CHAPTER 2

Elena knew no peace after the kitchen incident. 

Elijah took every moment of the day to remind her that she was lying, disgusting thief. Elena went back and begged Malia to just tell her father the truth, say that oh it had been a mistake and she hadn't seen Elena take the food.

"Why would I do that?" Malia had sneered. She knocked Elena's hand off her. "You deserve to suffer for being the dent on this family. Aren't you even ashamed to call yourself a member of this family?"

Malia wouldn't listen, wouldn't do anything. 

Elijah made Elena's life even worse. He seemingly manufactured chores out of nowhere to make her life worse than hell. He cut her food portions so she was working more but eating less. 

Elena wanted to cry her heart out to whoever would listen, but her heart was dry. She couldn't even find it in her to do anything other than smile, nod politely and recieve the insults and abuse dished out to her. 

Afterall, she believed that there was nothing she could do. She was above the age of mating and she was still unmated. Each blood moon came and went and the moon goddess in some sort of joke or irony refused to grant her a mate. It wasn't just her lack of a mate, she also couldn't wolf out. No matter how much she tried, it just didn't work. What came to every werewolf so easily ran away from her.

Elena felt tired and defeated. Even if she wanted to fight her uncle how would she do it? Physically she was almost the weakest in the pack. Malnutrition had told on her leaving her with extremely pale skin and a skinny body. Sometimes to herself she wondered how she was still alive.

***

Two weeks after the kitchen incident, Elena noticed some very unusual guests that came to visit. She had been cleaning out the water tank when she felt a surge of powerful energy that shook her to her bone. She crawled out of the tank and tiptoed to the living room. From her position at the top of the stairs she could peer down into the living room and see the entire space. 

There were three men in the living room, having a hushed conversation with Elijah. The men looked fearsome, dressed casually but each of them had tattoos on their skin and piercings. Elena felt a shiver run down her spine as one of them felt her presence and turned, their eyes meeting directly. It took a lot of her self control not to make a sound.

"That would be wonderful, gentlemen." She heard her uncle say out loud. "I'll fetch her for you." She knew they were talking about her. Without wasting a second she turned and rushed back to tank, crawled in and pretended like she'd never left. Not long after Elijah came up to her and knocked on the tank. 

"Get out of there Elena, you have guests." He said, his tone sounding too excited for her liking. 

She came out of the tank. "Guests? But I don't know anybody."

"Beats me. Now, kindly keep your little mouth shut if you want to keep that head of yours."

Elena exhaled. She wondered what new diabolism her uncle was up to. What new ways had he invented to torture her pitiful existence?

She smiled. "Of course." Because what else could she do? 

They walked down to the living room. The three mysterious men looked at her as she approached, she found that she couldn't read their eyes at all. That alone scared her. With Elijah or her cousins it was easy to look at them and assess their current  moods. These men were totally blank. Elena stood there, unsure of what to do as they shamelessly checked her out.

"A little skinny," One of the men commented. He was the one who had met her eyes earlier. 

"She will do." The other said. 

"That's right." The last one said. 

Elena was totally confused. "Um, excuse me," She said. "I'm a little lost here "

"Pack your bags and be down in ten minutes." One of the men said. "You're coming with us."

"And who are you?" She asked. Beside her she could hear Elijah take in a deep breath. She knew that if it weren't for their esteemed guests, she would have been on the floor recovering from a brain rattling slap. 

"Less talk now," Elijah said. "Go and pack your things."

Elena glanced at him briefly, he was smiling. She went to her room and threw together the meager belongings she had into a small backpack. It took less than three minutes. She slung the bag over her shoulder and returned to the living room.

"Are you ready?" The man who'd met her eyes asked. 

"Yes, I guess so." She said.

"Perfect. Let's go now." The men turned and walked out, filing out one after the other. Elena walked after them, not looking back.

"Remember," She heard Elijah say behind her and paused. "There is no home for you here anymore."

Elena felt a spark of anger for the first time in her life. The Ash pack was her right. She turned sharply and found herself glaring at Elijah. Her jaw clenched and she felt her nails cut into her palms from clenching her fists too tight. Elena was overcome with the very sudden, very violent desire to tear her uncle into prices right where he stood. 

Elijah narrowed his eyes. "What with that look in your eyes?"

Elena instantly reverted to normal. "I've heard you." She turned and caught up with the men. 

"May I ask where we are going?" Elena asked,

One of the men held the door of the car open. He looked at her and smiled. His smile seemed kind. "You're now a member of the Lycanfrost pack."

Elena felt her heart drop. "Lycanfrost?" Her eyes widened. "But that's the...."

"Just get in, okay? All your questions will be answered soon."

She looked at the three of them, she still couldn't read them at all. She entered the car and they drove off. 

Her mind raced like the trees that they raced past. She had heard of the Lycanfrost pack, it was one of the most powerful packs, if not the most powerful. Known for raising ruthless warriors who expanded the pack with every advent. Any one who went to war against the Lycanfrost pack was doomed from the start.

Elena wondered why her uncle decided to send her to them. And she could only come up with one conclusion.

He had sold her.

She felt hope blossom in her heart. This could mean something good, something new. The Lycanfrost pack was huge, her own pack was not even compared to it. This could mean that she would be free. Free from Elijah and his evil and torture and domineering behavior. Free from Malia and Susan and Herald, although Herald didn't exactly bother her.

Her freedom was on its way, and she felt excited.

It had been so long since she last felt excitement, it settled uncomfortably in her stomach. It felt like butterflies, but not the good kind. She exhaled and closed her eyes, trying to relax before the ride was over. 

She thought about her pack, about her father and the legacy he'd left behind. It pained her that she couldn't carry it on. But she didn't bother about it too much.