Chapter 7

• Alicia woke up with a gasp; it felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her. She sat up on the bed, panting and staring at her drenched body and bed. She looked at the culprit, surprised to see Joy standing in front of her with a bucket. She blinked and wiped her face, her brain was muggy, not understanding what was going on.
• “It was one thing if you did it last night, but doing it again this morning, are you planning on killing me before my time? Oh, you want me to die like your poor mother?” Mary screamed, nothing like the loving woman she had known all her life.
• Alicia buried her fingers in her wet hair, wrestling herself to calm down and ask questions first. She could feel Nala nearly going berserk, but she didn’t want to resort to violence. No matter, this was her mother-in-law, she deserves her respect. “Good morning, Mary,” she said while trying to control her anger.
• “What is so good about the morning? Do you know the time? How can you still be sleeping by this time?” Mary yelled.
• Alicia sighed and reached for her phone on the nightstand; she turned on the screen to see that it was just half past eight. She hadn’t slept early last night, and had already decided to stay in to get more rest. “Did you need me for something, Mary?” she glanced at the woman with a soft smile. No matter what, she mustn’t show how angry she was; she needed to give that respect to Leo.
• “I am starving, Alicia. Shouldn’t you have made breakfast for me by now? Tell me, are you angry that I am alive? Do you want me to die by starvation?”
• “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were hungry. I had slept late last night, and didn’t set an alarm to wake me up. I’m sorry, I will go make breakfast right away. Also, can you tell me an Omega that you love her cooking? I will employ her to make your meals for you.”
• “Hmph,” Mary scoffed, “why employ an Omega when I have a daughter-in-law? Or, are you saying that cooking for me is beneath you?”
• “That is not what I said. I am only saying that in order to avoid this happening again in the future, I should just…”
• “And I said no,” Mary interrupted, “there is no need for an Omega when you are here. Besides, there is not much thing you are doing anyway,” she rolled her eyes.
• “I need to take care of the Pack,” Alicia tried once more.
• “The Pack is fine as it is. Besides, with the ongoing war, there is not much to do after all. Now, enough chitchat, get your lazy ass up from there and make me something to eat,” Mary said and left the room.
• Alicia sucked a deep breath and clenched her fingers in tight fists. She inhaled and exhaled, feeling herself calming down. “It’s okay, it’s just until Leo returns,” she told herself. “Everything would be okay once Leo returns.” But if only she knew how wrong she was. Not only did Mary and Joy talk to her however they wanted, they turned her into their live-in maid.
• The first time she complained to Leo about it, he told her that he would talk to them, but instead of things getting better, Mary and Joy became worse. And when she complained to Leo once more, he told her to just bear it until he comes home. He complained about how he was risking his life and fighting for the Pack, but she was busy complaining about a little mistreatment. He sounded angry, and Alicia decided not to bother him with her problem and just leave it until he comes back, like he said. But, life with her in-laws turned out to be the worst experience for her.
• ***
• “I can’t believe you missed my birthday party, Alicia,” Margaret, the Luna of Red Blood Pack and Alicia’s childhood friend, said from the phone.
• Alicia sighed; her hair was in disarray, but she didn’t care about that. Mary and Joy had attended another Luna’s party in her place and would be back soon. She had been caught up going through the financial records of the pack, and she missed the time. Mary had said that she wouldn’t be eating much at the party and that she should have late late-night supper ready for her. As she juggled cooking and answering the call, her attention was divided, and she ended up spilling the vegetable oil on the counter. “Ah,” she groaned, rubbing her forehead.
• “What is it?” Margaret asked.
• “I didn’t place the frying pan well and ended up knocking over the oil,” she explained.
• “Oh my goddess, are you hurt?”
• “No, no, I’m fine. It didn’t splash on me. You were saying?”
• Margaret sighed on the other end, “What’s going on, Alicia? For the past year, you haven't been yourself. You don’t attend any social gatherings anymore, and whenever I call, you are either in the kitchen cooking, doing laundry, or cleaning the house. I don’t understand, don’t you have Omegas anymore? Why is it the Luna’s duty to cook and take care of the house while her in-laws attend important gatherings in her place?”
• Alicia sighed and grabbed a towel to mop the oil. “I have told you about this before, Margaret. I have a lot on my plate now that I don’t even have the time to play dress up or attend parties anymore. I’m sorry I missed your party, okay? I was just too stressed that I decided to have a little nap, and before I knew it, it was morning. I’m sorry.”
• “This isn’t right, Alicia, Mary, and Joy shouldn’t be treating you like this. You are not their maid. Goddess, you are the Luna of your pack. They should be the one serving you in the right sense, not the other way around.”
• Alicia shrugged, “I know that, but it’s the only way to keep the peace. You remember what happened when I tried to fight back, right?”
• Mary had asked her to do her laundry for the first time, and Alicia had been angry with how things were turning out in the pack. Cash inflow has been low because of the war, and she had to support the pack and her extravagant in-laws from her family’s business. She had so many mouths to feed, and Mary and Joy still had to shop every week, adding more expenses. She had retorted angrily to Mary to find an Omega or use the washing machine herself, but Mary had responded by standing in the rain in the middle of the pack and crying, claiming that she was not respectful to her. Leo’s threatening letter had come two days later, asking her if she wanted to kill his mother, and should anything happened to her by the time he was back, he would never forgive her.
• To keep the peace and to ensure Mary didn’t do anything impulsive again, she had reduced herself to her servant, doing whatever they wanted, whenever they needed, and however they wanted it. And so far, it had kept the peace she aimed for. And in all, she just had to mumble herself to sleep that it was until Leo returns.
• And that once he was back, everything would be as it should be.