Miatta
After the meal, the slaves dispersed, leaving the newcomers behind. Addy wished me luck and left for her duty post. It turned out that Yvette was the head of all the slaves, and this was because the Lycan Prince had an affinity for her. We were eleven in number, and she made us file out before her. Her group waited at a corner, obviously not leaving without her.
"I don't want to say welcome to you all because I'm not glad you are here, but nevertheless, the Lycan King needs more slaves at his disposal. I will give a brief introduction for your benefit.
"Thank you, Prefect Yvette," the slaves chorused in union like brainwashed animals. I bit on my lower lip to hold back a laugh, and she went on, pleased with herself.
"There are five groups of workers here represented by colors, and they are as follows: Group Blue, Group Red, Group Brown, Group Black, and Group White. Each group has a leader in charge who makes reports and brings complaints to me on behalf of the group. No group has a particular chore as the royal household is mighty; therefore, chores will be reshuffled every week. "
She gestured for a girl to come to her, and the girl marched forward with a silver tray in her hands. In the tray were woven bracelets of the different colours of the groups. The girl knelt before Yvette and held up the tray within the prefect’s reach. The latter separated the bracelets according to colour and stepped back.
"Survival of the fit!" she suddenly announced, and because I hadn't really been paying attention, the others pushed past me in a rush to get to the tray. By the time I got to the tray, the girl who had been holding it up was covered with ten girls, and she struggled to save herself from their claws. A girl picked hers—a red one—and danced away in ecstasy, waving it in the air. I noticed Yvette and her friends pointing at us and laughing. We probably made very amusing entertainment for them, but I refused to be a puppet. I stood still, apart from the other slaves, and waited till each girl had gotten hers. At last, I picked up the last bracelet and fell back to my line. Mine was the colour blue. Yvette was not pleased and decided to make her mind known to me.
"You again? Just who do you think you are? " She demanded to know, but Addy had warned me to avoid picking a fight with Yvette. According to Addy, she could make my life bitter because of her connection to the royal Lycan household.
"I'm not important," I simply said, borrowing Addy's words.
"Better. Then stop acting all special. I am the only special one amongst you because the Lycan Prince fancies me and will eventually make me his Luna when he becomes Alpha. You lowlifes are mere slaves, lucky enough to be alive, and so you must work for your keep. "Understood, Miatta?"
Shoot! She knew my name. I nodded as my response, not trusting myself enough to utter polite words. My skin crawled just from acting subservient. The girl from before picked up the tray, and I noticed a blood trail on her cheek from the tussle. Yvette did not care much about her underlings and ignored the injury.
"Okay," That's all for now. Your group leaders will return later to let you know what task your group was assigned. I have to return to the prince now. He doesn't like it when I'm gone for too long. " She giggled, and her sycophants echoed the horrible sound. They walked away, their noses in the air, and my wolf nipped at me to charge at her.
"It's okay, girl," I said softly.We'll get her some other time. We are supposed to be finding our path, remember? "
She growled, not really agreeing with me but letting me win. It has been a while since she bent me to her will. That used to be scary back when I just found my wolf spirit. I would sleep in my room and wake up naked in the woods at dawn. We were beginning to understand ourselves, and it was all thanks to my all-knowing mother. Once, when my wolf forced me to shift in the middle of a pack festival, I ran away and hid myself in the woods, sure that I had defected. My wolf was unapologetic and kept me running for the longest of periods. My beautiful, white fur was dirty and a bit chewed up when my mother found me deep in the forest. I was still in my animal form, but my wolf had managed to wear herself out, so she stopped by a lake, lapping water.
"There you are, my dear girl. Both I and your father were worried sick about you. Come to me, girl, "she whispered, taking my bulky weight on her laps. Miraculously, it worked, and I shifted back to human, naked and shivering from the night breeze. She covered me with a cloak she had brought with her, and we cuddled in the silence.
"Miatta," she had said, "I know you think that this is a curse, but it's not. You and your wolf are one, and so, you two need to find a neutral ground where you can talk this out. Everybody is not the same, dearest. You are strong and you need to take the twins of your wolf. She'll calm down. Show her who's boss is. Instead of letting her control you, draw strength from her obstinacy and bring her to heel. You can do it, Miatta. I believe in you. "
It was the longest speech I had ever heard her say, and it was worth every word. I forgot my tears and dropped the cloak to my feet. I knew what I needed to do. I leaped into the air, growling, invoking my wolf, and when I landed back on land, there stood a white wolf whose fur was entangled with leaves and sticks. My mother was not afraid one bit, and she caressed my head lovingly.
"Now give me my lovely daughter back," she teased, tickling the area behind my ears. I sat back on my heels and a big, hairy head transformed into a smaller one, though still heavy with hair. Claws changed to buffed fingernails, and the hind legs stood straight. I was me again.
"All newcomers in Group Blue, let's meet at the games ground!" a skinny, young woman announced from the entrance of the room. I put on my bracelet and searched for the other newcomer in my group.Luckily, I found her just before she could slip out of the room.