Hunger pains shot through her stomach. The empty fridge taunted her. She looked at the dim bulb and sighed. Soon the power would be turned off. They couldn't afford to pay the bills this month. Everything cost too much.
A traffic ticket here, a doctor's bill there, and ends didn't quite meet up. How unlucky it was to get sick when you were so broke. Funny how life is without insurance, weighing potential bills against your health. You had to choose between niceties like bread, gas to get to a dead-end job and that speeding ticket he got. Hell, he's slammed that ticket on the table in front of her and asked her to deal with it for him. It was as though it was below him. And you do it all in hopes you don't lose your lifeline to hopefully get out of this mess. She'd hoped, prayed, begged, pleaded and still the debt collectors breathed down on her.
All because it fell to her to clean up his messes. Why did the Garou hold the power, she wondered at times? Busting her ass, between two little unstable jobs and switching them at a moment's notice if her mate demanded, exhausted her. Kin outnumbered the Garou, Kin supported the Garou. For Rat's children, Kin even carried their sorry asses through the world. Gaia be damned if the wasn't ever a Bone Gnawer capable of holding a job. Yet, Garou were her warriors, Kin were breeding stock. At least, that's what he always said.
Another rumble from her stomach startled her out of her reverie. The pain in her belly fought with the pain on her cheek, a darkening bruise she tried to hide from where she'd been hit in spite. But it wasn't his fault. No, she'd been asking for it, she thought, and she knew the stress had piled on him too.
Other Garou had appeared lately. They'd left together, only to return days later returning battered. Her mate never shared the details with her. Kin weren't privileged to knowledge. They just got to work and care for their blessed relations.
She had called a number on the doctor's bill. Put on hold a long time, she wondered idly how much the wait was costing them. Always, life seemed to come down to money. It was the only part easy enough for her to manage after all. Maybe, it was best to stick to the mortal concerns. Medicine she couldn't afford for a condition making life harder, well that was her own issue anyways. Food, rent, other bills she could all find ways to justify having. The hole just kept getting deeper, a dangerous cycle that wouldn't ever end.
Bank account, stomach, refrigerator, her remaining hopes and dreams. All were empty and there seemed nowhere to turn.
