ROSELLA
“One… Two… Three…” I counted in my head and waited for him to throw down the door. I heard him park his car outside, expecting him to start screaming my name very soon.
With the way he banged the door so hard, I knew another soul must have pissed him off, and I would be the one to bear the brunt. It has always been this way, him taking out his anger on me.
“Five… Six… Seven…” I continued counting before waiting for him to get to the bedroom. Like most alphas, we weren’t staying in the packhouse, but this man beats me everywhere inside this house.
It’s no news to the guards and mads again how I’m being treated, and I no longer feel shame when I get the opportunity to leave this room.
I am the Luna that gets beaten every time, the Luna that the alpha rarely touches decently, but he has a truckload of concubines scattered all over the packhouse.
"Rosella, where are you? Where the fuck are you? Dirham said you missed your Luna lesson again this week" I heard his voice barking as he was forcefully kicking open the door to every room in the house.
Told you! I wonder who pissed him off this time, and he wouldn’t take it out on the person; I would be the one to take the punishment even when I don’t know the person.
He knew where I was, but yet, he found pleasure in searching for me first then pounding on me after claiming I was hiding from him. He knew I wouldn’t dare hide from him; it only made the whole punishment worse for me. Who wouldn’t hide from such a beast?
Technically I wasn’t hiding from him; I just wanted to clean up. I tried to tell him I was in our bedroom bathroom, but I couldn't find my voice as I felt very sick and distressed. I’ve been too weak to do things myself, and the alpha denied me access to any maid; I did my stuff myself. I don’t have the strength to talk back at him, and I’m what he always calls me ‘The good for nothing weak Luna.’ I need to make an effort at least for him to know I was about to come and meet him; it could save my body from being battered again tonight, and it might not.
I managed to tie the towel around my chest in an attempt to go to him when he pushed the door open. The door hit me on the head, causing me to fall on the bathroom's wet tiles. The aching in my head increased, my stomach lurched painfully, I couldn’t get myself to stand up anymore. I shivered more in dread than with cold, wrapping my hand weakly around my body. I hated it here more than anything else.
"So, there you are, you good for nothing woman, and you allowed me to scream your name like an idiot?" He yelled, making me wince again at the loudness of the voice. This man lacked empathy, and I hated him for it. I don’t care what kind of childhood he had; no one deserved to be treated this way. He treated me like I wasn’t worth a penny, I wasn’t, but I am human. I deserve some empathy.
"I... I... I'm... not..." I stammered slowly while my hands trembled as I tried to keep them together; I didn’t want to look weak because he hated it whenever I looked frail. I prayed he didn’t hit me or do something worse. I knew I was only deceiving myself with the prayers. His boot connected with my head in a flash, and I felt like my skull would crack open. The intensity of the hit was what made me rethink if living this way was better. Maybe suicide was a better option.
"What excuse do you have this time, worthless thing?" He asked with a snicker, and I knew he could do something worse if I didn’t speak up now. This man is a beast, and everyone knows it. Before getting mated to such a man, the moon goddess probably hated me from birth.
"I'm... I'm sorry... I didn’t mean to; I was too sick to leave here.” I forced the words out of my quivering lips, and I hoped he believed them this time. He rarely thought of me as his Luna, and listening to me is like a premium feature, once in a blue moon. I watched him clench and unclench his fingers in anger, and I sighed. I knew what was coming next. He would start to hit me very soon. It’s like a repetitive circle, and I already knew what would end it—me ending the day with bruises and weak bones.
"You're sick and couldn't tell me, so people will think I'm maltreating you, right? You didn't tell me about your sickness, so when you die, they'll say I killed you?" He growled into my face, terrifyingly. The irony of how he was scared to kill me, but he didn’t care about hitting me till I could no longer take it. This man was a funny psychopath.
"No. I'm... I'm sorry, my... my Alpha." I apologized, hoping he would forgive me this time, we both knew that wouldn’t happen, but a girl is allowed to dream. He took another look at me, and I looked at my hands as if it was suddenly the most exciting thing in the world. I mentally prepared myself for him hitting me or anything going wrong. I started another countdown until his hands connected to my throat before the usual beating.
"What if you're pregnant? Yes, you could be pregnant." He said in excitement, and I could see the happy glint in his eyes; I wished I wasn’t because he was obsessed with me winding up pregnant, and I didn’t want that. He hurled me from the ground with one hand. "Behave like a Luna that you are; you don't know how to behave like a Luna! Maybe when you finally stop missing Luna lessons with Dirham, then you would know how a Luna should act." He hissed as he dragged me out of the bathroom to the bedroom. If Dirham was a nice person, maybe I wouldn’t be missing the Luna Lessons almost every time; just like James, Dirham was vile. She could easily pass for a devil’s incarnate.
I wanted to tell him I wasn’t pregnant, but he didn’t even give me the chance to explain myself and how exactly I was feeling, and I was too terrified to speak, or he might hit me again, adding more agony to my body. I didn’t want that, considering I narrowly escaped from a beating. Maybe the doctor would provide a better solution for us.
On our way to the bedroom, my towel loosened due to the way he was dragging me. He, however, pushed me to the bed without taking a second glance at my body, went to the wardrobe, and brought a dress he bought for me during his birthday dinner, I have no idea why he loves extravagant things, but I, for one, I’m not a fan of it. I wouldn’t say I like unnecessary things, and I love minimalist things. Simple things blow my mind rather than extravagant things.
"Put it on." He instructed, throwing it at my face. It was a royal blue dress, and it looked like I was going for a ball rather than a hospital checkup. I wouldn’t say I liked dresses like this, but they seemed to be his weakness. On rare occasions when I make him happy, he pays Dirham to go shopping for dresses like this for me.
I managed to stand up and wore the cloth for him. I turned to the standing mirror in our room to look at myself, but I couldn't recognize the person I was seeing. I became less than a shadow of myself with heavy black bags under my eyes and how skinny I had become in less than two years. He said he hated fleshy females; he wanted his wife to have the body of a model, so he made me eat broccoli and other tasteless vegetables only once a day, checking how much weight I had lost at the end each day.
"Are you deliberately waiting for me to remind you to wear your makeup?" He screamed, slicing through my chain of thoughts. He hated it when he reminded me to do simple things a Luna should know; maybe I needed to stop skipping the Luna lessons. It’s been a year inside this hell, and no help was forthcoming.I almost convulsed at the sound of his voice. I rushed to the dressing table and wore my makeup as he liked it with trembling hands; the only thing I learned from Dirham successfully. When I finished, he brought out a vanilla cologne and made me wear it. I couldn’t choose, I wouldn’t want something for myself, I always did whatever he wanted. I don’t have enough balls to tell him that I think the"These heels will match." He said he loved seeing me wear the shoes as he handed me the shoes. It's a pair of glassy silver shoes that made my legs sore whenever I wore them. He said it made me look like Cinderella. He sure had a thing for fairytales despite his messed-up head. I wasn’t
ROSELLA As I was about to step out of our room, I heard footsteps advancing, which sounded exactly like that of Alpha James. A wave of fear washed over me, I froze on the spot, trying to get my mind to think of something quick, but the fastest way was hiding under the duvet on the bed. He wasn’t supposed to be back this early, and I needed enough time to escape, or else or my plans were going to be futile. There was not enough time to undress or hide those clothes, so I did the only logical thing I thought would work for me.Before he got to the door, I jumped onto the bed and wrapped the thick duvet over my body, revealing only a tiny fraction of my hair. I turned my face away from the door so that he wouldn’t notice anything. I started breathing a tad bit higher, trying to make it look like I was genuinely asleep before he came in. The door opened before he banged it against its hinge loudly; with the way he opens the door like a lunatic, the door would come undone one day. “Get u
I noticed a sound coming from inside, and my father finally opened the door; his eyes widened like saucers as soon as he saw me. I know they would be shocked to see I ran away because he rarely let me visit them. Since we mated, I’ve not called home. This place might look poor than the palace, but I don’t care because I didn’t get beaten every day here. “What are you doing here?” he asked after recovering from the shock. I was surprised because, for someone who hadn’t seen his daughter for almost a year, he wasn’t excited to see me. I hated how Alpha James messed up my life without so much effort; I wonder what kind of threat he must have threatened my parents to make them so unwelcome.My awful stepmother came into view as soon as she heard our voices. This woman was the sole idea of making me get mated to Alpha James. She came up with the business plan, and she made sure to drop hints until he finally suggested it himself. I hated her but not today though, I needed them to keep me
Alpha JulianI sent my wooden sword flying in the air, breaking into the sword of my best friend and beta, Robert. He already knew something was bothering me but knew better than asking anything at this moment. I was too tense to do anything the right way; I wanted a solution so fast. This was my own way of releasing pent-up anger, and I hated how it felt like I had zero control over my emotions. I was trained to do better than this, but I guess desperate situations made you forget your training. He understood that all I wanted to do right now was vent out all my frustration through sparring. We fought that way till I dropped the wooden sword on the floor and sat down. Robert handed me a water bottle, sitting beside me on the smooth floor of our private sparring room. He opened his mouth a few times before closing it back. I knew he had a lot to say to me. He didn’t know what way to put it without pissing me off. I hate that we were reduced to this; I hate that the moon goddess won'
ALPHA JULIANWe walked back to the Alpha’s quarters to get ready for the meeting when Robert spoke up, “Your brother will be coming today as well with his mate so that the pressure will be more on you. You have to be ready for anything,” he advised. I nodded, already aware of what to expect at the meeting. They were trying to undermine my effort as the Alpha King, and they were trying to make me look like a fool. It was a repetitive circle, and I wonder who made the Council of Elders be my power check to start with. They were just older adults with plenty of problems.I dressed up and went to the throne room; as soon as I got there, all the elders, my father, James, my half-brother stood up as I walked into the Packhouse meeting hall. Looking at all of them, I fought the urge to hiss or roll my eyes in irritation. I can handpick a number of elders who wanted me on the throne, and they won' be up to three. I sat down on the throne while the rest bowed before taking their seats. “I wou
JAMESWalking into the house, unnecessary silence met me. Asides from the guards sitting outside, something felt terribly wrong. I could feel it deep in my bones, and it only heightened my anger. I halt the usual hide and seek game, and I head straight to the bedroom where I left her; a little beating won't hurt anyone, especially the fact that she made me lose the tiny chance I had to usurp the throne from Julian. I threw open the door, and I looked around the room. It was empty, and the bed was empty too. I removed the duvet, but instead, a pile of clothes was arranged there, and It made it look like she was trying to deceive me that she was present in the bed. Since when did she start having such sense? I felt instantly enraged; my blood boiled like a pit of lava in hell. How dare she disappears when she’s supposed to be helpful to me?. Who would I pass out my anger on?I was already exasperated that my brother managed to deceive the council of elders, ruining my chance of getting
ROSELLAWe drove into the pack’s territory, towards the four junction roads that lead to other pack territories. I wished I had escaped to a place farther from here to maybe one of the other packs, but Alpha James’s father was the former Alpha king, so he could have easily fished me out even though it took him longer; he wouldn’t rest till he caught me.I sat shriveled up in the car, wrapping my hands around my body, avoiding the look of contempt Alpha James was giving me. I was dead tonight, and no soothsayer could tell me otherwise.“See how skinny and dirty you look. You’ve grown some guts, haven’t you? To even conceive the thoughts of running away is extremely laughable.”“I’m sorry, Alpha...” I whispered, my voice hoarse from crying too much. I've cried enough tears to last a lifetime today, and t looks like I will still cry more tonight.Sorry was all I could say, even though I knew it wouldn’t change anything, any punishment I would be receiving today. My head throbbed as I im
JAMES I sat in the car waiting for my dumb Luna to come back to the car from whatever it was she was doing out there. I was already imagining everything I would be doing to her tonight. I would ravish her mercilessly, making it part of her punishment. I won’t even bother using the lubricant; I’ll penetrate her dryness to teach her a lesson of what she would go through if she ever dared think of running away again. But what the hell was taking her long? A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts; I rolled down the glass to see Gates, the guard I ordered to stay with Rosella while she sorted herself out. I noticed a look of alarm plastered on his face, and I knew immediately that something was wrong. Before he could say a word, I pushed the door open, shoving him off balance at the same time. “Where’s she?” I asked with a snarl, already losing my mind. I looked at the guard and wondered how dumber could he get. I’m sure Rosella must have outsmarted him too. “She told me to turn ar