FAZER LOGINLayla POV
I woke to cold water being poured over my body. I jumped up, coughing and wiping the water from my face. I had been in this hell for over a week. I had not been able to speak with my parents. My mate intercepted their calls. I wondered if they were concerned and if they were going to demand to see me. He had taken my cell phone when we had arrived at his pack the morning we arrived.
“That is my property!” I screamed as I thought back to the moment. He roared, punching me in the face, and then in my stomach, taking the wind from my body. I fell to the ground, but he had grabbed a fistful of my hair, dragging me up the stairs towards his pack house. The pack house was small, and dark. The grounds were not kept.
“I am talking to you slave!” the woman yelled before me, as she slapped my wet face bringing me back to the present. I quickly refocused and paid attention. She had been “training” me since I had arrived. More like she was one of many trying to break me. Fortunately, I had my own small room.
It had a thin mattress on the floor. Nothing else. I was afforded the opportunity to shower twice so far. I used the public facility, washing in cold water and wearing the same clothing I had been given the first day I had arrived. I was not provided underwear. I was embarrassed. I knew I smelled. And people in the pack reminded me of it daily.
The first days I had arrived I fell asleep with tears on my face. Now I was starting to grow numb to everything. I was scared I was losing myself. Rafe had continued administering wolfsbane to me daily. I screamed when he did which resulted in some type of punishment.
I was growing weary and missed my family. But I knew if I did not focus on figuring out a way to escape, I would lose more of myself. I was growing weaker by the day. I was not given the chance to train. And I was being fed scraps after meals. At first, I had refused to eat, but I quickly learned that I had no choice. I had to try and keep up my strength.
My mate forced me to watch him and his Beta mate with other women. The pain in seeing the betrayal was torture. I hated that it hurt. It was a constant reminder of our bond. Rafe loved watching me in pain. The women he used were happy to be used by him.
It gave the women power over me. When it was over and I was lying in a ball on the floor, they would spit on me as they left. I was left to sleep on the floor until the Beta dragged me back to my pittance of a room. I was supposed to be Rafe’s Luna, but I was being treated as their slave.
“Let’s go,” the woman standing before me stated. I had no chance of fixing my hair or even seeing what I looked like. “What time is it?” I mumbled. “It is the same time you ask me every day; four in the morning,” she replied. “We have a lot to do today,” she added.
I do not know why she said “we”, it was always me while she sat looking at her phone. From day one, she sat back and enjoyed ordering me around. She would carry a stick, and if I slowed down, she would hit the back of my legs with it. My legs often split open and bled while she laughed watching me endure the pain.
She walked ahead of me, while my body protested the movement. There had not been a day go by where I had not experienced torture in some way, shape or form. She dragged me downstairs and we started preparing the food for breakfast. I could hear the warriors training outside, while I was breaking inside.
That used to be me. Always training, preparing to be the strong Luna I was meant to be. I went through the motions of preparing the food, as the woman had taught me. The first days of making scrambled eggs had resulted in shells being in the eggs.
The Alpha had taught me a lesson that morning. He dragged me out before the pack members. My face had been red, and tears had been flowing down my face. He let the pack members throw all the scrambled eggs at me. As I had stood there, having food thrown all over my body, he glared at me.
“What kind of Luna does not know how to cook?” he roared. From that first morning, the pack members understood they were to help break me. I was not to be respected. There was abuse but many were cautious as the Alpha had not given them explicit instructions on what they could do to me.
The breakfast meal was finally prepared, and everyone had come in from the training grounds. I was expected to serve the food as well. My trainer walked ahead of me, and then I smelled my mate. He did not mind the stench that surrounded me. He welcomed it.
“Look at my beautiful mate, Beta,” Rafe stated. The Beta looked at me with a creepy stare that always made me sick to my stomach. I placed the food down, and started to move away, when the Alpha grabbed a hold of my arm. He forced me to sit on his lap.
I felt his cock start to harden, as he placed his hand on my thin, bare leg. I felt his hand start to slide up my under my dress, causing my face to whiten. The Beta watched on, smirking as the hand continued to move upwards. Before he reached my core, I stood up, slapping the Alpha across his face.
I stepped away, quickly realizing I had pushed too far. He roared before grabbing me and tugging me behind him. “I am sorry!” I screamed, repeating the words. “It is too late to be sorry,” he growled as he pushed me against a wall at the front of the room.
My body started to quiver as I heard him remove his belt. He took a knife and sliced down the back of my dress. I had felt the tip of the knife slice through my flesh. Suddenly my back was bare, and I heard the shift in the air as his belt cut through the air, connecting with my naked flesh.
Jason POV It had been a long night. I had tried to contain my disappointment and frustration that Layla had chosen Samuel. I knew there were things between us; things that needed to be ironed out. I had hoped we would all share one bed, but that was not the case. It caused me a fear I hated to admit. A fear that she may not accept me as her mate. I did not know how I would survive a rejection from Layla. I did not know if I would survive if she chose Samuel only. I spent most of the night considering the various scenarios and none ended favourably for me. Now we were all silent being escorted to the palace. I knew we would have a challenging day facing the Wolf Council, the Queen and Rafe’s lies. I only hoped we would be able to prove that we were mates to Layla. That we would be able to discredit Rafe and his claims that he was Layla’s mate. I wondered what would have happened
Samuel POV It felt so right having Layla in my arms. Well, on my shoulder. I knew we had a way to go yet, but that she came back to us meant she wanted us … right? I could not prevent the fear in my chest. We had been so close to making the worst decision of our lives and all because we had accepted everything at face value. As we reached our floor, Jason moved around us to open the door to our main suite. We each had our own rooms within the suite. We would have to determine how we would make things work; for now, it was important for us to speak with Layla. To find out her concerns and share our worries. “Put me down, you beast!” Layla screamed as she squirmed on my shoulder. She was still making a strong effort at pounding on my back, but it only served to make me laugh even more. She would be a strong mate, but could not hurt me. Physically, that is. I slowly lowered Layla
Layla POV I watched as a woman in red leather and high heels walked to stand before all of us. “Director; I thought you were coming tomorrow,” Alpha Lucas stuttered. “I had a chance to leave early. I just met with the Queen. Imagine my surprise when she stated that one of my representatives was preparing to take a young woman into custody,” she stated. I felt a glimmer of hope, as I waited to see what would happen next. “Her fated mate contacted us to support him in getting her back from the Alpha twins of the Dark Forest Pack,” Lucas commented. “You were sent to get to the bottom of everything,” the director replied. “I did. The Alpha twins hid her from us; we had to assume there was foul play involved,” Lucas indicated. The director turned to focus her intense stare on me. “Alpha Lucas,” she stated coldly. “Yes,” he squeaked out. “I do not see a mark on her neck,” the Director observed.
Jason POV “We should go to one of our suites,” I started to say before Layla cut me off. “No, I want answers now,” she interrupted. As if realizing her defiance would push Samuel, I stepped between the two of them. “I am sure we all have some things to explain,” I stated calmly. Layla turned her glare from Samuel to me, “What?!?” I demanded, confused by her glare. I felt of the two of us, I was the more reasonable twin. “I am not the one who was rushing off to a bonding ceremony with chosen mates!” Layla yelled. “No, you just left us behind!” I countered. “I left you behind? I had no choice! I was taken, if you recall,” she yelled. Samuel looked at her, “How the hell would we know? We were not even there!” he reminded her loudly. “Surely William advised you what had happened,” she stated, confused at the conversation. “When did you become so friendly with our warrior?” I ques
Samuel POV I immediately recognized the voice from the back of the room. I turned and smiled as I saw both my parents entering the ceremony hall. My father’s face was red with rage, as he approached the stage, holding my mother’s hand. “What are you doing here?” I asked, pleased to see them. “Clearly saving you two asses from making the biggest mistake of your lives,” my mother bit out. Jason chuckled, as did many in the audience. My parents walked up the stage to stand in front of us. My mother had never been one to hold back and clearly, she was prepared to fight tonight. “What in the hell provoked you to take chosen mates?” my father demanded. Both my parents had been adamant our entire lives that we wait for our fated mate. That while the wait would be challenging it would be worth it in the end. And the Moon Goddess never made mistakes. “Elder David has been blackmailing us
Layla POV I had woken up early this morning feeling better than I had in weeks. I was more aware of my surroundings, and I felt like I was thinking clearly. I had waited to see if I would hear anything from my wolf. I did not. But I was confident something had shifted. I heard a tap on my door and then my mother entered my room. She breathed deeply and looked at me excitedly. “Do you feel that?” she asked. “What?” I responded, cautious to respond. “The dark magic has been removed,” she replied confidently. “You mean what I am feeling is real?” I asked. “It is sweet girl,” she replied as she moved forward to hug me tightly. “I am sorry for everything you endured,” she confided in me. “It was not your fault,” I whispered, but she continued to carry the burden of guilt. “I need to get to the Dark Forest Pack,” I stated. My mother looked at me, surprised by my words. “What?” I







