CHAPTER THREE

The hours of torture turned into days and the days into weeks, during this period, Riley suffered more pain than she had ever imagined. It was like her world had been plunged from the edge of a cliff into a complete abyss of darkness that held only pain and suffering for her. The torture she passed through in the hands of her stepparents was nothing compared to what Shawn was putting her through. At least theirs had just been verbal abuse, but Shawn abused her in every way possible.

On the first day, she had been thrown into a small room, with a tiny window where only a glimmer of light could pass through, a flat un-kept bed with no pillow and an untiled floor. She didn’t know what to do or why exactly she was in this dark room, but she remained there for two days, she was served food and water only twice during that period. Then suddenly, the next day, the cranky metal door swung open and a guard walked in, his black glimmering face as impassive and hard as a rock.

“The Alpha wants you.” He said briefly and stepped out of the way, then a maid entered and ushered her out.

“Where are we going?” Riley asked, somewhat excited to see the full light of the day but she was panicking.

“Just follow me.” The maid said and led her to a luxurious room.

On the bed, a beautiful dress was neatly kept and the maid ushered her into the bathroom. Riley took her bath, and when she was done, the maid helped her dress and led her into another room. Here she found Shawn seated on the bed with a cigar in between his fingers.

“Come here.” He commanded hoarsely and as if being pawned, she walked towards him, her hands trembling and her knees buckling slightly. He grabbed her by the hair as she knelt before him. “You can’t be my mate, but you can be very useful to me.”

She was confused as she stared up at him innocently. He reached behind her and undid the zipper of her dress.

“Oh please don’t!” She cried but a hand flashed in the air and struck her across her face.

“Don’t? Well, what the fuck do you think you’re here for you nobody?” There was a nasty animalistic expression on his lean handsome face as he heaved her up and threw her on the bed, unbuckling his belt.

In the space of three weeks, he had slept with her seven times, and each time, the pain seemed to increase as he wouldn't let her have a say as to whether she wanted it or not. Riley was starting to accept her fate, she was a commoner who could only be used to satisfy the brutal lust of the Alpha’s son without a say. Riley was left utterly dejected and the assaults weren’t only sexual, they were also physical. He had slapped her more than once whenever she tried to resist, the pulling of her hair was becoming a habit and also, he used the butt of his cigarettes on her back whenever she didn’t scream loud enough to please him.

From being maltreated by her stepparents, and bullied in school to being the sex slave of the Alpha’s son, Riley hated her existence, her life had become a real mess and there seemed to be no way out of it for her.

On a certain day, a night before the Wolf's moon when all about the pack was peaceful and calm, something as drastic as it was unexpected happened. The alpha of the Greenwoods pack had been presiding over a meeting with the Beta, Gamma, and a few elders of the pack, Shawn was also present when a frenzied alarm was raised.

 A guard barged in suddenly, startling all of them and panting heavily while struggling to catch his breath.

“What is this nonsense!” The Alpha snapped, his authoritative voice was like a whiplash.

“Alpha…Alpha Viktor!” He cried, the words failing to come out of his mouth.

“Speak! How dare you interrupt a gathering like this in such fashion, and then you fail to find your tongue?” The Alpha commanded, detecting the air of panic that had spread throughout the room.

“You need safety…you need…Alpha Viktor…Lycans! A pack of Lycans just invaded the walls and they’re wreaking havoc and killing everyone!” The guard said and dropped to the ground, that was when everyone else saw the arrow that had been plunged into his back and the nasty scar of a claw on his neck.

Screams could be heard all around and the eerie stench of death loomed above, a normal werewolf pack was no match for a pack of Lycans and they all knew it, yet, they were determined to fight. The Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Shawn sprung to their feet.

“Protect the pack at all costs! Even if it means your life! Fight till the end!” The Alpha commanded, it was his last order.

As Shawn rushed out, his father gripped his shoulders firmly, he wasn’t going to let his son die just like that, he was the future and had to be protected at all costs.

“No son,” Viktor said with a sad look in his eyes. “It’s not your time to fight. Run! Take the basement, there’s a back door that opens out to another door that leads to the forest. Go through there and run, do you hear me? Run!” 

That was the last time Shawn was to see his father, his father kissed him on the head and shoved him aside roughly, urging him to take off. Shawn ran to the small room where Riley was kept and swung the door open, as she was about to speak, he grabbed her arm and led her out.

“Shh! Keep quiet, not a word!” He whispered fiercely as he pulled her behind him.

Riley sensed danger, something was going on. She stopped abruptly as she heard someone give a shrill cry that reverberated in her head, fear suddenly engulfed her. 

“Don’t stop!” He jerked her forward and they ran into the basement.

 Shawn expertly navigated his way through the darkness and in a moment, he opened a door that led to another door which he swung open with trembling fingers. A moment later, they were in the forest, running for their lives.