Despair in moonlight

Get packed and ready to leave in thirty minutes," Lora had hissed as she left my room a few minutes ago, or was it an hour ago?

The concept of time meant nothing to me now. All I was conscious of was the never-ending pain that went on and on and on.

A door slammed shut somewhere in the house and I figured it was time to go. I picked myself off the floor, pushed to my feet, and shuffled over to my suitcase. I emptied its contents and mechanically began to fold and pack my clothes. My door creaked open, but I didn't look to see who was there. I simply concentrated on the motions of packing, while I wished I had something to numb the pain.

"You're finally leaving."

Erina's voice came from the direction of the doorstep. My jaw clenched as I bit back an angry retort. Of course, she would never miss an opportunity to gloat or torment me. This was the last chance she was going to get before I was whisked out of her reach forever.

"I can't say I'm sorry to see you go," she continued. "You're weak, a freak, a burden, so I'm sure that I'm not the only one who will breathe more easily around here with you gone."

My teeth ground against each other as I yanked at a blouse so hard that it split along the seams. I flung it away.

"Ignore her. Ignore her," I chanted under my breath.

"What was that?" Erina cocked her head to the side. She was so close now that her skin nearly brushed mine. She let out a derisive peal of laughter. "You're talking to yourself now? Only crazy people do that, you know. Don't tell me you've added insanity to your... condition. Oh well, even if you're actually crazy, I suppose it won't matter now. Someone else will be responsible for you from now on."

"Get out of my room!" I ground out.

Erina's painted lips curved into a cruel smile.

"Finally," she crowed. "For a moment there I was concerned that you had gone deaf as well as dumb." She snapped her fingers impatiently at me when I just stood there, glaring at her hatefully. "Go on. Pack! The soonest you're done, the soonest you'll be out of here."

I didn't want to, but I heard the car start up and stop somewhere close to the front of the house. If my father came in and saw me dawdling... I packed my stuff faster.

Erina heaved a sigh. "That's better. I'm sure Jason will come visit more often when he finds out you're gone for good. It's hard for him to be around here when you're always moping about, looking like something the cat dragged in..."

The rest of the words were drowned by a roaring in my ears. At the mention of Jason's name, I saw red. Rage tasted like metal on my tongue.

My voice shook with anger when I said, "Keep Jason out of your mouth."

"Or what?" She smirked and tipped me a conspirational wink. "Honestly, it's hard to literally out of my mouth, especially when he's kissing me like I'm-"

With a choked roar of range, I lunged at her. Laughing, she took a step back and wagged a finger at me.

"Easy there, princess," she said.

"That better be the sound of packing I hear in there, Kiara," Lora called from somewhere in the house. "Or would you like to leave home without any clothes?"

I took several deep breaths, forcing the anger back down. Going to Alpha Ryder's pack with only the clothes I had on my back would be terrible.

"Where you about to hit me?" Erina questioned. "Because of Jason? Get over him, already. He never wanted you. Never will."

"That's a damned lie!"

She raised one finely arched brow. "Is it now? I hate to break it to you, but Jason fancied me even when you two were dating. It's not my fault that you were too blind to see the signs."

"You're a backstabbing little-"

"Language, Kiara. Language."

"You betrayed me, took what's mine. But I promise you, Erina, karma will catch up with you."

"Karma is a concept fools like you believe in to make you feel better, dear stepsister. Life's not fair or didn't you get the memo?"

"Why aren't you done yet?" my father asked, glowering at me from the doorway.

Erina twiddled her fingers at me and sashayed out of the room. Under his watchful eyes, I threw the rest of my things into two suitcases and carried them out.

"We want to talk to you," he grumbled and jerked his head towards the living room.

"Finally." Lora sighed theatrically when she saw that I was ready to go.

My father took his place at her side.

"We only think it's fair to let you know what you're up against," he said. "Once you get to Alpha Ryder's pack, you have to be on your best behavior. He's a hard man. You have to do what you're told without hesitation, understand?"

I nodded numbly. He started to turn away, but Lora, with her eyes fixed on me, pulled him back.

"I don't think she understands yet," she said. "Alpha Ryder is a ruthless man. He expects respect and immediate obedience at all times. There are rumors, terrible rumors..." She paused dramatically. "of what he does to people who make him angry. I'm tempted to believe that all those rumors are true."

I couldn't suppress a shudder. I too had heard dark rumors concerning Alpha Ryder.

"I think she's got it now," Lora said happily. "Let's go."

In no time at all, I was in the backseat of the car. The next moment, I was having a last glimpse of the house I had grown up in. The image was tainted with the sight of Erina waving cheerfully at me from an upstairs window. I curled in on myself as I watched the road unfold before us. When we got to the borders of my pack, my father accelerated, making the car go even faster. We were on the road for hours, and then I began to perceive strange, unfamiliar scents that told me we were nearing another pack. Finally, he came to a stop at a spot with a thick expanse of forest on either side of the road.

"We're here," he said to Lora.

As though his words had called them forth, three heavily built men detached themselves from the muted browns and greens of the forest. Lora and my father were already out of the car before they got to us.

"She's in there," said my father with a nod in my direction.

As one, the men turned their flat, back eyes to me. It was then I lost my nerve. I stumbled out of the car, fell painfully on one knee, got to my feet, and made a beeline for the forest. My one thought? To get away.

"Get her," I heard Lora shriek.

I didn't even hear them come up behind me. The next thing I knew, my hands were pinned behind my back. I looked into the merciless eyes of one of my captors. As I opened my mouth to scream, something hit me in the back of the head, knocking me out.