Chapter 4

All day I dreaded the moment when I should return home. Between my possibly dying wolf and Carlos, I'm terrified of what I'll find...

Yet here I am.

I called the bar where I work to tell them that I wouldn't come, and I used the pretext of a medical appointment to stop my deliveries well before the usual time. Despite the slowness of the omnibus, I hope to arrive on time because I know that the longer my father-in-law waits, the more dangerous he becomes. I've seen her throw a man out of a window because he was two hours late. We are not disrespecting the "Padre" by making him wait.

Trembling, I get off the bus, looking around, fearing to see Carlos' henchmen disembark, however I am alone. We even see a package flying off in the middle of the road, then getting tangled in the gates of a grocery store that has probably been closed since before I was born. The city is talking about a complete renovation of the block, in the meantime, if living with rats as big as cats doesn't scare you, rents are very affordable in this rundown human district.

I take this opportunity to try to see if there is the slightest trace of my wolf, looking for a stain of blood or hair, yet I see nothing. No one would have cleaned up here, so if he got into a crash he hid further away. I would like to take the time to find it, however I sorely miss it. Carlos sounded on edge on the phone, I'm afraid he's charging me for a bad day.

Hands shaking on my keys, I shuffle towards my studio. Arriving in the stairwell, I feel like my heart is going to explode as I hear noise from the upper floors. I feel a bit like a sheep that is going to go to a butcher's on its own. Climbing the stairs apprehensively, I barely reach the middle of the floor when I already see the mastiff head of Jerry, one of my father-in-law's minions. The man is covered in large scars obtained in clandestine fights, but it's his expressionless, inky stare that sends the chills down my spine. He wears, as usual, jeans and a tank top that show off his muscles and his tattoos while deliberately letting the butt of his gun protrude, as if he needed it to look dangerous.

I make my face impassive, advancing calmly so as not to tickle his desire to fight. Gritting my teeth, fearing a blow from behind, however, I continue towards the two other henchmen who are waiting for me near my door alongside Carlos.

I feel my stepfather's black eyes pierce me from where he is, so much so that I feel like a big cockroach that he is about to crush.

I force myself to look him straight in the eye while repeating to myself like a mantra that I'm not afraid.

" Approaches!" He orders me in his hoarse voice.

My heart is beating at a hundred kilometers an hour, I would like to run away, yet I walk as if I had nothing to fear, I don't want to give him the pleasure of seeing how much he terrifies me.

This is where I see lurking in the shadows of the corridor, a large dark mass. My heart skips a beat when I meet the cold steel eyes of my wolf, a few meters behind my tormentors. He is lying on the ground, his chops raised, tense, ready to jump on them. It could be good news, only they are all armed, while he is injured. He's going to get himself killed, and I don't want him putting himself in danger for me.

With a wave of my hand, I try to drive him away discreetly. If I manage to attract his attention, he does not move an inch. Obsessed with my four-legged companion, I don't have time to watch, let alone protect myself, from the slap that throws me against the wall. I crash to the ground under the blow of Carlos who looks at me with his usual grin.

" I already told you to hurry you dirty female dog, when you present yourself to me, I have other things to do than wait for you in front of your door! " He said in his snarling voice, tapping the screen of his watch, which indicates : 9:2 p.m. Anyway, nothing has ever entered your filthy piaf skull!

My eyes water, as I realize that having had a bad day he probably came to let off steam. I don't feel sorry for myself though, concentrating on my wolf at whom I cast a pleading look, managing to stop him before he pounces. Taking advantage of my inattention, Jerry and one of his colleagues immobilize my arms, holding me on my knees on the ground, before putting a knife to my throat.

I tense up, trying to show a calm face. I'm too afraid that seeing my emotions, my four-legged friend will attack, probably getting killed trying to protect me. I must not make him feel that I am in danger. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch him hesitate, groaning softly as I feel the floor shudder down to my knees. The henchman behind Carlos even begins to fidget as he looks around, feeling the vibrations too.

I take the floor to attract the latter's attention.

"Don't hit me, I have your money, Carlos! " I say in a voice hoarse with fear as the minion focuses on me again, excited by the desire to see the tickets. The amount you asked me!

My father-in-law sends me a backhand with his hand, so powerful that my own teeth cut into the inside of my cheek, causing me to bleed. I struggle to catch my breath as the shaking of the ground increases in intensity. However, I don't have time to really come to my senses before someone sticks a needle in my arm, after taking the money envelope from the front pocket of my jacket.

Panicked, I quickly turn my head, watching them draw blood from me. Unable to get rid of my torturers, I see them connect a hose to the syringe quickly reddened by my vital liquid which then empties into test tubes. Meanwhile, my stepfather walks up to me with a wicked smile planting on his thick lips.

" I don't care what you have to say, little female dog! Let me go, do as your mother lets you!"

I struggle, clenching my jaw as the tubes fill at breakneck speed. What does he intend to do? Has he decided to sell my organs? Eyes wide with terror from all the terrible scenarios going through my head, I finally open my mouth.

" What the hell do you want from me? " My voice is too high, but I'm on the verge of a panic attack.

He's watching me, like I'm a -year-old kid who just asked a stupid question.

" You're 19" , he sighs, taking one of the tubes to look at them in the light, as if it were a ruby." It's time you made me some real money"

Once their samples are done, Jerry releases me with a kick to the back. I finish on all fours in front of my father-in-law who looks at me with a mixture of anger and amusement. I hate his smile, I wish I could tear it from his filthy rat face. However, all I can do is lie prostrate on the ground, hoping he tires before he kills me.

After a while, he ended up patting my cheek gently, as if he had an ounce of tenderness for me.

" Take care of yourself... until I come back! " He whispers to me with a hint of sadism in his voice.