"AMELIA!!" my father bellowed. "If you don't get a fucking move on, I swear you are going to regret it!"
"I'm sorry! I'm coming now" I called, as I jumped up off my bed to rush down the stairs. I didn't want to provoke him again. I still carried the marks from the last time I ran late. I could still feel the sting of his hand on my skin as he slapped me and the throbbing, dull aching after he kicked me.
My name is Amelia Baker, I'm turning 18 soon, but I'm trapped here, trapped in this place and unable to escape.
I almost collided with my mom, as I skidded to a halt at the base of the stairs. Her eyes were exhausted, red, and puffy. She's been crying again. My father would never lay a hand on her would never physically hurt her, but that didn't mean he wouldn't belittle her, scream at her, make sure she knows she isn't worthy of him. He would take his physical rage out on me instead. He would call it 'conditioning', say that he was training me to not be weak. But I knew better. I knew it was just so he could hide what he was doing to us, so he could pretend, that what he was doing, was just fine. But he was the Alphas Beta, his second in command, so no one would look twice anyway.
"Go, sweetheart. Don't be late" she trembled.
"I'm going. I love you, mom" I soothed, hugging her.
"I love you too."
I walked to the front door, glancing back at my mom, worry filling every inch of my body. I knew better than to say anything. I learned that the hard way.
"If you had let me out that day, he might have learned that we are not as weak as he thinks!" I listened as my wolf, Atonia, scolded me for preventing her from causing more unnecessary problems with my father.
Walking to the car, I watched my father jump in and rev the engine, making it clear that I would pay for it if I didn't move faster. So I rushed to the passenger door and all but threw myself into the seat. I only just managed to put my belt on as he sped out the driveway, tires screeching, and headed towards the school campus.
The journey was terrifying. Shaking in my seat the whole way there, pretending I wasn't scared.
Thankfully the journey wasn't long and within 10 minutes, we were at the gates. I climbed out as quickly as I could before he decided to drive off with me hanging out of his car.
Standing on the path, leading to the front doors of the school, I watched as he drove off and let out the breath I had been holding, and started to relax a little.
Turning around, I started making my way towards the doors, towards my first class. I could feel the anxiety rising inside me as I got closer. I could feel the eyes of everyone, on me. I could hear their whispering. Could feel their judgment, their taunting.
"Ignore them, Amelia. Don't let them see that they're getting to you." Atonia soothed. "Because if you get too riled up, I will take over and I don't think you'll want that right now."
"No! I do not want that right now." I responded through our bond. "But please, just try to stay calm today? I don't need to draw any more attention to myself, especially today." I quickly added.
"I make no promises, but I will try," she muttered, begrudgingly.
I had made my way to my first class of the day, without incident, and silently took my seat at the back of the room. I quietly observed all the other students making their way in, one by one, waiting for the two people whom I always hope will never come.
Unfortunately, the Goddess does not hear me, and they both walk in, joined at the hip as they always are.
Samantha Thwaite. She was the epitome of beauty. Long strawberry blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and tanned, poreless skin. She was once my friend, my best friend, but she showed her true colors eventually. Her lying and backstabbing, and her eventual destruction of my trust and friendship, led to a new social level for me.
And then there is Ethan Colt. The Alphas son. He and I were raised together and when I turned 16, he confessed his feelings for me. Which at the time, had made me so happy and blind to everything else. He had managed to convince me that we will be Mates when we both turn 18. He wormed his way into my mind and manipulated me, used me, and threw me away when he was done. Ethan was working with Samantha, both of them using me, manipulating me and my emotions all because it was fun to them. Because they wanted to be together. The people I thought I knew had turned on me and used me, destroyed me, and threw me away. Now? Well, now their goal was to torment me until my last days.
"Oh, look who it is! Little miss Beta is trying to hide" Ethan sniggered, as he glared at me.
"Ew, why is she even still here? It's like she thinks she still has friends!" she stated, giggling to herself.
My face began to redden, from either anger or embarrassment, I couldn't tell. Maybe it was both. I just ignored them, pretending I didn't hear them, and carried on preparing my books for today's English class.
“Let me get them, please! They deserve to hurt as they hurt you!” exclaimed Atonia.
“Atonia, stop, please. We only have a couple more months, then we are out of this place.” I begged.
Thankfully, Mr. Marriott strode in at that moment, calling the class to attention.
Releasing a sigh, I relaxed, knowing Ethan and Samantha would never cause any trouble while a teacher was present.
. . . . . .
Somehow I managed to make it through the rest of my morning classes, to lunch without any more problems. I snuck away before anyone noticed, to go eat my lunch. I had an area in the woods near the school, that was hidden and safe. A place to relax and prepare for the last class.
"The fresh air is nice out here, calm. We can easily forget about the bullshit at school and home", Atonia sighed contentedly.
"I know. Maybe we can run away, take mom with us and find another pack to take us in. One that will care for us, not ruin us." I replied, getting lost in the idea, again.
Maybe I should suggest it to mom? Maybe it will make her happy? Make her smile again? Will she agree? Will she go with me?"I think that's a great idea! You definitely should suggest it to her, convince her. Your father isn't her mate, Amelia, so the only thing keeping her here is her duty to her patients. She'll do it to protect you. To protect us." She gushed.
This isn't the first time we've spoken about this. It has been 6 months of back and forth on the subject of running to another pack. But I honestly think it is time to talk to her about it, convince her.
Maybe we can finally be a happy family? Just me and my mom.
“That’s it! I will speak to her!” I decided.
The end of the day finally arrived. The anxiety that had steadily built throughout the day had slowly started to dissipate and was being replaced by nerves. I was going to meet my mother at the pack clinic, talk to her about my plan, my idea. I needed to do it now before I lose my nerve. I hope she listens, I just want her to be happy, I don't want to see her hurting anymore. Walking to the clinic, I planned out what I was going to say. I had done some research during lunch, trying to figure out which pack might take us in, which ones were a no-go, and which ones are allied with our current pack, The Black Lake Pack. I had managed to narrow it down to two packs. The Dark Moon Pack, or The Oak Ridge Pack. The Dark Moon Pack were based 600 miles away from us, but if we
The house became eerily quiet over the next few days. My mother was working non-stop at the clinic, all while organizing our way out of the pack, and trying to keep it secret from everyone around us. And my father had been constantly called away by the Alpha. From what I heard, there had been border breaches from the enemy packs, and it seemed they had been holding meetings and ordering more patrols of the borders. With the added patrols, I couldn’t rein in my worry that we wouldn’t be able to cross and run, without being noticed. Did mom have a plan for that too? She hadn’t told me anything, which I suppose is a good thing. That way no one would be able to overhear our plan and stop us. I don’t want to think of what would happen to us if we were caught. But would they lock us up? Would they torture us? Would they kill us? It didn’t matter, we can’t sta
It was Monday, the 8th of March. I was ready and waiting out by the car for my father. I had been early every day since Tuesday last, just so I could keep things civil, somewhat peaceful. He would have meetings all day and all through the night. There were threats of invasion from another enemy pack to the west so he was completely occupied with the growing concern of war. He dropped me at the campus gates, without a single word or comment. I quickly climbed out of the car and turned to walk towards the school, listening as the distinct sound of his car faded the further he drove away. But I stopped dead in my tracks, listening carefully as another familiar car sped towards me. It was my mother. Her face was full of fear and worry. She hit the brakes so hard, I swear the car looked like it was going to flip. She
Oakwood Ridge glowed below us, sprawling from one end of the forest to the other. It beckoned us.We began our descent towards the lights, the sound, the people. I took it in, listening to the sounds of laughter, children playing. Deathfall was never like this. It was quiet, there were rules, curfews, punishments for not following the rules. It was dark there, it didn’t feel like home. It was never home, not to me.We walked in silence towards the packhouse, which was situated on the edge of the town. It faced a building that looked like a typical British boarding school and was separated by a large field and what kind of looked like a well-used training arena.As the packhouse rose up in front of us, I could see it more clearly. The sandstone brick walls were full of large windows and covered in beautiful pur
The morning came too soon. I was far too comfortable, wrapped in the blankets. I listened to the sound of people rushing in and out of their rooms, getting ready for school, I guessed. I turned onto my back and lay there, staring at the ceiling, remembering the events of the day before. I was feeling more relaxed about where I was, but the wolf I saw from my window last night, the memory was playing on my mind.Why were they watching me? How long had they been there?There was a gentle knock on the door. It began to open and my mother poked her head in.“Morning sleepyhead,” she chuckled.I threw the covers over my head and groaned.“Urgh… Morning, mom,” I grumbled back, making her laugh. I pull
On Wednesday morning, my mother and I decided we should take the opportunity and go look around the town, get a few things and maybe meet a few people. My mother especially wanted to go look around the clinic, meet everyone there.So at around 10 am, we set out and began the trek through the town.It was as beautiful as I thought. The buildings were all made from the same sandstone as the packhouse, and most seemed to have this sort of organised chaos look to their gardens. Wisteria or ivy grew up the side of the buildings, giving them an overgrown look, blending them into the surrounding areas. The roads and pathways were clean and well kept, as were the little parks we strolled past. Everything was beautiful, like a town out of a book.Strolling down the path, towards the town centre, I couldn’t help but not
After the Alpha had left us, I slowly ambled through the flat, hunting for where my mother had disappeared to. I twisted as a noise came from the end of the small hallway, to the right of the living room. Turning and heading down the hall, I opened the first door, finding it empty. Carrying on, I reached the second door, opening it softly. There, sat on the edge of the large bed, was my mother, tears in her eyes, head hanging low. “Mom?” I called softly. She looked up, trying to hide her tears, but failing. “Are you okay? What happened?” I asked, concern lining my voice. “Nothing, I-... I’ve just never had such kindness shown to me, not since I was a child,” she confessed, taking a shuddering breath. “The generosity, and
I had awoken early, my dreams throwing me out of sleep. Why was I dreaming of the Alpha? Is it a side effect of drinking his blood and swearing myself to him? Confused, I threw my blankets back and stood up out of bed. I stepped towards the window, pulled the curtains back and opened the window, letting the cool morning air surround me. The early morning mist was sitting low in the air, the dew-wet grass shimmering in the light of the sunrise. The colours, pale and soothing. It had rained that night, leaving the damp earthy scent lingering in the air. Thick, dark clouds hovered in the distance, a promise of rain. I took in the air, waking myself up fully. Sifting through the view, I caught a glimpse of two figures out on the field, fighting. Focusing on them, I realised that it was Beta Matthias an