Werewolf Coven.
“Where do you think you’re going?” My brother’s acidic voice called to me as I walked down the hallway of the pack house.
He was a tall man, much taller than I was and had short brown hair and evil brown eyes though the women he bedded would beg to differ. He was Beta of the pack, at the ripe age of eighteen and was one of the many in the pack who despised my existence.
“No... Nowhere,” I stammered bracing myself.
“That’s what I thought,” he spat at me before sending a slap at my face. I hit the wall and slid down to the ground, cowering before him.
“Please, stop,” I begged as I felt his foot connected with my stomach, knocking the wind out of me.
“Please, stop,” he mocked raising his eyebrows at me.
I sat there; curled up against the wall and waited for him to stop and when he finally did, I sat there still until the footsteps had faded away and I knew I was alone. Slowly I sat up, feeling the ache in my body and limped into my bedroom and cleaned up the blood coming from my lip.
I sat on the edge of the bath examining my bruised body before standing up to look in the mirror. My skin was pale and the red dripping from my lips made my skin look bleak and ghastly. I had a bruise forming across my cheek and my blonde hair was a knotted mess. My body felt frail and I was slim, but I suppose that was because I barely ate and when I did, I had smaller portions than the rest.
It was better that way, leaving nothing for the pack to criticise about me, though I should have known that it didn’t matter anyway; they would always find something that wasn’t right with me. I was a weak girl who was despised by everyone that surrounded me.
“Where the hell is my food,” the Alpha’s son Kaleb boomed, knocking my bedroom door off of its’ hinges.
“It will be ready in ten minutes,” I whispered meekly, looking at the ground. I was too ashamed to meet his eyes, never mind the fact that I would have been punished if I did. It was Kaleb’s birthday that day and he had been seeking out his mate all day, knowing he could smell her but he hadn’t found her.
It was driving him insane almost to the point where he was stark raving mad. I could feel his glare on me and for a moment, forgot that I wasn’t supposed to look at him. My eyes darted up to take a quick look. No matter how much I tried to keep my eyes averted; my inner consciousness took over. It was hard to keep my eyes away from him for long; he was a very attractive man.
I peeked up from underneath my eyelashes and tried to inconspicuously check him out. He wore faded blue jeans and a loose polo shirt that showed the muscle in his arms. His hair was mussed up brown and his lips a supple pink. He had a strong jaw and a look that screamed rugged and handsome. At last my eyes met his, the green piercing into me as if he were seeing right through into my soul.
I knew it the second my eyes met his. I was his mate and he was mine. For a moment I allowed myself to get lost in his gaze, seeing the undeniable love swirling around within them. I unwilling walked towards him and wrapped my arms around his waist, savouring the feel of having my arms around him. He felt wonderful; like home. This was it, the end of relentless torture from my family.
How could they treat me like that when I would be their alpha female? Kaleb would love me and cherish me and make me feel like the most important female in the world. He had to; it was the way things were supposed to be. We had been chosen for each other for a reason.
“What the hell are you doing,” his voice growled, reverberating in his chest. It felt nice, warm. “Get the hell off of me you filthy mutt.”
His words tore at my chest but I only clung onto him tighter. I felt his hands prying at my chest, ripping me away from him and flinging me across the room like I was a used up toy that he couldn’t stand to be in the presence of. My body hit the wall and my head slammed into it sending waves of dizziness crashing through me but what hurt even more than that, was the cold hard reality that was desperately closing in around me.
“Kaleb, darling,” I began pleading. “I am yours; why are you doing this to me?” my voice came out shaky with desperation. I was clinging to my final straw; begging whoever was the higher power, to give me a chance and to make things better.
“Don’t you ever dare speak my name,” he growled in a hushed voice, his eyes stony and cold. “I don’t want you to look at me, speak to me, breathe near me let alone think about me do you understand me?” He growled.
“You’re my mate Kaleb,” I began sobbing, “I love you.”
He barked out a short fit of laughter before turning his steely eyed gaze upon me yet again. “I am not your mate Rhylee,” he spat at me. “I don’t have a mate.”
“Yes you do Kaleb, I’m your mate.” I sobbed on the floor.
In one swift movement I was off the floor and dangling in the air with Kaleb’s hand at my throat cutting off the air into my body. I gasped for breath trying futilely to remove his hand. “I will say this once and once only; you are not my mate. I reject you, I don’t want you. If you breathe even a word of this to anybody you will regret the day you ever laid eyes on me. You disgraced this family the day you had my brother killed. Get the hell out of my sight,” he growled dropping me to the floor where I fell into a sobbing mess.
I clung to myself, my hands around my knees trying to hold myself together but nothing helped ease the throbbing ache in my chest that tore its way through me with every step he took. And nothing hurt more than the dull glimmer of hope that bubbled inside me when I remembered that love that had shone in his eyes, even though it had been only for a mere second. I clung to that hope as if it were my lifeline.
--
I lay in bed, wondering if Kaleb were asleep. He had to be in his room but a part of me held onto the hope that he was waiting there for me. Even if the hope was miniscule, I held onto it. I dragged myself out of bed and walked as quietly as I could to his door before opening it only a fraction and peering inside silently.
My gaze fell on his bed where Kaleb was placed atop another female. His eyes looked up briefly to meet mine but all I saw was anger and hatred. He hated me and there was nothing I could do to change that. My eyes flickered to the girl in his bed. Her name was Tiffany, a bust blonde that went to my school. I couldn’t watch, knowing what was going to happen and that I being there only fuelled Kaleb to do it even more.
I fled, back to the sanctuary of my room throwing myself under my covers just as pain tore its’ way through my body. It felt like a part of me was being ripped out even more and it killed me on the inside. I saw vivid images in my head that tore heart-wrenching sobs through my body and when it was finally over, I made my resolve.
I grabbed as much of my stuff as I could and packed it into a suitcase before throwing it out my window to land on the grass below. It made a low thud and I strained my ears hoping that I hadn’t woken anybody up. Thankfully my room was on the bottom story so I didn’t make a lot of noise. Finally, when I had two suitcases full of all of my favourite clothes and prized possessions, I wrote a note.
Dear family,
When you get this, I will already be gone. I know you hate me and I think I am beginning to come to terms with that fact but I can’t stay any longer. Being here only hurts me and I don’t want to be a weak little girl anymore. If running away makes me even weaker then I can live with that. I loved you all more than I could have ever expressed and I’m sorry for what happened to William, truly I am more than anything in the world but I couldn’t save him.
I couldn’t and it kills me inside everyday but it wasn’t my fault. That much I know. I can’t have you all blaming me for something that wasn’t my fault. Maybe I will die when I am on my own or maybe things will get better but no matter what happens to me, nothing could be worse than being rejected by my own mate and having him sleep with another.
I feel empty inside and on some days I feel like taking my own life but when my rational thought comes back, I realise that I couldn’t because I always held onto the hope that somewhere deep down, one of you would still love me. All I wanted was for somebody to love me; it could have been my salvation.
To my brother John, I love you no matter what you did to me. I have always loved you; you’re the only family I have left and if leaving makes you happy then I would do that for you because I love you, completely and unconditionally.
To my mate, I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough for you and I’m not strong enough to stay, because it means that I will only hurt even more. I have love for you, I suppose I always will but I know you would be better off without me in your life. I am willing to sacrifice myself so that you can be happier without the reminder I bring to you every day.
I guess this is goodbye,
Rhylee.
With nothing left to say, I grabbed my bags and ran for the nearest car. Throwing everything inside my brothers Camaro, I threw the car into reverse and took off as fast as I could. I drove out of the driveway and hit the main highway going as far away from that place as I could get. The Trinity Pack had heard the last of me for what would be the longest time.
I drove for hours until I got tired and pulled up on the side of the road so that I could sleep. I was exhausted. Locking the car doors, I lay back in the seat covering myself with the doona from my bed and nodded off to sleep.
I woke up to the sun hitting the windscreen of the car and felt disoriented at first. It was peaceful, the best sleep I had had in a long time and for once I didn’t feel worried that I would wake up to some dreadful torture that had been planned out for me.
I didn’t even worry that they would look for me because I knew that no matter what; they wouldn’t come looking for me. They couldn’t come looking for me because I didn’t matter to anyone back at the pack. As soon as I had made the conscious decision to leave, my mind had been severed from them and I felt so oddly at peace. I gunned the engine to life and set out again on my journey.
Kaleb POV
“What the hell do you mean she left?” My father’s voice boomed at me from his office. What the hell else could it possibly mean? I thought sarcastically to myself.
“I mean exactly that father; she left in the dead of the night and left us with nothing but a note to explain her absence,” I told him handing over the note I had found in her room.
My father read the note in silence; in fact I think he read the note several times before setting it down on his desk. He looked angry and not because she left, for an entirely different reason at all. His steely gaze turned on me and I knew there was more to come.
“What is this she has said about being abused?” my father asked looking directly at me.
“She was a menace father, the pack was only punishing her for what she did to Will,” I replied trying to keep my voice from breaking when I said his name.
“What she did?” My father yelled. “She was kidnapped by fucking rogues for god sake. Do you think she wanted to see William die?” He turned his glare on me. “Do you think she asked for them to torture her as a nine year old child and then send her back to us as a warning to our pack?” He screamed at me.
I cowered under his gaze, feeling like I had just been punched in the stomach. Why didn’t I know this? Why hadn’t I known what had happened to her? We had all though she had led William out to the rogues. I had hated her for being the one to survive. I hadn’t ever thought about what she could have been through. None of us had and here it was right in front of me. The truth about what had happened. We had all treated her like she was to blame and inadvertently had damaged her even more than we could have ever imagined.
“Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t she say anything?” I asked aloud turning to my father.
“She was traumatized son, could you really blame her. She didn’t want everyone to pity her; she already blamed herself for what happened. She was just a child, a scared child and she didn’t want anybody else to know. I was trying to protect her and no I have failed my job as her alpha.
I was mad. I was beyond mad as I pictured her face in my mind, scared of me and I held her by her throat against the wall, filled with anger. I still held that anger for her within me. I needed to hold somebody responsible for my brother’s death and it had to be her. She had to pay for what she did. I couldn’t seem to shake that thought from my head.
Rhylee POV
The road seemed to stretch onwards for miles and miles, leading everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I didn’t have a destination in mind; all I knew was that I had to get away. I had to be away form that hell and I would take anything I could get. I was prepared to die if it meant that I never had to endure another day of relentless torture.
Eventually I came to a crossroad. Choosing the direction was easy. I went right and travelled as far as the road took me until I came to a sign that read ‘Glenville’. The town looked rather friendly. It was an average size and was filled with similar looking houses that would normally been seen in a suburban area. The main road was lined with various shops. I suppose it was a downtown area which was then surrounded by hoses and finally the outskirts that was covered in farmland with paddocks and farm houses.
I parked the black Camaro I had stolen from my brother and climbed out and grabbed some of the cash I had stolen and shoved it into my purse. I probably smelt horrible and looked crumpled in my tight black jeans and oversized black shirt but I didn’t care. My hair was messily thrown up into a ponytail with bits strewn over my forehead but I didn’t care. I was away from my personal hell and that was more than I could have ever asked for.
The coffee shop smelled divine when I walked in and had a friendly atmosphere around it. There weren’t many people in the shop but when I walked inside and the bell chimed, it seemed as if all eyes were on me. They didn’t look murderous but they didn’t look friendly. Mostly they seemed curious and wary of me. The stare lasted only a moment before they turned back and began their chatter, or reading the paper; whichever it was that they were doing.
A friendly waiter came over to me as I sat down at an empty table and looked over the menu. She wore a black top and pants with white shoes and had an apron tied around her front. She was an older lady, probably in her thirties with a cheerful smile. Her hair was mousy brown and her eyes were gentle blue. She had a motherly look about her. When I caught her scent, she practically screamed werewolf; in fact the whole town had werewolf scented all over it.
“What can I get for you darling,” the woman smiled lovingly at me. I peered down at her name tag and read the name ‘Suzanne.’
“Just a hot chocolate please,” I asked quietly. She heard me though, I could tell as she scribbled down the words on her notepad. I glanced up and noticed the pity that was etched in her eyes.
She scurried away only to return a moment later and set a piece of cake in front of me. I stared down at the food and then up into the eyes of the woman in confusion. I saw her look at me expectantly and I opened my mouth to speak.
“I didn’t order this,” I whispered.
“I know darling,” she replied in her sweet motherly tone. “You look starved my dear child; consider it a gift.” With that said; she walked away.
I stared down at the cake slice in front of me and felt tears beginning to form. It sounded so silly to want to cry over a piece of cake, but I could help but feel the overwhelming emotions making their way to the surface. That was the nicest thing anybody had done for me in a long time and the gesture didn’t go unappreciated.
I began eating the cake only to realise that it was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten. I hadn’t realised how quickly I had been eating until I stared down at the empty plate in front of me. I looked up making sure that nobody had seen me savagely down the piece of cake and felt relieved when I noticed that they were busy doing their own thing.
The chair across from me scraped against the wooden floor. I looked up to see Suzanne sitting across from me. She had a cup of steaming coffee in her hand and had set down a cup of hot chocolate in front of me. Marshmallows floated across the top of the drink.
“Marshmallows always help make me feel better,” she said smiling.
I looked at her uncertainly, not knowing what to say but feeling the need to say something to her. “Thank you,” I told spoke softly.
“No need to thank me child, just tell me why you are here.”
“I was thirsty,” I replied uncertainly. She laughed softly before looking up to meet my gaze. I quickly averted my gaze down at the steaming mug of hot chocolate in front of me.
“That’s not what I meant child. I wanted to know why you are here, in Glenville.”
“Oh,” I said, not sure what to say. “I’m travelling,” I replied vaguely.
“And why are you travelling,” she inquired.
“I wanted to see somewhere new,” I replied being only half honest.
“Tell me the real reason,” she spoke comfortingly. Her voice was soothing and motherly, a tone I hadn’t heard in a long time.
“I just wanted to get away from my old life,” I began in a whisper, feeling the tears come to my eyes as I remembered the people from The Trinity Pack. They were my family; at least they used to be.
“And you thought coming here would help?” She asked caringly.
“Not here,” I looked up into her eyes to see the concern written on her face. I felt myself breaking as I remembered the rejection of my mate. “I just needed to be somewhere else,” I sobbed. “I couldn’t stay with those people; people that hated and despised my very being. It hurt too much.”
I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder and the sobs wracked through my body. I felt comforted for the first time in what felt like forever. A stranger, a woman that I barely knew from a bar of soap, was hugging me like only a mother would and for that moment, I felt lost in the warmth that she was giving me.
When my tears had run out, I found myself being led to the back staff room. I sat on a comfortable lounge chair and stared down at my hands. I couldn’t believe how much kindness one woman was giving me. I also kept waiting for her to snap at me. She had to, everybody did at some point.
“You can wait here for another half an hour until my shift ends,” she instructed me and I nodded. She left, to go back to serving any customers and I waited patiently on the lounge chair.
The room was average sized. There was a lounge chair which I had sat on against one wall and a coffee table in front of it. Lined against the opposite wall were several lockers which I assumed were for staff to put their belongings and finally; there was a table set up with an assortment of coffee and teas. A mini fridge sat on the table as did a kettle.
The room was pretty standard. I lay back on the lounge chair feeling pretty exhausted and closed my eyes. I felt myself drifting. Off to sleep as I lay there and eventually, I was sound asleep. I dreamt peacefully, without nightmares.
--
My nose tickled. I felt something poking my cheek. I lay there silently, expecting to be hit any second by John. He loved to wake me up with some form of abuse. The poking continued and for a moment I was confused. I opened my eyes and stared into a pair of beautiful pale blue eyes that almost looked grey. He was short with messy brown hair and a cute little button nose. His cheeks were round and slightly chubby and his lips were curved into a wicked grin.
I sat up, staring at the little boy, confused. It took me a second to register my surroundings and when I did, I looked down at the little boy confused. He grinned up at me with gaps in his teeth. He looked to only be around five years old. His little nosed wrinkled and he looked up at me in confusion.
“Who are you?” He asked in the cutest voice that I had ever heard. I smiled at him.
“I’m Rhylee, who are you?”
“Sam,” he yelled grinning. “What are you doing in my mummy’s store?”
I looked at him closer. He looked a lot like Suzanne with the light hair and blue eyes. He had to be her son. He was just so cute and he made me want to grab him and squeeze him in a hug.
“Well Sam,” I began, “your’ mummy said that I could stay back here until she finished her shift.”
“Oh,” he replied creasing his forehead. “You’re pretty.”
I felt a blush creep upon my cheeks. I had never been called anything even remotely close to pretty before and the child’s compliment took me completely off guard. He made my heart melt and swell with love for the boy. I wished he were my own sibling, but quickly brushed the thought away, wanting to forget about my brother.
“I hope you’re not bothering Rhylee,” Suzanne scolded Sam as she entered the staff room.
“No,” he pouted as his mum came in and scooped him up into his arms and kissed him on the forehead lovingly. “I was just making a new friend,” he declared.
His mother smiled at me warmly and set her son down on the ground. I could see how much she loved him and it sent a stab of pain into my heart. It reminded me how much I had missed out on in my own pack and made me feel hollow. I wanted that; an unconditional love that family is supposed to give.
“Well then Rhylee, why don’t you go get you stuff,” Suzanne declared.
“I’m sorry what?” I replied feeling confused.
“I said that you should go get your stuff child.”
“But why?” I asked baffled.
“I’m taking you to my house dear,” she said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
“No, you can’t!” I objected feeling bad for putting her out.
“I dare say I can,” she replied giving me a stern look.
“No, I just meant that I couldn’t possibly intrude on your home. You’ve been far too kind to me, I don’t want to be any more of a burden on you,” I whispered sincerely.
“Don’t be silly, you’re coming back to my house whether you like it or not,” she said in a tone that told me there was no room for argument.
“You don’t have to do that,” I spoke meekly.
“Of course I do.”
I climbed into the black Camaro I had parked out the front of the coffee shop, considering just driving in the opposite direction until I could find another town but I was too scared to. I didn’t want to leave this place that had made me feel more welcome than I had felt in a long time. A part of me wanted to go with Suzanne, she made me feel loved.
“Don’t you dare even try to run away,” Suzanne warned me leaning into the passenger side window. I nodded my head. “You may follow me back to my house.”
She climbed into her 4wd which was parked in front of the Camaro, and pulled out onto the quiet street. I followed her down the main road and past the town houses, wondering what her house would look like. We got out of the main town area and headed further out of town where the houses became further apart.
After around five minutes of driving, we turned onto a dirt road and drove along the driveway which was lined with trees. Beyond the trees lay paddock upon paddock that stretched as far as I could see. The dirt driveway was around a kilometre long. Eventually a house came into view. It was a rather large two story house but wasn’t overly extravagant. The house was made mostly out of painted wood that had chips of paint missing. It was fairly well contained and had a front porch veranda out the front where a day bed and cushioned bamboo chairs sat around a glass coffee table.
There was a garage that didn’t have a door and was rather large. It was large enough to fit maybe twelve cars. Already parked inside was a Mustang, and old Holden Ute, an old rodeo and a jeep. Suzanne pulled into the garage with her Land cruiser and hopped out of the car as I pulled the Camaro to a stop on the dirt area out the front.
“Just put your car in the garage,” she called out to me.
I moved the car in so that it was next to hers and hopped out of the car. Even though the house wasn’t huge like a mansion; it was obvious that Suzanne and her family had a lot of money. I wondered how many people there was in her family and what they were like. How long would it take before they turned on me and decided that I was trash?
It was bound to happen eventually; it always did. I was a weak girl with little to no experience as a fighter. My body was bruised and sore and I had hardly any muscle. I couldn’t understand what Suzanne had seen in me, but whatever it was; I hoped she could still see it.
“Follow me,” she gestured for me to follow her into the house.
When we were inside, I noticed how quiet everything was. I had expected noise and was surprised to be greeted by silence. Maybe I had been wrong and she lived alone, but I doubted that seeing as I could pick out at least five other scents.
“It’s quiet,” I murmured, mostly to myself.
“Yes,” she agreed. “The kids are at school and my husband is at a meeting.” She looked down at her watch and then up at me again. “We have another hour before the kids should be home.”
I smiled faintly, feeling slightly overwhelmed in the large house where I didn’t know anybody. She led me upstairs and showed me to a room at one side of the house. The room was plain with white walls except for a bed and a dressing side table. I looked down to notice that my luggage had been brought from my car and saw a panting Sam flop down onto the queen sized bed.
“Thank you Sam,” Suzanne said to the boy. “I know it’s pretty bare, but we will go shopping tomorrow afternoon and we can get some new things for the room. If you’re going to live here, you might as well make yourself at home.”
“What?” I practically yelled at the woman standing in front of me, looking at her with wide eyes.
“Don’t shout, we are inside,” she scolded me and I looked down at the floor. “You don’t have to look away from me Rhylee,” she soothed. “You are staying in my home whether you like it or not, where else could you possibly go?”
“Nowhere,” I sighed in resignation.
“Then it’s settled, come downstairs when you are ready and we will talk.” With that said, she walked out of the room followed by Sam and closed the door gently behind her. I flopped down onto the queen sized bed and sighed. It had been a long day.