Two years later| blues and regret

CHAPTER THREE

Eleanor's pov

You would think waking up to people screaming your name would get easier since you have been waking up to it every day for the past 20 years. News flash, it doesn’t. The door to my room slammed open and my brother stood there, arms folded. “Breakfast isn’t set and the pack would wake.” He continued to stare at me most condescendingly, I fought back the urge to actually scream at him to get some damn manners because he looked like he needed quite a lot of them.

I held back the urge to snap back at him. I wasn’t ready plus the scars on my back tend to be a sore reminder. “I am coming.” He tsked, walking off. I started moving because if my mom got here, she wouldn’t use words. I threw on the first gown my hand landed on and made my way to the kitchens.

Emery, the only person I could call a friend in this entire pack, was already there, mixing eggs. “Hey, Lea.” I hugged her and took the bowl from her.

“Hey, mama. How’s the leg?” Emery got her left leg amputated during the last pack attack. Surprisingly, my father got the faery doctor to craft one for her.

“It’s a bit weird, but it's starting to feel more natural.”

“That’s faery magic for you.”

Emery clicked her tongue, pointing at the eggs. “The Alpha said scrambled eggs, so be sure to use that recipe he likes the most.” I finished up the eggs and started with the bacon. Between Emery and I, we managed to finish breakfast in less than an hour. Good for us because that means no reason for us to get punished today unless the young wolves decided to move mad. 

Emery rang the bell, signaling the servants. Despite my father being the Beta’s assistant and my brother being the deputy general, the servants still showed me no respect. Maybe they knew my family hated me so when Hailey pushed me aside to grab a tray of bacon, I didn’t mind. Emery opened her mouth, but I put a hand on her shoulder. They weren’t worth it.

I rolled my eyes when she threw me a snotty glance. Emory tapped me, pointing at a tray of wine. “Can you help me carry that in? Mateo is sick, his mom just called me.”

“Anything for you, Emory.” She gave me a sweet smile.

“You like to sweet talk me, Lea.” I winked, picking up the tray.

“Only because you deserve it.”

I made my way to the luncheon hall, dropping the tray on an empty spot. Elijah, my brother, picked up one glass without looking at me. “The siege was successful. We met no difficulties.” One wolf in a soldier outfit made a crude comment, launching the table into laughter. I shook my head internally, going to stand by a corner.

That was the exact moment the Alpha walked in. My dad gave a sparse glance and went to sit next to the Beta, Angelo. I sighed, looking at a space in the ceiling. “They made scrambled eggs, your honor.” I didn’t have to look to know it was Kira. She was who the males went to when they needed a quick fuck. I just didn’t know the Alpha fucked with her now. The Alpha ran a hand down her spine, smiling.

 “You told them. For that I am grateful.”

I must have not masked my disgust in time because The Beta was in front of me before I could blink. His eyes were rumored to be ice, but I underestimated their cold gaze.

 “Lift your gown.”

What?

“Lift. Your. Gown.” I bit my teeth, lifting my gown. Those eyes dropped to my crotch. Please don’t touch me. Please don’t touch me. I resounded my newly gotten mantra in my head hoping the goddess heard me.

“Isn’t this your daughter, Max?” My eyes snapped to my dad and the look on his face broke my heart.

“She is my traitorous brother's daughter. She is not mine.”

The Beta cupped my chin and forced me to look at him. “She seems to think differently….”

“Do with her what you must.” My dad said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

 “Oh, I intend to teach her manners.” The Alpha made a sound with his glass. He signaled to his beta and whispered something into his ears. The beta looked at me and grinned.

“Take her away….” my brother and father busted into laughter.

"She looks like a frog," Kira said with a snort. "Such an eyesore"

“Speak for yourself, Kira.” someone retorted

“You are welcome to follow them, Hunter.” The Alpha snapped back, but the Gamma just went on laughing.

The Beta looked back at me. “Drop your gown. Wait here.” I schooled my features as he walked back to sit next to the Alpha. Hailey slid up to me and I held in the urge to smack a bitch.

 “You are so lucky. I heard Alpha has the ultimate sex game.” I gave her a blank stare. “You don’t want to fuck the Alpha?” She sounded baffled, but with Hailey, you never know. I looked away and ran smack into The Gamma’s stare.

“Can I really join though?” He said it low enough, but everyone probably heard it with their wolf ears anyway.

Hailey smacked my upper arm. “Shut up! You are so fucking lucky, girl?”

“You in grey, can I get another plate of bacon?” Elijah held up a plate in Hailey’s direction and she tugged on her grey sash.

 “You give me deeps later.” I rolled my eyes internally as she walked off and I let my gaze drift to the ceiling. These were the times I wish I had my wolf. I could feel her presence and do anything any normal werewolf could, but I had never once heard from my wolf.

I knew that my mom hated me for that specifically because our relationship started going downhill from there. A hand gripped my forearm, sending me out of the zone. “Come with me.” The Gamma had warmer eyes, but I wasn’t fooled. The devil lived in the heat too.

 “Where’s The Beta?” He just laughed, pulling me down a hall.

 “Eager to fuck him instead?”

I looked at the back of his head. “I don’t want any of you.”

“You have sass. I like that.” He threw me a glance over his shoulder. “I can’t wait to fuck it out of you.”

“If I refuse isn’t that like rape?” He gave a sly grin.

“We can also knock you out, but trust me. You wouldn’t refuse.” Cocky much? Men like him need to be taken down a few pegs.

He stopped in front of a door, pushing it open. Beta was on the bed, reading a novel. “She has more sass than you think.”

 “I am not surprised. Her eyes hold fire.” He looked up and I shivered. It was like his eyes got colder.

“She happens to think she doesn’t want to fuck us.”

“Also, not surprised.” The Beta smiled faintly, giving me a shock.

“I didn’t know you smiled.” The Gamma laughed, pushing me forward. “I like your mouth, little one.”

The Beta cupped my face and I held in the urge to shiver. “You are still a virgin, aren’t you?” Although I was disgusted by the question and the audacity it came with, I nodded, pulling my face out of his grip.

 “It is not a big deal.” The Gamma took a seat by the edge of the bed.

 “That’s a good one, little one.” the beta cooed

 I shrugged, gripping the hem of my gown.

“We are not going to have sex with you, Eleanor. We are going to send you on a little mission.” I blinked at the Beta who smiled that small smile again.

“Your late father owes us a lot of money, sweetheart.” The Gamma nodded in agreement, a sly smile on his face. “Emphasis on a lot of money.”

I shook my head, stepping back. “That’s not true. That is not true. My father is a big dickhead but he is not a debtor.” The Gamma winced and patted the space next to him.

 “Take a seat, darling. You are going to burst a vessel if you keep doing that.” I blinked again, ignoring his offer.

“How on earth could my father owe you a lot of money?” The Beta laughed, dropping the book. “He has a gambling problem. And he committed treason. Not to me of course, but to the Alpha. We waited for when you'd come of age and right now, I think you are just right to recover the debt” Hunter chuckled.

 “That is an understatement….I think she is perfect”

I shook my head, hugging myself. “How on earth do you expect me to help? I have no money or property. All my parents left were converted by my uncle and his wife. Even if you give me ten years, I'm sure I still won't be able to pay up.”

“Oh, that’s not an issue. We never said you'd work, did we? All you have to do is be obedient and submissive at all times. The Alpha owns you and you'd be to him, whatever he deems fit. Do you understand?”

 “I don’t even know what that means… obedient and submissive?" I spat out with disgust. "My brother would have been a better option…” The Gamma scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Your brother is a foolish, loyal asshole. He can’t keep a secret to save his life.”

 “He can. He is the most trustworthy person I know. He is one of the pack members that hold the family in higher regard than the pack.”

“He is the most trustworthy person you know yet he swore allegiance with your sworn enemy? He lets you get beaten and he even hits you too and you still call him a trustworthy person? For someone who had always come top of her class, you are dumb! Moreover, your brother isn't a girl and as far as I know, he isn't gay and so is the Alpha" The beta exclaimed."But there's an alternate method…" I cut him short, happy for the turn of things.

"Steal the royal seal from your Father's study or bedroom. I don't care wherever he keeps it.

I shook my head, looking at my feet. “You can’t trust me with this. If I get caught, my back is going to suffer.” My scars twitched as if to remind me.

Hunter made a self-deprecating sound, rubbing his hand over his face. “That is the most stupid thing I have ever heard. Do you think I give a damn if you end up dead? You are just a pretty waste of space darling…..” Angelo interrupted him.

“Elea, make your decisions now. I'm only being this calm because of your late mother. But I must warn you, my patience wears out quickly…”

“My current mom holds the whip,” I said unintentionally.

 “Miranda?” His eyes went a fraction colder and I raised my brows. I remembered the good old times. Back then when Angelo and Elijah were best friends and he treated me as though I was his real sister and I saw him as my brother too. He even called my mother his mother.

How did we get here?

"You can't tell me you don't know. It’s obvious that I'm the mouse or black sheep or scapegoat or whatever of the pack. Everyone knows it. The bastard girl who isn't even a complete werewolf."

I watched as the beta swallowed uncomfortably and tried to say something but I cut him short.

"And that's why I'm here. Because I'm at the end of the food chain. And you know it. "

I'm not sure where this was coming from since I usually took everything in silence. Maybe I had reached my limit. Maybe I'd regret this later when they began to beat me.

Even though I acted like it was nothing when I took off my dress, I was terrified they might actually rape me not to mention very uncomfortably. I wasn’t even a virgin but I was uncomfortable flashing my nudity. A fresh pang of hurt and embarrassment flashed in my mind as I remembered my first time. Dang!

I still remember it clearly. The acceptance that came without a fight and the rejection that came after without a second thought.

Hunter held Angelo by the arm and they went to a corner of the room and talked in voices hushed enough that even with my heightened wolf hearing I couldn't deduce what they were saying. I gave up on trying to hear them and began to lightly massage my sore shoulder- from the latest beating.

"What's your decision little one? Be with the Alpha or give me what I asked for and return to hell?"

The Beta's somewhat warm gaze turned a complete 180° in an instant. I knew the good side of him had disappeared but I was stuck!

What to do?

What to choose?