Odette
I wipe a piece of cloth over the cut left by the glass, wincing as the stinging pain shoots through my temples.
"Goddess, she crossed the line this time!" Anna clicks her tongue and hands me a band-aid she managed to snatch from the doctor's office.
I flinch again as I plaster the band-aid on, then fill a glass with water and swallow a couple of painkillers to relieve the headache caused by the hit.
"I can't believe Sophia did it on purpose!" Anna continues to lament, her brows furrowing in anger. "You have to go back to the kitchen and show her what her actions have done to you!"
I smile at my friend's fuming; it gives me a great deal of relief to know that I still have someone who genuinely cares for me.
But that care ends with her. Even if Selene had cut me open and thrown me for the rest to see, no one would bat an eye.
They think I don't even deserve to breathe the same air they do, so how can I expect any kind of sympathy from them?
My silent self-pity is interrupted by another maid. "Anna, hallway duty."
"I'm coming," she replies, throwing an apologetic glance at me.
"What's with her? Isn't she on errands today?" the maid inquires with a displeased scowl on her face.
"She's taking her break early," Anna explains, grabbing the other girl by the shoulder and pushing her out of the room. "Leave her."
Once the door to our room is shut, I can finally take a breather and relax.
I feel bad for taking the early break, because I know that the head maid will definitely give me an earful for that later. But I can't help it. I don't think I can even stand right now, let alone run errands.
With a long sigh, I lie down on my bed and close my eyes, listening to the strong, painful pulsation in my right temple.
It's been three days since I died and came back to life, but it doesn't look like anyone has noticed. So I can't help but ask myself––what exactly happened to me back then in the forest?
There were only three of us: Selene, I, and a large brown wolf. Who was he? It's nearly impossible to tell. There are a lot of brown wolves in this pack, and I don't remember Selene calling him by his name either.
I was thrown back one year before it happened. Everything seems the same as it was back then, with a few exceptions.
First, I have this strange pendant, and everyone thinks I've always had it on me. Strange.
Second, the events from last year are not repeating themselves. That's why I was not able to anticipate the rusty nail in the hallway, or Selene throwing a glass of juice at me. Strange.
Third, I don't feel the same way I used to feel. I feel... like I am not myself anymore, like this body does not belong to me. Some might say this should be the last thing to worry about after dying and coming back to life, but I can't help it. It's... super strange.
Still, one thing remains a certainty right now––Selene and that mysterious "he" are the ones I should be wary of. So I should always stay alert. I have to find out who the other wolves were. And why did they want me dead so badly.
And then... I should just run away. Just like Selene wanted me.
Yes, I will do it. I won't ask another pack for help, nor will I join the rogues. Perhaps Anna can lend me some money to get me going, and once I have a job, I can pay her back. Somehow.
I'll do it. Second chance or not, I don't think the Goddess's plan was to let me die here once again.
As I continue to mope in silence over my strange and miserable fate, a loud and persistent knocking jolts me back to my senses.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing here, sleeping?" Without waiting for permission to enter, Yuliana barges into my room, her hands slapped to both sides of her waist.
"Lazy bitch!" She growls again, clicking her tongue as she kicks the leg of my bed in annoyance. "Selene is asking for you, so get your ass back to work!"
"Selene?" I wince, holding my hand against my temple as a new wave of sharp pain cuts through my head. "What does she want now?"
"How the fuck should I know?" Yuliana snaps at me, already heading for the exit. "I'm not your fucking messanger, so go ask her yourself."
What a vile mouth, I say to myself while putting back my shoes.
I don't want to see her so soon after she nearly knocked me out with a glass, I bet this time, she might try something even more dangerous.
Another long sigh escapes my lungs, while my feet are reluctantly carrying me all the way to the last floor. It is meant only for the alpha and his family, but Selene has managed to get a room there as well.
Once I get to her bedroom, I can't help but feel scared. What would she even want from me right now?
There is no use delaying it, I try to calm myself down. The longer she waits, the angrier she becomes.
With that, I clench my right hand into a fist and rap my knuckles on the door, steeling myself for whatever tantrum I'm about to face.
And Goddess, can I be wrong at least sometimes?
"You wanted to see me?" I ask carefully once I got permission to enter, but before I can even finish that question, a long, thick painting brush comes flying at me.
"Did you screw up my painting, you bitch?!"