Dark Moon

04

I miss my friend; he would know what I should do about having a mate and he'd be able to guide me.

"Don't blame yourself, Ash," Ronaldo soothes, rubbing my back as I cry into my hands. "He's free now and he's not in pain anymore. He doesn't have to suffer anymore."

"All he wanted was freedom one day and I wasn't strong enough to help him get that!" I cry, raising my voice and making my two friends cower for a brief second because I rarely raise my voice. "When he woke me up, I hesitated, because I was afraid! What if I hadn't? Maybe we would've gotten away!"

Owen holds my hand in his own while Ronaldo continues to rub my back.

"What happened is done. You didn't kill Liam, that sorry excuse of an Alpha did. He's not in pain anymore and he's finally able to rest, so in a way, he is free. Don't put this on yourself, Ash," Ronaldo says, half scolding and half comforting me. "Now come on, let's push three of these beds together, like we did with the mattresses back h-, uh, in our old pack."

These beds are different to move, because they have frames and not just the mattresses, so there's a bit of space between them. However, they're still close and we can all touch while sleeping.

I wish I was with my mate right now, but my friends are a close second.

Owen is the youngest of the three of us, at twenty years old. Ronaldo is twenty six, and so was Liam. I'm in the middle at twenty three, and Owen and I have always been guided and treated similar to little brothers by Liam and Ronaldo.

I wonder how old my mate is... he looks like he's as young as Owen, but he has a grace and wisdom to him that makes me think he's older, maybe my age.

Owen lays between Ronaldo and I when we finally turn the lights out. Liam used to lay on my other side, keeping myself and Owen safe in the middle.

We were expected to follow orders and be the strong, warriors that we were trained to be when we went on raids, but in our room, Owen and I definitely broke down a bit and needed physical comfort that Ronaldo and Liam always gave us.

Here, in this new pack, I don't feel in danger because of how my mate has been toward me, but it's a new place.

What if they expect us to raid as well or want us to be warriors because the majority of us are Alphas? Will they carry out public punishment and torture for what we did to the Omegas?

That's what our leaders used to do when we messed up. It was public beatings and punishment if we made a mistake, execution or severe torture if we tried to run or Omegas escaped on our watch.

I have never experienced severe torture, but I have been beaten and punished for making mistakes when I was younger. After that, I learned quick.

"You being on edge is not helping me sleep," Owen mumbles, reaching over and hugging me. "It's not your fault and it's gonna be okay. Besides, this pack doesn't seem to have as many Alpha warriors. If we want to run, we can."

"I don't think it matters if you're an Alpha warrior here... I witnessed my Omega mate murder one of the leaders and barely get hurt in return."

Owen huffs. "Well, we could still run. We could do it."

Ronaldo gently shushes him. "We don't know to expect right now, so we need to rest. Go to sleep, both of you."

Ronaldo would have been made one of the leaders if he didn't care so much about myself, Owen, and Liam. There's no doubt about it; he's strong, follows orders, and can take control over Alphas which is what the leaders wanted.

He got beaten before for not cowering before the leaders, who were nothing but pure evil.

"Goodnight," Owen whispers in my ear, making Ronaldo growl softly to get him to shut up. "Sorry."