River flinched. She gulped as Rosalie repeated, almost snarling at her, “What did you just say?”
She looked at Rosalie with her big blue eyes that rounded at her corners. “I-I can’t,” she stuttered.
“Do you even know what that card is?” Rosalie spat. Rosalie couldn’t digest that Hunter gave his no-limits card to the breeder. If anyone would get it, it would be she-the future Luna of the Veil. She had been trying for a long time to grab that card, and he hadn’t once encouraged her. And this lowly breeder comes and he gives it to her just like that?
“That is a black card which is worth millions of dollars. This card has unlimited money access, and Alpha Hunter has given it to you just because he is feeling benevolent. Have you ever seen a card in your pack, let alone own it?” “Bu-but- River stuttered as Rosalie grabbed the card from her hand and yanked it off. She bent over River and said, “Know your place, breeder. You are nothing but someone who will be tossed out of this castle and thrown into dungeons once your womb is used. So don’t even think of getting used to this place or this wealth!”
River gasped. Her **became as wide as her eyes as she gaped at Rosalie’s rudeness.
“Rosalie,” Mia said. “That is brother’s card and he has given it to River. You can’t just snatch it from her!”
Rosalie rolled her eyes. “Well, I have. What are you going to do about it, Mia? Go, tell it to your brother? I don’t even expect anything else from a sissy like you. You are a princess and yet you are so… timorous.”
Mia’s face shrank as helplessness spilled over her face. She lowered her eyes so that no one could see.
“Go, shed your crocodile tears elsewhere, Mia. We all are tired of your constant acting an ‘I-am-a-victim’ attitude.” Rosalie knew that Mia would never tell her brother because she liked putting Mia down on occasions and Mia never complained. Mia was a thorn in her eyes. As soon as would marry Hunter, the first thing she would do is to pack Mia off to a boarding school far away from here. So far that she wouldn’t return. She had already got prospectuses from several elite boarding schools in the human world. With humans, Mia was going to be so miserable that she would become useless.
Rosalie started to walk towards the door, swaying her hips, loving her sass. She flicked her blond hair back and winked at Faria. Just as she was going, she heard River.
“Okay, I will go and tell Alpha Hunter that the card is with you,” she said softly.
Rosalie stopped in her tracks. She spun. “What?”
River wiped her ***with the napkin and repeated. “I will tell Alpha Hunter that the card is with you. I am happy that now it is your responsibility to take care of something as valuable as that.”
Rosalie was in front of her in a second. She peeled her lips back as her beautiful face morphed into an **one. “You have the guts to snitch against me?”
River leaned back. “I-1-just want to be clear on this. After all, if the card is lost, where will I get the money to replace it? And why do you say this is snitching? I thought you took the card because you are entitled to it.”
“Are you acting smart with me?” Rosalie lifted her hand to hit River for arguing with her when Faria stopped her.
“Lady Rosalie! If you hit her, your fingers will get imprinted on her face. Would you want Alpha Hunter to see that?”
Rosalie closed her hand in a fist and growled. Hunter would not be happy to see that she defied his order. The ****had come and hadn’t been for a day also and was showing her smartness? She knew how to tamp her down.
River watched her with horror. She was bracing herself for the impact. When Rosalie took a step back, she let out a ragged. breath of relief. With reluctance, Rosalie held the card in front of her.
“Here, take it ***!” she sneered. “But-” she glared at her. “I will go shopping with you. You will not buy a thing without my approval!”
River took the card from her and lowered her face, her breath getting rougher, her body shivering. She swallowed the breakfast that was threatening to rise in her gut. “Okay…” she said.
“We will go in an hour!” Rosalie said. “Be ready!”
“But I also want to go with you,” Mia whined. She was about to leave for school.
“You have way too many formal dresses, Mia!” Rosalie dismissed her. “Besides, I will only buy one dress for the breeder and will be back. I don’t have time to waste. I have a party to host in the evening.” She turned and strode out of the dining hall, fuming.
As soon as she left, River felt lighter. She sighed a breath of relief. She glanced at Mia and saw that her face was crumpled. “Do you want a dress?” she asked.
Mia nodded. “But leave it. I have way too many…”
“I am so sorry..” River muttered.
“It’s fine,” Mia said, wiping her tears. “It’s no big deal.”
“You are getting late, Princess Mia,” Faria reminded her.
An hour later, River was bunched up in a small car along with Faria and a driver and two more she-Lycans, Mina and Gina, who were twins and Rosalie’s close friends. They scrunched their noses at River who was made to sit in the front with the driver while they sat with Faria at the back. Rosalie was going alone in her sedan, driven by her personal chauffeur.
“She is so scrawny,” said Mina. “These days the werewolves have stopped sending good breeders!”
Gina tittered. “Werewolves are such a ***race. If only we could give birth to pups.”
“Hmm…”
After a few more remarks in which River didn’t react to them, the twins became quiet, when they thought they were just speaking to themselves.
They reached the boutique where they had to buy the dresses from. Rosalie was waiting for them in the boutique.
The salesgirls had already started hovering around her. The moment they saw River, they smirked. River realized one thing-being a breeder was one of the most insulting things in the Veil. Breeders were worse than mistresses whom everyone hated. They were an evil necessity. They were wanted, yet shunned by Lycan society. But what if the Lycans. didn’t find their mates within their own society? What happened to such people?
Sighing, River hated every moment of being a breeder. She knew that the moment she got a chance, she would escape. To **with the demons outside the Veil. She was going to find a way and run away.
