Elise
Rivulets of water run down my body as I sit huddled underneath the shower this evening. I scrub my body rigorously, trying to get rid of the disgusting feel of Jared's hands on my body. My tears run down my face, mix with the soap, and settle on my lips. The saltiness of my tears is a harsh call to reality.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all, but I'm suffering from sensory overload. This isn’t what I had planned for my life. Today was supposed to have gone far better than this, but now I was under the mercy of the Moon Goddess and her cruelty. The ceremony is probably going on without me right now, with someone else taking my place.
The bathroom door swings open, and my foster mother steps in. I smell her expensive but horrid smelling perfume before I actually catch sight of her. I shrink further into the shower stall as she approaches.
I'm certain she knows that I'm taking a shower, but that doesn't seem to stop her from sliding open the glass door. She glares down at me, with hands on her hips. "Get ready for your trial, you mangy mutt. I can't believe I ever took such a depraved individual into my own home. You even had the guts to try and rape the Alpha of this pack," she reaches out, picks up the sponge sitting atop the shower, and flings it onto my face, "you must be crazy indeed."
She huffs, faces red with embarrassment or anger, before turning around to leave.
Even worse than her insults were what came before. Rape? Jared? My shaking body stills for a moment as I try to understand what I heard. There's a faint ringing in my ears that makes every other sound nonexistent.
I've been accused of a crime I didn't commit.
—
The courtroom is colder than I imagined. It isn't the typical modern type, but rather a little tented space with tree stumps as chairs opposite the heart of the werewolf village.
Four elders of the pack are already seated when I get there. Their eyes shine in the descending darkness, and their faces are as hard as stone. I don't mean to be a pessimist, but they don't look like people that will take my word seriously.
I barely get a word out of my mouth before one of the elders rises to his feet and points at me. "Your case has already been settled before you came here, child. What you have done is unforgivable, and is ten times worse because you chose to defile the Alpha of this pack."
I wipe away the tears already falling down my face. What is everyone saying? I'm the one who got assaulted, I'm the one that was attacked! These people are dismissing my pain and it hurts so much.
I point at Jared seated amongst his family members, as well as some pack members. "He's the one that tried to rape me! I'm innocent, I swear!"
Jared rises to his feet and pulls open his shirt, exposing three gashes running across his chest. "Look at this, Elise. This is what you did to me when I refused to sleep with you."
Gasps rise from the audience.
Words fail to get past my throat as I look at the marks on his chest. If they haven't healed by now, they were most likely caused by silver, or by a werewolf repellent like Wolfsbane.
If Jared went to such lengths just to humiliate me, what wasn't he capable of?
"Elise Gretel Ian, on account of irrefutable and concrete evidence, you are hereby sentenced to four years of banishment from Silver Moon Pack. You will serve those four years at the Farson Correctional Facility for Undisciplined Wolves," says the elder. Then, with a soft cough, he settles back into his seat.
"She totally deserves it," someone in the crowd says.
"I always knew that Jared would never love someone like that. He must have been with her out of pity," another voice says.
I can't believe this is happening. I'm being dragged away in handcuffs, accused of something I didn't do. As I'm led out of the courtroom, I can't help but beg Jared to tell the truth. "Please," I plead. "You know I'm innocent. You have to tell them what really happened."
But Jared just looks at me with a smug expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Elise," he says, his voice dripping with fake sincerity. "I had to protect myself. You were the one who came to me. I had no choice but to defend myself."
Just like that, my foster sister presses herself into his side, looking at me with nothing behind her eyes. "Let's go now, Jared. She won't be able to bother you for a very long time."
As the two of them move away, the guards continue to take me away.
I can't believe he's saying this. He's lying, I know he is, but no one believes me. My adoptive family is seated in the front row, fake tears streaming down their faces. They had never been supportive of me, and now they can finally have me off their hands. Jared is a skilled liar, and he's managed to convince everyone that I'm the one in the wrong.
As I'm taken away to the correctional facility, I can't help but feel a sense of despair wash over me. I know I'm innocent, but no one believes me. I'm being punished for something I didn't do, and there's nothing I can do to change that.
As I make my way out of the little town that hates me so much, I can't help but feel a sense of relief wash over me. I'm finally free, and I can start to rebuild my life.
I'm determined to make things right. I'm going to work hard to gain the respect that I've been deprived of for so long, and I'm going to do everything in my power to prove that I'm innocent.
As the transport vehicle takes me away from the village that has caused me so much pain, I can't help but feel a sense of hope for the future. I know that I have a long road ahead of me, but I'm ready to face whatever comes my way. I'm strong and resilient, and I'm not going to let anyone or anything stop me.
I'll return, and they will all pay for treating me like shit.
LazarusThe facility already smells like hell. I wrinkle my nose instinctively as I step down from the vehicle that conveyed me and two others.I didn’t even bother to ask for their names, they seemed too closed off and hostile. I wonder how many more similar individuals I'll meet in this facility.A harsh nudge to my back propels me forward. "Move!" I refrain from shooting him a glare and opt for a low growl instead.The facility looms before me like a mountain, with sealed windows and barbed wire fences that scream 'You will never get out of here!' The peeling paint and ivy crawling up the buildings further solidify their formidable aura.We move towards the gate, where we are allowed entry after the two officers with us display their badges. They look the same, a typical inverted triangle with the longer sides slightly curved outwards. Inside the triangle, is the unmistakable shape of a wolf with its mouth open in a roar or snarl—I can't tell which because I'm once again pushed for
EliseAs I step off the transport vehicle and into the correctional facility, I can't help but feel a sense of dread wash over me. I know that the next four years are going to be difficult, and I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to survive.I'm led to my assigned room, and I'm told that I'll be sharing it with three other inmates. I try not to let my nerves show as I enter the room, but I can't help but feel anxious as I take in my surroundings. The room is larger than I had expected, with four separate beds placed in all four corners of the room. There is an adjoined bathroom and toilet connected to the room, removing my fears about having to bathe in a public space.Currently, there's no one else in the room, but the other luggages and other stuff arranged beside or on three beds, I'm likely the last person to join.My bedspace has the number given to me etched into a small rectangular metal sign above the bed. 0145.I'm just starting to unpack my things when I hear a commotion in th
LazarusI can't seem to get that girl out of my head. She's always there, lurking in the back of my mind, and no matter how hard I try, I can't shake her. It's not normal, and I know that I shouldn't be thinking about her like this. But I can't help it.Her quiet beauty stunned me at first, but her voice did far more damage. It's like warm honey: sweet, and pleasant to the ears. It did have a tinge of fear within it though, but it was a gift regardless. Her straight brown hair was slicked back into a low ponytail, and if not for self-control, coupled with the knowledge that touching people without their consent is wrong, nothing would've stopped me from running my fingers through it.She barely came up to my chest, but I think those eyes of hers can bring any guy down to his knees. She's not the conventional type of beauty, but rather the kind that makes itself obvious the more you focus on it.When she'd walked away from me, it took everything in me to not have focused on her curvace
EliseI can't shake this feeling of Deja-vu as I stand outside my bedroom. It's like I've been here before, or like I already know what I'm going to find when I walk through that door. I try to look past the feeling, but I just can't.This whole situation hits too close to home.I can still hear sounds coming from inside, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to face whatever is waiting for me on the other side. But I'm overcome with a sense of anger, and I can't resist the urge to burst into the room and confront whatever is happening.I throw the door open, shouting at the top of my lungs as I stroll into the room. "What the hell is going on here?" Heat rises up my neck as I talk, and my agitation increases with each breath.The laughing stops, filling the whole room with a thick, pregnant silence.I'm met with the same sight of two men in various states of undress, laughing and joking as they play around with a woman who's lying on one of the beds. My cheeks flush with embarrassment as I r
Elise"Hey, wait up. What's the big deal? We're not going to hurt you." The redhead says, crossing the distance between us too fast for me to comprehend."Get away from me!" I lash out, throwing an arm out wildly.He hisses when my palm connects with his shoulder. A pang of guilt rises in me at his pained expression.My mouth parts involuntarily to apologize, but the words never make it past my throat."Damn girl. You've got some fire."I step back, not liking the intense look in his eyes. "Are you going to hurt me?"He pauses for a moment, expression shocked. Then, he bursts into laughter that lasts for a full minute. He's wiping off tears from the corner of his eyes when he speaks, "Hurt you? Now that is the most absurd thing I've ever heard."He sighs, relaxing. "Look, I'm Rory, and that guy over there," he points to the dark haired guy, "is Thomas. We're both roommates, and from what I've seen so far, you're our final roommate."At the sound of 'roommate', panic rises within me ag
LazarusAs I stand in front of Elise, I can feel my desire for her building once again. I know I should resist it, but it's hard to ignore the way my body reacts to her presence. She looks up at me, her eyes wide and filled with fear, and I can tell that something is wrong.I breathe in deeply through my nose to stop my wolf from it's restless stirring. There's something about this girl that has been making me restless on the inside. Her smell, her eyes, her figure.I've never felt like this before.I shake off the haze, brought back to reality by her distressed look."Calm down," I tell her, trying to soothe her. "It's going to be okay."She shakes her head, her voice laced with desperation. "I can't stay here," she says, her voice shaking. "I have to leave, now."I can see the fear in her eyes, and I know that I can't let her leave. I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means putting myself in danger."What's going on?" I ask, trying to keep my voice calm. "What hap
ELISEThe day was getting older as I looked through the shattered windows. Its frames couldn't grip the glasses themselves and this made me feel a little bit of nausea about my feelings for Jared. My feelings all crashed when I noticed he wasn't even ready for me.My step sister would never have even thought about even bringing such detriment to me right now as I sit behind shattered windows with the same despair as the inanimate object.I could not look any further at the windows. The memories and words it spoke to me brought so much guilt to me and made me feel so abstract.I was left in the room alone and I did not enjoy the company of the boys. It was pretty hard to revulse them directly but they made a little bit of a nice story whenever I think about their life stories. It did hurt me a lot but not to the same extent as they felt. I decided to take my mind off thinking about their story.I heard shoe shuffles and heels knock on the ground sparingly. Was it some kind of ghost?I
LAZARUSThe dinner was not done already but I could not stand losing Elise sitting all alone amidst some wild set of people. The waves around the place seemed to run extra fast as I could not make any rigid movements, so I enjoyed the early evening by yawning."You want to have some rest?", She had asked.All over me, I didn't want to show any form of tiredness. As well I had expected that she would be asking me something else as soon as I had slept."You want to eat?", She had asked again.I absolutely knew I was tired of the meal. She looked really tired and forgot about our early intentions regarding what we had to talk about. She scanned the dining hall with her eyes to be sure that no one else was there before she turned the plates face down and slid them onto the table so fast.It passed my eye so fast that I couldn't even imagine what she did."Are you aware it's going to be damn hard for us to see this food for the rest of the night?", I asked. There was a rise in my tone but