3. Enslaved and beaten.

       ~Sebastian's POV~

*Flashback*

It has been one millennium, three centuries, nine decades, four years and eleven hours; making a total of 1394 yrs and 11hours since she passed on and I'm just waiting for her to fulfill her promise.

"I'll be back for you." I remembered her words as clear as day.

No matter how long it's been, it still feels like everything happened recently.

Call me whatever you want; emotionless, cold-hearted, cruelly ruthless, indestructible, indomitable or whatever but it's all for my Luna.

Immediately after the incident, the words 'Life' and 'time' stopped from me. Every passing day felt like torture as it reminded me that Riella sacrificed her life for my safety. Whether it's 1000yrs or 100000yrs, she's still in my heart and no one else can take that place in my heart.

Since then, I expanded the Red Moon pack all over New York until we had a full town of our own.

“Alpha Lord,” the spy I sent to monitor the current Beta's movements, called out to me through our mind link. And for the first time after a few hours, I opened my glacier blue eyes.

"I just found out Beta Beatrice is at the hospital. She has been there for two weeks.” Silas, the spy informed.

I honestly couldn't care less about her as I have had hundreds of Betas over the years but Beatrice's recent movements have become quite suspicious and fishy. 

I stood up, went out of my closet and picked up a black leather jacket, slid my hands into them, then left for the hospital.

Even if I hated her to the guts, I had to act like a responsible Alpha.

**

"Oh, finally someone's here to see them. Such poor fellows." A nurse at the counter of the hospital sighed when I finished paying and processing Beatrice's discharge.

Them? Poor fellow'S'?

"What do you mean by ‘them?’" I demanded coldly from the nurse.

"Oh, you didn't know? They were actually two ladies that were rushed in, sir." The nurse mentioned.

After a while of thought, I deciphered that the other lady might also be a member of the pack. I requested to see who this unknown lady was and was shown her own ward.

I saw her face and it felt like the world stopped that moment.

My heart skipped a beat. No, two beats.

I closed my eyes and opened it again. It was the same. It was my Luna, my Riella, my one and only Luna.

"Riella?" I mused.

My feet moved subconsciously as I felt drawn to her.

Riella was lying there on the bed, her eyes closed and she looked like the sleeping beauty that she always was. My eyes trailed further and I saw the necklace I crafted myself for her on her neck as it confirmed my fears.

Finally, the Moon Goddess gave her back to me. She is finally reborn. My thousand years of waiting was not in vain.

 I walked to her and even as she was asleep, I hugged her as tightly as never before with tears welling up in my eyes and my stony heart softened. "Riella... My Luna..." 

Her eyes opened weakly as she stared at me. She was also surprised as she hugged me too in a very tight embrace.

"Alpha!" 

"Luna, is that actually you?" I asked as a tear rolled down my cheeks and I cupped her face shakily like it was fragile and could break if held tighter.

"Yes love. It's me, it's your Luna, Gabriella," Riella hiccuped and we hugged each other again.

We were engrossed in our own emotions that we did not realize how tight we had been holding each other.

The pains we passed through in the past life was incredibly unfathomable and one that someone cannot dare to imagine. After getting mated, we were always at warfront as we tried our very best to stop the rampaging vampires from taking over the wolfies.

One thing I always regretted was allowing her go the warfront with me that fateful day when I knew that the vampires were coming all out. Maybe all these wouldn't have happened and we would have ruled peacefully till we died. But fate had a different plan; she took the wolfsbane for me and died while I became a Cruel Immortal. 

Now I promise to hold her tight and never let go, anyone who dares to confront her shall meet his/her DOOM.

I took her to the counter to file her discharge as we prepared to leave when I felt someone's presence in the room. 

I turned back as I caught sight of my Beta, Beatrice.

My heart sank real deep and the rate of my heartbeat increased by two.

It felt like it was my first time seeing her and I can't deny this; for a while, I thought her to be my Luna. There was that true joy I felt inside of me.

It felt really weird as I brushed the thoughts off my head but she was also looking at me like it was her first time too. 

What's happening here? I thought.

 All of a sudden, she ran and hugged me tightly and deep down, I knew I felt that gush of relief spread through my body.

No wait, I was beginning to come to my senses. I felt something for my Beta?

She was the most disturbing and award-winning bug of a Beta that I ever had. Always throwing advances at me every chance she got was enough to alarm me that this is just one of her tricks.

Impulsively, I pushed her off me as she hit her head on a bench but I only kept a vacuous look at her.

As she stood up and looked up, I saw that stare of disbelief and disappointment in her eyes as she gazed at me and my Luna.

Soon, she started speaking ill words to my Luna.

 I had to give her what she deserves cause she's crossing her limits.

  

  

       ~Gabriella's POV~

"Please, stop!" I wailed as Sebastian dragged me to car and threw me into the boot of the car.

I looked at the person I called my best friend that was not even concerned about my feelings even a little bit. With my face, she was smirking at me like a rabid monster.

This time she definitely crossed all limits and broke my trust for her obsession. Because of Sebastian, she changed her face to mine and gave me hers just so he could be with her. 

The next thing I heard was the car's engine starting and zooming off.

I buried myself in my own thoughts as the pain I felt was worse than death.

What am I living for if my Alpha does not recognize me? 

What is my essence in life?

Didn't Sebastian feel anything when I hugged him? What of the mating bond that should exist between mates? Why didn't he feel it?

Was it so easy for him to conclude that the lady with him is his Luna? 

These thoughts made me cry and shiver in pains. What should I do to make Sebastian believe I'm the one? I'm positive I can still do something... But what do I do? Looking at how he glared at me for the first time since I knew him as my Seb, it was clear that he hated the actual Beta so much. 

The car screeched and stopped at the magnificently soaring Red Moon's pack house. It was a skyscraper, except that it was built in an ancient style– more of a French Palace mansion and was terraced to form a circle.

Sebastian dragged me out of the car boot and towed me to the vast courtyard that was bustling with busy werewolves, and threw me to the center of them all.

 "Ouch! Seb..." I muttered as I hit the cemented ground. 

He squatted to my height and held my cheeks up.

"Look at me, no one dares to offend my Luna and goes scot-free, and you, Beta, are found wanting of that crime. Care to pay for your crime?" He said sternly, his voice as cold as ever and his glacier blue eyes piercing icily into mine. 

But unlike the fear he expected from me, I blinked my eyes softly staring at him. "Why is it so hard for you to understand? My love?" I asked in a low, soft voice.

He was shaken for a while as he retracted a little, puzzle filling his face. 

I could tell he was confused and in a dilemma. 

"Will you stop those crocodile tears?!" Beatrice, the fake Luna of the century, cried out like she was the victim here. "Alpha, first she hugged you but I said nothing. Then she blasphemed against me and I still said nothing! Now she's trying to take you away from me? Hell no! Right here in this courtyard, I want everyone present to witness how she'll get beaten up for being shameless!"

Those were the dark words of Beatrice and I wonder how she managed to keep that somewhat plain expression on her face without blinking while looking at me. 

No doubt, Oscar is missing a true gem here. 

But there was one move that did not escape my eyes, it was the way Sebastian lowered his brows at her with a scanning and suspicious look. I know he's beginning to have doubts cause I never expressed such cocky behavior in my past life.

But then, that look was gone and he returned to his original face.

 "Guards! This woman should be lashed with 100 strokes of the cane before the eyes of every wolf here. After that, she should be thrown to the slaves lodge. No one dares to offend my Luna!"

Those lines sent every onlookers murmuring and gasping. They had all stopped their activities to focus on us in the center. 

They just heard that their Alpha finally found his mate and I, the supposed Beta is going against her wishes. Some young ladies were sulking that their Alpha Lord had found his Luna so they had no chance with him and others were cursing me for offending the Luna.

How ironical!

For me, I felt scared. 100 strokes of the cane? How would I survive that?!

I looked up at them and as usual, Sebastian was staring vacantly at me while Beatrice had that mischievous smirk on her face like she had won totally.

"I could easily crush you with my bare hands right now but you should feel the pain before dying." He said and proceeded to leave with Beatrice.

"Beatrice!" I started.

"And can you stop calling me Beatrice! I'm Gabriella!" She yelled and threw a quick glare at me.

"Really?" I smirked and before I could say one more word, they left together.

Then the bulky and scary-looking guards came forward, took me up and tied me to two wooden poles as they began lashing me with their whips.

"Arrrrghhhhhhh!!!!!" I screamed to the top of my voice at the tenth stroke of the cane.

"Fifteen..." They continued counting and by this time, tears rolled down my cheeks like the waters. 

I was only a weak Omega and couldn't endure this much torture. I can even count the number of times I coughed out blood and what place exactly in my body was left unwounded.

After what seemed like centuries of torture...

"100th!" The guard voiced.

I thought that was all until an elder came out of the gathering and gestured 'stop' with his hands.

"Did you actually plan on letting her go? She tried to harm our Luna! The selfless Martyr of the werewolves! She..."

"Martyr? You all don't know who's the true martyr here." My weak self said with a light scoff, audible enough for the Elder's hearing. 

"What are you saying? This is why I've never liked you since you became Beta. Always spiting nonsense and causing more harm than good! Guards! Give her twenty more strokes of the whip!"

"No... No..." I stuttered, my eyes going dim but I managed to crawl to the Elder's place and held his legs pleadingly.

My entire body was filled with large cuts and blood and my mouth was bringing out blood as I spoke.

"Please... Elder... Don't do th... This... To me," I begged but he shot me a disgusted glare and shook my hands off his legs.

Oh Moon Goddess, what has my life turned into? Such kind of pain was one that I wished for no one to bare.

With each of the rest twenty strokes I received, my anguishing screams followed it till the end.

Now, I am going to be enslaved because of the demon's face I am carrying.

Life, what have I done to deserve this?

They pulled me by my hair and dragged me to the slaves lodge. The moment they left me in there and went out, tears that clouded my eyes formed thick mist as I blacked out.

  ****

  

Splash!

I felt steaming hot water pour on my face as my latest form of ‘good morning’.

I woke up immediately and caressed my face as the burning sensation was still there.

But when I checked my body, I didn't feel much pain as I thought I would from the beating. Most of the bruises were all gone and what was left were minute scars.

I was confused. How come? Who treated me? And... How did I even manage to not die?

"Hey Miserable! How does it feel after two days of napping? Now get your ass up and work! You're extremely lucky that the Alpha ordered your treatment and even visited you twice these two days else you would have a dead mice!" The guard yelled.

I was both quite happy and down-spirited at the same time. Happy cos he still felt something and decided to order my treatment and down-spirited because I have to work again.

 It seems in life, I am destined to be a Slave. At my former pack, I was a slave. Now in my true pack, I am still a slave. Quite ironical, isn't it?

"Gab will you stop thinking and get up to work?! These people look really ruthless. Remember how feared their pack is, so don't think of getting on their nerves!" Neon said within me. 

I sighed and hissed for the umpteenth time. For the very last time, why does my wolf keep being withdrawn and grumpy? She didn't say anything while I was being beaten nor when I was betrayed. Now, she's asking me to work. Perfect. What a unique kind of wolf I have.

"You don't have to tell me. Neon" I rolled my eyes at her and went to the bath to wash up then came out to meet the rest of the slaves all prepared to work too.

I wore a usual white top and white leggings; I almost couldn't do without white in my everyday outfits.

I went out of the lodge and the towering packhouse came into view. I doubt if there will be anywhere else in the world that had such artistic, aesthetic, ancient yet modern feel to it, just like my alpha's mansion.

The packhouse seemed really busy as I wondered if they will be a special occasion today. But still maybe it's only normal for the extensive pack to be busy each day considering their number.

I was still admiring a beautiful flower when someone hit my head.

"Ouch!" I turned to see a woman glaring at me.

"You don't have work to do? Then take this," she said and handed over a tray of flowers to me. "Decorate the palace and don't make any mistakes! Today, the elders will be welcoming the Luna and someone big is coming too! So hurry up!" The woman said and left me with the flowers.

I went into the palace and met some elders there, I greeted them but none even threw a glance at me nor respond to my greetings.

I also ignored them and started decorating the palace as I wondered who will be coming.

Then I suddenly heard murmurs like.

"It's been so long since he came!"

"The legendary Zeta that sees past lives will finally step foot after these years! What a wonder!" 

"Oh, he's here already!"

I felt my heart stop expectantly as I heard those words. 

Moon Goddess! Is this an answer to all my prayers? Someone who sees past lives?