Whip

Maya's pov

I woke up to someone breathing down my neck. A shriek escaped my lips when I realised someone was pinning me to the floor. He quickly covered my mouth with one hand. I squirmed under the weight of the perpetrator, trying to break free, but it was useless. 

“Shhh. Be quiet. Omegas are working outside. I came here to check on you since you hadn’t cleaned the dining room after we left.” 

I felt as though my soul left my body. It was Nathan, the Alpha’s daughter’s husband. Yeah, husband—not fated mate. He paused for a few seconds. I cringed when I felt his erection pressing against me. I didn't want to feel it, but I couldn’t push him away. He was too strong.

“Damn, you got a sexy body. I always knew you would feel good.”

A shudder ran down my spine. Ever since he mated with Cheryl, he had been making subtle moves on me. I rejected all of them, but he just wouldn’t give up. I was a minor when they mated together, but that didn’t stop him from trying to get into my pants ever since he moved to the pack house. I struggled with all my might until his grip loosened. Without thinking twice, I bit his hand as hard as I could. 

“Ahh, shit!” he yelled and stood up. 

I quickly sat up and grabbed the sheets to cover my body. Realising that I was still dressed in the shirt and sweatpants was a massive relief. However, the alleviation was short-lived. Nathan had just assaulted me, and he could still make another move—this time a more dangerous one. With my heart pounding in my chest and trembling in fear, I fixated my gaze on him. When he glared at me, the palpitations of my heart increased. 

It was about to become the day I breathed my last. I just knew it. 

“Nat? Babe?” 

I almost breathed out in relief when I heard Cheryl’s voice. At least I wouldn’t be alone with that monster.  

“What the fuck is going on?” she demanded when she saw him holding the hand I bit on. 

“This sick fuck was sleeping without cleaning up. When I tried to wake her, she bit me,” he said.

I shook my head. I wanted to speak up, but I was still in shock. She threw a critical glare at me, and I felt as though my soul left my body. She punched my chest, and I screamed. Another punch forced me to curl into a ball, heaving deep breaths as I desperately covered my head with my hands. It was one of those nights. Nothing I said or did would have shielded me from her wrath. She was about five years older, and she was my biggest bully since I moved into the pack house. I should have known she would believe him without asking any questions.

“Babe, you shouldn’t work too hard.”

When Nathan stopped his wife from kicking my already aching body, I knew he was up to no good.

“Let me do it for you,” he said.

He grabbed my hair. Despite my efforts not to make a sound, I shrieked.

“Aww, aren’t you sweet?” she said.

I wanted to puke, but then he slapped me hard across the face. Perhaps it was payback for rejecting him. But why would I sleep with an arsehole like him?

“How dare you go to sleep without cleaning the dinner table?” Cheryl taunted as he slapped me again and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at her. “Who said you can sleep without completing the chores?”

I pursed my lips. I must have fallen asleep while I waited for them to finish having dinner. 

“I… I am sorry. I fell asleep…”

“Shut up, pig,” Cheryl cut me off. “You know I don’t like to hear excuses. The omegas are cleaning up now.” Her intent gaze drilled holes into my body. “Skipping meals and nonstop chores hasn’t made you lose any of that nasty flab, has it? You are disgusting.” 

I pretended not to be fazed by her comment, despite her words plunging into my heart like a sharp dagger. 

Yeah, I was slightly chubby. I had a bit of fat on my hips and a sizable chest. Perhaps it was the untoned tummy that was the worst of all, but I didn’t have time to try to slim that down. Nor did I have the money to go for surgery. Most she-wolves were slim and pretty. They would do anything to lose body fat and stay in shape. Not me, and Cheryl never let me forget that.

There was not much I could do about it anyway. I didn’t have time to workout, and I wasn’t allowed to join the training sessions. How was I supposed to lose weight? Besides, staying alive was the priority, not getting the dream body. 

With my lips pursed, I gave her a subtle glance. She didn’t know I gobbled down their leftovers when everyone left. What was I supposed to do? I was hungry most of the time, and I needed energy to do my chores.  Her gaze drifted towards her husband. “Nathan, drag her ass to the yard. I want to punish her properly for sleeping on duty and for biting you, of course.”

Fear invaded my chest. I didn’t know what to expect. She and Nathan are the worst duo I ever encountered. I saw a sinister smirk curling across his lips. He forced me to stand up. What I didn’t expect was for him to grab my boob with one hand as soon as Cheryl turned her back towards us. I glanced at Cheryl. Of course, she didn’t see that. 

I pushed his hand away, but he pressed my body against him, as if to warn me. A lump formed in my throat. I wasn’t even resisting him, but I knew this wasn’t my world. 

Cheryl glanced over her shoulder and said. “Well, hurry up. We don’t have the entire night.”

I let him drag me out into the freezing cold and kneeled down in front of the lake. Getting whipped was normal whenever the alpha family seemed it fit. I cried when I was younger, mostly because I didn’t understand the reason for their hatred. All I knew was that my parents died when I was five. Since then, I had been living in the pack house because I was a minor with no family. 

If only they treated me like a normal pack member…

I sealed my lips shut when the first blow of the whip lashed against my skin. It was painful, but I was grateful for the whip. I would choose it a million times rather than be left alone with Nathan in a closed room.