ALPHAS SUBSTITUTE MATE

A blast of cold water jolted Amelia from her slumber and she gasped, heaving for air.

"Go and make us breakfast! Now!" Linda's voice came in a loud yell.

Amelia quickly rose to her feet, her body dripping with water. "I - I'm so - sorry."

"You can't even make a proper speech without stuttering!" Linda hurled the empty bucket at her. "Mom said you should go and make breakfast."

Amelia looked down at her clothes. "B - but m - my clothes - -"

"Oh my gosh. I've had enough of your stuttering!" Linda cut her off mid-sentence.

"Come here!" She grabbed Amelia's wrist and pulled her along.

"W - wait... Linda, I'll fall." Amelia pleaded as Linda dragged her down the hall.

"Isn't it better if you fall? The ground is where you belong after all." Linda's lips curled into a smile and Amelia instantly knew what would happen next. Linda let go of her wrist and she slipped on the wet floor.

Linda held her belly as she laughed. "Oh my gosh. You look so pitiful like a heap of trash. I told you the ground looks better on you."

Tears stung Amelia's eyes but she dared not let them fall. She winced quietly as she helped herself up. Just then their parents arrived.

Alpha Donovan stared down at Amelia with a scowl on his face. "What are you doing there?"

Linda ran to her father with tears in her eyes. "Father, Amelia, did it again. I told her to make breakfast and she refused. She tried to splash water on me to wake her up but I moved away just in time."

"She did what?" Donovan's tone rose in fury.

"I knew this trash was up to no good," Mary turned to her husband. "I told you we need to get rid of her. She will kill my daughter the same way she killed her mother."

"I won't get rid of Amelia. She might be useless to me but she is still my daughter." Donovan inched forward and Linda unlinked arms with him.

Amelia didn't shrivel back or cower in fear as he approached her. The first time her father raised his hand on her, she was only 10 and had cried hours after he struck her. Suffering the same fate for 8 years made her get used to the pain.

She shut her eyes, bracing for impact and the slap came, throwing her off her feet to the floor.

"The next time you lay your filthy hands on my daughter, I will kill you." Donovan warned.

"I'm scared, mommy," Linda ran to her mother's side. "What if she comes after me?"

Mary put her arms around her daughter. "She wouldn't dare."

A whimper escaped Amelia's lips as she took to her feet.

She hung her head in a low bow and whispered. "I'm sorry."

"You better be," Donovan shit back. "In fact, I have the perfect punishment for you, you wench."

Amelia lifted her head with a gasp, praying it wouldn't be the same punishment as last time but it wasn't. They let her go instead. Paranoia sank in and she looked over her shoulder for the rest of the day in case of any incoming attack.

The following morning, Amelia was the first to wake up.

She made sure the gardens were tended to and made sure the compound was being swept.

A gentle wind brushed past her and she shivered. Her clothes were thin and torn. She decided she would have to mend them after sweeping.

As she swept, she heard an incoming bird whistle. Her heart fluttered as she looked up. It was Vincent.

"Vincent." She exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Won't you give your best friend a hug?" he spread his arms open for her and she ran into his embrace.

"I've missed you so much, Amelia." He rubbed circles on her small back.

They pulled away briefly and he cupped her swollen cheek. She shriveled away from the contact, thinking of which lie to tell him this time.