Everyone in the city knows that Gael Foster, the Alpha of our pack, has a wandering eye.
Beautiful women flow into his chambers like a river, only to be sent away just as quickly.
Each time one disappears, Gael's status in the werewolf community rises.
I, too, would have been sent away.
But I am mute.
==============================
My mother, Kaeli Payne, died in the third year after she was brought into Gael's house.
She was chosen by Gael as his temporary mate, a title that held no real significance.
But when she passed, there wasn’t even enough to give her a proper farewell.
Gael didn’t come when she died.
Only Mabel, the Alpha Queen, sent her attendant to take a look, and then called for some pack members to take my mother’s body away.
I was being held by a maid back then.
When I saw them covering my mother’s body with a white cloth, I struggled down and fished out a few crumpled bills from my pocket.
With tears in my eyes, I begged them to give my mother a proper burial, one that would honor her in some small way.
The pack members hesitated, glancing at Mabel’s attendant.
A few bills couldn’t even buy much, let alone a decent burial.
For a woman with no status, not even a proper chosen mate, a shroud and a shallow grave would be considered generous.
The attendant, a woman named Clara, saw me stubbornly holding out those pitiful bills.
Finally, she sighed, “This child is loyal to her mother.”
Because of Clara’s words, my mother got a proper burial and was laid to rest with some semblance of respect.
I was also moved out of the little room where we had lived.
I was grateful to Clara.
I heard that the very next day, a new woman moved into that room.
She was brought back by Gael from the nightlife district, costing him a hefty sum.
She was worth more than my mother.
