SHADOW OF VOWS by Flowervil

Rosie's P.O.V

Here I was again, scrubbing dishes for what felt like the hundredth time today. Work seems to be the only thing on my plate, or should I say the only thing I'm allowed to have on my plate. It's like I'm stuck in this cycle where nothing is truly mine, where I can't even carve out a piece of life just for myself. I crave more – a job that's mine, friends I can trust.

Practicing with my peers on the battlefield is a struggle. I try to dodge those embarrassing moments as much as possible. So, I carve out precious time in the woods to hone my skills in peace. It's my way of avoiding trouble, keeping my head down.

I've grown accustomed to the lack of self-care, the exhaustion that never seems to fade. But my 18th birthday is my glimmer of hope, just a week away.

It's a day I'm counting on to bring change, to be my salvation. Maybe on that day, my mate will be the one to set me free, even if it's in disguise. I've prayed and wished for that day to be my turning point.

I have prayed and wished that if only I get one chance at being lucky, my mate should not be from this pack, I thought to myself.

    If he was, it would make matters worse and I would be sure to never get away from my cruel fate, not now, not ever.

      But at the same time, I don't see getting a mate outside this pack as possible. I only pray that whoever he is,  he should be different.

           Maybe, Elijah. Elijah seemed like a decent person. I have not seen him in any trouble and, for what's worth, he has never been abusive towards me. Maybe because his parents raised him properly.

          My name is Rosie Albert, soon to be eighteen and I am known to be the pack's slave, I have been branded by almost everyone as unwanted.

I am the one who cleans up after everyone and at every party. And the parties never seem to stop, they always have the need to invite people over every time and they don't think that it was necessary to hire help because I am available to clean after them.

            I don't own a dog as a pet but I cannot count how much shit I have had to clean today.

     I cannot wait for my 18th birthday when I am  able to find my mate. I don't care if my mate turns out to be a gamma or an omega like me and does not have any title, or even if he is a member of the pack, I will convince him to take me out of here and never look back. The mate bond should be able to do as much for me. I just pray that he is not in any way tied down to this pack.

          If the moon's goodness is kind to me or I'm given even the slightest bit of luck, then I will be fully free and independent from my family.

Not that they would hold me back or anything. I mean, since I'm sure they definitely didn't want to have me around. It was only a few days away now, a day I have been anticipating all my life, a day I couldn't wait for.

            I am aware that my father would be glad to let me go because he has always seen me as a scar he would like to get rid of. My father had never looked upon me with love, rather he had always hated me for taking the love of his life away from him, my mother.

It definitely wasn't strange that he allows my stepmother to treat me as she pleases along with the rest of the pack.

           I know my father hates me, he has never ceased to call me a murderer for taking my mother's life at birth. But does that make me any less of his daughter?

     I am tired of asking those unanswered questions and they seem so faint now. I have since come to accept my fate and whatever comes with it.

            The only time I have a little peace and temporarily get away from all this is when I go to my workplace.

Being able to make dresses for different people of different shapes is what I look forward to. Yes, my father had agreed to let me work, since I had nothing else to do except school and slave away, but it was only for a few hours and I could really use all the money I could get.

And Joan has been more than a good employer, she is kind and understanding. I almost hoped that everyone was like her. She was an angel in the midst of demons. Blood sucking demons that only wanted my blood. Wanted me to bleed dry.

     I looked out the window from where I stood and I saw that it was already getting  dark.

 I needed to go back home, to a round of house chores that would be lying around waiting for me. If I don't want to receive another beating of my life for not getting things done like my stepmother always complained about.

I walked over to the room Joan always stays in and knocked.

"Come in," she said from behind the closed door.

Turning the door knob, I stepped inside and a smile lit up her face, immediately she sighted me.

"How are you dear?"

I inched closer to where she stood. "Fine Joan, I wanted to inform you about me going home before I left"

"Sure, I will close up after I am done here" She smiled calmly at me.

Walking out of the room, I made my way back home.