I Hope You Suffer

Chapter 1

Eva's POV

   I darted through the woods, moving between the trees while I tried to push down my fear. I knew that I wasn’t alone out here. Despite having no training, I knew that for sure. I had braided and covered my hair so I could try to stay hidden.

   I had to cover it; my hair was so blonde that it was almost white. I’ve tried to color it, as everyone always makes snide comments about it, but it never works. It always went back to the same pale color. The other women in the pack hate it, always have. It didn't matter what they did to it, even cutting it off, the next morning, it was back again. I've given up on trying to change it anymore. I knew that there was nothing that I could do about it.

   I knew I wasn't alone because it was way too quiet out here. There were no sounds coming from the woods that were normally teeming with life. That told me a patrol was near, and that they were in their wolf forms; all the animals had been scared away. That didn’t make sense, as it wasn’t time for any of the patrols to be in the area.

   There was no other explanation for it. Which didn’t help to allay my fears. I had been coming out here for the last month, hiding high in the trees and noting when they came through. I started doing that the day I decided to leave the Shadow Fall pack. I knew I had to get the patrol schedules down like clockwork, as there was no room for error. If they caught me trying to escape, they would kill me. The feeling of dread crept up as I tried to think of a way out of this.

   Alpha Dominic was never going to allow me to leave the pack. He blamed me for the death of his best friend, and former Beta. It didn’t matter that the Beta had died trying to save me from rogues as a toddler. Because as far as the pack was concerned, the blame for his death lay squarely on my shoulders. I was cursed. The whole pack felt that way. According to them, I was the bane of their existence.

   I’ve heard that story hundreds of times and know it by heart. Once Beta Thomas died, the pack had nothing but a string of bad luck. Apparently, that was all because of me. I didn’t belong here and had brought misery and misfortune with me. I don’t know how they can accuse me of things that were well out of my control as a toddler. But they’ve done it since I arrived here almost seventeen years ago.

   I was too scared to continue on to the place where we were supposed to meet. I didn’t have a wolf. I couldn’t shift, so there was no way that I would be able to outrun them. I knew exactly what was going to happen to me if I were caught out here.

   I could accept my punishment if I were found. What I couldn’t accept was putting my only friend and her older brother in jeopardy. I knew just how vicious this pack could be. I wasn’t willing to risk their lives for any reason. I would rather stay here for the rest of my life than have something happen to either of them.

   I set my shoulders. I would go ahead and hide up in a tree. Once they left, I would head back to the small  Omega house I lived in. They all thought I was stupid because I was never allowed to go to school. But I was smart enough to know that this was a trap. I just wanted to know how the hell they figured out I was leaving. I wasn’t important enough to be given a phone. I had to use one of the landline phones in the pack house while I was at work to call Victoria.

   I made sure to use the phone while all the ranked wolves were on the training grounds. School was in session, and the other Omegas were working, so it was the perfect time to call. I used the one near the kitchen. There was only one person who had been anywhere near me, and it couldn’t be her. I refused to believe it. She has been the only one who has made sure I was fed and clothed the entire time I’ve been here.

   Bertha Flowers was the lead Omega in the kitchen. She had watched out for me the best she could. I couldn’t say she stuck her neck out for me; she knew exactly how the pack felt about me. But, other than from my best friend, Tori, Bertha had been the only one of a very few here to ever show me kindness.

   Victoria and her older brother, Keefe, had come here to take me back to their pack. They had left here five years ago, after her uncle, Tobias, had been killed on his way to an Alpha event. The plane he was in had crashed, and there had been no survivors. I missed her, but her father, was Tobias’ younger brother. He had gone back to take over the Mystic Shadow pack. He had to help Keefe train to eventually take over the pack as the new Alpha.

   I couldn’t believe that they were willing to risk their lives coming here to get me. Tori and Keefe knew better than most what I've had to deal with here. They had seen it firsthand. Their mother, Vivian, had come from the Shadow Fall pack, but she was much nicer than the other pack members were. She felt bad for everything I’d been put through and had even petitioned the Alpha to allow her and her husband, Patrick, to adopt me.

   Their request was immediately denied. They tried over and over again, and even offered to take me with them to Mystic Shadow, but Alpha Dominic didn’t even consider it. According to him, I had a life debt to pay back to the pack. My life was to replace Beta Thomas', and there was no way to get out of it. He died saving me near the Shadow Fall gates, and there was to be no more discussion about it. 

   “Evil-Lynn, don’t think that you're hidden away. Time to come out and face the music. You should have known better than to try to leave the pack. You haven’t paid the debt you owe yet. I can’t believe you thought you could just sneak away and leave. You really are stupid if you thought no one would say anything. Time to learn what happens when try to leave the pack without authorization,” Claudia’s nasally voice rang out.

   Her presence here was much worse than a patrol catching me. Claudia hated me and wanted me dead. She has hated me since we were children, but I had no idea why. If she were here, then that meant that Donovan, the Alpha heir, was out here, too. She never left his side. She has told everyone in the pack that he is going to make her the Luna. If he does, this pack is going to suffer more than it did under Alpha Dominic’s rule.

   I didn’t reply. They hadn’t caught me yet, so I still had a chance. I didn’t want to engage with her at all. She would love nothing more than to end me, and I wasn’t going to give her any reason to do that. With Claudia, it was best to just keep your head down and avoid her.

   Two minutes later, a low masculine laugh filled the woods. The hairs on my arms stood up, I know that laugh. I knew Donovan was here with her. That let me know that there were a lot more people out here than I originally suspected. I had a sinking feeling I wasn’t going to make it back to the Omegas’ house anymore.

   Don’t you want to say goodbye to your friends, Eva?” Donovan asked, his deep voice cutting through the silence.

   My heartbeat increased, and I thought it was going to slam out of my chest. No, there was no way they knew anything. There had been no one around when we made our final plans. It wasn’t possible.

   “Oh, it’s possible, Eva,” Donovan’s cold voice rose again.

   What in the hell is going on? How did he even know what I was thinking?

   “Mates can always sense each other. I’m an Alpha, baby. I’ve known that you were planning to run away the moment you turned eighteen, Eva. But we both know that there is no way I can accept you as my mate. My father would disown me, and the pack would reject you. I’ve waited too long to take this pack over. It’s mine the minute I take a mate. Claudia was kind enough to accept my offer to be chosen mates. I’m not waiting to see if I get a second chance mate. So, this is the end of the road for you. I’ll relay the bad news to Dad, but he won’t miss you either. The only thing he would be upset about is losing a hard-working Omega,” Donavan stated.

   Victoria and Keefe were shoved out of the tree line and into view. They had been attacked and had injuries covering them. I felt terrible for involving them in this. I didn’t know that Donovan was my mate. I had avoided him as much as I could. I didn’t like how he watched me. My stomach turned as I realized what they had done. They were bleeding too much from their injuries. They were going to die unless I got them help.

   I ran into the clearing and cried out, “Leave them alone. Just deal with me, it’s me you have a problem with anyway. Why would you attack them like this? Keefe is about to take over the Mystic Shadow pack. Attacking them like this could cause a war. Why would you go so far when you could have just left them alone and just stopped me?”

   “It’s okay, Eva. They ambushed us the moment we arrived. There was no way to leave, and I had no way to warn you. I’m sorry,” Tori called out to me.

   “It’s not okay, Tori. They had no reason to do this to you. I swear to the Goddess herself that if they kill you, I will not rest until every single one of them is dealt with,” I called out as I ran to her side and knelt next to her. I heard thunder roll in the distance, which was odd, as it wasn't supposed to rain tonight. 

   Tori was on her knees, her breathing shallow, and her arm twisted at an odd angle. She needed help, but I had no idea what I needed to do to save her. Keefe was in bad shape, too. I knew that his lungs had been punctured when they attacked him. He was wheezing hard, but his eyes were still defiant. Keefe wasn’t going to bow down to them or beg for help. We all knew they wouldn’t give it. We were going to die out here together tonight, and there was nothing we could do to stop it. Might as well stop playing nice.

   “You’ve been nothing but a drain on the pack all these years. I can’t become Luna with you still here, causing chaos. It’s nothing personal, Evil-Lynn. It’s just smarter for us to deal with you now. That way, the pack can rest easier,” Claudia said as she stepped out of the tree line.

   “You sure it’s not because you're worried about your chosen mate being fated to me? Scared I’ll take him away from you?” I mocked here.

   I might be about to die, but I wasn’t going to put up with anything else. Why should I? I was as good as dead anyway. What else could they do to me? Tori squeezed my hand, and I squeezed hers back. My only regret tonight was the fact that I had dragged them into this.

   I wish to the Moon Goddess that I had known he was my mate, and could read my thoughts. I hadn’t felt anything, and I was sure that you felt a bond snap into place when you met your mate. But who would I have even asked about that? No one would have answered me anyway.

   “You shut your mouth, bitch. You can die quick or slow, it’s up to you,” Claudia angrily replied. “But I'm hoping that you end up suffering as much as possible.”