Brood of monsters
1891 Words
Mina Gourmet
The burst of red and green disco lights peeking from underneath the tall black curtain of the club stage made my eyes water.
“I- I can't do this, I’m sorry,” Cherry stuttered suddenly through her crying, whipping her head back and forth almost violently and staggering back from the line of powder-faced girls standing all around me.
I didn't know the redhead all that well or what her story was, but even I knew club host Pompeo wasn't going to like her dramatics in the least bit!
“Come on, Cher, please! This is the best its going to get don't you see? Its either this or the mines! And goddess only knows what happens to women like us in those dark caves!” I hissed impatiently, snagging a hand around her wrist before she wrenched it away angrily, her bloodshot eyes locking on my face.
“I don't know about you Wilhelmina, but I'd rather be bashed to death by falling rocks than be this…this…a w***e for those monsters that took everything away from us!” The doe-eyed woman hissed just as the curtains shrieked open and the guards lined behind us shoved us forward, under the strobe lights of the stage where thin metal poles jutted as high up as the black-out ceilings of the club.
What the f**k was going on?
My heart pounded so loudly that I could scarcely hear the thud of the music blasting away from the overhead speakers as my body moved instinctively, aware of the crowd of dragons watching us from the shadowed bar, their glittery eyes hard and expressionless.
“Come on, Mina, Tito’s counting on you,” I choked inwardly, biting back a sob when the music’s tempo increased and I spun so wildly on the pole that my vision of the room spun and I caught myself just before my fingers slipped.
“One mistake, ladies…and you're out. I want only the most perfect girls,” The host's voice echoed in my memory when I screwed my eyes shut, remembering the talk wraith of a wolf who had stood in the doorway, as pale and ancient as death itself.
How close had I been to death?
I knew what “out” meant. The elites didn't want tardy girls, no matter if it was a halfling like me.
“No! Please! I-I’m sorry! I didn't mean it please!” Cherry’s shrill gasp made me snap my neck around instinctively to see the redhead’s twisted ankle where she lay on the confetti-decorated floor, with the ugly white of her bone sticking out of the pale flesh.
Something ugly heaved in my belly and I swallowed the nausea that had shot up to the back of my throat when I watched the guard’s boot come down heavily on the wound and the sharp crack of bone breaking mixed with the low music.
How could they treat us like this?
“Please…this is wrong,” I whispered, but my voice was barely above a breathless gasp as I turned to see the other dancers dutifully avoiding staring at the injured girl with some of the elites leaned forward in their seats, the tension straining thickly in the air between us.
Was no one going to stop them?
My breath caught on the stunningly gorgeous face of one of the elites watching me from the back isles.
I’d taken care not to put myself in the forefront like the rest of the girls, but the beast’s harsh yellowed eyes stayed on me regardless before I noticed the eagle flapping its wings on his broad shoulders.
Who the hell was he? I could tell from the black uniform he wore and the shiny silver plates of armor on his shoulders that he was a high-ranked guard in the order of pure-bloods.
What on earth could the eagle beast want with me?
All of the other beasts were stuck on Stacy’s curvy frame as she twirled her nude brown body around the only gold beam that stood at the center stage.
I didn't blame them, she was gorgeous, and I looked like a gothic smurf with a bad case of starvation.
Chills made the hairs on the back of my neck stand when I heard Cherry’s blood-curdling screams before the music boomed once more and I tore my gaze away from the brooding stranger to fix my gaze on the throng of black-and-white uniformed servers milling around the large floors instead.
“Focus Mina, keep your head down until you can get out of here,” I swore inwardly, That could have been me, getting dragged off to be killed because of a split second’s hesitation…no…staying at The Pit was not an option.
#
“Fifty quips? That's all you're going to give me? This is barely enough for a night of food!” My incredulous voice came a split second after the gaunt host’s bright gray eyes cut through to me with an intensity that made me stagger back in fear.
“Do you have a problem with my authority, halfling?” His voice scraped through my ears like glass shards and I crunched the money up in my fist so tightly that my entire hand went numb as I backed away from him, understanding just how low on the bottom barrel wolves like us were rung.
He spat out the word like it was a disease, reminding me just how worthless halflings like me were in the undercity, a notch higher than full humans, but still despicable.
“O-Of course not, good night, Pompeo,” I wheezed, turning my back to leave before his voice stopped me cold.
“You’ve got a special order, Gourmet. I expect you early tomorrow night for a private showing. The new Alpha’s hard to impress, but for some reason, his guards’ requested your services even when your performance tonight was hardly impressive. Get yourself in order.” The skeleton-thick host hissed, raking incredibly bony fingers through his wispy black hair before waving me off without another word.
A private showing?! Had he lost his mind?
My face burned as I broke away from the line of fancily dressed dancers who whispered furiously between themselves, probably wishing they had the chance I had.
It was my first night at the freaking club and they already expected me to take private dances?
What the hell did I know about pleasing snobbish beasts like that? None of the girls who ever went in for s**t like that ever came back!
The strange guard’s striking face flashed in my mind again before I forced it away. Was he the one who had damned me?
He’d been one of the top elite surely, I could tell from the way the other wolves flocked around him like flies to s**t-stained briefs.
This…this couldn't be happening to me! What would Tito say?
My hands shook as I braced my hand against the rough brick of the alley walls before staggering forward, with only the beeping of my ankle chains echoing in the muted noise of the dim street.
_____________#
The small blue creek was quiet save for the eerie croak of ravens in the distance.
Tito’s wispy gold brows were furrowed in a firm line when I caught him standing by the large oakwood tree we always met at, away from the prying eyes of the guards.
“Tito?”
“Where the f**k were you? I've been waiting here for hours!” The young wolf scolded, his light blue eyes-a mirror of my own - was hard with anger.
“I’m here, alright? Isn't that what matters?” I snapped back, before sighing when he jerked away from me like I had just b***h-slapped him across the face.
Hell! What was wrong with me?
There was no reason for me to take out Pompeo’s s**t on him, and yet, I barely managed control the rage bubbling inside me.
“I’m sorry, okay? Here…they only gave us enough to get this,” I sighed, brushing the damp blond hair back from my face to squeeze a freshly-baked bagel into his arm.
The sweet doughy scent of it made my mouth water, but I snapped my eyes away and so allowed drily until he was done stuffing his reddened face, dusting the crumbs of his fingers.
I shifted my weight uneasily on my heels, seeing the way his brows dipped questioningly before I sighed again. How long were we going to continue like this?
“Let’s say I got an offer to work the back rooms at Lilith, Tito, imagine how much money—” I started, but my brother cut me off almost immediately.
“I’d rather you died than watch you sell your body to the monsters who killed Ma and Da in the first place, Wilhelmina. I don’t want s**t to do with any elite, I don’t give two f***s how much they’re offering.” He growled, gripping my throat almost violently before I beat back against his chest as my cheeks flushed with panic.
How could he say that?
Bloody hell, it was easy for him since I brought him food every night regardless of whether I’d eaten or not! He simply didn’t understand!
We were useless down here! If there was ever any chance of revenge, we had to get into the thick of the elites.
“Promise me you won't be like those whores who run off with those elite beasts, Mina, promise me that,” Tito rasped suddenly, his long oval face scrunched into a grimace as if reading my mind.
Something stabbed through my heart like a pitchfork but I pasted a reassuring smile on my face instead, hoping to the goddess that my face didn't tear in half under the strain.
Pompero’s words echoed in the back of my mind before I brushed it off.
I’d hoped to just bid my time and remain in the shadows, but the moon goddess must love using every goddamned chance she got to screw me over.
“Of course not, Tito, you're my only family now, alright? I’ll never leave you,” I vowed, yanking him closer to throw my arms around his lean-muscled frame despite the way he stood rigidly, staring off into the distance at a spot above my head before I felt his hands circle my back weakly.
He’d always been the sensitive, needy child between us both, so I didn't blame him for his protectiveness or the way he demanded reassurance.
“I’ll find a way to get us both out of here alright? Far away from this s**t-hole,” I muttered as his jaw dug into the groove of my shoulder but I bit back the pain, smiling instead when he pulled away from me with a somber expression on his face.
“I swear on Ma,” I heard myself lie, swallowing the lump in my throat and brushing away the tears standing in his eyes with the pad of my thumb before he backed away.
“Later Min,” Tito breathed before swallowing thickly, and my breath caught on the pet name he hadn't called me ever since the night of the raid.
I watched my brother back away until the deep shadows of The Pit shrouded his face.
- Writer
