5

Athena POV

“Huh? Why would something happen?”. She asks, her brows furrowed in confusion. The poor, naïve soul. I am glad she has no idea what I’m talking about though. It means that red runner treats their pack members a lot better than they do here. Not that I expected anything else, based on the summers I have been there all these years.

I don’t respond, despite her continuous tugging on my arm in an effort to get me to talk, while we walk through the hallway. The teacher stops at the gym, a hardened look on his face. Yep, I knew it.

‘Let’s just f*ck them up!’. Ares growls in my mind, knowing what is going to go down as well.

‘We can’t, you know that. We’ll live. They’re not even that strong, you know that too’.

Ares doesn’t respond anymore, but I can feel her anger rising with each step we take. I, however, have already resided in my fate. This isn’t my first rodeo. And I knew right after bruising her wrist already that something like this was going to happen. It’s nothing short of what I am used to. Or so I thought, until I enter the gym.

‘They are really going for the kill this time’. I tell Ares, while looking around the gym. As expected, a battle ring has been set up. What is new this time though, is not only that the 2 shit stains are in there themselves looking battle-ready, but also the silver whip I see #1 holding.

Oh, sh*t. Silver is like kryptonite to a wolf. That will hurt and scar like a b*tch. So far, anything they had done healed up in no time, without any scars. But this time, I won’t be so lucky.

“ATHENA BROOKS. ENTER THE RING FOR YOUR SPARRING SESSION”. #2 booms out, and for a split second I contemplate just getting the f*ck out of here. But, I wasn’t born a quitter, am I right? All jokes aside – I have to take the punishment. They’ll hit me harder, where it really hurts, if I don’t.

“Ath, you don’t have to do this! I can bring you back to Red Runner, you know Maxim will take you in”.

Actually, I don’t. Alphas usually don’t take members from other packs in, for any other reason than having found their mate. Regardless, my mom is in this pack. I’m stuck.

“It’s OK, Mills. Nothing I’m not used to. But, I’ll take it as a good training”.

“THIS IS NOT TRAINING! This is 2 alphas against 1 girl, using f*cking SILVER WEAPONS! Ath, please..”.

“It’s OK, Mills. Don’t intervene”. I tell her, before I start moving towards the ring. Millie starts calling out to me. When I glance back, I see she is being restrained by 4 men. She is thrashing and screaming wildly. And, despite my predicament, I laugh at the fact that they need 4 men to restrain 1 girl. That’s who Millie is.

Stepping into the ring, calmness washes over me, oddly enough. There is nothing they can do to break me. I just need to sit this out one more year.

The fist hitting me square in the jaw a second later, however, makes me doubt that for a split second. They have rarely put their hands on me themselves. They usually let their minions do the dirty work for them. They never fail to mention it’s because they don’t want to contract any diseases from me. I guess this time they found it worthy enough to risk it regardless.

Blow after blow is raining down on my face and my torso, the ferocity and hatred behind them clear as day. One of the rats before me kicks me in the abdomen, causing me to fall flat on my back.

Blow after blow continues to hit me, and I can feel my face starting to swell. I close my eyes, knowing Ares will try to push forward any second now.

“FIGHT THEM, ATHENA!”. Millie screams, the panic evident in her voice. She doesn’t understand though. If I fight back, things will only get worse. Which I would be able to take, had it been only about me. But they have threatened my mom and dad before as well. Not physically, but they have threatened to remove my dad from his position. Which would devastate both mom and dad. We would have no income. And now Millie is a target to hurt me with as well.

The little f*cks have me right where they want me. Cornered, and they know it.

Another hard blow connects with my face. And this time, I hear a crunch. I wince, but I refuse to let them hear me scream. I never have, and I never will. I would die before giving them the satisfaction of hearing me scream. A hard kick to my chest pushes the air straight from my lungs, and I am struggling to breathe for a second. F*ck. Who knew the pussies could actually throw a punch?

I roll over, onto all fours. This position always helps to get more air into my lungs when I need it. Gasping for air, I hear Millie scream before something really sharp tears through my clothes and skin on my back.

‘Let me out, Athena!’. Ares roars. ‘I will rip them apart!’.

More long, deep slashes follow. I wonder how long they are going to keep this up. Sure, they have done about everything in the book to me. Waterboarding included. But it has never been this bloody thus far.

Cool air hits the gashes on my back, offering little relief to the wounds. They will heal, but they still hurt like a b*tch. Just when I think this is over and done with, I hear the crack of the whip. And not long after, I feel the lash on my back. It doesn’t hurt as much as the gashes from the knife or whatever it was they used. Which is quite surprising. Silver is our kryptonite, I should be screaming in agony.

Lash after lash, I feel the whip cutting deeper and deeper into my already existing wounds. Each time it hits, blood gets splattered all around me. At one point, I wonder how much blood I have left in my system. I am starting to get dizzy.

“WHY WON’T THIS BITCH SCREAM?!?! SCREAM, YOU FAT F*CK!”. Shit stain #1 yells at the top of his lungs, but I refuse to scream. Like I said - I will drop dead before I give them that satisfaction. And I meant it.

“Jake, Jer, stop! She’s about to die, man! Millie will report you to the council, and you will get your titles stripped!”. Bedbug Benji sounds panicked, and silence befalls the room. Although I’m still dizzy, I can feel the healing has begun to set in already. Which is weird, considering they used silver. Huh.

“F*ck, he’s right”.

I can hear them whispering among themselves in a mild panic now. And who would I be, if I didn’t take full advantage of that?

3… 2… 1… action.

Dropping myself to the ground, laying lifelessly, I keep as still as humanly possible. I even manage to slow down my breathing, in case anyone were to check. Guilt consumes me when I hear Millie scream, however. I hadn’t thought about her also seeing this.

‘She will understand’.

“THAT’S ENOUGH! NURSE!”. Our history teacher now yells, and I hear fast footsteps approaching me. I didn’t even know he was still here. Despite knowing that his job would be on the line if he defied them, I still think it’s scandalous that teachers are allowing this to happen. Pathetic.

Only when I am on the ground lifelessly, does he step in. Too little, too late amigo.

** 2 hours later **

“It’s so strange... She has healed almost completely already. When she came in, I… I wasn’t quite sure she was going to make it”. I hear the nurse whisper in the hallway. I am not sure to whom, however.

“Huh…”. The other voice responds. It’s a male at least, I can tell that much.

“It’s almost like she has her wolf already, Alpha”.

Oh, crap. The Alpha is here. He won’t be here to wish me well.

“That can’t be. The girl isn’t of age yet. And she isn’t strong enough”.

“What if she has a special wolf?”.