My Second Chance? (SAMPLE)

Chapter 1

I'm right where I want to be, in my happy place. Listening to pups giggle outside while the sound of rushing water echoes in the background. I can feel the grass underneath my fingers as I sit and take it all in. Nature surrounding me, life echoing in the background, the calm that exists around it all. This is where I always want to be. Where I feel the happiest and most centered.

Thwap

The part I love the most is spending time with the pack pups. They're still carefree and see the good things in the world. Their innocence shines in their eyes and shows with every action they take. They remind me that we have the ability to shape our future. It saddens me that I have to split my time between the daycare and the pack house. It would be so much easier if the pups' daycare center was actually in the pack house instead of separate.

Grunt

The Alpha doesn't like his Luna to spend an excessive amount of time with the pups. Or maybe it's that he doesn't like Ashton spending all his time with the other pups. And since the Luna and Ashton are always together, well, that makes me think it's one or the other. Ever since the Alpha found that Carter was basically a lost cause, he'd put focus back on Ashton's learning. Well, he really hadn't personally seen to anything. No, instead he'd made that Grant's problem. Which was better in my opinion. Grant was far more intelligent and frankly far better than him as a father figure.

Thump

Either way, I got to spend time with pups. It was just either a group of younglings or Ashton alone. So that succeeded in solidifying my happiness. That's why that is the memory and the place I go when I'm trying to zone out. The times when I don't want to be present or in the moment. This was one of those times.

Groan

I needed to turn my thoughts to something else because I was falling out of my happy place and didn't want to face reality right now. I had lost my happy with the last noise so now it was time to refocus. Zooming through the other options, I settled on thoughts of redecorating. Maybe I could talk him into letting me paint. It would keep me at home and busy, so that should be enough to do it. Plus, if I choose colors that he liked, then it would probably give me some brownie points.

Slap!

"Ouch! Ben, that hurts!"

That had effectively ripped me from my zoned-out state and the other distractions. Ben had slapped my ass, or at least that's what he was going for. I think. He had actually hit the bottom of my ass basically the top of my thigh. And it wasn't a slap. The straight up hit had hurt. Not that he gave a damn.

This whole damned thing hurt if I was being honest. Every time, I tried to phase out until he was done. Sometimes it would be a bit rough, sometimes I would end up bleeding. It all depended on his mood. Today he came home a bit crabby, so I knew what to expect, I just hoped for better...

"Shut up Mia, I'm almost..."

Evidentially "slapping" me was exactly what he needed to push him over the edge because he emptied into my ass a moment later. Then walked away to clean himself up. Leaving me pushed up against the wall. More like sliding down it now that he wasn't holding me up.

I didn't move right away. If I waited a few minutes, he'd be done cleaning himself up and during that time I could try to relax the muscles that had tensed. That would make it easier for me to move into the bathroom and assess the damage. Plus, I didn't want him to see me cleaning or checking myself out.

"I'll be back later. I don't know if I'll make it for dinner or not but make enough just in case." He barely got all that out before he exited the room. No loving words, no caring or even soothing touch, not even a small bother to just check on me. I could be bleeding out over here and he wouldn't pay attention.