Family

[Sitting in my windowsill I looked at the half-moon. I was starving of blood lust but I wouldn't risk accidentally draining someone. Frustrated I paced looking at the familiar purples of my room.

A sharp familiar scream hurt my ears and fear pushed my limbs to the room my mom stayed in on half-moons. The familiar walls moved around me and I raced into the room. Blood splattered the carpet and my father was hunched over the pale shaky form of my mother.

He held his hand over her neck desperately but blood flowed between his fingers. My gums ached but I was too scared to think about that.

What would happen to everyone if my mother died, she was like the glue that held everything together. Even the slaves adored my mother. Tears slipped out of my eyes and I was on my knees sobbing before I knew what happened looking helplessly at my mother bleeding out before my eyes.

I couldn't share my blood with her because her body would reject it, *why did I have to be born a hybrid? If I was a werewolf like my mother I could help her.*

I crawled closer to her and held her hand just to let her know I was here. Her heart beat slowed down and her breaths got deeper, then quietly shallower. The pressure on my hand from her holding onto me slowly loosened and then slipped away entirely.

My heart hurt, it actually ached with my loss. Tears soaked my face. *I should have asked to stay with her, I could have protected her. Why didn't I stay with her? Why couldn't I have done something, anything?*

My father slowly rose after an eternity. The sun had long since rose but I was anchored to the spot. My tears had dried up but I would rather cry than be left with the hollow feeling I was experiencing.

Three sets of footsteps walked up the stairs. I knew I couldn't be seen here, very few of the slaves trusted me and if they saw me with her they would assume I'd done it.

I hated that they knew so little about me but feared me because of what I was, regardless I'd begun to accept it.

"Goodbye, Mother," I croaked kissing her cold check and left the room before anyone saw me.

Knowing the slaves would be perfectly happy to not see me all day I locked myself in my room.

Before I knew it three days had passed, occasionally I would hear a knock on my door and food would be outside my door. None of the slaves dared disturb me.

I sat up on the bed looking towards my door half expecting a tutor to come through but I hadn't seen or talked to anyone since my mother passed. A white note was under my door.

Carefully unfolding the note I stared at the words written there, 'I'm sorry-Dad'. *What is he sorry about?* Confused I stared at the note.

Mere hours later a knock on the door drew my attention, expecting it to only be a slave dropping off food I opened it. A man in a black suit looked back at me.

"What is your position?" Confused by the question I stared at the man.

"Position, why do you need to know my position?" By position he could only mean my slave position, I was supposed to play along with questions like that.

"We're redistributing all the slaves in the household."

"May I ask why?" I hated acting like a weak slave. Was this what my dad was sorry about?

"Because of the Regional's death."

My eyes grew wide and tears prickled in my eyes.

I felt like I couldn't breathe. *No, not again.*

"Maid, I'm a maid," my voice strained. If he'd left a note his death must have been intentional. I'd lost my chance to save him sitting here wallowing in self pity. In only a few days I'd failed to save either of my parents.

"Do you have your papers?"

"No, I don't have any papers."

"Well, where are they?"

"They don't exist, the Regional took pity on me and allowed me to work for him under the table." My response was hallow and rehearsed as I stood in a quiet turmoil the man cared nothing about.

The man said nothing more but led me away where I met another group of girls. Eventually he put us in a carriage.

I growled when they put a collar around my neck. Imagine a Regional's daughter wearing a collar!

The man jumped but just moved on the next girl putting her in an uncomfortable collar too. As soon as he left I broke the collar so he couldn't put it on me again.

*Like I'm just going to wear a collar like a slave.*

Some of my depression was chased by indignence.

I knew it would raise a few eyebrows that I'd fought them supposedly being a slave but I hoped they'd just assume trying to get me to be anything but a maid was pointless.

After hours the carriage finally came to a halt and the man came back. He gave my neck a suspicious glance before looping a leash around it apparently unsure what else to do.

He pushed me into a shop and an overly cheery man meet us.

"My newest shipment has arrived! What happened to this one's collar?" He was WAY too happy.

"She broke it, she'll probably need some breaking in," the man in the suit stated calmly. I growled again.

"I do love a challenge; this will be my first hybrid. I have the perfect trainer in mind for her!"

"I have a lot more to bring in, where do you want this one?"

"Just pick a cage, any will do."

"Alright." He opened the cage door and roughly shoved me in. I showed him my fangs and though he had no outward reaction I heard his heart rate speed up slightly.

Girl after girl was brought in. Eventually they stopped and the vendor stood in the middle of the room.

"Alright, since some of you have never been pets before let's set some rules. You will speak only when spoken to and any complaints or misbehavior will result in punishment. When you are bought assume the same rules follow and call your owner by 'master' unless otherwise instructed, follow any commands they give you if you wish to not anger them." Some girls immediately stopped talking.

"After a few days you will receive anklets as to how trained you are. Red means you are potentially hazardous, orange means you are disobedient, yellow means you are quiet and tolerable, green means you are exceedingly well trained."

"Humans do not need to worry about receiving red anklets unless they show harmful intent. The type of owner you get could depend on your anklet, owners who want to be able to punish a pet usually buy the higher color levels," he rattled on.

"As for you," he turned to talk to me, "I'll start making a file for you tonight."

"Gee thanks," I said sarcastically.

"You should make sure I put good things in your file and rank you well, pet." The label made me growl but I said nothing more, only glared.

The next day the vendor put some slop and water in dog bowls and gave them to us. I stared at it like it had kicked my puppy.

"Eat it."

"No thanks." I gave a fake smile.

"Eat it or I'll punish you."

I kicked the bowl and sent the food flying onto his shoes and pants.

"Oops." I smiled sheepishly.

"You bitch!" The vendor pulled me out by my hair completely overreacting.

"If you let me go right now I won't hurt you," my voice was deathly low.

He laughed. Pissed off from a treatment no one had ever dared to show me before I pushed him against a wall and dug my fangs into his neck. He flailed against me but I was too strong. Hot deep liquid filled my mouth and I purred.

After a while he passed out, finally releasing him I stepped back. Terrified faces surrounded me and I realized I was the monster they thought I was. *I just attacked him, like it was so easy to attack a person.* Tears filled my eyes.

*How could I just lose control like that? I worked so hard to make sure this never happend.*

I missed my parents, they had never looked at me with anything but love but suddenly I'd lost all my support. Even for a slave my father would never lock them into a cage nor feed them anything like that. Heart in my stomach I searched the vendors desk for my tiny unfinished file. *I need to make sure no one figures out who I am.*

Luckily for me it was right on top and I found a lighter on him. Dark smoke filled the air as I watched the file burn, even if my connection to my father had been minimal, I wouldn't risk it.

Deciding that if I had to be a pet I would do something with that time I picked his pockets for the keys to the cages. Unlocking every cage was slow and the untrusting gazes of the girls didn't help.

I sat in the middle of the shop and saw a few cautiously leave their cages while more followed. Some never left. I decided in that moment that I wanted to help the pets that could be helped.

The vendor yelled from the cage I'd locked him in but I tuned him out.

*How many of those girls were already caught or dead, how many would have been better off here?* I wanted to give them their own choices, even if they didn't have a better life at least they tried, at least they had a chance.

*I will impact society and change it or die trying.*]

I woke up panting. Tears pricked my eyes from the memory of the day my life had changed and memories swarmed me. Falling back asleep was impossible despite how tired I was.

I checked on Derik before sitting at the bay window. I slowly calmed down watching the stars and listening to Derik's steady deep breathing.