the love letters he'd sent me before from my bag and threw them in their mailbox, along with a new letter for him that said: I loved you, but you treated me like an animal. Now, you will all regret what you did to me.

CINDY'S POV

Good morning, folks. In today's news, our respected Alpha Luis continues his search for the unnamed girl who owned the fallen necklace. He is willing to turn over every stone in the country just for this girl because, finally, she was his fated mate.

The radio crackled with a news report. The people in the pub were alert, halting their drinking and talking to focus on the radio.

The pub has a large radio behind the counter for the public to hear the latest news. People love to be here in the evening, especially on Friday nights, to relax. And I'm glad I got to work here because the ambiance is refreshing.

When I left my stepfamily, I went to the next town and found myself in front of this pub. It was evening, and no one was outside. Luckily, the pub's owner, Mr. Jerry, went out to take out the trash and saw me lying beside the entrance.

He quickly got me inside and gave me something to eat. I thought all people were bad, just like my stepmother and stepsisters. But Mr. Jerry proved to me that everyone can be kind if they choose to be. He took care of me while I was in my vulnerable state. He fed me, bought me clothes, and gave me money to buy my needs.

"Why are you so kind to me?" I said one day.

He smiled sweetly, like a father looking out for his daughter. "You're reminding me of my dead daughter. She was just your age when she was stolen from me because of her illness."

To repay his kindness, I worked for his pub. I became a waitress. Customers, regular or not, treated me kindly, and I never experienced harassment.

In this town, the people are friendly, warm, and respectful. Now I see why they are really supporting the reign of Alpha Luis in the country, because he is also like them: friendly, warm, respectful, and born in this town.

So, when they knew that he was searching for his mate for many full moons, they helped in the search, too. They searched by interrogating young ladies who attended the party and relaying the message to the pack's council.

But for whatever reason, they didn't ask anything from me. Maybe because I was from a different town, so they thought I was out of the equation? But still, I was puzzled and glad at the same time. I'm trying to get my life together, and this normalcy is what I wanted, not unnecessary attention.

When my shift was over and I returned to my small room on the second floor of the pub, I dreamed of him again. Most importantly, I dreamed about the time we spent at the party.

Morning came. As usual, I started mopping the floor and cleaning the windows.

"You don't have to do that, Cindy," Mr. Jerry said when he entered the pub and found me wiping the tables.

"It's the least I can do for your kindness to me."

Again, he let me do what I wanted. The two other workers entered after a minute, and then the number of customers who came inside slowly increased. For a short period, the bar was full of customers, even though it was still afternoon.

I was busy putting a glass of beer on a customer's table when I heard the sound of the chime on the door, indicating someone had entered. When I turned around to greet the newcomers, I froze when I came face to face with my Aunt Jezel and her daughter.

"Well, well, well, look who's here," Aunt Jezel said as she stepped forward to me.

"The brat has found a cheap job. A waitress? Oh, come on. Didn't the owner of this establishment realize you are fit to be a janitor?" Stephany added.

Jenny, with a large bump on her belly, laughed. "I bet she has slept with lots of men here. Are you giving them the satisfaction they want every night, Cindy? Is Alpha Luis not enough for you to seduce?"

All the customers' attention was on us now. They were intrigued by the scene in front of them. Even now, these three still love to be in the spotlight.

Are they really craving to be the center of attention? Well, I'll give them what they want.

"Are you that obsessed with me that you really followed me here? You're all so pathetic for not having a life of your own. I guess the money from my father's savings is gone, so you want me to take care of you. Well, news flash, I'm not the old, stupid Cindy anymore. Now, get out!" I ordered, pointing outside.

The surprise and shock were evident on their faces. They couldn't speak because of the humiliation. But then, Aunt Jezel raised her hand to slap me, but a hand stopped her midway.

When I looked at the man who stopped her, my mouth dropped open. It was Alpha Luis.