Chapter IV

A kick wakes 13-year-old Ellean. Jumping up, she turns her head to see Chase laughing. Rubbing her eyes to wake up, Ellean tilts her head. Her fingers sign,

"Is there something I can do for you?"

Chase sneers, leaning down so Ellean can read his lips

"It's time for you to get up, you mutt. I need breakfast, and I need it now."

Ellean nods, stands up, heads towards the kitchen. Ellean left leg drags slightly with each step she takes.

When she was ten, someone had broken her leg so severely that they never could get it to heal right. So now she had a permanent drag.

Quickly starting the coffee pot, she slices potatoes to fry. Then, slapping the bacon in the frying pan, Ellean hurries around the kitchen to finish breakfast. She misses James at these times. Meals went a lot easier when there were two of them. But James has been gone for three years now. Limping out to the pack table, Ellean sets the table. Then, hurrying back into the kitchen starts taking all the food to the table.

Ellean rings the bell to let the pack know that it's time to eat. Stepping back, Ellean leans against the wall to take some of the weight off of her bad leg. She is still petite and skinny. Her bones stand out, skin so pale it looks like Ellean was dying.

Ellean kept her gaze on the floor, only glancing up from time to time to make sure that nobody needed anything. As long as Ellean didn't move from her spot, most of the pack forgot she was even there.

After the pack had eaten and cleared out, Ellean hurriedly cleaned off the table before grabbing a plate to eat. Her stomach had been complaining for the last half hour.

Just as Ellean sat down with a sigh, her spoon was halfway to her mouth. Something hit the back of her head, almost smashing her face into her plate.

Turning her head, Ellean saw Jenny standing there smirking.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

Ellean lowers her gaze. Nothing good would come out of this, so she might as well just let Jenny do what she wanted. In the long run, it might not hurt as much if she stayed still.

Jenny walks up to Ellean, giving her hair a sharp tug.

"Look at me when I am speaking to you. I know you can read my lips. I need my room cleaned. And it needs to be done now."

Ellean nods her head glances around the kitchen before sighing. The kitchen was a mess. And with no one to help her, it would take Ellean twice as long to clean it up.

Jenny had moved into Chase's room because she was aiming to be the Luna. Jenny nor Chase had found their mate, so they decided to date. Ellean hated to clean their room. It always stank of sex. Moreover, it irritated her sensitive nose.

Ellean slowly limps up the stairs to clean the room. Taking a deep breath, she pushes open the door. As she expected, it reeked. But it was even worse than usual. Someone must've gone into heat, and the stink made Ellean gag.

Holding her nose, Ellean grabbed gloves to put on. She wasn't about to touch anything in this room without gloves on—all that nasty white stuff staining the sheets, floors, and everything else.

After opening the window, airing the room out, Ellean cleans the room thoroughly. Then, walking into the bathroom, she gags again, seeing all the used condoms laying all over the floor. Couldn't they clean up their mess just once?

Scrubbing the tub clean, taking the trash out, and spraying some lavender scent around, Ellean felt the room was back into shape.

She is slowly making her way down the stairs once more; Ellean meets Jenny on the way.

Jenny stops and stares at her. "Did you do what I asked you to do?"

Ellean nods her head, stepping to the side. Her fingers sign

"Yes, it's all clean and ready."

Jenny snorts, "I better not find a speck of dust, or you will find out how much hurt I do."

Ellean nods before heading back to the kitchen to clean it up and to work on lunch. Soon the pack would be crowding around the table hungry, and if she didn't have food ready, Ellean knew that a harsh beating was coming her way.

She was washing the dishes; Ellean stared out the window, longing for freedom. But, even if she could leave, where would she go? Ellean didn't want to be a rogue. Everyone had horror stories about rogues and how awful they were.

Even if her family abused Ellean along with the pack, Ellean still loved them. There were times when she felt the anger surge up, but she kept pushing it down, waiting for a moment when she could escape.