Elizabeth POV
Trying to forget the event a week and half ago was difficult. It was on my mind constantly. How could the Alpha promise me to someone else? What about my own mate? I would be happy with an Omega of my own. Someone stronger than me but my rank. I would not survive being Beta Carl’s mate. Or perhaps that is what they are all hoping for.
With all the excitement of the upcoming Gala I had been able to stay under the radar of everyone. With all the dress fittings and dieting going on I rarely saw my main tormentor. Until I did. I was walking through gathering dirty laundry when I stumbled into Sydney’s room. She was supposed to be at school but instead she was at home and had the Beta in her room.
Her voice was shrill, “What the hell are you doing in here?” she demands. Muttering, I look down to the ground, “Laundry,” I reply. Stomping off to the bathroom she comes back tossing all her dirty clothes on me. Her dirty, stinky underwear land on my head while the rest fall on my shoulders and tumble around my feet.
“Perfect. Dirty. Just like you,” she screams. As she is screaming her mother runs to her room, “Sydney dear, what is wrong?” she says in concern until she sees me standing there. “Of course, it had to be you,” she says grabbing my arm and dragging me down the stairs to the Alpha’s office.
“What my Luna? I am busy getting ready for the Gala and all the Alphas who will be in attendance,” Alpha Matt says without looking up. The Luna tosses me towards the desk the Alpha is sitting at, and I bang my hip screaming out in pain. “She is the problem,” the Luna yells before carrying on, “She upset poor Sydney as she was getting dressed of all things,” the Luna says. Not questioning why, the Beta was in there with her daughter half dressed.
As if on cue, Sydney comes running in, “Oh daddy, she scared me when she burst into my room,” she says. Cursing out loud, the Alpha stands coming around the table and grabbing my arm. He does not head towards the field as he usually does. Instead, he heads somewhere worse. The dungeons.
“Maybe a night in the dungeons will make you remember your place,” he growls at me. “Please, whip me but do not make me stay in the dungeons,” I beg of the Alpha. I had been sent to the dungeons one other time. There had been rogues everywhere. Being beaten. Tortured. Rats roamed the cells looking for their next meal.
“Shut up slave; you will remember your place one way or another,” he yells at me as he drags me to the door of the dungeons. “I do not have time to punish you any other way,” he adds as he pulls the door open. He shoves me inside. The putrid smell of the uncleaned dungeons overwhelms me.
I stagger inside as the Alpha yells for a guard to come at once. As the guard moves forward, he has an uncomfortable look seeing me standing in front of him. “Find her a cell and make sure she is punished,” he mutters before turning away. I scream once more, “Please Alpha, you need me to help get everything ready for the Alpha visit,” I beg. Moving forward to stand in my face, “Well then you will be busy when you get out tomorrow morning,” he yells spitting on my face with his words.
My wolf Ashley wants to scrape her claws down his nasty face, but I hold her back. We would need our strength to survive the night. Alpha Matt shoves me to the floor turning his back and walking out the door slamming it behind him. The guard looks at me sadly before he moves forward to help me back to my feet.
“What did you do this time?” he asks as he literally must drag me to an empty cell. I look around in disgust at the visions around me. Rogues hanging from the walls, having been beaten with silver whips. Silver will leave scars on a wolf’s body. Our wolves are unable to protect us from that abuse.
I hoped they would not use silver on me. I did not want more scars to tell the story of my life before I meet my mate. I wanted to share my story in my own way. Not for my body to tell the story. Regardless of what I went through I survived. I could be a strong wolf; I just need to find my mate so I can be released from this hell. My wolf is eager to find her mate. She has been a little more perky than usual. As if she knows something I do not.
The slamming of the cell door pulled me out of my thoughts. I look around realizing I am in a cage with no privacy. The last time I had privacy from those beside me. “Sorry, this is all we have available,” the guard says as he starts to walk. “Do you have a closet? I can stay in a closet for twenty-four hours,” I beg of him. I look around at the rogues on either side of me. They are disturbed individuals staring at me like I am their next meal.
Ashley, my wolf, growls at them and they simply chuckle at the sound. “Sorry, this is it,” he says as he walks away. I sit down and tears roll down my cheeks. I was on pins and needles waiting for my punishment to start. I do not know how long I had waited. I heard some movement coming down the hall and felt myself start to shake in anticipation.
I kept my head down hoping they might pass me by, but I knew as the footsteps stopped, they were inevitably in front of my door.
Elizabeth POV “Why do you always seem to piss them off?” I hear the Beta demand of me. I do not look up for fear of what I would see. The desire in his eyes for something I hope he cannot have. He opens the cell doors slowly. The creak of the doors screaming in my ears. He takes a step inside the cell, and I can scent his lust. I feel physically ill at the thought of what is to come. “I see the guards did not do their duty. It does not look like there is even a mark on you,” he says as he kneels in front of me. He reaches out to gently touch my face. I flinch at the feeling wanting to pull back, but I was already tucked in as close to the cement wall as I could be. He shocks me when he slaps my face and my head crashes back against the cement barrier. I let out a startled scream as he backhands me making my head bounce off the cement wall once again. He stands and kicks me to my midriff, as I feel another rib break at the brutality. I a
Alpha Carter POV I stand in front of the mirror fixing my tie. Goddess how I hate these events. I am a twenty-six-year-old Alpha and have been coming to these galas since I was eighteen. Eight years of trying to find my mate. Searching the various Packs in our region. Our allies, who are plentiful and still have found nobody. Either she has died or is not of age yet. I do not want a young she-wolf for a mate. She will not be able to handle my appetites. She will not be confident enough to be a Luna. Regardless of if the Moon Goddess has selected her as my chosen. It cannot go well for either of us. I can only hope that tonight goes as I expect it will … without finding my fated mate. And then I will go about selecting a chosen mate. My wolf, Max, growls at that thought. He has always held out hope to find our fated mate. He wants his mate. He already loves his mate without knowing who she is. I wish I had his confidence in finding ou
Alpha Carter POV I scan the crowd, holding my whiskey. I am looking for my Beta. We have been here for over an hour now and I have not scented my mate yet. I knew this would be a waste of time and I am getting fidgety ready to leave. As I look around, I look towards the dance floor and see Stan dancing with a she-wolf who looks to be close to his age. She is beautiful and he only has eyes for her. I do not want to interrupt his night, so I toss back the contents of my glass, placing the empty cup on the tray of an Omega who walks by me. Looking around I see the Alpha’s daughter waving and making her way towards me. I quickly look away and make my way out of the hall. I hear her call my name but ignore her acting as if I do not hear her. Making small talk is not my forte and even if I could she would not be someone I would want to talk to. I walk past the Alpha and Luna as they continue to welcome new arrivals. I smell the air an
Beta Carl POV As I crumble in front of my mate, I see the smirk on the Alpha beside her. I feel a rage overcoming me and I leap forward to tackle the male. I know my chances of beating him are limited but a good beating is what I want. I can hear my Alpha yell through our link, and I can feel him coming towards us. The Alpha is caught off guard, so I get a couple good punches in hearing the satisfaction of his nose breaking. My mate is yelling at me, begging me to stop. At this point the Alpha has come around and takes a few good swings at me. I can feel my ribs breaking and I know my jaw is dislocated. I am not worried as I will quickly heal. I wanted him to suffer, but I knew that was futile. Before he can go for a kill shot, my Alpha jumps in between us. “What the hell is going on?” my Alpha yells at us. Everyone around us has remained silenced as they watched everything unfold. “He is stealing my mate,” I say under my breat
Trigger Warning – physical violence; no rapeElizabeth POV The tightening hand around my wrist caught my breath. My wolf, Ashley, growled but that only made the Beta laugh. “Is your wolf going to try and fight me, Omega?” he says with a cold laugh. I try to pull my hand away, but it makes no difference. I am trapped. He pulls me towards his body and slaps my face. My head snaps to the side, and I feel blood leave my mouth and I see it spatter on his suit. He does not care. He pulls be back leaning his face into the spot between my shoulder and my neck. I whimper thinking he would instantly mark me, but he slowly moves away dragging his foul tongue from my shoulder, slowly up my neck and landing at my lips. I keep my lips closed tightly as he runs his tongue along the seam of my lips. He growls when I am not granting him access to my mouth and pushes his lips hard against mine. I fear he will break my teeth, but I do not relent. I cannot h
Alpha Carter POV A growl came out of me I had never heard before. It was enough to distract the wolf from my mate. The wolf I now recognize as the Beta of the Red Woods Pack. He steps back, “This is none of our concern, Alpha,” he growls back to me. I see his hard member hanging out of his pants and look to my mate. She is breathing heavily with tears rolling down her cheeks. I cannot tell if she has been violated but first, I must deal with this threat so I can get her help immediately. I step slowly towards the Beta, “She is my concern,” I reply. “She is my mate,” I add as the Beta looks at me with disgust. “She is my chosen mate. Tell him,” he demands of my mate as he drags her up to a sitting position by the arms he was holding over her head. I could tell she was in shock at the abuse she has endured. I could see the handprints on her face where she was hit. Rage was overtaking Max, he wanted to be let out. “I got this one, Max,” I r
Alpha Carter POV I rushed my mate to the Pack hospital and was appalled at the service we received. While the Alpha did nod to the Pack doctor to assist us, there was no desire to be helpful. They patched up her wounds and left her with machines connected to her. “When will she wake?” I demand of the doctor who was trying to exit the room. “It is hard to say, Alpha. She is a weak Omega,” he replies as he opens the door to exit the room. “Do more for her!” I Alpha command him. “I have done all I am permitted by my Alpha to do,” he murmurs as he closes the door and walks back towards to me. “There are things that have gone on in this Pack. Your mate was abused for many years; she will need more care than I will be allowed to give her. My best recommendation is getting her to your own Pack sooner than later,” he says and walks out the door of my mate’s room. Looking down at the beauty before me, I realize she is very thin and has not
Elizabeth POV I can hear the machines beeping. I am not sure what they are or where I am. I cannot remember everything that happened. Except the last thing I saw was a strong, gorgeous man with beautiful green eyes holding me in his arms. Did he call me his mate? Had I called him my mate? Was it possible that the Moon Goddess had given me a mate? Was it even possible he would want me? Of course not. Look at me. I was a wreck. Scars all over my body. As anyone who spoke to me reminded me, I was thin and ugly. What time is it? I am late. I have to make breakfast for everyone. The punishment I will endure for not being on time with everything. As if on cue, the door slams open and I hear Luna Nancy yelling at me to get my lazy ass out of this bed. I slowly open my eyes trying to adjust my sight, having not opened my eyes yet when I felt her latch onto my arm, and she starts pulling me out of the bed. The machines started goi