Madeline’s POV
I walked into the house and closed the door gently.
I didn’t want to let Janet know that I was home. If Mike wasn’t here, she would make sure to insult and threaten me.
“Honey!” I heard Mike’s voice calling me from the kitchen.
A part of me was relieved that he was home. Another part of me dreaded going there and seeing Janet. My stomach was turning every time she would look at me. I could feel the hate radiating off her and it was making me sick.
“Maddie?” Mike called me when I didn’t answer.
I took a deep breath and walked to the kitchen. Mike was making dinner. He looked up at me and smiled.
“Hi, honey,” he said softly. “Are you hungry? I am making lasagna.”
I glanced at Janet who was sitting at the table. She was looking up at me with so much hate that I shivered.
“No, thank you, Mike,” I mumbled as I looked back at him. “I ate at the diner.”
Mike frowned a little.
“Are you sure, honey?” he asked with a hint of worry in his voice. “Did you eat enough? Maybe just a small piece.”
His fake worry was really annoying. Did he care if I ate enough when he left my mom and me?
“I am not hungry,” I said politely.
Mike gave me a small nod and smiled.
“Okay, honey,” he said. “Would you like to sit with us and talk for a bit? I would love to know how your day went.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Since when did he want to know how my day went?
I was so angry at him and I just couldn’t let it go. I could feel the anger eating me up inside, but no matter what I did or said to myself, I couldn’t stop it. I was angry at him. He left me. He left my mom. He didn’t care about me. He didn’t try to contact me or ask about me. If my mom was still alive, he wouldn’t even be in my life.
“I am actually really tired, Mike,” I said, my voice raspy. “I will just go take a shower and go to bed.”
I saw disappointment in his eyes. I didn’t care though. It only made me angrier. What gave him the right to be disappointed?
“Okay, honey,” Mike said, giving me another small smile. “I will see you in the morning.”
I gave him a small nod and glanced at Janet. She was still looking at me angrily.
“Goodnight, Janet,” I said politely.
“Goodnight, Madeline,” she mumbled coldly.
I looked back at Mike and gave him a small nod.
I turned around and walked out of the kitchen. I wasn’t lying to Mike, though. I was tired and I just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. I didn’t ate at the diner, but I wasn’t hungry. Even if I was, Janet’s cold gaze would make me lose my appetite.
As soon as I walked into my room, I put my bag down on the floor. I was just about to open my bathroom door and walk inside when someone barged into my room.
I turned around and froze when I saw a furious Janet standing by my bedroom door.
She looked furious and I felt fear washing over me.
“Is that a way to speak to your father, Madeline?” she asked as she took a step closer to me.
I furrowed my eyebrows a little. I wasn’t rude to Mike.
Janet approached me. I tried to take a step back, but I was frozen.
“You are rude and ungrateful, Madeline,” Janet sad as a quiet growl escaped her. “I won’t tolerate that in my home.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“I am sorry, Janet,” I mumbled quietly. “I just wasn’t hungry. I…”
She interrupted me by slapping my face so hard that I almost fell. I held my burning cheek and looked up at her wide-eyed.
“Do not answer back, Madeline,” she growled. “Mike might tolerate your rudeness, but I won’t.”
I gulped and forced my legs to move. I took a small step back from her.
It was a mistake, though. It only angered her more. She took a step closer and grabbed me by the neck.
My eyes widened and I tried to move her hand, but it was useless. She was a Lycan she-wolf. Even if I had my wolf already, she would be stronger than me.
“Don’t you ever think that you can escape me, Madeline,” she growled. “I will do whatever the fuck I have to do to keep you in line.”
I tried to gulp, but her hand on my neck barely gave me any room to breathe. Gulping or speaking was impossible.
She smirked and loosened her hand a little.
“Don’t even try to complain about this to anyone,” she said coldly. “No one wants you here, Madeline, not even your father. He took you in out of guilt. He agrees with me that you need discipline.”
My eyes widened again. I wanted to ask her why wasn’t he in here then. If he thought that I needed discipline, why wasn’t he in here then? I didn’t ask because I was to afraid. I didn’t want her to hit me again.
Janet smirked at me again. She let me go and took a step back.
“Behave, Madeline,” she said, making me tighten my jaw. “Don’t make me hit you again because I will do it. Make it easier on all of us and make yourself invisible until you leave.”
I wished that could happen immediately. I wished that I could leave the pack today.
But I couldn’t. Not until I got my wolf. Not until I earned enough money to start somewhere else.
Janet turned around and left my room, slamming the door shut.
I gulped and took a deep breath. I wanted to cry, but I refused to. She didn’t deserve my tears. She wasn’t going to break me. I wasn’t going to let her turn me into someone weak. I wasn’t weak.
I tightened my jaw and walked into my bathroom. I needed that shower more than ever. I needed to wash the memory of her hands from my face and neck.
