Alpha Tate rips the cupboard door off and flings it across the room. He crouches down, staring at me with a stern, angry face.
‘And what are you doing hiding in here?’ he asks with a devilish smirk.
He reaches in to pull me out. I hit him repetitively with my fists. It’s of no effect. Alpha Tate laughs.
‘You’re starting to become feisty, little Slave, I see?’ he says as he yanks me onto the floor. My body resonates with the sounds of broken bones. I feel the pain in my body.
Standing up, I try to run past him, but he grabs the back of my dress, pulling me back. My dress rips, and my back is exposed.
‘You’re quite fun to play with,’ he chuckles with evilness. ‘Now, I have things I want to discuss with you,’ he says, scooping me up.
He carries me to his office, kicking the door shut behind us, and sits in his chair, holding me firmly onto his lap. The hair on my body rises with goosebumps from this unpleasing situation. Alpha Tate grabs my face forcing me to stare at him. We both remain silent as we stare at each other.
Alpha Tate leans into me, his nose pressing against my neck as he inhales my scent. I can feel his breath. Electricity runs through my body from his touch. His prickly stubble tickles my neck. I become lost in the moment. Alpha Tate places his hand on my lap and caresses my skin. His hands are warm and rough. They travel from my leg to my stomach and then my breasts.
Stiffening, I let out a whimper. ‘It’s okay, Slave. You relax. This will only hurt for a moment,’ he whispers.
I gaze up at Alpha Tate. His teeth have elongated. He is about to mark me. I punch and kick as fear and panic envelopes me. I try to wriggle my body away from him.
He lets out a vicious growl. ‘Keep still, Slave!’ he yells.
‘No!’ I yell, pushing myself from his lap and falling to the floor.
‘You are about to become the Luna and officially be my mate! Get back here now so we can get this over with!’ he orders.
‘No!’ I say courageously.
‘No?’ he says, confused and angry.
‘I-I don’t want to be your mate or your Luna!’ I say.
I’m scared of what he might do because of my rejection.
Alpha Tate bursts into laughter. ‘Any she-wolf would do anything to be in your shoes right now! To have me as their mate and be the Luna of this pack!’ he laughs.
‘You rejected me,’ I remind him.
‘Yes, I did, but I am taking that rejection back now. You should be happy I’m making this right,’ Alpha Tate smiles.
‘This doesn’t feel right, though,’ I tell him.
‘Let me mark you, and I will make it feel right. I will even mate you immediately, and you will feel right then. Of course, it will hurt a bit, but you will like it. Once you have a piece of me, you’ll be begging me for more,’ Alpha Tate grins.
Disgusted and repulsed by his words, I take a few steps back.
‘I said, No! I don’t want to be your mate!’
Furious, Alpha Tate stands and walks toward me.
‘I reject you, Alpha Tate of the Blackwood pack, as my mate.’
I watch as Alpha Tate falls to the ground in agony clutching his chest.
That’s strange. Why am I not feeling the pain as well?
He crawls toward me in pain, ‘Get back here now, Slave!’ He yells.
I run from his office down the hallway. Sam and other pack members come racing toward me.
‘Why is the Alpha screaming?!’ Sam asks angrily.
Not wanting to stop, I ignore them and continue to run as they race to Alpha Tate. Finally, I make it to the lake feeling liberated and shocked. But deep inside, I feel empowered.
I just rejected Alpha Tate! I actually did it. I didn’t know I had it in me, but what will happen to me now when he has recovered?
Pack members call out for me, ‘Slave! Get back here now!’ they yell.
Storm, we have to leave tonight! I mind-link.
But she doesn’t reply.
I sneak around the back, climb up the lattice, and climb through a window. Then, quietly, tiptoe through the corridor. I open Ava’s door and grab a coat and shoes. I put them on, creep back up to the attic, and climb out the window again.
Waiting until it’s clear, I climb down the lattice and run through the trees. Branches and twigs scrape my skin as they whip past me. My heart is beating fast, and tears fall.
The pack members shift into wolves and howl to let me know they are after me. I’m scared.
I run with all my might until I have to slow down from exhaustion.
Storm! You have to shift. I can’t outrun them. I mind-link her.
I-I can’t. I’m too scared to, she whimpers.
Storm, if you don’t shift, we will be captured and taken back to Alpha Tate.
I can hear the pounding of paws against the ground, coming closer. I fall back as a large brown wolf lunges at me and growls. His drool drips all over my face.
The wolf steps off me and shifts into his human form. It’s Sam. He grabs me by my hair and drags me back towards the pack house.
My shoes fall off as I’m dragged along. My legs and ankles scrape along the ground against sharp pebbles and stones. I try to free my hair from Sam’s grip but with no luck. We are back at the pack house. Fear and anxiety take over me. I tremble. Sam continues to drag me by my hair until he throws me on the floor in front of Alpha Tate’s feet.
Alpha Tate glares at me. Then, furious, he hits me across the face—the sound echoes across the room.
‘If you ever try to escape again, I will kill you!’
He grabs my arm and stands up, pulling me behind him as he walks back outside. I have no idea where he is taking me.
Alpha Tate takes me down the dirt road from the pack house, where a small grey brick building stands. The entrance is an iron-barred gated door. He unlocks it with a key and pushes the gate open to reveal a staircase that leads into complete darkness.
Sam follows with a lit torch and walks down the stairs. It’s wet and cold down here. Are they planning on leaving me down here to die?
Sam opens one of the iron-barred doors. Alpha Tate throws me inside the dinghy, dark cell. I roll across the cold ground and force myself to sit up.
‘I think a couple of days down here will do you some good,’ Alpa Tate smiles and walks away. Sam follows, leaving me in complete darkness. I burst into tears and hug my knees. I thought I could have escaped from the pack. Yet now, everything has become worse. I’ll never be able to escape from down here. I always dreamt that my life would change for the better when I reached eighteen. I hoped I would find my mate, and he would save me from this place. But Alpha Tate is my mate. He won’t bring me happiness, only fear and pain. I lie on the ground, sobbing until I fall asleep.
The next day Sam enters and places a plate of stale bread into my cell for me to eat. He doesn’t say anything. He didn’t even look at me. I feel as if I’m a dog in a cage being fed. As soon as he leaves, I grab the bread and take a bite. It’s partly mouldy in some places. Squeeking rats gain my attention. I break parts of the bread and throw it to the hungry rats, hoping they won’t try and bite me while I sleep again like last night. I pray to the Moon Goddess and ask her to help save me from here, but all I hear is silence. My prayers go unheard.
The next day Sam takes me inside the pack house. Other pack members stare at me. I’m dirtier than ever. We enter Alphas Tate’s office, where he sits waiting for me.
Sam pushes me back into a chair and stands next to me, making sure I don’t try and run.
I look up at Alpha Tate. He sits with his arms crossed.
‘If you decline my offer of being my mate, you will then remain a slave here at the pack forever! You will also be put to use and heal whoever I say to on queue when asked. I will need your healing ability in a few weeks,’ he says
‘What’s happening in a few weeks?’ I quietly ask.
‘We have an unwanted guest, a Lycan. He is a pest and a threat to the werewolf community. I intend on killing him, making myself a hero amongst our community, and you will be healing me and any pack members involved as we attack him,’
‘You mean Alpha Maximus?’ I ask.
Alpha Tate glares at me. ‘How do you know his name?’
‘I-I um had heard pack members talk about him when I was cleaning,’ I say.
‘Oh, okay, that makes sense,’ he says.
‘There is one problem, though,’ I reply.
‘Oh, and what problem would that be?’
‘I’m not going to help you kill another man,’ I tell him
He nods, ‘Don’t worry. You won’t be killing him. You will just be healing me or anyone else that needs healing,’ he says.
‘Healing you is still killing him! I-I won’t do it,’ I say and look away.
Alpha Tate slams his fist on his desk. ‘You will do as you are told!’ he yells.
‘No! I’m not going to let you use me like that!’
‘Sam, take Slave back to the cell and rough her up a bit. I’m sure it will help convince her to obey my demands,’
Sam grabs my arm, which is now covered in bruises, yanking me from the chair. The chair falls to the ground from the force. I’m dragged back to the cell. Sam enters the cell and slaps me. He then kicks me many times and throws me into the wall. I plead and beg him to stop, but he doesn’t. I eventually fall unconscious from the beating.
I’ve lost track of how many days and nights I’ve been kept down here, but I’m guessing at least around ten days. Alpha Tate has come to see me a couple of times in hopes I would have changed my mind. He said he would let me out of the cell and back into the pack house once I agreed to heal him and the pack when needed. So, it looks like I’ll be living down here for the rest of my life because I will never heal him again, even if it results in my death.
I’m only given a small bit of bread every few days and half a cup of water.
My stomach rumbles with hunger, and my lips start peeling and flaking from dehydration. I reassure myself I will be okay and free of this place soon.
