Life in Captivity

Serenity was quiet but quick as she got herself ready in the morning, glancing out the window in desperation, her hands pressed against the glass in pure jealousy. From here she had a perfect view of the grounds, the forest edge and of the pack members going about their business. She could see the pack member's children being walked to school and she felt envious. What she wouldn't give to be able to join them, to join them in their games, to learn as they were, to be able to play with them. She fairly itched to go downstairs and outside but she knew the consequences if she tried.

For she'd tried once before. Last year, she'd gotten tired of being lonely, of being holed up in the attic, day by day, either by her lonesome or with Andrea, an omega tasked with looking after her, for company. She wanted to run around and play, be with children her own age and in a fit of defiance she had snuck out, making it all the way downstairs without anyone the wiser. She closed her eyes and remembered.

It had been a day like any other but she'd woken up angry, bored out of her mind. There was never anything to do except play with the few measly toys she had or talk to Andrea who kept her company most days. She wasn't even allowed downstairs and although Alpha Damon visited on occasion, he never explained to her why she couldn't leave the attic, even when she'd asked him. It was infuriating, especially to a child desperate for fresh air and even to attend school. So she'd gotten dressed and waited until Andrea had left with the breakfast tray before she'd used the ladder to go down, creeping downstairs and out the front door with nothing in mind except to follow the children to school. She hadn't made it that far.

Serenity had only made it a few steps outside the front door when she'd heard his voice, booming and loud, full of authority and anger. "Where do you think you are going" and she'd felt dread pool in her gut as she'd turned and faced him, his face like granite, her body trembling in fear. She'd disobeyed his orders and now she knew she would be facing the consequences, whatever they were.

"I just wanted to go to school" she whispered miserably as he stomped towards her, her heart skipping a beat as he took hold of her arm, roughly, and dragged her inside, almost slamming the front door closed as she began to cry.

He dragged her down a corridor and into what looked like it must be his study, closing the door and advancing on her as she shook in her boots. He considered the punishment carefully, aware that she hadn't done this to spite him but because she was still a child.

"You disobeyed me" he said very calmly "I told you, you weren't to leave the attic, especially without my permission. So tell me the truth" he demanded "why did you?"

She sobbed. "I wanted to go to school like everyone else gets to. It's boring in my room all the time and I never get to see anyone" she complained and he considered her words.

It was too dangerous to let her outside where she could be seen but he also knew how stifled and confining the attic must seem to a small child. To be honest he'd expected her to do this ages ago. He needed to find a compromise, one that would suit them both. "You can leave the attic every night for fresh air" he finally said "I'll arrange to come and get you, but only if you behave" he said firmly.

She nodded eagerly. It might not have seemed like much but to her it was being granted a small amount of freedom.

"Still" he continued grimly "you did disobey me and that needs to be dealt with as well."

The little girl trembled in her shoes as she waited to hear what was going to happen.

He began to pull his belt off, "a belting should make sure you don't do this again."

Serenity had received a belting for her disobedience, before being dragged back up to the attic and dumped, rather viciously, on her bed to think about what she'd done. She'd cried for hours before stopping and realising no one was coming to comfort her, to help her and her tears had stopped. True to his word though, Alpha Damon had come to her that first night and without saying anything led her outside where he'd arranged for complete privacy as she ran around and enjoyed the small amount of freedom, staring up at the sky and just enjoying the feel of the grass beneath her feet. He only permitted her to be out for two hours at the most, but those two hours were precious to her and she looked forward to them every night.

Serenity stopped flashing back, watching as the children all disappeared, her hands leaving the glass in disappointment. She sat down on her bed feeling lonely just as she heard Andrea coming up the ladder, a fixed smile in place. "Serenity" she said sweetly as she stood up and dusted her hands off "I was wondering what you would like to do today?"

I want to go outside, go to school, find my real dad, get out of here, she wanted to scream at the omega who stood there oblivious to her feelings, I want to be free! Instead she forced the words to stay down, aware she could face another punishment if she acted out. The first one might not have been as severe as it could have been and she knew better than to test Alpha Damon's patience. So instead she stared down at the wooden attic floor, mumbling the words "Maybe we could read a story today" instead, feeling nothing but despair as Andrea went to fetch a book.