(Amber's POV)
As I left the dingy hallways of the dungeon and stepped out into the light, my eyes squinted shut reflexively as my hands flew up to shield them from the glare.
After so long in the darkness, the warmth of the sun's rays was a welcome relief on my pasty skin, but the light was almost excruciatingly painful for my eyes.
As I take a deep breath, I finally feel Rae's awareness of the three years that Rae has been in a deep sleep because of our mate's death. Rae?" I stop myself, worried that it's just my imagination.
"Amber, it's me, I'm back." After a short silence, Rae finally answers me. Suddenly I feel the sun begin to warm.
I heard my father click his tongue in disapproval at our reaction to being outside after so long, but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of provoking a reaction. So, I resolutely followed him in silence, shielding my eyes and glancing to the sides furtively to see if anything had changed within the layout of the pack land on the walk from the cells back to the pack house.
There was no one waiting to greet me at the door, no omega's lined up expectantly awaiting my arrival, only the echoing of our footsteps in the heavy silence of the house that was filled with so many painful memories.
"The Omega's will get you cleaned up. Don't fight them. Just do as you're told." he said as we arrived in front of the doors to my old bedroom.
I nodded and waited for him to continue, but he just gestured to my doorway impatiently.
"You can go inside and wait. Someone will be in shortly to..." He said finally, wrinkling his nose in disgust as his eyes dragged over my current state disdainfully.
I had nothing meaningful to say to him so I simply nodded and made my way through the door and into my room, shutting the door behind me without so much as a backward glance over my shoulder.
I heaved a heavy sigh of relief as I took in the once familiar surroundings. Everything was exactly as I had left it and as I walked slowly around my room, I was filled with a sort of grim nostalgia. That night three years ago seemed a world away now and as I came to a stop in front of the mirror, just as I had on that fateful night, I saw for the first time the horrifying state that I was in.
My once vibrant and glowing skin had no trace of color in it. It was dull, flaky, and lifeless... a perfect match for the dead look that seemed to haunt my eyes.
I almost didn't recognize myself, and I was sure that if I wasn't so numb I would probably be heartbroken.
Rae whined pitifully in my head.
"You'll get back to your old self in no time, Amber, and when we do, we'll run far from here and start a new life." She tried to reassure me, but I laughed coldly.
"I will never return to that naivety Rae... they robbed me of it." I spat back angrily, "I don't want to go back either! I want to be strong, find my mother and take her away!"
Rae howled her approval as I smiled back at my reflection, a macabre sight that I'm sure shocked the omega staff members that entered my room without knocking.
Our positive mood was ruined by the appearance of my step-mother's Omega's, who were clearly horrified by my appearance.
"I should have guessed," I laughed bitterly to Rae who growled in response.
"Amber, I have not forgotten the abuse we have suffered. I'm going to use every force in Division to get back at the assholes who hurt us next!" Rae's teeth chatter as I try to hold her down; we won't be as ruthless as we were three years ago.
"We have to bide our time." Reluctantly, Rae agreed.
The Omega's took a few moments to recover from their shock before they carried on with their assigned tasks and for once, they chose not to pass comment on the state that I was in.
It blew my mind just how quiet they were without the figures of my stepmother or stepsister close by but if I was honest with myself, I was grateful for the silence as they tried to eradicate the signs of neglect on my body. Silence was a better option than enduring insults and restraining myself from retaliating, or listening to them make meaningless small talk.
It wasn't long before their task was complete and I was pulled into a dress that my stepmother had picked out for me and I was led down to the smaller dining room that was reserved for the Alpha and his family.
***
Just before I reached the dining room I noticed a group of Omega's congregating around one of the drawing rooms as another Omega hurried past them carrying what looked like a white wedding dress.
I frowned to myself and wondered if my step-sister had found her mate. If so, that might be the reason that I had been brought back here. The idea made me a little bit happy. If I was going to be forced to live here again, it would be better without her around for sure.
It was that thought that put a smile onto my face as I pushed open the doors and entered the dining room.
The sight of my stepmothers and stepsisters' expectant faces, and their gleeful expressions when they saw just how much my outward appearance had diminished made me want nothing more than to unleash Rae's fury on them. But, for now, at least, I will remain calm.
I took my seat quietly as the omega's began to serve the main courses and listened to the banal conversation between my pathetic excuse for my family.
There was nothing of any importance discussed, mainly small talk and gossip between the two women who had delighted in making my life a living hell as my father sat quietly, his gaze fixated on me.
I ate in silence and when we were finished my stepmother turned to me with a bright smile that reeked of her false personality as she spoke,
"It's so wonderful to have you back home, Amber, and on such an exciting occasion too! I bet you're simply thrilled with the news aren't you?"
I lifted my head and met her gaze coldly. Only a fool would miss the hatred that radiated from me as I stared at her confidently. Her smile faltered momentarily as a flicker of fear registered in her eyes and she turned quickly to my father, reaching for his arm.
"You have told her, haven't you dear?" She asked, feigning innocence.
"Not yet, no." he answered as she clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
"Well, you shouldn't delay the good news! I'm sure she'll be thrilled to know that you've found a suitable husband for her after all of that unpleasantness with her mate... It's a new lease of life for her!" she gushed.
Husband? So it's me who's getting married?
(Amber's POV) "What is she talking about?" I asked furiously, my tone holding a dangerous edge to it. "Don't worry Amber, Daddy found the perfect match for you," My stepsister's voice rose gleefully as she clapped her hands in excitement, "You should be happy that he went out of his way to find such a good match for you, especially after your public disgrace." She tittered as I growled lowly. "Are you for fucking real right now?" I scoffed angrily as my father's face darkened, "You hold me in a dungeon for three years, subject to the horrors of the guards that your bitch of a wife personally handpicked to punish me and now you retrieve me only to marry me off to goddess knows who?!" I could feel Rae's rage building at a far faster rate than my own and it took everything in me to stop her from wrenching control from me and surging towards these two conniving little bitches that directed everything behind the scenes. "Your sister is right. After what you did at your Bar Mitzvah..."
(Ryan's POV) I was in total darkness and all I could see was two men writhing together in the distance, one of them my father. I yelled and ran as hard as I could. But no matter what, I couldn't get close to them. "Father!!!" I shouted out to my father but he didn't reply, simply turning his head from his position on the floor and smiling half heartedly at me as the man who sat above him lifted his arm and plunged his claws straight through my fathers chest. Blood spurted out. "NO!!" I woke up with a start, my chest heaving as the emotions of the nightmare still ran rampant inside of me. I looked around in confusion at my surroundings but it didn't take long for me to realize that I had obviously fallen asleep in my office and the memories of that night had haunted me in my dreams once again. I let out a long breath and ran my hands over my face as I forced my heart to slow its rapid beating in the comforting silence. That was part of the reason that I worked so hard... to escape
(Amber's POV). I waited patiently outside the doors of the pack house waiting for the Beta to return but instead an Omega was sent to collect me and showed me to my room. "Is... is Ryan alright?" I asked her as we walked through the corridors, but she didn't answer me and avoided my eyes completely. I turned to thank her for bringing me to my room, but I was forced to step back hastily as the door closed quickly and narrowly avoided hitting me in the face. "Great. We've traded one prison for another." I muttered despondently as I sagged down onto the bed, "I don't understand any of this Rae, why would he react this way to us?" Rae whined softly as she paced in my head in distress. "I don't know. It doesn't make any sense. This was the first time that I've ever seen him, so there's no possible way that we could have offended him somehow." "Maybe our stepmother set this up for us... or our stepsister... they're petty enough." Rae growled. "I don't know... it wouldn't make sense to
(Amber's POV) "It seems our Luna hasn't yet adapted to her new role, has she?" a mocking voice followed. "So, it's our duty to reinforce her memory," another derisive voice chimed in. I woke with a gasp to an unknown icy sensation spreading across my face and as my wolf and I spent a moment in panic as the haze of sleep lifted from us, we suddenly realized that the sheets and mattress around us were soaked. Before I could piece together what had happened, a woman with a squirrel-like face appeared in my field of view and her nose wrinkled in disgust as she looked us over. "You won't be lounging around all day now that you're here." She sneered, "It's seven already and work started hours ago for the rest of us. Get up, you're late." I blinked up at her as I tried to decide whether or not I wanted to let Rae answer her, but eventually, I decided against it. Ryan had already made it clear that he was going to make life difficult for me here and out of spite, I had already made the
(Amber's POV) I held the smile on my face as I raised my eyes to meet the curious gaze of the Alpha King and his wife. "Ryan, who is this?" He demanded with a confused expression, "I thought you were going to fetch the chef so that I could tell them what a wonderful job they did?" Ryan opened his mouth to reply but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of taking credit for the food or hiding the fact that it was me who had put all the hard work into producing this, so I answered before he could. "Actually, your grace, you are meeting the chef." I said, raising my eyes confidently to meet both his and his wife's gaze, "I wanted to make sure that you ate only the finest food, as you both deserve, so I wanted to see to it myself. I can't offer much but if there's one thing that I know how to do well, it's preparing tasty food." The Alpha King clapped his hands together in delight as he looked between Ryan and me, which in itself was an extraordinary action. Normally, he didn't
(Amber's POV) After the meal had finished and the Alpha King and his wife left, Ryan disappeared for a time so I returned to the kitchens and let the omega's know just how much the food we had made together had been appreciated by everyone who ate it. Despite their protests, I helped them clear the dishes and return the kitchen to its orderly state before heading back to my room. But I didn't get to make it that far as I suddenly found my wrist being clenched tightly as I was dragged in the opposite direction. "Wait! What are you doing?! Let go of me!" I cried as I pulled against the unknown assailant but when my senses returned and I took in the broad shoulders and furious eyes of the man in front of me, my heart sank when I realized it was Ryan. "I hope you're fucking pleased with your achievements today," He hissed savagely as I found myself pulled forward and shoved through the doorway of a room that felt as welcoming as Ryan's personality. "What are you talking about? I trie
(Amber's POV) I had suddenly found myself trapped with nowhere to go. The chains that bound my wrists grew tighter as the man forced himself on me repeatedly. "Cry for us you worthless whore. This is the only love you will ever know. You don't deserve more than this. You should be grateful that we want to sink our cocks inside of you so deeply… that it baby… scream for us…" I could hear Rae calling to me but I couldn't make out what she was saying, my mind had begun to close itself off to all external sensations in an effort to protect itself. The more I struggled, the more these men pressed themselves into me and I screamed silently as they violated me over and over again, refusing to give them the satisfaction of hearing my voice in the way that they wanted it to be used. Then, in an instant, the horrific experience dissolved around me and I found myself confronted with the face of Ryan looming over me. Was he responsible for this? Did he put them up to it?! In my sleep-addled
(Amber's POV) This cell that I had been thrown in certainly wasn't the worst that I had experienced but that didn't make it pleasant by any means. The smell of damp and mildew permeated this place and the grime that I could feel on the floor below made my stomach twist in disgust. Compared to this cell, the maids dormitory was practically a mansion. Plagued by the memories of my nightmare, I hadn't slept a wink all night, yet I still hadn't dared to open my eyes in case I found the faces of the men that haunted my dreams staring back at me. "Just tell him Amber," Rae whined, my lack of sleep beginning to impact on her irritability as well. "Rae…I can't. Look at how he's treating us now! Imagine how he would react if he found out that he was lied to!" "Maybe he'll give your father what he's got coming to him . Karma works in mysterious ways!" she shrugged , completely unbothered by the potential fallout. "But what about our mother Rae? I won't have her become collateral damage be