CHAPTER 4 Nora's Pain

"Nora!" Alex growled, flinging open the door, "Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing in here after I summoned you about an hour ago?"

Nora's eyes went around with fear. Her heartbeat became irregular, and her breathing became labored.

"I-I," she stuttered, shifting slowly until she was leaning on the wall.

Alex sneered, the veins on his neck looked like they were about to bust open. He balled his fists, pushed away the chair in front of her, and growled at her.

"How dare you bitch? How dare you disregard me! How many times do I have to warn you about your disrespect to me? Do you think I will not find out? The girl I sent to you told me everything. You called her names, you defied me, and you dared to stand here and stare at me in those eyes!" he yelled before closing the gap between them.

"I see you've begun to develop wings again. Because I've been busy for a few days, do you think you are now free? Have you forgotten your place so soon? Have you forgotten your new fate? Stupid moron!"

Nora could barely breathe. Her fingernails dug into her palms as she fisted them. Sweat broke out from her forehead and her legs trembled beneath her.

"I'm sorry," she croaked, her hands flying to her trembling lips.

Alex laughed maniacally, his eyes flashed from gold back to their normal color.

"You should win an award for best in pretending, murderer!" 

He swung his arms and gave her a heavy smack that sent her crashing into the small bed.

"The next time I call you, you attend my call!" He snarled, hitting her again before she could recover.

This time around she fell to the floor whimpering. A burst of pain ripped through her body. Her eyes began spinning and she curled up as stinging tears seeped out of her eyes.

"I would have dealt with you terribly if not for the party!" He panted, and sweat dripped out from his face. "Get the fuck up from the floor, clean yourself up, and take wine to the table!"

With that, he stormed off. As soon as the door closed, Nora broke into silent tears. Her wolf raged within her. She tried getting to her feet but fell back to the floor.

The door swung open again and a couple of chittering omegas and Eve came in. Immediately, they saw her sprawled on the floor; they laughed hysterically.

"I knew he was going to deal with her rightly," one mocked,

"Come on, get up bitch." Eve said as they pulled her up and dumped her on the ground.

"Ugh, I hate this; why do we always have to drag you to do your work? “You’re now a maid, remember ?" Another one grumbled.

She tightened her breath to hold back tears, trying to escape from her eyes.

"Shut up..now stand up, get this dress on, follow me,”  Eve commanded.

Nora winced..anger and pain brimmed within her, but she stood up and began to wear the dress.

"Stupid wench, always making us state your duties," one said, internationally pulling her by the wound on her arm.

Nora let out a loud whimper and held her by the neck. Her eyes were turning black and red again. Nora's wolf fought for control because Alex wasn't around.

She bared her teeth at the Omega, releasing a low growl that made them jump back. No matter what, she was still the Alpha's mate and Luna of Zodak, so even if Alex treated her like shit, she still had power over them.

At the sound of her growl, they all stepped back and stared wide-eyed at her. Nora's wolf fed into the fear oozing out from their bodies. It strengthened and soon it snapped control out of Nora's grasp.

Nora snarled, clutching her injured arm. Her wolf stared at each omega from its red and black eyes. This was the first time it had been in control in a long time. Alex had always made sure to compel it to stand down. It wanted blood. It wanted to tear out the skins of the stupid omegas, especially Eve. It wanted to escape and run free into the forests.

Knowing what would happen and the repercussions it would bring, Nora fought to gather control again.

"Get out!! "She growled, banging her hands on the wall as she shook her head to push her wolf back in and take control.

Eve and the other girls hobbled out of her thin room, shivering like drenched dogs. As soon as the door closed, Nora leaned back into the bed and exhaled.

Her heart began banging in her chest. If she didn't follow suit immediately, they would report her to Alex and she would receive a worse punishment.

With an effort she pushed herself up, almost losing her balance. As soon as she tried to move her feet, pain shot up her leg.

"Fuck," she hissed, closing her eyes and leaning onto the wall, as the searing pain throbbed in her left leg. She pried open one of her eyes to inspect the leg.

"Fuck," She hissed again, knowing that she needed to move quickly. Biting her lips, she took another step and let out a piercing scream. She sucked in more air as the pain moved onto her chest and squeezed it. After a few minutes, she regularized her breathing and managed to take another step toward the door. Every step she took hurt more than the one before, but she pushed forward, limping until she held onto the door knob.

Taking a deep breath, she twisted the door and allowed her face to slip into that of a calm, perfect, and reserved, Luna. She will never allow them to push her to see herself as a maid. Although her mind was about to explode, she navigated through the corridors until she got to the main hall and located  Eve and the other girls waiting for her to join them before they located Alex's table.

On seeing Alex, fury lashed in her chest. There he was smiling and impressing the members of the  Stone Moon Pack, after beating her up.

The worst part about her situation was having to pretend that all was fine when she was worse than a slave.

"So tell me, Alex, how do you keep your enemies at bay? Do you sign treaties with everyone?" A familiar voice asked.

Nora stopped in her tracks and held her breath. Her senses began blaring horns as Alpha Ryder suddenly materialized beside Alex, with mischievousness gleaming in his eyes.

Nora saw Alex grimace at his question. It was a trick question as well as an insult. Alex's eyes quickly swept across the room in search of a quick escape.

Coward. Nora mused.

“Aw, there she is!" Alex cooed, standing up, drawing Eve into his arms, and fiercely kissing her. Nora felt disgusted by their act.

Why did Alex's kiss to another repulse her so much? Maybe because he was her mate, and despite the cruel treatment she had received from him all this while,  her body always yearned for his touch. But why does Ryder now flash In her mind as her mate kisses another, all in the name of ITNL? Why does she feel the eyes of Ryder boring into her skin as she watches her mate?

Something was not right…