CHAPTER 7
Emma's POV
Every morning when I wake up, it hits me again—I'm still here. Still stuck. And every single time, I can't help but feel this heavy sadness in my chest. It's like I haven't even had a moment to breathe since the day I got thrown into this nightmare.
They turned me into their slave. I do all the crap work they don't want to do, and the second my body starts to give out, when I try to say something, they just tear me down even more.
Like that time I tried to sit in on one of their training sessions. I didn't know one of them had pulled the chair out from under me. I ended up face-first on the floor. And of course, they all laughed like it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen. But that wasn't even the worst part.
These stupid vampires swapped my blood tonic with real blood once. I was so sick I couldn't even move the whole day.
Leo—he's the worst. He promised me I'd be his slave and his alone. I didn't know it meant being stuck working for his whole damn vampire family.
"Hey," Master's voice cut through my thoughts. I was stuck in the laundry room, scrubbing piles of filthy clothes. He hadn't said a word to me in the week I'd been here. The guy was ice cold—never smiled, never looked at me unless he had to.
"Leo wants you in his office. Move it," he barked.
I jumped, dropped the shirt I was holding, and scrambled out of the room. When I made it to Leo's office, there he was, lounging in his chair like he was royalty, his legs up on the desk.
Then I noticed the water on the floor. I already knew why he called me—to clean it up, of course. But when he spoke, something inside me snapped.
"Do I need to teach you how to fucking do your job?" he said, his voice dripping with arrogance.
"I fucking quit," I blurted out, my voice shaky but loud. "I'm done being your slave—or anyone's slave, got it?"
My heart was thudding in my chest, and my mind was screaming for me to take it back, but I held my ground. I couldn't just keep taking this anymore.
Leo didn't say anything at first. Just stared at me like I was some bug he wanted to squash. Then, out of nowhere, he started clapping slowly.
"Wow, bravo," he said, standing up and walking toward me. My heart sped up. I felt like a deer in headlights.
"Who the fuck do you think you are, telling me you quit?" he growled, grabbing my wrist. His grip was so tight I yelped, "Please!" before I could stop myself.
"You don't tell me what to do," he spat, tightening his hold even more. I could barely breathe, and the pain was almost unbearable.
"Please, I'm sorry! You're hurting me!" I pleaded, tears welling up.
"I give the orders here, not you," he hissed, his grip getting even worse. His hand felt like a vice. I could feel my skin burning.
"Just kill me," I gasped through my tears. For a split second, it looked like I might have hit a nerve. But then Leo shoved me away like I was nothing.
"Get out of here," he growled, his voice low and dangerous. "Before I do something I'll regret."
I stumbled, rushing out of his office, but of course, I ran straight into one of the other vampires—one of the ones who made my life hell.
He could've just ignored me. Could've kept walking, like any normal person would. But no, it was me—Emma, the wolfless omega, the punching bag. He grabbed me by the blouse and before I could even react, a punch landed in my face.
I went down hard, the world spinning as I tasted blood in my mouth. My cheek exploded with pain, and I could feel it swelling already. But they didn't care. They just stood there, laughing. Like it was a show to them.
"Oops," he said, feigning surprise. "Didn't mean to hit you that hard, runt." His smirk was like a knife to my chest. The others just walked by, not giving a damn.
I dragged myself up, hands shaking. I had no strength to fight back. It was pointless. All of it. My head spun as I hit the floor again. "I'm gonna teach you how to respect your elders, you little wolf," he sneered.
I hadn't done a damn thing to him, but it didn't matter. They'd always wanted to break me, probably just too scared to act on it because of Leo.
This guy yanked me up like I was nothing, and I felt the cold grip of fear take over. My body was shaking. If he hit me again, with my face already bleeding, I didn't think I'd survive.
The other vampires just stood there, laughing, egging him on like it was some twisted show. None of them cared enough to step in and stop it.
But just as he was about to throw another punch, Leo appeared out of nowhere. Before I even realized what was happening, the guy's head hit the floor.
Leo had sliced it off—just like that—with his bare hands, like it was nothing. And the rest of the vampires who were watching us? They bolted, scattering like rats. They knew exactly what Leo was capable of.
I was still in shock, trying to piece together what just happened. Leo had just killed one of his own family members. For me.
But I didn't understand why he was so angry. Just a minute ago, he'd been cold and cruel, acting like he couldn't care less about me. And now, he'd just killed a vampire, one of his own, over what? Because of me?
My legs gave out, and I could feel myself starting to collapse. Before I hit the ground, Leo caught me and pulled me into his arms. I didn't have the strength to fight him.
"Call the doctor," he snapped at Master, who had appeared by then. Even though Master didn't care for me, when Leo spoke, he didn't question him. He rushed off to get the doctor.
I barely managed to whisper, "Put me down. I can walk."
"No," Leo said firmly. "You're not strong enough." And without waiting for another word, he carried me into his room, laying me down on his massive bed.
He could've taken me to my own room or anywhere, but instead, he brought me here. I didn't understand why.
"The doctor will be here soon," he said in a calm voice, but I could see the anger still burning in his eyes. Before he left, he looked at me, his jaw clenched. "From now on, none of them will ever dare to mess with you again," he promised, his words sharp. "They'll regret today."
Then, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.