ASHER"You!" I pointed at the guard who was holding Matt's head back. "Dump some more water on him."As he poured the bucket of water over the choking, spluttering man, I kept punching him the face. The sound of my brass studded knuckles making contact with his wet skin made a rather pleasant squelching sound. My face split into a grin as I realized I could actually get used to this. The feeling of ultimate power and control was a heady one.Punching the shit out of this asshole certainly beat hitting inanimate punching bags at the gym. I adjusted the brass knuckles over my fingers, gave him one more punch below the eye before taking a step back to survey my handiwork.His face was satisfyingly bruised and covered in blood. The skin was split in several places. It wasn't a bad result for about thirty minutes work, I had to admit. Not even the pack's guards could have done it better. One of his eyes was swollen shut but I had been careful not to hit anywhere close to the other function
HANNAHI paced my breathing and counted my steps under my breath to distract myself from what was going on. I just wanted to be in my head all the time, if that was possible. I wanted my mind to dissociated from what my body was being forced to do.But it was hard to find my happy place when Asher stopped walking and turned to growl at me. "Hey, walk faster, will you? What the hell is wrong with you anyway?" He eyed the pile of books I was carrying. "You had better not let any of those books touch the floor or you'll be picking them up with your teeth."I nodded, taking great care that my eyes remained downcast. That seemed to please him. He was always pleased whenever I didn't put up a protest to whatever outrageous demands he made. He kept walking. I followed.Things were now back to the way they used to be before the triplets had showed up. I was back to lugging Asher's books and things around the school, escorting him to glass and being his general dogsbody, or to put it more acc
HANNAHA loud knock on the door made me start violently. In a second, I had rolled off the bed and was on my feet.With a racing heart, I called out, "Wh-who is it?""Me," replied a voice, the voice of a maid.I clutched my chest in relief and weakly called for her to come in. Anyone who wasn't Asher or his father were welcome. I should have even known Asher wasn't the one in the first place as he would never knock."Hi," I said to the girl.She merely acknowledged me with a toss of her head. To the maids in this house, I was more or less one of them, was Asher's mate only in name."Master Asher wants you to do his laundry." the girl said and when I merely nodded, she added, "Now. His clothes are in his room."She couldn't have said anything worse. Doing his laundry, I didn't mind that, but going to his room was a whole different matter. I could only wish that he would not be there when I went to get the clothes.But of course he was. Fate wasn't giving me a brief these days. Asher ha
HANNAH I paced my breathing and counted my steps under my breath to distract myself from what was going on. I just wanted to be in my head all the time, if that was possible. I wanted my mind to dissociated from what my body was being forced to do. But it was hard to find my happy place when Asher stopped walking and turned to growl at me. "Hey, walk faster, will you? What the hell is wrong with you anyway?" He eyed the pile of books I was carrying. "You had better not let any of those books touch the floor or you'll be picking them up with your teeth." I nodded, taking great care that my eyes remained downcast. That seemed to please him. He was always pleased whenever I didn't put up a protest to whatever outrageous demands he made. He kept walking. I followed. Things were now back to the way they used to be before the triplets had showed up. I was back to lugging Asher's books and things around the school, escorting him to glass and being his general dogsbody, or to put it more
HANNAH"Look at her, the crazy daughter of a traitor.""I hope she dies and-""And then we wouldn't have to see her face around here anymore.""Why is she even here?"I held the books closer to my chest. My steps faltered as I looked up and saw a whole lot of other students whispering and pointing at me.The hallway seemed endless as I stood there, books in my sweaty hands and dread in my heart."Traitor!" someone yelled from behind me.I forced myself to keep moving. I raised the books in a pathetic attempt to hide my face but soon gave it up when I found I couldn't see an inch in front of me. How they would laugh if I fell flat on my face.It hurt, it really hurt, to be accused of something I didn't do, or to put it more accurately, something my father didn't do.My father had been accused of trying to kill the Alpha and had been banished from the pack. He was innocent. I knew he was. I was sure he was banished because he had witnessed something terrible that the Alpha had done, som
HANNAH The moment I stepped through the gates of my school, I felt too exposed and too conspicuous. I wanted badly to put yesterday's events behind me, but just a few minutes in school, and I knew it would not happen. People stood in groups, whispering to each other while staring or shooting glances at me. Those who felt no need to hide the fact that they were talking about me kept pointing at me as they spoke. I held myself straighter and looked over their shoulders as I walked.The whispers, the pointing, the stares... I had already gotten used to them. I was the pariah here, the traitor's daughter. I knew it, and I didn't really care as long as I wasn't pushed around the way I had been the previous day. The only thing I was really concerned about was staying out of Asher's way. Asher. The thought of him sent a searing pain through my chest, and I clutched my backpack tightly. Last night, I had not slept a wink. Asher had known exactly how to punish me. He had been intimate with
HANNAH"Did you stab my son?" Alpha Dawson asked in a mild voice, but his eyes told a different story.They burned and blazed and promised the worst kind of punishment for me. He was an intimidating man under the best of conditions, but right now, he looked downright frightening.I looked up at him from my place on my knees, with the tears streaming down my cheeks, his very muscled hands clenching and unclenching on the armrests of the chair he sat on as though he was resisting the urge to wrap them around my neck.The guards had forced me onto my knees before him, but though their hands weren't on me anymore, I couldn't have moved an inch even if I wanted to. I was petrified, frozen to the spot. My life could end at any moment if the Alpha so willed it. Attacking his son was tantamount to attacking him.I opened my mouth but could manage only a sigh. Somehow, my words got lost between my head and my mouth. All too well, I recalled my father being in this same position I was in whil
HANNAHI had only gotten three hours of sleep the previous night. My entire body was aching by the time I finished cleaning the pig pen, and I had walked home because Alpha Dawson didn't offer me a ride.“I want to fuck a hot chick tonight!” One of Asher’s friends yelled, jolting me from my thoughts.Their dirty laughter filled my ears. It grated on my nerves, but I didn't dare show my displeasure.I hung my head, concentrating on not calling attention to myself. They would poke more fun at me if I so much as moved. Surreptitiously, I shifted from one aching foot to the other. I had been standing 'on guard' behind Asher's chair for a long, long time while he talked and laughed with his friends, Julia and her girlfriends. To make it worse, he had made me carry his books, and now my arms felt numb. "...you!"I blinked, raised my head and realized Asher had been talking to me. They were all looking at me. So much for my attempts to melt into the background."S-sorry," I stuttered. "Wh