*** I decided to start my third book while still working on 'Finding Me.' Please let me know what you think of this one. I appreciate comments, whether they are good, bad or indifferent. I also like votes.. they make me giddy. *** Thank you, IrishEyez
*** There is subject matter in this story that may be sensitive to some readers... WARNING ***
Aurora is on the right ----------->
CHAPTER 1:
One more day, that’s what I tell myself every single day. I was put into this room only days after I turned 18 and shifted for the first time. When I introduced to the Alpha of a visiting Pack, I was excited to find out that his son was my mate. Oh how the Moon Goddess has a sick sense of humor.
My mate Grady talked my parents into letting him take me home with him. Grady was so sweet and nice, telling my parents about how his Pack was going to love and that I was going to make an amazing Luna. Well, I call bullshit.
The moment I got into the car with him and we were out of my old Pack-lands, he changed. We were in the backseat and his dad was driving. Grady slid over to me and grabbed my thigh. It hurt, A LOT! He put his hand up to my head, grabbed my hair and pulled me so my neck was exposed.
Before I even had a chance to fight back, he marked me. I always envisioned my marking being like a storybook fairy tale. Only now I am in some twisted version of Repunzel and there is no Knight in Shining Armor. After he marked me and we got to his Pack house, I was immediately put up here. I never talk to anyone, see anyone or even get any sunlight, which was killing my wolf.
The only person I have any contact with is Grady. He brings me food every few days. Lucky for me there is a bathroom so I can do my business and have water to drink. The only other time than to give me food that I see him is when I’m in heat. Those are the days that I hate the most.
Three days after getting here, I went into my first heat, of course because he marked me. I was terrified. He came into my room, sniffed the air and got a look that I now despise on his face.
I’m significantly smaller than him, standing at only 5’ 6” to his big and burly 6’3”, so fighting him off was out of the question. He showed me no mercy as he ripped my clothes from my body and raped me. Even my wolf, who wanted to be with him, was disgusted. I will forever remember that night and what he said after.
“You will give me sons, only sons and anything else will be killed.”
He placed a devilish kiss to my forehead and left, locking the door behind him. I curled up into a ball and cried. He came back the next day and the next and then on the fourth day, he came back and only smiled.
“Well that’s a good girl, pregnant on your first heat. You will give me many sons.”
I was pregnant; I thought that maybe this meant that he would let me come out now. But, no, I was still locked up here. Alone and now pregnant. Only upside was that he gave me more food.
The first few weeks of the pregnancy were easy. No nausea, nothing. That however changed when I hit what I figured was about week five. I started throwing up everything I ate, sleeping all the time and my body hurt so badly. I was losing weight rapidly and becoming weak.
Grady did not like the fact that I was weak, that was the day that he started beating me. It only took a week of getting beat every day before I lost the baby. I was about 11 weeks along and because I was the one that delivered it, I had to see that the baby was a girl.
He came to me that night and made sure that I shifted so that I would heal faster. I wished that he would just kill me and get it over with. I know that is sleeping with other women, I can feel it every time they do it. It feels like someone sucker punches me right in the heart.
Grady went back to visiting me only a few times a week with a ration of food. I begged that he bring me something more sustainable than bread and cheese. If all he wanted from me was sons, he was not going to get them with how unhealthy I was.
This went on for another 6 months. I only knew how long it was because I would scratch a little hash mark into the door of the bathroom every day. I knew when that 6th month came along, it would start all over. I would be in heat again.
Without fail, the day that I went into heat, he was right there, I knew better than to try and fight him off. Instead, I just laid there while he grunted and dumped his seed into me. I hoped and prayed that I would not get pregnant this time. I could not endure much more. I was so malnourished and I knew that if he beat me I would lose this baby too.
No such luck, again four days later, he told me that I was again pregnant. Same routine followed, only this time I lost the baby at about four months. He allowed me more food this time; maybe he grew a conscious over night. No, if that was true, he would not have beaten me.
The day after I lost the second baby girl, I went into the bathroom and I no longer recognized the woman in the mirror. I tried to remember the Aurora Langston that was happy and strong with bright blue eyes and curly auburn hair. Now, the only person I see before me is frail with cold dead eyes and long flat hair.
I spent all my time huddled into the corner, crying. Grady came to see me less and less, I felt as if he just wanted me to die a slow and anguishing death. At this point, I did not care.
But, I could not help but think of my family. I missed them so much and I wondered if they missed me too. I decided right then and there that I would find a way out of this hell-hole.
From that day on, I searched every square inch of my room for a way out. Anything, a lose board, a random nail to pick the lock, anything. The room was free of anything that could mean my freedom. My only hope was to catch Grady off guard. I didn’t know how many others were in the house, but I had to take that chance. I calculated exactly how I would make my escape… my next heat, I would take full advantage of it.
I waited patiently as the days counted down. I started doing little things to make myself stronger. Instead of shifting once a week, I shifted every day, sometimes twice. I also started doing pushups, sit-ups and any other exercises I could think of to make me stronger.
When Grady would come and bring me my food, I would act as I always had, back away and keep my eyes to the ground. I didn’t want him to know what I was planning.
I also noticed that the stronger my body got, the better my senses worked. I could tell when he was coming to my room before he even got to the bottom step. I could also tell that there were a lot of people in this house; their voices drove me crazy some days. The worst sound I heard of all was the nightly ritual of Grady bringing his whores into his room. There was one in particular that drove me crazy. Her name is Crystal and she screams like a banshee and howls when she reaches climax.
Whenever I felt and heard him with one of his women, instead of letting the pain get to me, I would use that as a chance to let my body work out the anger. Shadow boxing was becoming a favorite past time when he was having his fun.
One night while doing my workout, I got a little into it and accidently put my fist through the wall. When I did this, a piece of wood about a foot long broke off and had a point at the end. My lucky day. I finally had a weapon and just in time, my heat should hit any day now. I wrapped the larger end in a piece of my clothing and hid it under my pillow, smiling. It was all coming together.
I was nervous as all hell, if I marked my day correctly, I should be in heat today. Time to put on a show. I put on my ragged and torn clothes and waited. I made sure that I looked as weak as possible and without fail, I heard him coming up the stairs.
Grady walked in and shut the door behind him; he was carrying a basket of food for me. He stopped after locking the door and sniffed the air. A smile played on his lips and I cowered more into the corner. I had to keep up the front. He put the basket on the floor and started towards me, taking off his clothes.
“Come here mate, maybe this time you will give me a son.”
He removed the rest of his clothes and pulled me towards him. He threw me onto the bed and once again laid his seed into me. Grady started to move to get up and I knew that I needed to act now and act fast. I reached under the pillow and grabbed the wooden stake.
“Grady.” I called to him in a meek tone. He looked at me as if annoyed.
“What the hell do you want, and if it’s more food, you can forget it.”
It’s not that, I was just wondering how Crystal is doing? I knew I had to catch him off his guard.
He looked stunned as he glared down at me. “You little bitch, how the he…”
I lunged at him and before he could react, the stake was in his gut. He fell to the floor and I did not hesitate to walk away from him as fast as I could. I picked up his jeans and dug out the keys.
“Damn you whore, good luck getting out of here!” he groaned out.
I turned and looked right at him with my wolf edging out. “I deny you as my mate Grady Mills and if you come looking for me, you will regret it.” I walked up to him and kicked him in the stomach and head, we went unconscious.
Unlocking the door, I grabbed the basket of food and walked out of this room for the first time in almost two years.
I listened to every little noise, making sure that it was not someone that would bust me. I glanced down a darkened hallway as I came around the corner. I could see that there was a door at the end that led outside. It was now or never.
“WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?!?” I heard Grady yelling as he came down the stairs.
‘Don’t think, just run.’ I told myself, so I ran. I could hear more footsteps running through he house in my direction.
I made it to the door and could hear them getting closer. I had to shift if I was going to live. Opening the door I ran down the brick stairs towards the woods. I dropped the basket and burst into my pure black wolf.
Without getting anytime to run in wolf form, my legs were unsure of themselves, but I quickly able to gain composure and go full steam. I was not sure if I was going to be able to outrun Grady and his Pack, but I had to try.
Pushing myself harder and harder, I tried to stay aware of my surroundings. The sound of howling put me into a panic, they sounded close, too close.
‘Run, don’t look back, you have to get to the edge of the Pack lands.’ I told myself over and over.
I could see the small red flags that indicated the edge of the territory. I had to do this id I was ever going to get away from Grady, I had to keep going. Once I got past the line, I started to relax, but my paws did not stop, even though they were getting raw and bleeding. It was midday when I left and I ran until it got dark.