Page 4 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

“No, I’ll eat at the hotel,” she lied.

That was her excuse whenever she didn’t have enough money to feed all of them. Andrea never allowed them to take even a piece of fruit from the kitchen.

Their father wrenched the door open and marched in. His large frame took up most of the space in the small kitchen. He didn’t even bother speaking to them as he went straight to the fridge and pulled a beer out. That was the one thing abundant in their house.

When he just threw himself onto the one sofa they had in the house and put the TV on, Brit shook her head and stood.

“I’m going to school,” she mumbled.

Layla looked at the half-eaten omelette on Brit’s plate.

“Finish your breakfast,” she said firmly.

“I’ve lost my appetite,” Brit said as she walked to their bedroom.

Layla couldn’t help glaring at the disgrace of a man who had already become engrossed in his program. Gerald acted like he was the only one in the family her mother had abandoned—he’d wasted eleven years pining over someone who didn’t want any of them. It made her furious, but she didn’t have to put up with him much longer.

Brit mumbled a goodbye when she came out of their room with her school bag.

“Wait.”

She pulled some money out of her pocket and gave a few notes to Brit. It was supposed to have gone in the money jar she kept hidden for emergencies or to top up Brit’s college fund, but keeping her sister healthy was more important. She would find a way to replace it.

“Layla_”

“Take it. Have something to eat at school,” she insisted.

She didn’t miss that Gerald had become very interested in that small exchange and would probably ask her for money, too. She finished Brit’s breakfast without giving him any attention before she went to shower and dress for work.

She didn’t bother straightening her hair because it was still early morning, but the heat was already unbearable. At least the hotel washed their uniforms daily, so she didn’t have to worry about the sweat stains. She just tied her hair up into a neater puff and looked at herself in the small, cracked mirror in the corner of their cramped room. The inspection was brief because, unlike Brit, she was the image of her mother. Her green eyes were a shade she’d never seen on anyone else, and it was unnerving. The entire package made her feel like an outsider in her family.

She reached for her bag and froze when she heard a crash and loud voices.

Her heart hammered loudly, and her hands shook as she inched the door open to stop it from creaking before peeking out.

A large man stood over her father, who he had smashed through their wooden coffee table. Gerald tried to get back to his feet, but the man punched him down again. She took a sharp breath when she saw how helpless her father was as he pleaded for mercy.

What had he done now?

“I already gave you several chances, Gerald,” another man said.

He sat in her father’s spot on the chair. She could only see the back of his blond head, but it looked greasy and slicked back. Like a baddie out of a horrible B-grade horror movie.

She wanted to slip out through her window and let her father suffer alone, but that stupid thing in her head reminded her he was still family. And this was Brit’s home; she couldn’t allow anything bad to happen here.

With a calming breath, she opened the door wider and walked out of the bedroom.

“I swear, I only need a little more time,” Gerald said. “I’m good for it this time.”

“You said that last time,” the man said.

As he stood, he looked back as if he had already known she was standing behind him. He was young, with a scar across his face that gave him a terrifying look. He wore a suit, but he had a gold tooth and chain around his neck like he really copied his sense of style from a terrible movie. She felt a cold shiver down her spine when he pulled his coloured sunglasses off his face, and his grey eyes looked over her body from top to bottom. Her skin crawled at the blatant violation.

“Hello, Layla,” the man said.

Great. A second stranger knew her name.

When she didn’t answer, he laughed and looked back at her father.

---