Elizabeth POV
“Why do you always seem to piss them off?” I hear the Beta demand of me. I do not look up for fear of what I would see. The desire in his eyes for something I hope he cannot have. He opens the cell doors slowly. The creak of the doors screaming in my ears.
He takes a step inside the cell, and I can scent his lust. I feel physically ill at the thought of what is to come. “I see the guards did not do their duty. It does not look like there is even a mark on you,” he says as he kneels in front of me. He reaches out to gently touch my face. I flinch at the feeling wanting to pull back, but I was already tucked in as close to the cement wall as I could be.
He shocks me when he slaps my face and my head crashes back against the cement barrier. I let out a startled scream as he backhands me making my head bounce off the cement wall once again. He stands and kicks me to my midriff, as I feel another rib break at the brutality. I am gasping for breath as the shock takes over my body.
He grabs my arm forcing me to stand. I double over in pain as he unlocks the silver cuffs. “There, now you look a little more like someone who has been punished,” he says as he curls his hand tightly around my fragile arm. He drags me behind him as I remained bent over trying to catch my breath and breathe through the pain raging through my body.
I see the guards look at me with sympathy. I knew they had spared me last night and I could only hope they would not suffer for it. I stumbled as we walked out of the dungeons; my eyes were blinded by the sun beaming down on us. The Beta growls and tugs me up closer to him. “I swear if you do not hurry up, I will give you something to really be bent over for,” he snarls at me crudely.
I cringe in fear and can only do my best to stand and hurry behind him. He takes me to the kitchens and pushes me inside. I stumble and fall to the floor with a pitiful whimper. It is all I can do to contain the fear rolling off me. Nobody is present and I see a huge mess waiting for me.
“Get this kitchen cleaned and start getting everything ready for tonight. It had better be perfect or you will find the cells were a walk in the park compared to what you will suffer tonight,” he promises as he walks out of the kitchen.
I lay on the floor for a moment, begging the Moon Goddess for the strength to get through today. Why she had forsaken me I have no idea, but it was clear I had done something in my life to deserve what I received. I had no idea what it was, but I knew if I did not meet their expectations, tonight I would kill myself.
I could not be left with the Beta. He would kill me, but I would do it first before he got the pleasure of abusing me. I heard my wolf whimper, but I could not focus on that right now. In the end, taking our lives would give her a chance to be with someone else. I could no longer make her suffer for my sins.
“You have not done anything wrong, Elizabeth; the Moon Goddess has a plan for us,” Ashley whispers in my mind. I know she is trying to heal my ribs and I can feel some relief. But I also know it is taking everything from her to do so.
“Well, she has a funny way of showing it,” I reply hurt to know the Moon Goddess was behind all of this. Ashley is exhausted and cannot reply. I slowly stand up and start to move around the kitchen cleaning it as I go. I know I need to move faster. I have too much to do to be this slow.
I hear the door to the kitchen open and I cringe thinking the Beta has returned. I turn around, preparing for whatever would come next. I could not contain my surprise as I see three Omegas standing in the entryway. “What?” I whisper wondering what was going to come next.
Looking around the kitchen angrily, the head Omega moves forward, “We know you will not get it all done. We are here to help,” she scowls at me. The other two look around and nod their heads. “Do not think we will always help you, but we know how important tonight is,” the second Omega says as she ducks her head from looking at me and starts to get to work.
I look at them with gratitude. “Thank you, but I do not want you to get into trouble,” I say to them quietly. They look at me, knowing full well it will not be them punished for giving me help. “Let us clean the kitchen, and then we will leave you to the cooking,” the third Omega says as she pushes a seat closer to me encouraging me to sit down.
This is the first time anyone has shown me any consideration in this Pack. Certainly, even the Omegas stayed clear of me. I did not know why they would want to help me, and I could not help but ask, “Why?”.
They looked at me and shook their heads. “It is not right,” muttered the head Omega. “Everyone knows it is wrong how they treat you, but everyone is too afraid to speak up,” she says. She looks at me with sadness in her eyes, “I am sorry, but I cannot risk my family,” she adds before moving quickly around the kitchen.
I sit I shock. I had never heard anyone acknowledge my existence much less that my treatment was wrong. I sat there in silence trying to absorb what I was hearing. Before long the kitchen was immaculate, and the Omegas looked at me wanting to help further.
I shook my head, thanking them for the help they had offered me. “I hear someone coming,” I say, and they quickly exited the back door as the kitchen door opened from the dining hall. The Luna walked in hurriedly and looked around, “Well I see you have managed to clean the kitchen. You better have the meal ready for when the guests arrive this evening,” she mutters angrily.
“I will, Luna Nancy, I will.”.
Alpha Carter POV I stand in front of the mirror fixing my tie. Goddess how I hate these events. I am a twenty-six-year-old Alpha and have been coming to these galas since I was eighteen. Eight years of trying to find my mate. Searching the various Packs in our region. Our allies, who are plentiful and still have found nobody. Either she has died or is not of age yet. I do not want a young she-wolf for a mate. She will not be able to handle my appetites. She will not be confident enough to be a Luna. Regardless of if the Moon Goddess has selected her as my chosen. It cannot go well for either of us. I can only hope that tonight goes as I expect it will … without finding my fated mate. And then I will go about selecting a chosen mate. My wolf, Max, growls at that thought. He has always held out hope to find our fated mate. He wants his mate. He already loves his mate without knowing who she is. I wish I had his confidence in finding ou
Alpha Carter POV I scan the crowd, holding my whiskey. I am looking for my Beta. We have been here for over an hour now and I have not scented my mate yet. I knew this would be a waste of time and I am getting fidgety ready to leave. As I look around, I look towards the dance floor and see Stan dancing with a she-wolf who looks to be close to his age. She is beautiful and he only has eyes for her. I do not want to interrupt his night, so I toss back the contents of my glass, placing the empty cup on the tray of an Omega who walks by me. Looking around I see the Alpha’s daughter waving and making her way towards me. I quickly look away and make my way out of the hall. I hear her call my name but ignore her acting as if I do not hear her. Making small talk is not my forte and even if I could she would not be someone I would want to talk to. I walk past the Alpha and Luna as they continue to welcome new arrivals. I smell the air an
Beta Carl POV As I crumble in front of my mate, I see the smirk on the Alpha beside her. I feel a rage overcoming me and I leap forward to tackle the male. I know my chances of beating him are limited but a good beating is what I want. I can hear my Alpha yell through our link, and I can feel him coming towards us. The Alpha is caught off guard, so I get a couple good punches in hearing the satisfaction of his nose breaking. My mate is yelling at me, begging me to stop. At this point the Alpha has come around and takes a few good swings at me. I can feel my ribs breaking and I know my jaw is dislocated. I am not worried as I will quickly heal. I wanted him to suffer, but I knew that was futile. Before he can go for a kill shot, my Alpha jumps in between us. “What the hell is going on?” my Alpha yells at us. Everyone around us has remained silenced as they watched everything unfold. “He is stealing my mate,” I say under my breat
Trigger Warning – physical violence; no rapeElizabeth POV The tightening hand around my wrist caught my breath. My wolf, Ashley, growled but that only made the Beta laugh. “Is your wolf going to try and fight me, Omega?” he says with a cold laugh. I try to pull my hand away, but it makes no difference. I am trapped. He pulls me towards his body and slaps my face. My head snaps to the side, and I feel blood leave my mouth and I see it spatter on his suit. He does not care. He pulls be back leaning his face into the spot between my shoulder and my neck. I whimper thinking he would instantly mark me, but he slowly moves away dragging his foul tongue from my shoulder, slowly up my neck and landing at my lips. I keep my lips closed tightly as he runs his tongue along the seam of my lips. He growls when I am not granting him access to my mouth and pushes his lips hard against mine. I fear he will break my teeth, but I do not relent. I cannot h
Alpha Carter POV A growl came out of me I had never heard before. It was enough to distract the wolf from my mate. The wolf I now recognize as the Beta of the Red Woods Pack. He steps back, “This is none of our concern, Alpha,” he growls back to me. I see his hard member hanging out of his pants and look to my mate. She is breathing heavily with tears rolling down her cheeks. I cannot tell if she has been violated but first, I must deal with this threat so I can get her help immediately. I step slowly towards the Beta, “She is my concern,” I reply. “She is my mate,” I add as the Beta looks at me with disgust. “She is my chosen mate. Tell him,” he demands of my mate as he drags her up to a sitting position by the arms he was holding over her head. I could tell she was in shock at the abuse she has endured. I could see the handprints on her face where she was hit. Rage was overtaking Max, he wanted to be let out. “I got this one, Max,” I r
Alpha Carter POV I rushed my mate to the Pack hospital and was appalled at the service we received. While the Alpha did nod to the Pack doctor to assist us, there was no desire to be helpful. They patched up her wounds and left her with machines connected to her. “When will she wake?” I demand of the doctor who was trying to exit the room. “It is hard to say, Alpha. She is a weak Omega,” he replies as he opens the door to exit the room. “Do more for her!” I Alpha command him. “I have done all I am permitted by my Alpha to do,” he murmurs as he closes the door and walks back towards to me. “There are things that have gone on in this Pack. Your mate was abused for many years; she will need more care than I will be allowed to give her. My best recommendation is getting her to your own Pack sooner than later,” he says and walks out the door of my mate’s room. Looking down at the beauty before me, I realize she is very thin and has not
Elizabeth POV I can hear the machines beeping. I am not sure what they are or where I am. I cannot remember everything that happened. Except the last thing I saw was a strong, gorgeous man with beautiful green eyes holding me in his arms. Did he call me his mate? Had I called him my mate? Was it possible that the Moon Goddess had given me a mate? Was it even possible he would want me? Of course not. Look at me. I was a wreck. Scars all over my body. As anyone who spoke to me reminded me, I was thin and ugly. What time is it? I am late. I have to make breakfast for everyone. The punishment I will endure for not being on time with everything. As if on cue, the door slams open and I hear Luna Nancy yelling at me to get my lazy ass out of this bed. I slowly open my eyes trying to adjust my sight, having not opened my eyes yet when I felt her latch onto my arm, and she starts pulling me out of the bed. The machines started goi
Alpha Carter POV “Are you going to reject me?” my mate whispers to me. I feel emotion catch my throat. She has been abused for so long, she feels she has no worth. I realize she is not ready to be my Luna, and maybe she never will be ready. But rejecting her is not an option for me. “Reject you? Why would I reject you?” I ask her. She looks at me with tears in her eyes, “Look at me. I am weak, and ugly. Nobody would want me,” she says as the tears fall from her eyes down her cheeks. I simply stare before replying, “You are far from ugly, my beautiful mate,” I reply before she cuts me off. “Do not lie to me Alpha,” she mutters as she turns away from me once again curling into herself looking away from me. Standing I move to sit beside her in the bed. She startles and I realize she has not had human comfort in a long time. I slowly lift her tiny body and wrap my arms around her. I gently position her body, still sore from the abuse she has