ONE

What if I put an end to it? An end to the grief, the suffering, the pain, the shame, the humiliation? 

I tried, I hoped to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but this tunnel has no end. My tear glands are empty, my soul is shattered and my heart can no longer bear the agony.

I cringed and shut my eyes tight in readiness of the alpha's fist coming down to smack my face. My daily dose of punishment for the simple crime of existing. Many seconds passed and my eyes started to flutter open slowly when I didn't feel his fist on my face, but I should have just kept them shut. I should have known he only hesitated because he wanted to take me unprepared. I saw the smirk on his lips before his hands landed on my face in a flash, smacking my head to the left and almost completely blinding my vision. 

I screamed, but my screams didn't deter him, instead, they were like fuel to a fire, angering him the more. His other hand smacked me on my left side, the effect making me dizzy. 

"Lie on the floor," he commanded. I knew better than argue with him or plead for mercy. Nothing I said ever worked. Pleading will only make my situation worse, so I did exactly as he commanded, laying on my stomach on the dirty floor, with my hands spread vertically on the floor as was the usual routine.

I bore the pain of his whip as it came down on my back twenty times, screaming uncontrollably as it tore into my skin, each stroke more painful than the last. But the alpha wasn't satisfied. He continued whipping my back, putting more strength into every stroke. On some days, he'd stop at twenty and let me go, but I guess today isn't one of my lucky days. He's angry, and I happen to be his major means of relieving anger.

"How many strokes now, Slave?" He paused to ask, tapping my head with the sole of his shoes.

"Ah-" Not only had I lost my voice, but I'd also lost count somewhere around twenty-eight. 

"Are you deaf?" He roared, kicking my head with his shoes again. 

"Forty-three," I lied. "Forty-three," My eyes stung with unshed tears, tears that wouldn't fall free. 

I cursed my parents silently. I was in this mess because of them. Why did I have to be the one to suffer for their sins? Why didn't I just die along with them? Why did I have to be the one to bear all the humiliation? Hell, why did I have to be born to traitors? 

"I counted thirty-five!" He hissed "You dare to lie to me? You dirty slave," 

I felt his whip on my back again, and this time, the tears poured to my cheeks. "You fucking traitorous liar. You good for nothing peasant! You dare to lie to me!" His whip came down faster on my back and unable to maintain my lying position any longer, I rolled to my side, wrapping my arms around me and screaming some more. But the alpha did not stop. He continued whipping me all over my body and cursing me as he did.

Maybe he'll be happy if I died. Maybe everyone will be happy when I'm finally out of the way, but they wouldn't even let me die. They derived pleasure from seeing me suffer, they'd rather I lived long enough to suffer the consequences of my parent's actions. 

"That should teach you never to lie to your alpha!" He finished, stretching to his full height once he was done. "Sometimes I wonder why I ever agreed to make you a member of my pack. I should have left you for death at your former pack, but no, I saved you, I brought you here and you think I'll let you run down this pack as your parents did with Silent Moon pack? I'm not anything like your former alpha, you little moron," he hissed, spitting in my face before turning on his heels and leaving me there.

I watched him leave with blurry vision until he was no longer in sight before bursting into loud tears. I could feel blood from my back slowly soaking my shirt, itching me. I cried for many minutes, screamed, cursed, and cried some more, but the tears didn't do anything to soothe my aching body or cure my wounds.

Thunder struck, lightening flashed in the sky and the sky darkened as the heavens threatened to open up. I tried to get up, but I only made it to kneeling position before I dropped back to the ground. It will take my wolf many minutes to heal me before I can stand back fully on my feet, and I don't think I have that much time before the rains start coming down. I'll not be able to get myself to shelter.

I slumped on the floor and curled into a ball as much as my injured skin will let me as it started to drizzle.

My life is anything but a bed of roses. I closed my eyes, my mind drifting to my old pack. Life wasn't any better in Silent Moon pack than it is here. Alpha Thane, my present alpha will take every opportunity to remind me how he'd saved me from my former pack, but I'd have even preferred to be there, maybe the alpha would have killed me by now like he killed my parents. But he had to sell me off to the Silver Moon pack to slave away. 

I have been a member of the Silver Moon pack for the last ten years, but it still doesn't feel like home to me. The torture has become a part of my daily routine in the last ten years, but I'd been stupid to think it will be better in Silver Moon than it was at Silent Moon pack.

Silver Moon and Silent Moon packs are sister packs. The alpha's of both packs, Alpha Thane and Alpha Ronan are brothers, and my father had been the stupid beta of Alpha Ronan that thought he deserved the alpha's seat, and he'd almost dethroned the alpha. I was only eight years old then.

My life had been close to perfect in my first eight years. I lived like a normal kid. I went to school, I had friends, but after what my father did, my friends became enemies. I was never really close to my father because he'd wanted a male child in my place, but my mother was always there for me. 

She did bear him a son after me; Leander, my younger brother who didn't even live to see his third birthday. More tears poured from my eyes as I relieved the memory. Of all the things life has taken away from me, Leander had to be the most painful. I don't care if my father got killed, I was never close to him, and besides, he had it coming for trying to usurp the alpha. I'd been close to my mom, but she was my father's greatest cheerleader. He'd have listened to her if she told him not to go on with the war, but she'd been power thirsty too.

I shivered as the rain continued to pour heavily from the heavens, washing away the blood from my shirt. My wolf was starting to heal me, but I still needed a few more minutes to be able to get to my feet and make it to the pack house.

A stray bullet had hit Leander while we hid at the back of the pack house from the whole chaos. My little brother had died right in my arms, and I'd watched him bleed to death with the silver bullet lodged in his heart. I cried, screamed, and called for help, but no one came to our aid. 

A warrior found us not long after, but my father had sealed my fate the minute he decided to do the unthinkable. I was labelled a traitor, caged and made to suffer. He lost the battle of course, and I was the only surviving member of the family. I was left to face the consequences of his actions.

Alpha Ronan treated me worse than an animal, and when he got tired of me, he sold me to his brother, the alpha of Silver Moon pack, Alpha Thane.

In all of this, I held on to the hope of finding my mate. Maybe then I'll have a reason to live. I'd thought that if I found my mate, I'll have a feel of what it means to be loved. I planned to run away with him and start a new life, but how could I even think that something good will ever happen for me, a servant girl with a traitor's blood flowing through her veins. Even my mate was a torn in my flesh.

I pulled myself up to standing position just in time to see a red SUV park in front on me. I dabbed my eyes with the back of my palms as I realized help had come. 

"I have been looking everywhere for you Ray!," Ailana, the only friend I have in the whole world came rushing towards me, wrapping a blanket around me "Alpha Thane did this, didn't he?" 

I didn't give her a response as I settled in the back seats of her vehicle. I closed my eyes and continued to sob.