missing the future

The deed was done.

But the moment Ashton realized what he was doing, they became mortified with themselves and fled without as much as a look back.

Sheryl was crying, with pains all over her body, but she managed to pick herself up to wipe herself clean.

"Why?!" She lamented in a loud voice, tears rolling down her face mixed with snort.

"What!?" Asher's eyes widened when the alpha told him of the atrocities he had committed against his mate.

"I didn't mean to, my wolf took over." He cried, Ashton held his hair, almost as if he wanted to pull it out of its roots.

"You left her!" The beta couldn't understand why that would happen.

"We didn't mean to okay?!" Ashton got frustrated and wanted to leave the office immediately.

"You have to go and apologize to her right away, for all you know, it might be her first time and you guys took advantage of her body like that?" Asher told Ashton who remained seated.

"It is her first time, Asher." The alpha replied in a little voice, regret signed all over him.

Asher's eyes widened again, he got speechless and simply left the room too before he did something to get himself killed.

In the end, Ashton thought it was a good idea to let it blow over for a while before he went to see Sheryl, whose name they were yet to know, despite everything.

Before Sheryl knew it, two months passed and she never saw her assaulters anymore, she carried on with her boring life of being bullied, day in and day out by every member of the Shadow Lake Pack, of course except for James, which she was extremely thankful for.

She thought too soon.

James cornered her into the broom closet and locked them in.

"Get on your knees." He didn't waste any time getting straight to the point.

Sheryl knew what he wanted, but she was not ready to give him, not with the health issues she had been dealing with in recent times.

"No!" She kept her voice steady, but firm, hoping to pass the message across to the arrogant alpha heir.

"No? Need I remind you what will happen if you say no?" James had threatened her before, that he would chase her out of the pack if she ever disobeyed him.

But, to Sheryl at that moment, that offer seemed like the best.

"No." She said, and this time, she moved to leave.

James's eyes flashed, his wolf surfacing, not liking the disrespect they were suffering at the hands of a lowly pack member with no wolf.

He pulled her back by the hands and gave her a beating of her life.

"You stupid bitch, you'll answer to me anytime, you're mine." He beat her blue-black, she could barely walk.

Sheryl was at least grateful he didn't touch her stomach.

After being satisfied with his ministrations, James left her, bruised and battered.

Sheryl managed to walk out of the closet towards the direction of her parent's house. On the way, she reminisced about her life.

"Ha!" She gasped, finally figuring it out. "It's a child, I'm carrying a baby." She held her stomach with such carefulness as joy bloomed in her heart.

She knew right then and there that she had a reason to survive, but she needed help if she wanted to.

"Sheryl!" Landon's voice broke her soliloquies.

"Oh good, he should be able to help me." She thought to herself as she walked in the direction of Landon's voice.

"I have been looking for you all over, I wanted to…" Landon's words were cut off when he saw the bruises covering Sheryl's face and body. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing Landon, what do you want?" She replied, her voice cold.

"I wanted to apologize for the other day, you stopped talking to me, don't do that, you're my friend and I care about you, so please Sheryl, forgive me." Landon pleaded, but what she saw was an opening to blackmail Landon into helping her, so she took the opportunity.

"I'll forgive you on one condition." She started looking straight into his eyes.

"Really? What condition?" He first sounded excited, then suspicious.

"You'll help me escape this pack." 

"Escape the pack? Sheryl, you're not a prisoner here, this is your home, why would you want to escape?" Confusion coated Landon's tone.

"Don't you see it? I'm not wanted here, I get beaten every day, I work like a maid in my own home, why won't I want to escape? Tell me Landon, tell me." She lamented, stating out her suffering I after the other.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, but I don't know Sheryl, the alpha will know if a pack member leaves," Landon replied.

"He won't know, I don't have a wolf remember?" Landon nodded, putting a simple plan together already.

"Okay, you can leave, I'll send a message to my sister, you can stay with her at her pack, no one will find you there," Landon assured.

"Thank you so much, Landon, oh and by the way, I've forgiven you long ago." Sheryl rushed forward and hugged him tight, it was unexpected, but happy with it. Landon returned the sentiment.

The two put the plan into action and helped her escape, Landon's mind was only settled after knowing she was safe with his sister.

"It is better this way." He encouraged himself, missing Sheryl already.

It was a surprise to the people of the Shadow Lake pack as the stunning alpha Ashton came looking around for Sheryl.

"This is what she looks like." He tried explaining to Luna what his mate looked like.

"Of course, it's the pack maid." She scoffed, looking at him in pity, thinking she had stolen something from them. "She left the pack a few days ago. She simply disappeared." She gave the news, not knowing the effect it would have on the alpha.

"What?! She left?!" He asked furiously.

"Oh no," Asher muttered from behind them. "This is bad."