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Slap! Slap! Slap!

Three vicious smacks met with a smallish, skinny, tanned-skinned, black-haired girl across her face.

Thud!

She fell to the floor from the impact and quickly got into a kneeling position despite the stinging pain she felt.

”I’m sorry. I’m very sorry. Please forgive me. I’ll never do that again.” she begged with quivering lips after kowtowing.

Her clothes were threadbare and faded. Her hair was tangled with dirt in it and it almost obscured her face.

Numerous cuts and bruises could be seen on the visible parts of her body. Some scars that had barely healed from last night’s beatings had also been reopened.

How painful they were!

She hadn’t ingested anything edible since yesternoon and now it’s almost evening. She was already super weak before taking this beating from this angered male. She repeatedly banged her forehead on the floor, not minding the blood oozing from it. ”Please have mercy on me. I was stupid. Please, have mercy!” she implored.

The person who just hurt her was the Gamma’s son, William Woods. He was just one of the many pack members that beat her up either for fun or to relieve tension. She is a punching bag to them. Some just used lame excuses to hit her.

She could not resist and had no guts nor any right to attempt doing so.

She’s been here for as long as she can remember. She isn’t a member of this pack nor was she bought from a slave house. How did she get here then?

*

*

*

”Lavie honey, come get your food.” a tall, fair-skinned and brown-haired woman called out from the large kitchen.

”Yes, mama!” a little girl of around 4 with black hair tied into two small ponytails ran into the kitchen and hugged the lady’s left thigh.

”I can’t wait to eat, Mama. It smells so good!” the little one said while sniffing in a dramatic way.

”Hmmn! I’m not sure you like it. My princess must be pretending.” teased the lady.

”No, no, no! I’m dead serious, Mama. Let me show you my sincerity.” the little one stopped hugging her thigh and retreated 7 steps away from her mum.

”Watch this, lady!” she declared and started dancing wearing an excited face.

”Whoa! Mama sees your sincerity. Come, let me hug you, princess.” Mum squatted after applauding and spread her arms.

Lavana ran straight into her arms and placed her small hands around her mom’s neck.

”I love you, mummy!” she giggled.

”Yeah, my Lavana loves me best,” Mum said, gently patting her daughter’s back before they parted.

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

Suddenly, there were sounds of repeated shooting accompanied by howls that signified a battle was soon to take place.

A repeated yell was soon heard from a burly, golden-haired man who ran past the home.

”Warriors, the pack is under attack!”

Mum felt like her heart was about to leap out but tried her best not to let her offspring see her edgy.

”Mommy, is there trouble?” Lavana asked with worry plastered all over her face.

Mom chuckled before replying. ”Not a big one. Just some flies who don’t know their place. Don’t worry, your Daddy and the other strong warriors in our Moon Crest pack will drive them away from here. It will be a piece of cake. Now, why don’t you hide in the secret room while Mommy goes to watch the battle? I promise you, I’ll gist you all of the interesting parts.”

”Ok, mummy.” the girl nodded and her Mum quickly put her food into a cooler and then put it and a bottle of water into a small basket.

”You’ll have to eat it in there and here...” Mum handed Lavana her phone before resuming her speech. ”You can play games on my phone to kill time. What do you think?”

”Mum, I’ll play Candy Crush and then Princess dress-up.”

”Alright! Anything you wanna play, you can.” Mum said with a smile.

”Can I dance too?” Lavana asked eagerly.

”Yup! But don’t remove the phone from silent mode, ok? You can only dance with music playing in your head, alright?” her mum cautioned.

”Okay mummy.” the little one nodded and her mum pecked her forehead.

”Let’s go,” taking the small basket in her left hand, she and her daughter exited the kitchen.

*  *   *

  After hiding the little one in the secret room underground, the lady braced herself to go out of the home after stripping off her clothes.

”Brandon, my love, I’m sorry, but I can’t leave you out there all alone. I’ll have to disobey you this time,” she said after locking the door behind her. She sighed as her eyes turned a glowing grey.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Cracking sounds could be heard repeatedly as she crouched. She gritted her teeth when her backbone snapped and enlarged.

Seconds later, she had transformed into a black wolf with white ears, white stripes and a white tail. She stretched her wolf legs and let out a howl before running out speedily, leaping over the low wooden fence.

Reaching the scene of the intense battle, she saw to her dismay that her pack was on the losing side. She quickly transformed back into human after seeing her husband fall to the ground. He’d been scratched in the neck by an enemy that sneak-attacked him.

”Brandon!” she shouted in distress as she ran to him. She knelt and had him rest her head on her thighs. ”Brandon...” she called out in a whisper, sniffing.

”Nayelie...” her husband said in difficulty, groaning. ”What are you doing here, mate? You’re supposed to be with her. You... You have to keep her safe, including yourself. Why did you come here?”

”Lavana is underground, Brandon. And she is special. I worry more about you and the others, my love. How can I go hide and leave you alone?”

”My dear, you have to go back now. Nothing should happen to Lavana. It’s fine if I die. The both of you should live on.”

”No, Brandon. I’m not leaving you like this.” she shook her head in refusal.

”No, Nayelie, listen to me.”

”Brandon, I always listen to you. But not this time, mate. If Moon Crest is to go down, I should follow.”

”Nayelie!” her husband yelled and suddenly rose.

”Brandon!” she cried as she saw what happened the moment he sat up. A spear had passed through his left chest.

”Brandon! Brandon!” she called out in distress as he fell backwards. She caught him, letting him rest on her lap once again. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she cried, her hands trembling as touched her chest. The spear has penetrated his back and he was bleeding so much.

”Nayelie, it seems I can’t accompany you to the beach as we’d planned. Neither can I have that amazing bonking tonight with you. I’m sorry you have to see me like this.” he slowly brought his left hand to touch her hands.

”Don’t panic. Take this chance to run now. You and our daughter must flee. Our daughter will take revenge and fulfil her destiny. You have to go now. Don’t worry about me.”

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