CHAPTER 4

Elena curled up in a ball, crying her heart out. It was nearly two am in the morning, and she had just returned from her duties.

She missed her home. She desperately wanted to go back to the Ash pack and be their slave forever. She missed Elijah, she even missed Malia and her tricks. If she could sell her soul to go back to her old life she would. 

Marcus was the devil himself. 

Her back felt like it had been lit on fire, fire that refused to die out. Every nerve in her body felt agitated and raw. Her head throbbed, her throat felt dry from the times she'd cried and cried and screamed with no one to hear her voice. 

She hugged herself as hard as she could, sobbing into her knees as quietly as she could because the last time Marcus heard her crying he burst into her room and gagged her for the rest of the night.

It had only been three days, but it felt like forever.

The rules were simple, very simple in fact one would believe that it was difficult to mess it up. The only problem was that it was virtually impossible to please Marcus. If he found even a single speck of dust on the glass table, he had her do the whole room over again. When he found a crease in one of his shirts, he made her iron it again while a corded whip tore her back apart with the force of his whips. And when she got blood on it he grabbed her face and slammed it into the ironing board till her nose bled.

Elena turned in bed, trying to find a comfortable angle for her sore and aching body. She wasn't successful. 

She closed her eyes and wished desperately that she would wake up in the drab attic room with the bugs and the dampness. That she'd hear Elijah's voice screaming her name and telling her to move her lazy bum. 

She shoved her fist into her mouth to muffle her sobs. She just wanted to go home. 

She heard movement outside her door and stilled, fear seeping into her heart. 

"Elena," She heard Marcus say. Oh boy he sounded annoyed. 

She rose to her feet and wiped her eyes. "Yes sir?" She rushed to the door and threw it open. Marcus was standing outside, his hair falling over his shoulders. He was shirtless, dressed in a loose pair of sweatpants. 

"What are you doing?"

"I..." She paused, tears choking her. She turned her head and drew in a deep breath, she couldn't break down in front of him at all.

"Are you crying?"

She turned to him. Slowly she nodded. 

"Why are you crying Elena?"

"I...I miss my home."

Marcus scoffed. "Home? You call that place home?"

She bit her lip. "It was .."

"Your uncle beat you up everyday and made you a slave. From what I hear, you are supposed to be the rightful alpha, but you can't even wolf out. What is there about Ash pack to miss?"

Elena couldn't describe how deep his words cut her. "You're doing the same thing!" She screamed before she could stop herself. She saw a flash of surprise through Marcus' eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't...."

"Oh but my dear, you are the cause of your own misfortune." 

Elena felt her body trembling with fear. She kept her eyes glued to the floor. She feared for what Marcus might do to her. 

"Come with me."

She obeyed without a second thought. He opened the door to his room. It was lit in a low yellow light that gave it a warm look. Elena felt her stomach flip. She had only been in his room to clean and nothing else. She couldn't help but become painfully aware of how exposed she felt, dressed in a nightdress while he in just sweatpants. He walked over to a cabinet

"Take your clothes off and lay on the bed, face down."

She froze.

"Sir?"

"Did I ask you to speak?"

Her heart raced. He was searching for something in the cabinets, his back completely turned to her. She knew better than disobey him, but this order was too much. Slowly, she grabbed the hem of her nightgown and pulled it off her. She folded it and kept it aside then crawled into the bed. The cool air on her fresh wounds made her hiss in pain.

"Was I too hard on you?" She heard Marcus ask. He must've joined her on the bed because she felt his weight dip the bed. 

"Y-yes"

He hummed. She caught the scent of spirit. "Move closer to me." She obeyed, keeping her face buried in the soft mattress. "Do you think you deserve mercy?"

"Yes, alpha."

There was silence. Then the sound of a liquid being poured. It took a moment, but it set in. A burning pain exploded all over her back. She screamed before she could stop herself. She tired to jump out of the bed but he was quicker than her. He trapped her body underneath his, and to her horror she could feel his erection pressing into her ass.

"You servants can really be ungrateful, you know that?" Marcus said with a sigh. "I give you food, I give you shelter, I pay you, and you want me to treat you like a princess."

"I'm sorry!" She screamed, sobbing into the mattress. "Please forgive me, I'm sorry!"

"Really? Why should I forgive you?"

"I'm really sorry," She sobbed, utterly defeated. She understood Nina. No one could last a week doing this. Marcus flipped her around. He grabbed her hair and pushed her into the mattress, settling between her legs. She trembled with fear at where this was going.

"No, I don't think you've learned your lesson enough." He said with an eye roll. "But it's okay, I can teach you."

She felt a new kind of pain, like her crotch was being torn apart. Her back arched and she screamed, her voice pained. She pleaded and begged for mercy but none would come from the ruthless alpha thrusting into her without mercy. 

Elena cried out to the moon goddess, her heart splitting from all the pain that was inflicted upon her. Amidst the pain that was rushing through her body she felt a hum building. A cracking sound filled the air and screams fell from her lips non stop. With strength she didn't know she had, she pushed Marcus off her. She could feel something building inside her. 

It felt odd but comfortable. It took her seeing her own fur to realize that she had shifted into her wolf form.

Howling that she couldn't believe was hers filled her ears. She stared at Marcus and fury filled her heart. She lunged at him but stopped halfway before instantly shifting into a human. She found that she wasn't so weak anymore, there was a strength filling her body. Her back didn't hurt as much as it should, but the pain in her crotch was still there. She grabbed her night gown and ran. 

"Elena!" She heard Marcus yell behind her. 

She didn't stop. She ran past the servants quarters and out of the house. She felt someone grab her hand and screamed. 

"It's me, calm down." It was Nina. 

"What are you doing?"

Nina shoved a dagger into Elena's hand. "It has wolfsbane. Run. Don't even stop okay!"

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

"Just go!"

Elena turned and ran, clutching the dagger close to her heart. As she ran, she felt something change inside of her. 

She didn't feel so weak anymore.