Chapter 6

Natasha's POV

Sophia clapped her hands happily. "Can I show Natasha my toys, Daddy? Please!"

Alexander looked at his watch and shook his head. "No, sweetheart. I need to get to the office, and you should have breakfast. Natasha needs to settle in first."

Sophia's face immediately fell. I noticed Alexander's expression becoming anxious, clearly overwhelmed by Sophia's emotional fluctuations. Typical workaholic father, I thought.

"I have an idea," I said softly, crouching down to Sophia's eye level. "I'll put my things away first, then we can have breakfast together. Afterward, we can look at your toys, okay?"

Sophia immediately brightened up and nodded. "Great! I'll tell Grace to make pancakes for you!" With that, she bounced out of the room.

Only Alexander and I remained in the room, an awkward silence enveloping us. I could feel him observing me, but I wasn't sure what he was thinking.

"You're good with her," Alexander finally said, his voice carrying a hint of reluctant appreciation. "That's... unusual, especially for a human."

I shrugged. "Kids are kids, whether human or werewolf. They all need to be understood and valued."

Alexander nodded thoughtfully, then picked up his briefcase to leave. "I usually work until late. Sophia's bedtime is seven-thirty. If you have any questions, ask Grace, and for emergencies, you can contact my personal assistant; the number is in the contract appendix."

I watched him walk to the door, struggling internally before deciding I couldn't let the misunderstanding continue. "About that night..." my voice was a bit tight, "I didn't drug you."

Alexander turned back, a mocking smile on his lips. "Whether you did or not, you were the only one who benefited. But I want to warn you about one thing," a cold flash passed through his eyes, "don't think that after that night your position here will be any different. I'll be watching you."

My hand tightly gripped the freshly signed contract, somewhat regretting signing it so quickly.

"In that case, I also have a supplementary agreement," I lifted my chin, meeting his icy gaze, "Given that you previously tried to humiliate me with money like I was a beggar or prostitute, I want your guarantee that you won't act beyond your role as an employer."

Alexander gave a cold laugh, a flash of emotion I couldn't read passing through his blue eyes. "Now that the contract is signed, even if I don't agree, I don't think you have the courage to breach it." With that, he turned and opened the door.

"You... even if I breach the contract, the responsibility won't be mine."

I was about to follow him when suddenly, his body froze in the doorway.

He stepped slightly aside, revealing Sophia's small figure standing at the door. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, her golden wolf ears pressed tightly against her head, and her eyes—now shining with tears—burned with clearly visible anger.

"You promised me you wouldn't try to steal my daddy," she growled, her small fangs fully exposed and gleaming coldly, a typical sign of young werewolves lacking control.

"You're a liar!"

"Sophia—" I tried to explain, taking a step forward, but it was too late.

The little girl turned and ran away, her crying echoing down the hallway, and I couldn't catch up with her.

I whirled around to glare at Alexander, seeing his expression change from indifference to concern, the Alpha father's instinctive protective urge for his cub clearly overriding his contempt for a human female.

"You should be ashamed," at this moment, I didn't care that Alexander was my employer or the most powerful Alpha werewolf, I said angrily, striding toward the door. "I never had any ulterior motives toward you, why do you always look at me with such prejudice?"

I rushed out of Alexander's office, hurrying to find Sophia's room, but when I tried to open the door, I found it locked.

Sobbing sounds came through the door, muffled, piercing my heart like needles.

"Sophia, please talk to me," I pressed my forehead against the cold wooden door. "I never wanted to steal your daddy."

After a brief silence, only an angry hiss came back. "Go away! Human liar!" Although the little girl was angry, her voice still trembled slightly at the end.

My situation with Alexander had really hurt her.

I sighed deeply, slowly turning around, only to see Grace standing at the end of the hallway, her thin arms crossed disappointedly over her chest, her face full of disapproval.

No doubt she had heard the entire argument and was looking down on me too, thinking I was the kind of lowly human trying to take advantage of an Alpha werewolf's wealth.

A wave of intense humiliation and anger churned in my chest, and I suddenly realized that everyone here had no goodwill toward me, treating me as a lowly human, a deceiver.

Working in such a place, I was like a lower being, without dignity or value.

Looking at everyone's distrustful or contemptuous eyes, I'd rather be homeless than accept such insults!

I angrily walked past Grace, returned to my room, and quickly grabbed my bag and a few personal items from the dressing table.

Hopefully the landlord hadn't locked me out of my apartment yet, so at least I'd have somewhere to go.

Without saying goodbye to anyone, I hurriedly left the mansion, the cold wind sweeping across my cheeks, as if mocking my unrealistic fantasies.

What a fool I was! Negotiating terms with a self-important werewolf like Alexander just to stay here, when he, like all werewolves, looked down on humans.

I walked angrily the whole way, thinking I would never return to the Morgan estate.

After finding the nearest subway station, I took the last train home to the human residential area.

The carriage was almost empty, with only a few tired human workers and a pair of obviously drunk werewolf youths, who leaned at the end of the carriage, surveying every human with contemptuous glances, occasionally letting out jarring laughter.

I lowered my head, trying not to attract their attention, fingers tightly gripping my handbag strap, feeling a wave of powerless anger.

But tolerance did not bring peace; the two werewolves became even more aggressive.

"Get up, give me your seat."

Looking at the empty carriage and hearing their unrestrained laughter, my fists gradually clenched.

I stared at them hard, watching the human workers meekly stand up and sit on the other side. The two werewolves weren't satisfied and continued making them get up, and after several repetitions, the workers could only sit on the floor.

"Haha, you humans only deserve to sit on the ground."

I could no longer tolerate this bullying. Days of restraint had pushed my inner anger to the limit.

"Enough!" I suddenly stood up and shouted loudly.

The carriage suddenly fell silent, and the two werewolves looked at me in surprise. "Look at this carriage, dozens of empty seats, and you insist on making these people who have worked all day sit on the dirty floor? Is this the behavior of your so-called 'superior race'?"

The taller werewolf narrowed his eyes, a dangerous gleam flashing through them. "What do you want, human?"

"I want you to stop this meaningless bullying." I looked around, seeing other humans lowering their heads, fearfully shrinking into corners. "Why should we endure such humiliation? We humans have dignity too! There are only two of them, and seven of us. If we unite, what can they do to us?"

At first, there was no reaction, only silence and fearful glances. But then, an older worker slowly stood up, his eyes flashing with a long-absent light. Then a second, a third... soon, all the human passengers were standing.

The two werewolves clearly hadn't expected this situation, and they anxiously exchanged glances. Although werewolves are naturally stronger than humans, these two were obviously not Alphas, and facing seven angry humans, their advantage was no longer so obvious.

"You'll regret this," the shorter werewolf hissed, but his tone already showed retreat. "We get off at the next stop anyway."

When the subway reached the station, the two werewolves indeed sheepishly prepared to disembark. Seeing their defeated appearance, I felt an unprecedented sense of victory. Other humans gave me grateful looks, and several even plucked up the courage to pat my shoulder.

But as the two werewolves passed by me, the tall one suddenly whirled around, his eyes flashing with malice.

"You think this is over?" he growled softly, suddenly grabbing my hair and smashing my head against the metal handrail of the carriage.

My head exploded with intense pain, and the world began to spin. I heard people screaming, felt warm liquid flowing down my temple.

I fell to the ground, my vision rapidly becoming blurry. Through the blur, I saw the two werewolves quickly fleeing, while human passengers frantically gathered around me.

I did it, I thought hazily, feeling a strange satisfaction. We stood up, we resisted.

Darkness was rapidly swallowing my consciousness, and I wondered, is this the price of resistance? Am I going to die here?