Willow
Still Two Years Earlier…
Zeke’s face soured as his grip on me constricted infinitesimally more. I tried not to show my discomfort, but it became impossible as he proceeded to recklessly grope my curves with abandon.
I shoved against him with the little force that I still possessed and successfully managed to continue resisting his advances, at least for the time being.
I prayed that he would not try to take my innocence anyway. I did not know how well I would fare against him, but I knew I sure as hell was not going to just roll over and give up either.
He snarled directly in my face before saying, "You can let me make you feel good and take care of you or you won't like what happens next. The choice is yours."
My mind raced as his words filtered through, but I stammered out, "B... But you are supposed to provide shelter to those fleeing the other provinces. The town elders said I would be safe here! You cannot do this! You are not my mate. I do not want you."
Zeke released his hold on my breast as he reached up, he tugged my head back, pulling my long, thick hair like a rope. My scalp burned where he gripped my hair forcefully.
With his face twisted into an ugly scowl, Zeke leaned down, growling, "Who is going to stop me? You?"
He laughed as he turned towards the door without bothering to wait for a response, dragging me behind him by the hair like he did this every day. Hell, for all I knew maybe he did.
I attempted to pull away from his grasp by lashing out with my arm, but he kept up the same pace, easily dodging my blow and maneuvering me out the doorway and down the stairs.
We passed several males along the way, but every single one of them averted their gaze and made no move to help me. Cowards.
"But I would never dream of taking something that you do not offer," He continued as he stalked down the hallway with me in tow, throwing open the door at the very end.
Following, he carelessly slung me into the room where I collapsed in a heap onto the smelly mattress that I vaguely noted took up most of the space.
I shrunk away from Zeke's hulking form that guarded the doorway, but he wasted no time in retreating, hurling over his shoulder as he went, "You can stay here until you change your mind."
As the door slammed shut, I heard the distinct click of a lock being engaged and a deadbolt being set.
Once I was sure that I would remain alone, I sat up and glanced around at the rest of my new environment, rubbing the hair at the base of my neck as I did so.
The stinging was already fading, but that had hurt like a bitch.
I observed a small, bare shelf alongside the old twin sized mattress on the floor, taking up the majority of the floor space, and that was it.
Well, this was a definite downgrade.
***
Present Day
I was yanked out of my reverie by the sound of several booming voices coming from the direction of the dining room. I heard Zeke welcoming the new alphas of the reclaimed territories, praising them for their victory over the bears as their voices faded the further that they walked down the hall.
I sprawled out on my mattress, trying to catch at least a little rest while I was safe from Zeke's tyranny. However, I again found myself lost in thoughts.
The war lasted a lot longer than anyone had expected. I learned later that the bears had launched a full-scale invasion, starting with the Northern Province, around the same time my family had been slaughtered. I knew the area had taken heavy damage and many brave wolves had lost their lives during the fighting.
I missed my home and the memories attached to it. I missed my family. Really, I just missed having anyone who cared about me or my wellbeing.
It had been a lonely existence these past two years, but I had refused to bow down to Zeke's manipulative tactics. Nevertheless, things only got worse after I was relegated to this small storage room that first day.
Zeke returned every day for weeks. He attempted to repeat that same bizarre ritual of feeding me, but, seeing Zeke's true colors, I was disinclined to take food from his hand, and, therefore, chose to starve. What did I have left to live for anyway?
He refused to allow me sustenance any other way at first, but he began sending the guards with a few scraps every few days so I would not die once he had realized I had no intention of backing down. How magnanimous of him.
I entreated the warriors guarding the door for help escaping several times, but it did not take long to figure out that they were all loyal to their alpha. Besides, where would I go anyway? All the other territories were at war at the time, and I had no family left.
Zeke continued his advances for months, but once he realized my position would not change regardless of his disreputable tactics, he dismissed the guards and ordered me to clean the massive, three-story pack house daily from top to bottom, threatening me to within an inch of my life if I so much as dared to step a foot outside.
He had continued adding tasks until I was rarely able to find time to rest. Weeks passed like this, and I still had been unable to shift into my wolf. Werewolves were not made to go long without changing forms. It was not healthy.
I honestly thought being deprived of my wolf was worse than the starvation during those long months I was locked up. At first, I was hopeful that I would be able to sneak away to shift for a little while at some point, but his warriors were always guarding the woods surrounding the property.
I had never gone that long before without letting my wolf out to stretch her legs. Her agitated state was constantly grating on my nerves. That combined with the starvation, sleep deprivation, and emotional torment, well, let's just say it pushed me past my breaking point.
I tried to run in spite of all the risks piling up and having nowhere to go. Anywhere had to be better than here, I had thought. I did not make it far. Zeke's warriors caught up to me after I gave them the slip, and I was unceremoniously dumped in front of their alpha.
I did not think he would really expend the effort to track me down. I mean, I was just an insignificant girl who wanted nothing to do with him, but I was apparently wrong. Zeke, for some reason, had some sort of sick fascination with me. Yay me.
I shuddered just remembering the consequences of that rash decision.
Let's just say it was not pleasant the first time around, and I had no intention of ever repeating it again. I still bear the scars, despite my werewolf genetics.
I was not sure if the other pack members knew how I was treated, but I did know for certain that most, if not all, of the warriors did. They blindly followed Zeke's every direction, no matter how cruel.
Since then, he had allowed me to shift a precious few times, but it was an embarrassing ordeal each time he had deigned to allow me to shift, seeing as he had no inclination to give me privacy and demanded I strip in front of him before shifting each time.
Further, on top of all of this, Zeke still only allowed me meager rations, though I did sneak any scraps I could manage.
Speaking of food, I was fairly sure the alphas were eating the feast I prepared right now. I hoped they saved me some, I thought as my stomach growled loudly.
I heard the sound of clinking forks against plates before the most glorious voice I had ever heard drowned out every thought of anything else.
The deep voice faded in and out, as my weary eyes began to slowly drift closed, "...returning warriors...mates. We need..."
The voice seemed to resonate around my tiny room, and it gently lulled me into a heavenly dream that I prayed I still remembered when I awoke.
My last thought was that it had been a long time since I had thought of escape in any form, but maybe, just maybe, something better was on the horizon.
Jax I ran my fingers through my hair, a common gesture for me when I was stressed, as I thumped my knuckles against the sturdy wooden door. I was feeling antsy all of a sudden. I had been traveling over the last month to meet with Asher, Alpha of the Eastern Province, and Reese, Alpha of the Western Province. After we had finally driven the bears from our lands, we took some time to assess the overall damage caused to our people by the war before making our next move. Most of the homesteads could and would be rebuilt and were already in the process, but our warriors seemed to have one overarching need throughout all of our territories: mates. Our men were looking to rebuild their lives after the devastating losses we suffered early on during the war. We simply were not prepared for the onslaught of the bears' full force attack that soon. We thought we had time to get our loved ones to safety and gather our troops. We were wrong. We lost a lot of good wolves during that time, my par
Jax I paused for a moment at the door, noticing the tantalizing scent again, but the feeling continued to exacerbate so I shuffled out the door after the other two males, completely ignoring any comment Zeke may have made in protest. The scent faded the further I walked from the house, and I had this odd urge to go back, like I had forgotten something. I pushed the feeling away and caught up with the other two. We continued walking down the path in silence for a while, me savoring my brownie while Asher shot me a pleading look, knowing Zeke would be able to hear us with his sensitive ears. Finally, Reese broke the silence once we were far enough away not to be overheard. "So, you want to tell us what all of that was about? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I agree with that everything you said, but you kind of rushed out of there. In fact, it looked like something was bothering you all night." Reese stated. We continued talking as we walked down the rough-hewn path towards our dwellings
Willow I was startled awake by Zeke slamming open the door. I moved as far away from the raging alpha as possible, feeling very disoriented by the stark difference between my reality and my dream. I was having one of the best dreams I could recall ever having in my life. I tried to hold on to the feeling as long as possible or to remember even some small shred of my happiness, but the details were slipping away as the seconds ticked by. Zeke stomped into the room, kicking my shelf into the wall in his anger. Crack! The shelf splintered and pieces went flying. I had already curled up into a ball when Zeke pushed his way into the room, but I ducked my head down just in time. A large chunk of wood hit the wall right where my head had just been. Zeke yelled, "This is your fault. What am I supposed to do now?" As he continued stomping around the room, muttering under his breath. I remained cowered against the wall, knowing nothing I said or did would help. I did not even know what h
Jax I awoke slowly, hearing the sounds of the forest surrounding me. I rolled over in bed, noticing the sun was just beginning to shine through the slits in the fabric of the curtains. The sight did not surprise me. It did not matter where I was or how late I had stayed up the night before, I always rose with the sun. Some days, I wished I could sleep in just a little longer, but today was not one of those days. I must admit, we were shocked when Zeke informed us, we would not be staying in the pack house, as tradition demanded for visiting alphas. He rushed to assure us that he had acquired us private dwellings so that we could relax and conduct any business we may need while we stayed in the South. He said he thought we would prefer it this way after the turmoil of the war. We questioned his choice, but I knew I was grateful for it last night after my first experience meeting the guy. Even so, I did enjoy the sound of nature all around me while waking up, and it was nice not spe
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Jax We were not waiting long before Zeke appeared to lead us down the hall towards the dining hall again, his annoying voice droned on. I tuned him out as I surreptitiously glanced around, looking for any traces of the girl. There were none. The faint hint of honeysuckle and vanilla seemed to be getting stronger the further we walked into the house, but it still remained elusive, until it disappeared again completely. I took a swift look around the room when we entered, doing a double take when I noticed my sister staring out the window, seemingly lost in thought. "Ronnie!" I called out, striding towards her. She turned, instantly running into my open arms once she recognized me. With tears running down her face, she pulled back to say, "Jax! I cannot believe you are finally here. I have missed you so much!" She continued hugging me for a few more minutes while everyone else took their seats. I held on tightly, not wanting to let her go, but of course, Zeke's obnoxious voice had to
Willow I was awoken from my peaceful slumber once more by the sound of the door slamming open. I scrambled up, pressing myself against the far wall and curled up in a ball, not that it helped much in this tiny closet. I felt like I had only been asleep for mere moments, but that did not matter to Zeke. Zeke barreled in, already yelling obscenities at me. "Get your lazy ass up. You do not have time to be lying around." He grabbed my still sore arm roughly, hauling me out the door and down the hallway, towards the dining room. He continued berating me as we went, "Clean this mess up first, and then go clean yourself up. You look like a fucking slob. You had better be clean before I get back. We have some business to take care of before that asshole's sister shows up to help you with the planning for the ball." He finished with a leering look. I was so used to tuning out Zeke's voice that I almost missed his words as I stumbled forward into the dining room. A ball. Wait, help me wit
Jax After what felt like an eternity, I was finally heading back to the pack house with Ronnie. We were alone, but I knew Asher and Reese were close and would be ready when the time came. It had already been one of the longest days of my life, and it was only lunchtime. We were not talking as we walked along the path, but I noticed Ronnie kept shooting me sympathetic looks. Gah! I ran my fingers through my hair again. I cringed; did I really look that bad on the outside? I thought I had been holding it together better, but Ronnie's looks told me otherwise. I tried to remain focused on the plan as we made our way towards the door. However, the sound of several loud voices and fast-moving feet rang out into the air. I had a feeling that any plan we may have come up with was obsolete now. I gave up all pretenses of acting calm and broke out into a run, barging my way in without even bothering to knock on the once solid slab of wood. I ran down the hallway, immediately snatching up th