Marked by the Vampire Prince: I’m His Mate, Not His Baby Maker!

Lyra's POV 

As long as I could remember, my father passed away, leaving the three-year-old me with my grief-stricken mother.

Not long after, she started selling herself and brought different men to our house. She called them her "clients" and I was forced to call them "Papa". Soon after I grew up, one of them made a pass on me.

But I got so pissed and repulsed with his actions that I stabbed his hand with a fork. My mother beat me with a belt afterwards. 

Honestly, I didn't have any fond memories of my mother as she always spent her time either with her clients or drinking away with her misery. I tolerated her whims as she was the only blood family that I ever had.

Until I turned sixteen, she got pregnant by one of her clients.

"Why wouldn't you just abort it, mom?" I said when she announced that she wanted to keep it.

"Why should I when he promised to marry me after giving him his pup, Lyra?"

"H-his pup? Wait, you slept with a wolf? You know that wolves looked at us like pigs in a pen! Abort it, mom! That hound only made a fool out of you! He wouldn't marry you!"

My words only made her give an ugly, old scowl. As she aged, she now relied on make-up to maintain her beauty. Now that she wasn't wearing anything, I could see the wrinkles creased under her eyes. 

"You're the one who is making a fool out of me! You've never agreed to any of my choices!"

"That's because every single damn choice you made was a mistake! Like wasting money on alcohol and drugs! Selling yourself even though there are other proper jobs out there!"

"P-Proper jobs?" Her body trembled. "So, you are embarrassed to have me as your mother, is that what you're saying, bitch?!"

I gritted my teeth before I snapped. "YES! How many times you've neglected me and left me to your clients, mom?! Yet, you didn't care whether I could have died at all!"

SLAP!

My left cheek stung yet I was so used to her physical abuse. I gave her a cold stare and in exchange for her piercing glare. 

"How dare you speak to your mother like that!" She bellowed then a thought crossed her mind before she scoffed. "Seeing that you are very ungrateful for questioning me as your mother, defying me like this…" Her clenched fists are now turning white, shaking violently in fury. "IF YOU WEREN'T JACK'S CHILD, I SHOULD HAVE ABORTED A WASTE OF SPACE LIKE YOU!"

It hurts. My breath hitched at her harsh words before I showed off my calm demeanor. I wouldn't allow her to see me weaken with her words. My hands clenched as my jaw tightened before I gave a deep, loud sigh. 

"So, that's your true feelings, huh? You don't want me at all."

Her eyes widened and at first, a part of me thought she would at least deny it, but she gave me a stern frown. "Yes, I've always wished you were never born, Lyra."

"Fine. If that's how you feel, I am better off leaving this house." I must not cry, I keep repeating this in my head. 

"GO AHEAD, BRAT! I WON'T TAKE YOU BACK EVEN IF YOU COME BACK CRAWLING, YOU HEAR?!" She laughed, poking her manicured finger at my chest. "Go and rot yourself to hell and you'll see the world isn't as kind as you think!"

"I'm fully aware how this shitty world works, mom!" I yelled back. "Oh, should I call you Amanda instead now that you have not once seen me as your daughter?!"

"Go ahead! Just go and suffer while I'm living a luxurious life with my second husband!"

"Well, fuck you, you wolf cock-sucker!" 

I had already turned my heel, avoiding a single glance at her as tears slowly streamed from my eyes. I thought I could control myself but I couldn't as her words stung worse than the beatings, the attempted sexual harassment, and the insults I'd faced all throughout my life.

At first, I wanted to turn around and apologize. I still loved her despite that.

Yet, the damage had been done. And so, after carrying a worn backpack with few of my belongings, I left without uttering a word. 

That was the last time I saw her.

=======

Yet, years of being homeless made me realize…the world was tougher out there. Being bullied by my peers after seeing me sleeping at the abandoned gymnasium, creeps catcalling me everywhere I went, and I had to carry a weapon with me. 

I couldn't count the number of times I had to stab someone's eye or the times I got beaten up by some hungry hobos who were trying to steal my food. 

At first, I thought running away from home without money was a horrible move. Well, it still was. 

That was until I discovered street performance. 

Because humans had now lived in the dirtiest and poorest parts of Slumber Hound City, we hadn't watched any films or those cinema theaters that I'd heard of. The only source of entertainment was the stage plays acted either from the school gymnasium or the streets. 

I have auditioned, passed, and performed with the theater troupe since then.

After working hard honing my acting skills, I started getting more roles and more recognition around the streets. My acting troupe were the kindest people I had ever met and they offered me to live with them so we could practice and rehearse together.

Soon, we traveled from one street to another showcasing our abilities to wow the audience. 

For the first time, I experienced true happiness and I thought by being with my troupe, I didn't need anything at the moment.

Yet, I acted greedy. My passion for acting grew when one day, one of my crewmates found an old CD and DVD from the scrap yard.

"Will this be your first time seeing a movie, Lyra?" Adam, the director and leader of the troupe, asked as they started preparing the DVD into a small TV.

I nodded. Only a few families were lucky enough to own a phone or a DVD set at home. 

"My mom didn't bother to buy a TV so I grew up never seeing a movie once," I told him, half-lying. But in reality, we just couldn't afford it at all.

"This movie is way older than me. It's called "Mrs. Miniver". I am sorry you won't be watching amazing CGI but the acting and story makes up for it."

Gibberish words that were new to me were on deaf ears as my eyes glued at the screen for the first time. 

But wow, after watching that movie, I was amazed, impressed, and ecstatic! Never had I ever seen such amazing acting prowess that made these characters so…believable.

After that, I had a dream.

I wanted to become an actress and be as convincing as that Walter Pidgeon guy or to become as charming as Greer Garson.

I wanted to be like them. And since then, my new goal in life was to be a famous actress. I wanted to wow the audience with my skills. 

However, my happiness was cut short when I received the news of the death of my mother.

And her child—I later found out was my half-sister—was taken by her biological dad. 

But the worst part was that wanted posters with my face on them scattered around the streets and I became a criminal in the eyes of our small civilization.

I didn't know why and what my mother did that I had to be a part of her scheme but all I knew was that I couldn't get caught, no matter what. 

So, I left the troupe. I didn't want them to get involved in my problem. I started working different odd jobs—jobs that could bring more money so I could survive. 

And I silently prayed they would give up on finding me and those posters would be replaced by newer ones.

=====

(Present Time)

The movie ended with the children asleep next to me. It was a three-hour film and it was also nearly 6AM. I glanced at Cassidy who was leaning on my shoulder. My lips unconsciously curved upwards.

Slowly getting up to pick up the duvet and tucked them to give them more comfort, I glanced at Cassidy once more, remembering her words earlier. 

Would she get luckier and become an actress above the surface? Would time have changed by then? 

Who knows.

Looking back at the ending scene of the movie, I watched Maria and Captain von Trapp guiding the children through the mountains, leaving everything behind for the sake of freedom.

Something in my chest ached.

Longing for a mountain to climb, a meadow to walk, a sky to chase—A way out.

I couldn't help but wonder what it felt like to be like them.