Being Saved

Chapter 1 || Prayers to the Devil

A/N: This part of the story takes place when Katerina is still living in Russia, so to make things easier to read (and write) for now I plan to leave the text simply in English as opposed to changing all spoken content to Russian with the help of Google Translate along with providing the English translation.

Trigger Warning:
Mentions of abuse
Violence

—

Katerina's POV

Walking out of the building, I pinched the bridge of my nose, attempting to release my growing annoyance. But as my mind continued to wander, I ran my fingers through my hair, trying, and failing, to lessen some of my anxieties about what awaited me at home tonight; though, I could never predict when it would be a good day since the bad vastly outnumber the former.

It was like this every day. I woke up as early as possible, attempting to get out of the house with the hopes of encountering as few inconveniences as possible, though this rarely happened.

I went to school; I listened to Dimitri complain about training as we left the campus. This daily rant typically took place on the way to training, mind you.

Dimitri, of course, would never voice this opinion in front of the cappo, though he would be a fool to do so.

Apparently, Dimitri hated sweating; it's an inconceivable notion if you asked me, though that was also why he didn't ask me.

Throughout all this, I kept my mouth shut about what happened when we weren't together, though I knew he knew. Dimitri and I typically spent most afternoons at his place to hang out or train. Sometimes we went on a mission, and then I went home. Once I got there, the real torture began.

My fists clenched at my sides, and I barely noticed as my nails dug into the palms of my hands as I thought about the other night when my birth giver threw a beer bottle at my head. Valentina didn't deserve the title of being called a mother, though I could think of a long list of nouns that better described her. None, however, were suited for pleasant company as they were a bit too colorful.

In one sense, I was thankful that I managed to duck the air assault, but on the other, it only fueled her fire, resulting in one of the glass shards having found its way dug deep into my arm.

My mind wandered on like this for several silent minutes as we headed to the warehouse before I finally realized that Dimitri was trying to gain my attention.

As my eyes focused on the world around me, I was met with the concerned eyes of my best and only friend as he broke me out of my spiraling thoughts again. Snapping his fingers in front of my face, I scowled before slapping his hand away.

Sighing, I decided to take a lighter approach, not wanting to kill the mood with my anxieties about later, and honestly, not wanting to share any more than I had to. It's my problem, and I'd figure out a solution eventually, preferably before it killed me.

Shaking my head, I tried to clear my thoughts before they completely ruined my mood, though this was easier said than done.

"Kat, relax."

"I don't want to relax, D; I swear if I have to sit through one more math lecture from her next year, I will rip her throat out."

"What are you, a werewolf?" He snickered, sending me a teasing smile as I glowered at him.

Having half a mind to snap my teeth at him, I instead quickened my stride. "Oh hell, Dimitri," I muttered. "I'll just sever the woman's head with a katana," I grumbled, stepping into the road to cross the street without looking. "We'll see who's laughing then."