Anya [SAMPLE]

Chapter 4

“Oh Anya.”

A calloused hand gingerly touched my cheek and I flinched away from the caress, hissing at the blinding pain which rose swiftly. Brenda sighed softly, uncapping a bottle as my sisters looked on.

My right cheek throbbed from where Savior had hit me before he demanded that I leave his house, disappointment laced with his words. I had done so eagerly, tears momentarily blurring my vision as the pain on my cheek increased.

I faintly remember the little girl calling my name in worry as I hurried to my house, where my sisters waited for me, all wanting to know what Savior had asked from me.

Brenda applied some salve onto my cheek gently, whilst Ivy asked why I didn’t just do what Savior wanted. My personal feelings weren’t supposed to interfere with what Savior asked of me to do, but it had. I didn’t bother responding to Ivy and my body shook as I heard her release a huff of annoyance.

“Thank you.” I murmured softly to Brenda after she pulled away, finally finished with applying the strongly scented salve. Her eyes held mine and I saw the pity in them, which was so unlike Ivy’s, who instead had glared at me after I told her about my refusal.

Savior passed by later that day, saying that he would go on a short walk in the forest. I said nothing as my sisters wished him a safe journey and I knew that me turning my back to him as he spoke was viewed as being completely disrespectful, but in that moment, I had little care for what he, or my sisters would think.

“You’re going to have to ask him to forgive you.” Ivy snipped to me right before I had left my house later to go stand by Naverna outside, who had finished cooking the rabbit I had caught earlier. We sat a few feet away from the little girl, who called out my name. I looked to her, noticing how dry her lips were and the small frame of her body. Light brown eyes dropped to my meal as she released a plea for food and water.

My fingers curled around the plate I held, head turning to my house which held many water bottles inside. Naverna was watching me and I hesitated to move. I looked to her and after a long moment, she inclined her head, eyelashes lowering as she looked to her own food. She would not say anything to Savior about the actions that I was about to commit.

I knelt by the little girl, watched as her small fingers grasped and pulled at meat hungrily. I left her eating for several seconds and returned with a bottle. She ate the meal quickly and managed to drink most of the water. Spit and water dribbled on her chin in her hurry and she thanked me afterwards, offering a lopsided smile.

As she wiped her chin, I sat beside her on the grass, waiting until she met my eyes before asking, “You mentioned a woman that I remind you of.”

The little girl nodded, immediately knowing what conversation I was referring to. “She’s my father’s friend. Well, her mate is my father’s friend and she became friends with my father through her mate.”

My eyebrows furrowed and it took me a second to figure out what she was saying. “Right.”

“She looks the spitting image of you. And she’s human.” The girl continued. “She’s been searching for her missing daughter for years. Her mate, who is an Alpha, has been helping her as well.”

The conversation was cut short at the noise of a door opening. I barely managed to take the plate and bottle away from beside the little girl before the rest of my sisters arrived by the small clearing, taking up their own meals and leaving the last bit for Savior.

My stomach rumbled in hunger as I watched them eat, releasing a small groan as I knew that I would have to wait until tomorrow to hunt. The sun was beginning to set and I didn’t want to search for food in the darkness.