4. Left To Die

Chapter 4: Left to die

Hannah

I stared at the shock on Bryan's face, which gradually morphed into one of disgust and hate. 

The entire room was silent. The music had died down, and you could hear a pin drop as everyone anticipated what would happen next.

No one would have believed it and neither did I; that I would finally find my mate. I didn’t even have to leave the borders of the Raven Falls pack.

But I did not expect ‘him’ to be my mate. My expectations dwindled as the silence stretched on.

Heather already had a smile on her face, looking at Bryan as if she knew what was coming next.

The hand wrapped around her waist was released as Bryan took a step forward. Then another. And another, until he was only a foot away from me.

He was so close I could feel his hot breath fanning across my face. I wanted to savor that moment, his scent intoxicating, but I knew it wouldn't last long no matter how much I wanted it to.

Staring into his blue eyes, the disgust was evident, nothing seemed to mask the hatred that he felt for me, probably the shame he felt for having to be mated with me.

"There’s no way a weak, pathetic, ugly slave of a mutt is my mate," he spat bitterly in my face, and I flinched at every word.

Tears brimmed at the corners of my eyes as I knew what was coming next.

"Wait, please, we’re meant to be together. Please!" I pleaded silently, reaching for his arm. He quickly drew back, as though I was dirt he didn’t want touching him.

He walked back to Heather’s side, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close. Both of them wore smirks on their faces.

"I, Bryan Ducati—" he started.

"No, wait… please don’t do this," my voice cracked as I stepped forward, trembling, desperate to stop him from declaring his next words.

"Reject you, Hannah Anderson, from being my mate," he finished, pulling Heather closer to him.

The pain I’d never felt before tore through me as I screamed and collapsed to the floor. My heart shattered as my last hope for life crashed—my last star in the sky, lost in the darkness that seemed to grow bigger now.

I’d felt pain within this pack every day, but nothing compared to this. It was as though my soul was being ripped from me, but it still loomed there.

"Get this piece of trash out of here!" Heather ordered as she cozied up to Bryan.

I looked at Bryan once more, my vision blurry from the tears, hoping he wouldn’t do this to me. Pleading ever so desperately for him not to let this bond go.

Bryan had already turned away, his attention now on Heather, they both chuckled and had their moment while she tried to calm him down. He didn’t spare me another glance after that.

There was nothing left for me. No meaning to my life. I felt soulless, crumbling to the floor as my legs gave out, they weren't able to hold me back up.

I didn’t notice the two pack members who had appeared by my side on Heather’s orders. They began dragging me, throwing me out of the pack house and slamming the door shut behind me.

I sat there, staring at the closed door. The music was turned back on as everyone returned to partying, while I remained on the ground, consumed by grief. The tears continued to roll down my face as I sobbed bitterly.

With a strength I didn’t know I had, I picked myself up and began to walk, not knowing where I was going. I kept walking until I bumped into someone.

"What in the world is this?" A man’s angry voice rang out as I found myself on the floor again. I didn’t know who it was until I looked up and recognized who my audience was.

"Alpha Jaxon?" The fear was evident in my voice. His eyes burned with anger and disgust— emotions I had seen too often.

"I’m so… sorry, Alpha," I whispered, my voice barely audible as I bowed.

"Alpha Jaxon, what is the meaning of this?" the man beside him demanded, wiping his expensive-looking clothes as if I had stained him. "Is this how you welcome guests now, letting peasants interrupt them? Unbelievable." The man spat with utter dissatisfaction.

I remained bowed when a hand slapped me across the face, sending me back to the ground. The growing pain on my cheek wasn't numb but there was definitely swelling.

The stranger had struck me. When I glanced at Alpha Jaxon, his eyes showed anger, though he seemed to contain it as he addressed the visitor. "My apologies, friend."

"Hurry up and apologize!" The man yelled at me.

I scrambled to my knees, barely able to speak as I apologized to the man. All I felt was an empty void in my heart. Pain didn’t register, and neither did the insults that were thrown my way.

The man, no longer acknowledging me, turned to Alpha Jaxon and said, "Weak peasants like this shouldn’t be part of a pack, Alpha…" He trailed off, but Alpha Jaxon cut him off.

"Watch yourself, Miguel. Don’t tell me how to run my pack," he said, his voice low and dangerous. Then he composed himself and added, "Why don’t you go on then? Our business is done, and I won’t be seeing you off." One could tell Alpha Jaxon was keeping his voice at bay, holding in his anger.

Miguel, eager to escape as he realized this, bid Alpha Jaxon goodbye and quickly scurried away.

I remained kneeling when Alpha Jaxon finally turned towards me. His heated gaze made me shrink into myself.

"Useless," he sneered, slapping me across the face again. "Embarrassing me in front of a company, huh?" His voice was low but dangerous.

The pain stung worse this time as he put more force behind the slap. I lay on the floor, my hands pressed to my cheeks, wondering why it was always like this— constantly being bullied, constantly hated. I never understood it.

"You’re just a burden to this pack, of no value whatsoever. I can’t have you here again." He looked off into the distance, his expression distant. I realized he was mind-linking. This was confirmed when I saw two warriors walking toward us.

"What a waste of my time," Alpha Jaxon muttered. "I should have killed you a long time ago if I knew how useless you were." 

I wondered what he meant by that, but only for a moment before the two warriors grabbed me.

"She’s banished from the pack. Take her out!" he ordered.

~

"What are you doing with her?" She asked.

 Although the warriors weren't obliged to answer, they had to give a response because she was the daughter of the leader of the warriors.

"Really?" The smirk on Heather's face grew wider as she stopped staring at the warriors and turned her gaze to me.

"Well, it's about damn time," One of my brothers sighed in mock relief.

Heather continued, "Well, in that case, why don't we offer assistance?" She suggested with a smile on her face.

"The alpha ordered—" The warrior on my left was cut off by Heather.

"See, you must have been mistaken, I wasn't asking." The smile that had once graced her face dropped.

They knew she was powerful and not just because her father was one of authority. She had been trained by him, and he was considered strong and fierce.

My brother walked up to the warriors, who handed me over to him with no more words spoken.

"That will be all for now. You may return to your posts." Her smile had returned.

Both warriors scurried away.

"Well, well, well. Let's go for a walk, shall we?" Although she asked, I knew she wasn't expecting an answer from me. My brother snickered behind me before we started walking towards the forest.

We had walked a considerable distance, probably far enough where my screams wouldn't be heard as they tortured me to death.

"Now, I have to ask, what were you expecting when you found out Bryan was your mate? I could see the look in your eyes earlier," she laughed.

I wasn't ready to answer. The first hit was across my face.

"I asked you a question." She grabbed my short hair tightly. "You think you could replace me? Huh? Very funny." She chuckled.

My silence apparently only made her angrier. Her face was so close, and all of a sudden, my emotions conflicted—anger, despair—and with a surge of adrenaline, I spat in her face. This shocked both of us, but I quickly recovered as I realized I had nothing to lose anymore.

Heather was so angry. She wiped the spit off her face before starting to throw punches at me. My brothers just stood back and laughed.

I crumpled to the floor, clutching my stomach, groaning in pain. My vision had become blurry, but I could still hear the anger in her voice.

"Someone like you shouldn't even exist. Weak, pathetic, useless. Honestly, I wonder why you’ve lived this long. Your existence irritates me!" After she had ranted, she calmed herself down.

"You both," she said, pointing at my brothers who had been enjoying the spectacle. "Finish this." She ordered them before turning to me again. "I would have wanted to watch you die, but I think it's best to spend my precious time with ‘MY’ mate, Bryan." She mocked me before walking away.

Kyle grabbed my hair, lifting me off the ground. Kaleb delivered a blow to my stomach, making me double over. I fell to my knees as Kyle released his grip.

"Finally, you'll be out of our lives for good," Kyle started. "We can live our lives without you bringing a stigma onto us."

"You really are disgusting," Kaleb said as he kicked me again.

"This is no fun," one of them said. "How about your favorite game—Chase?"

"That's a great idea," the other agreed, planning my death.

I got up with the little strength I had left and started walking backward slowly. I knew I was falling into their trap, but if there was even the slightest chance that Bryan might come to my rescue again, then I was going to take it.

"Oh, there she goes," I heard from behind me as I walked away. I wasn't moving fast, and I tripped several times. When I turned, they were nowhere to be seen. I continued limping, not knowing where I was going until I reached the same cliff from last time.

This time, it appeared rather scary and deep as it was dark out, a drop from this height was sure to end me, “What to do? What to do?” I cried to the moon goddess but seconds later I yelped.

I felt my hair being yanked again, turning me around. A storm of punches came down on me, landing on my face and every other part of me. I felt like a punching bag, being used to take out someone's anger and frustration.

One of them held me by the arms while the other continued to strike. With every punch, he said, "You'll be out of our lives for good."

The punches turned into scratches. His claws were drawn, and I couldn't stop it. I was open and vulnerable, and no part of me was spared.

I stopped struggling at this point. Blood covered my body, and my vision was failing. I felt my hand release its grip as I fell to the floor.

Pressure was placed on my leg, and a cracking sound followed before the person let go.

"Is she dead?" One of them asked.

"I doubt she'd live after your rampage," the other answered, shaking me slightly.

"Let's go." They agreed after pushing me over the cliff, and then I lost consciousness before I hit the bottom.