Chapter 3

Lesley’s POV

“How did Alpha Harry punish you?” Amanda asked nervously, once we turned the last corner and the school came into view. She was only nervous because she knew that it was because of her, that I even ended up in that situation.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” I said with a smile, brushing it off like it was nothing. “I mean, he didn’t beat me black and blue like most of the time, but this morning he called me back into the office and commanded me to do everything Trevor said. And honestly,” I added with a sincere chill running down my spine. “That scares me more than anything.”

“He used the command on you?” Amanda screeched, surprised. I honestly didn’t understand her surprise, until I remembered that it isn’t normal for an alpha to use his alpha voice for things like some lame punishment.

“It must be something Trevor or Fraya must have convinced him to do,” I said, shrugging, not knowing if/why I was defending him. I knew Uncle Harry was either a) going to get some creep to rape me or b) beating me black and blue until I’d ‘learned my lesson’. Let’s just say, I was a slow learner and, since everyone here gives a flying fuck about child-protection services, I was my uncle’s punching bag. Trevor and Fraya were different! They were--- what’s the word? Oh yeah! – Mean!!! Like high-school mean, making Mean Girls look like a bunch of Girl Scouts! And I was going to be Trevor’s bitch for a week! I had to do and/or say everything and anything he told me to. No one can disobey an alpha command; least of all an omega.

I could feel my wolf stir in the back of my mind; she agreed but didn’t say anything. She was quiet most of the time. Probably because she was still an alpha wolf but had been downgraded to an omega. It somehow had broken her more than it broke me.

I have to do something to get suspended, I sighed, already thinking of ways I could piss off the Principal so he would send me home this week. But once seated in class, I had no idea of how to do that…

Most of my pack went to this school and although it was a human school, the town was just small enough that no one asked questions about the kids coming from the mountains or nearby forest. This entire area had a lot of ranches and farmland, so it was normal that the kids came from far and wide to attend school. Our pack was one such ‘ranch’. Or at least that was our cover story…

I sighed. The upside to such a small community is that it’s easier to keep a big secret – like the fact that we were werewolves or that I was beaten for entertainment every Friday night – because everybody knows everybody and it’s acceptable to be ‘their kind of weird’. The downside is, of course, that everybody knows everybody! And considering I’ve been going to this school my entire life, the Principal and the teachers in general, took things a little easier on me. Probably another reason why Trevor and Fraya hate me! You see: I have dyslexia! Yeah, I know! It sounds like I’m dying, but I’m not. It means that I have a really, really hard time reading shit! It’s like going to the circus but with letters! I see the word, I see the first letter, and by the time I reach the second letter the first one had done a disappearing act in my brain, making every word just look like a bunch of random letters!

So yeah! I got it easy with the teachers and I had special privileges, such as being able to have a school iPad, containing special programs to read for me and audio books – the best invention ever, I might add!

But with every authority in the house being so nice to me, I knew I was going to be extra mean, to get out of this one!

I was honestly too scared to stay in school that day, so I lied about having bad PMS cramps and snuck home. Quickly went about my duties, cooking and cleaning mostly, but also taking care of my aunt’s special needs. She was paralyzed and was bound to a wheelchair at all times. The pack house was also remodeled to fit her needs and if she wanted, she could get just about everywhere around the pack and the house. But she stuck mostly to her room, yelling at anyone and anything to do her bidding. And I was one such runner. I was to run to fetch her clothes, to get her up in the morning, to shower her, to change her diapers, to fetch her food, her laptop, her mail, her magazine…

She was beautiful, like her daughter, so it was easy to see why Uncle Harry was completely blind to her ugly and disgusting heart. She was in her 40s, but thanks to the werewolf aging process, she looked like her daughter’s older sister and not her mother. The only difference was that Aunt Cathy was blond, like my mother and me. Yeah! What are the odds?! My mother and aunt were sisters and my father and uncle were brothers. But you know---werewolves, bitches! They’re too lazy to look far away for their mates. I was just relieved that our grandparents were in no way related.

I’d just finished putting her to bed when she suddenly announced that she wanted a shower in the morning.

“Yes, Luna,” I answered in a neutral as possible tone. If there was the slightest emotion in my voice, she would make a huge scene about it. If it was too hard, she’d say I was cold and insensitive towards her. This resulted in me getting beat up by Uncle Harry. And if it was too soft, I was pitting her, and she didn’t need my sympathy. This also resulted in me getting beat up by Uncle Harry. And even if my voice was completely drained of emotions and one hundred percent monotone, she’d still make up some weird excuse so I would get a beat down by Uncle Harry!

I sighed when I was out of sight and hearing range. Luckily tonight wasn’t one of those nights. And considering that I’d been able to avoid Trevor all day too, was a relief. The only problem I now faced, was that if I was to bathe Aunt Cathy in the morning, I’d be late for school. Not that I minded much; I’d always struggled to keep up anyway, and I found every single thing hard and exhausting. Then add the fact that I’d constantly got bullied by my classmates because of my reading difficulties, there really wasn’t much pulling me in the educational direction. Although it was rather normal in the werewolf society that the females got an education and tribute to the pack like that, while the males were warriors and protectors. I’d rather be a stay-at-home mom and do whatever I could to raise awareness about the many, many problems children with dyslexia face.

So how was any of this a problem?

Since I’m always behind in everything and/or late, the school has decided that if I fall behind, my helping aids will be taken away! Yeah, like that’s going to motivate me to keep up! And I was already below the yellow line. And my aunt always, ALWAYS, sleeps in late, so I’d be very, very late…

The next morning I’d managed to avoid Trevor during breakfast, before hurrying upstairs to help my aunt. And as always, she’s being difficult as hell.

“Stop that!” “That hurts!” “You bitch!” “Stupid!” “Incapable brat!”

And at the end of every one of those, I was slapped. My cheek was red and swollen and I honestly had to battle my tears and anger at every turn. Whoever said ‘turn the other cheek’ clearly didn’t get bitch-slapped!

What I wanted to say:

“HEY! I’m trying to pull off your disgusting, grown-ass diaper and bathe you, so stop slapping me, while I’m trying to help your sorry little paralyzed ass!”

What I had to say:

“I’m sorry,” I said softly, with all the self-control I could muster. I wish I could say that I felt some kind of sympathy for her, but I really didn’t! She was a first-class asshole and a drama queen! As in if you looked up the definition of a drama queen in a dictionary, there would be a huge ass picture of her and her ginormous ego!

She scoffed like an 80+ smoker/alcoholic and finally let me bathe her. But because she didn’t stay still, I of course got soaked. I wanted to kill her so badly. It would be so easy…

Sorry, she got cut in the curtains. UPS!

Yeah, because she was gonna make me a murderer! (note: sarcasm!)

I was so caught up in my thoughts, that I didn’t notice my grip on the soap loosened and I dropped it. I accidently sighed out loud, before bending down and getting it back. And they say that you should not bend down in the prison! I say: depends on the prison!

“OH!”

My aunt suddenly cried out. I looked up, confused as hell. What the shit---? But I quickly noticed what she’d been doing…

Forming on her thigh, was a huge red spot in the shape of a shower head. I sighed! Come fucking on! Not this again…?! Yeah! She did that too. She would deliberately hurt herself and blame me! Uncle Harry would always see red when his mate was hurt. And she enjoyed seeing him beat the crape out of me…

“What’s going on?!” my uncle yelled only a second later, as he stormed the bathroom. I jumped up.

“It was an accident!” I tried to holler, but it was useless!

Oh, why did I just take the blame right away? Because denying it was worse…

“You little…,” he yelled, grabbing a fist full of hair.

I didn’t remember much after that.

I vaguely remembered him grabbing my head and slamming it against the bathroom tiles. The tiles broke and shattered around me. I felt blood running down my face and left ear. I barely had my hands up in defense as the punches landed one by one. Everything after that was just so---distance. My uncle screaming, my aunt’s fake sobbing, the pain… It all drowned in a loud noise of nothingness. Like my ears were too full to take it in.

I scrambled to my feet and got out of there. I had barely reached downstairs when the sour and vile liquid started to run up my throat and my stoma content wanted to make a run for it. I threw up in the kitchen sink, making the room spin even worse. My head felt like it was about to explode, and I couldn’t stop throwing up.

Amanda came over and got me to school, but I honestly didn’t remember much. What day it was, what class I was in, what the hell I was doing…

All I knew was that I wanted to throw up! NOW!

I rushed out of class, found a bathroom, and once again exited my internal organs into the toilet. Or at least that’s what it felt like! Fuck!

I grabbed the side of my head. The bleeding had stopped but seeing my reflection in the mirror, honestly almost gave me a heart attack. My eyes were bloodshot, and my chin was bruised and swollen to almost twice its original size. Lines of dried blood colored my face, making me look like a victim of Dracula! I carefully touched the cut, only to feel a stinging and burning sensation rush through my body.

Fuck!

I turned on the tap and started to wash my face. Or at least get some cold water on it, but this turned out to be a bad idea. The second I moved my head, the room started spinning again and I felt sick. I crept over to the closest corner and just sat there, waiting/hoping for death to bring an end to it. I brought my knees as close as possible, resting my head on them and my body against the cold wall.

Just be still, I continued to tell myself, trying to breathe normally. The pain comes to an end. Everything comes to an end.

“I’ll be OK,” I sighed out through my teeth, trying to make it through the pain. “No matter what, I’ll be fine!” I pressed down the tears and although my heart was aching to cry, I didn’t. I was never letting anyone know that they got to me. At least Dean was right about that! That’s how you survive…

That’s when I heard them. There were four boys. This I smelt, because my hearing was still all fucked up. What the fuck were they doing here? And that’s when I finally realized. Great! I was in the men’s bathroom! How I knew? Well, one clue was the four boys walking in, but honestly, the smell! Boys just stink!

“What the…?!” one of them screeched, making my eardrums bleed. Oh god, just shut the fuck…! Yeah, I was in the wrong bathroom, but seriously?! They acted like they’d never seen a girl before. I scoffed. Probably hadn’t!

“Is she passed out?” another one asked, slowly approaching me like I was an exotic and dangerous animal. I’m both, but still!

No, she’s still here, desperately trying to pass out, so shut your trunk and get out!

Again, I wanted to scream at them, but I didn’t have the strength to even move at this point.

“Man! She must be so high!” another one giggled like a schoolgirl.

“Isn’t that Lesley? You know, the slut Trevor’s always going on about?”

Of course, that bastard is talking shit about me!

“She’s so cheap, he gets it for free,” the other one laughs again.

Yeah, right!

I could hear them whisper. Somehow, that made me more nervous. I had to get up and get away. Something bad was going to happen. I just knew it! I tried to steady my hand and get up, but the second I tried to move, the room was spinning, and I felt like I was going to throw up…

That’s when I suddenly felt the warm liquid on my body.

Oh no! They didn’t…!

But of course, they did!

They literally peed on me!

In the werewolf society, if you were trying to hide your scent, that’s a very efficient way of doing it. In ‘normal’ society, it’s just gross! And talking about hiding my scent?! The only thing that did, was make me smell like a bad combination of puck and urine!

They giggled like schoolgirls, laughing and calling me names. I didn’t care. I wanted to cry. This was beyond humiliating. Beyond any stupid, boyish prank! This was wrong! I didn’t deserve this. I didn’t deserve any of this!!!

With that, my anger had finally built up, giving me the strength I needed to stand. I drained my wolf of her healing ability, making her pass out in the back of my mind.

Don’t worry, girl, I softly told her, feeling my bruises heal and wounds closing. This will be worth it!

“Oh fuck, she’s mad,” one yelled, still smiling while they hustled to put their junk back in their pants. Through my blurred, foggy vision, I saw them head for the door. Anger turned to rage. Oh, I don’t think so!

The next second, I slammed it shut. I used my werewolf speed to cut in front, staring them down, with a look that would hunt their nightmares forever.

“How the…?!” one exclaimed, his expression becoming a mix of horror and surprise.

“You think this is funny?” I sneered, and a low growl escaped my lips. My fists were clenched at my side, and I was honestly enjoying the sudden pale and terrified expression on their faces.

“Now I’m going to have some fun!”