5

ELEANOR 

“Daddy…” I whisper, still in disbelief. 

“Get her changed, Mike. Make sure she looks a million dollars before the enemy arrives or so help me…” Dad warns giving Mike a meaningful look before pointing a finger right at me. 

Mike didn’t say a word but offered him a nod in response. Dad turns around, his hands in his pockets as he walks back to his office without sparing me another glance. 

I stare at mom who seems to have forgotten all about me and just returned to the couch, reading her magazine. 

“Mom. Can you at least tell me what’s going on?” I cry in frustration. Mike grabs me from the back, gripping both my wrists and taking me under his full control. 

“Mom!” I call out but she didn’t look back and continued reading. As if she didn’t give two shits about me at all. 

“Please, mom” It was my last ditch attempt to gain her full attention. My voice squeaked a little and with a sigh, I hang my head. 

My mother jolts her head up and darts me a glare.

“Eleanor, will you be quiet? I can’t read my magazine because of your pathetic whining.” She says before flitting her eyes back to the magazine while Mike yanks me aggressively from behind, grabbing my wrists before dragging me into the halls and back to my old room. Remnants of my shattered heart scattered on the floor while my body was dragged away from my mother. Lifting my head, I stared long and hard at my Mom, who neither looked up nor moved an inch from her site. Tears welled up in my eyes and I pressed my lips tightly together to hold them back. 

No. I won't cry. 

At least, not in front of Mike.

I couldn’t catch up. My feet start to hurt badly as I stumble nonstop the entire way back. 

He shoves me inside my room before hurling me like filthy garbage on my king-sized bed. 

“I’ll be waiting at the door no more than five minutes. Once I enter the room you better be in that fucking dress! You hear me?!” Mike spat at my face. He points a finger at the dress I tossed to the floor and shoots me a threatening look. One that told me he was going to kill me if I don’t. 

I couldn’t do anything now but nod. When he left the room, I chew my lip,  desperately trying to hold back the tears. My eyes stung and I closed them shut, not wanting to allow them to spill without my consent. 

‘Ares, did you see the way he looked at me? Did his eyes always reflect that same hatred and disgust all this time?’ I ask my wolf, frustrated. 

‘Everything is not always what it seems to be, Eleanor. Right now, we need to get the hell out of here. You heard them. We're nothing but a pawn,’ She tells me in an urgent tone. I feel Ares pacing back and forth in my mind, panicking. 

Suddenly, the conversation I heard between my parents in Dad’s office came rushing back to me as well as the adrenaline. 

I look around the room when my eyes drop to the large window right in front of me. 

Gulping, I peer out the window and found that there was a roof just below it that can catch me. Roofs that led all the way to the first floor. Then it would be an easy jump. No one will be around because all pack members are now preparing for the alpha’s arrival. 

I was on the third floor, and it was still high up because of the raised ceilings that elevated the building much higher than a regular three-story house. 

I draw in a sharp breath and exhaled, washing away my frustration the moment I found a new confidence with my wolf. Although I was hurting, I chose to ignore the shooting pain of my parents' words and focused on one single, ultimate goal. Escape.

Once again, I look closer at the large glass window before me.

'You thinking what I'm thinking?' I ask my wolf. 

'What? You're gonna jump off there? Hell yeah!' Ares jumps inside me out of excitement. 

'Chances of survival?' I ask my wolf one last time. 

It took Ares a few seconds before she could answer. 

'Probably 60/40.' She shrugs. You got this, Eleanor. Think of the future waiting for us out there. Think about how we must never meet our mate. Think about our curse. We got to do this' Ares says further. 

Inhaling a deep breath, I close my eyes and pray to the moon goddess we'll be alright and go down in one piece. I hope.

Slowly, I push open the window, careful not to be heard by Mike who probably had his ear up against the door checking on me. I slide my feet down first until it lands on the roof. Once I did, I close the window from the outside, ducking so that Mike won't see me when he comes back into my room. 

The roof creaks as I carefully take wide steps forward. I hear the door banging open, jolting me almost immediately in my stance.

"ELEANOR!!!" Mike bursts as he screams my name loudly, his gruff voice reverberating through the forest in echoes, shooing the birds that settled on the trees which surround the packhouse. I hear his footstep get closer and closer, making my heart thud thunderously as I quicken my pace. I need to get out of here. Now.

I was already on the second floor, ducking the windows and skipping the damaged parts of the roof. I groan realizing no one had even bothered to fix the damn roof. Explains why there were leakages everywhere in the packhouse, I tell myself, yet my wolf growls and ushers me to hurry up. 

I kick my feet and practically dashed to the first floor. I took a deep breath before jumping to the ground. It wasn't a good landing because if it was, I wouldn’t land on my butt. I struggled to get up. Grunting, I pick my body from the ground and hurriedly ran into the woods as I swung my backpack over my shoulder. 

I hear the sound of doors slamming open and close, hear a bunch of warriors shifting into their wolves. As I look back running, I see Mike’s wolf leading the whole group of wolves chasing after me.

Adrenaline courses through my veins but Ares kept encouraging me to run faster than I could. Faster like my life depended on it. Faster like my life would come to an end if I didn’t. That it would. 

'Run, Eleanor!' Ares yells though I could feel she wants to be set free. I know she can take us further into the forest herself than me running for it with my small human feet. Yet I wouldn't shift anyway because of my things and clothes.  I'd need them if I ever escape from these men.

'Let me out, I can outrun them!' 

'No, I can't let you out! You know that!' 

'But--'

'If they saw you now, we'll be running for the rest of our lives!'

I force my feet to move incredibly fast, hoping they wouldn’t catch me by the time I lost all my strength. 

I was desperate. Now that I know Mike wasn’t lying with what he said before, I wanted to get out of there as fast as I possibly could. 

I had never felt the desire to leave the only place I’ve known my entire life more than I do now. After all, I felt like I didn’t belong. 

But no, I’d be lying to myself if I tell you I haven’t felt that way ever since. It had always been that way. After that dreadful night, I basically became the total freak to my own pack. I thought the only ones who never did think of me as a freak were my parents. 

But as it turns out, everything has been a lie. An illusion too good to be true. My whole life, the love of my parents, and my hopes of becoming the alpha female in my pack so I could one day protect them were nothing but dust blown away by the wind. 

My fate was sealed the minute I saw myself in that mirror. And I was stupid enough to believe everything will work out just fine, even with all the abuse I had to put up with from Mike as well as the rest of the pack. My pack. 

I’ll be able to endure it all. To stay and bite my tongue in every jolt of pain shot through my body from Mike’s beatings, every single day. Because I am the alpha's daughter, and I will do anything for my pack and my mom and dad. Make them proud. 

Yet, it’s funny how they turned out to be the very reason I’m running from the pack.

Running and never looking back. 

The thing is, when I did look back, I tripped over a large tree root that was arched a little upwards. A gasp escapes my lips and I fall face-first on the hard, dirty ground. Grunting, I shrug off every bit of pain tormenting my body from the fall, forcing my tired legs to get up and stick to the plan. But before I got to take another step and run, I see Mike’s wolf fly just above my head, landing on his strong grey paws in front of me while the other wolves surrounded me completely. 

Each angle I turn to left me no space or route for an escape. My eyes spot a long, sharp-edged branch near my position. Bending over quickly, I pick it up and swing it at the wolves baring their long, filthy canines at me. Slowly, they advance like predators stalking their tiny prey. My heart hammers wildly against my chest until it sinks and settles in my stomach. 

My eyes widen in fear while I point my weapon at the trained warriors of our pack. 

Shit! I curse to myself, lips quivering as I looked around cautiously in defense. 

What should I do? I ask my wolf frantically. Before I can hear her response, Mike's demonic growl fills my ears. 

“Let me go!” I grip the edge of the branch, fully aware of my hands shaking violently as point the thing at them in the hopes that they would at least back up from the threat. 

They pay no heed to my request and ignore my frustration while I practically begged them to let me go. 

Mike growls, his eyes warning me dangerously, making me gulp and take a step back. He steps forward before shifting back into his human form. 

His eyes never left mine and I watched as he became taller and taller until he reached his original size. 

“You dare run away from me, human?” He huffs, growling menacingly while boring holes in my face with scornful eyes.  I flinch holding onto my stick for dear life. 

What I didn't expect though, was him grabbing me by the throat. Strangling me as he lifts me into the air with one hand and his claws gripping me tightly around my neck. 

Every ounce of oxygen was knocked from my lungs, making it impossible for me to breathe. I can't speak and the only thing I can do was claw at his hands, begging for release. After a few seconds, I feel my only weapon slip away from my fingers while I make every possible attempt to loosen his grip. 

“P-Please! I beg you…don’t…make me…go!” 

You have no idea know what I would do! What the curse would make me do! My eyes tell him, yet judging from his expression, I knew he will never listen to what I say. The desire to run away was the only crime he sees in my eyes.

I feel a sudden jolt of pain shoot through my body as Mike’s fist collided with my stomach. He does it a couple more times until I was left clutching my stomach on the cold, hard ground. He shoves me down, groaning and crying in unbearable pain. I can taste blood and feel the bloody liquid fall from my mouth. Mike kicks me on the head forcing me to turn before I feel his foot pushing my face onto the dirty ground. 

A tight knot then twists in my stomach, but I keep my mouth sealed shut knowing words wouldn't help me anyway. 

I whimper, feeling the pain in my stomach increase three times in intensity. It hurt so bad that my body curled on its own to shield my stomach from taking any more blows. My eyes close slowly after I looked up at the man staring down at me in disgust and scorn. 

The next moment a feeling sweeps through me. A feeling of being surrounded by wolves. Raindrops sprinkle on my skin and the cold starts seeping in. I feel my body tremble uncontrollably and the next thing I know, everything turns pitch black.