Chapter 3

The whip lands on my back. I grit my teeth against the pain and refuse to give them the satisfaction of watching me break.

I don’t know how long I’ve been here. All I know is that I’m slowly starting to lose my mind. Slowly starting to lose myself. I’ve known nothing but pain since I came here. Nothing but hurt and sadness.

Every day they come and take their frustrations out of on me. Every day they come and make me pay for ruining their Alpha’s chance at happiness.

As you’ve already guessed, the test turned positive. Very few things can affect werewolves, so no one is sure what exactly was used, because the drug used wasn’t anything our pack is familiar with.

The moment the test turned positive, I knew that my fate had been sealed. No one seemed to believe me. Everyone I knew and loved, including Piper, turned their backs on me in support of Alec.

Another whip, and I wince. My back probably looked like ground meat. I’ve been through every kind of torture. Whipping, slicing, burning, my bones have been broken, and my hair has been cut. If you can think of any torture, then I’ve probably been through it.

It hurts. Not just the physical pain, but the emotional one. This is the pack that took me in and embraced me when my parents died. Now I was a piranha to them. Everything good I’ve ever done has been forgotten.

I was no longer Sadie, a pack member. Now I was nothing but a hoe, a slut, a home wrecker, a thief, and a traitor. I can’t even remember the last time I heard someone say my name.

My thoughts are pushed back when the door opens and Alec walks in. I tremble in fear. I guess he was here to get his pound of flesh.

“Has she talked yet?” he asked, his voice on edge.

He seemed angry. More pissed off than usual. His shoulders were tense. His mouth set, and his eyes blazed with fire. They kept switching colors, meaning that he and his wolf were in sync.

“Not yet, Alpha," Jason grits out.

Alec folds the arms of his shirt, before taking a knife. I try to walk back, but there is no escape. I’m chained to the ceiling. There is nowhere to go.

“Let’s see if I can get her to confess her sins,” he spits before plunging the knife into my stomach.

Of all my tormentors, Alec is the worst of them all. I loved him with all my heart. I treasured him. I would never have done anything to hurt him, yet he’s done everything he can think of to cause me pain.

The love I had for him has now been poisoned. All I see when I look into his eyes is the monster that he is. I now hate him as much, or even more, than he hates me.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not the one who drugged you.” I whispered, trying to control the tremble in my voice.

“You expect me to believe that, you bitch?” he bellows.

The punch he lands on my face is enough to have me seeing stars. Being hit by a man fucking hurts. It’s similar to being hit with a huge boulder.

“I swear I didn't.”

“And I won’t believe the lies of a slut. You knew I couldn’t sleep with you sober, so the only way you could have my dick is by drugging me. Did you enjoy taking advantage of me? Did you enjoy sleeping with a man who could barely remember his own name? Is that what gets you off?”

His words are bitter as he flung them at me. Each one of them pierced my heart. Broke down the little pieces of myself I had left.

Why can’t they see how much they’re hurting me? How much they were destroying me?

“I wouldn’t know. I was also drunk.”

No one believes that I was also drugged. No one believes that I was also a victim. That I also don’t remember what happened that night. They all want to blame me. To turn me into a villain.

His snarl is the only warning I get before he plunges the knife deeper. He then twists it before wrenching it out.

I close my eyes, hoping to hide my pain. Hoping to hide my helplessness. When I have everything under control, I open them.

They clash with his. Alec’s was filled with nothing but loathing and hate. My heart breaks even more at seeing this. Yes, he used to give me expressionless looks, but never ones that were filled with hatred.

From there, he uses me as a punching bag. I can feel myself weaken with each punch, each slap, and each stab.

Relief comes when Micah opens the door and enters.

“Alec, Lola is here to see you,” he tells him.

I see hope flash in his eyes. He truly does love and care for her. If only he knew that I would never have done anything to jeopardize his happiness.

Alec nods before turning to me. “I’m giving you one last chance to confess.”

“I didn’t do anything. I’m innocent.” My voice comes out as a hoarse whisper.

He looks at me with deadly eyes. His lips twist in a cruel grin right before he swings his arms and slashes my face.

“Now, no one will ever be able to look at you because you’re disfigured and ugly. It will always be a reminder of my hate for you.”

He leaves without remorse or a backward glance. His friends leave with him too.

The moment they’re out of the door, I let my first tear fall. My cheek throbs from the cut, which I’m sure is deep. Alec’s right. Given that I haven’t shifted yet, my scars will forever remain with me. Not just the one on my face, but also the ones on my body.

I slump forward and curse the moon goddess for what she has allowed to happen to me. She knows I’m innocent, yet she allowed her children to hurt and humiliate me. I don’t know if I’ll ever get out, but I’ll hate Alec and his pack until my dying breath.

My body was giving in to the darkness when the door creaked open. I stare at him, afraid he’s back to give me another beating.

“Shss, don’t move,” he says gently. “I’m here to help, but we have to be quick before the guards or Alpha Alec notices what’s happening.”

I stare at him in disbelief. “You believe me?”

He nods his head. “Yes. Something about this doesn’t feel right. My intuition is always spot on, and something tells me that this is bigger than any of us can imagine.”

He walks to me and slowly begins untying my chain.

“What about the cameras?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve taken care of it.”

Once I’m free from the chain, I slump forward and almost collide with the floor, but he breaks my fall. He holds me up and walks us out the door.

There weren’t any other prisoners. Neither were there any guards. We slowly walk until we get to a secret passageway.

“Won’t you get in trouble if he ever finds out you helped me escape?” I was worried for him.

If there is something I’ve learned; is that Alec doesn’t know the meaning of forgiveness.

“He won’t ever find out unless I want him to,” he answers as we finally reach the end of the passage and break through a forest.

For some reason, I believe him, so I let the issue go. Besides, I didn’t have the energy to keep the conversation going.

When he realizes that we were walking too slowly, he picks me up and carries me. Everything begins to blur as he speeds past trees.

I don’t know how long we run, but finally we get to the border. This part of the border didn’t have any patrols, probably because it bordered a human settlement. It would raise too much suspicion if humans saw dozens of men patrolling the area.

“You have to cut connections with the pack if you don’t want Alec to find you easily,” he puts me down.

I slowly, but tiredly, cross the border.

Taking a deep breath, I say the words that would severe my connection to the pack.

"I, Sadie Evans, cut my ties with the Blood Moon Pack.”

A chill goes down my back as I feel the connection end. The humming disappears, and my brain becomes quiet.

“Is it done?”

I’m about to answer when I hear a terrifying roar in the distance, right before a blinding pain cuts through my body. I scream out in pain as tears run down my face. It felt like a part of me had been ripped away.

“Shit! You have to leave, Sadie. Right fucking now,” he tells me pleadingly.

Tears continue to run down my face as I began to walk. My whole body ached, and everything, including my soul, was broken.

One step after another, I walk away.

I know what that pain meant, and I will never forgive him for doing this to me.