Chapter 3

"I can't take it with this atmosphere, Sky. What's going on?" I asked, "Do you know why my heart was suddenly beating out of my chest and I was working up a cold sweat," I added.

"It's the Alpha," Sky said.

"Yeah, I got that, but we're not afraid of him. How come suddenly we are?" I ask.

"He's…the Alpha, he…"

"Sky, spit it out already!" I yelled. The way she was acting scared me. I thought back to when I got the shivers. It was when he told me he'd punish me in his office. Putting my extensive knowledge of 18+ werewolf novel cliches to good use, I could only come to one conclusion, but I hoped Sky would say that I was wrong.

"Has anyone else ever touched her?" I asked.

"Not the way you think," Sky answered, "He's never put it in; he said he's waiting until Emma's old enough. And guess what? She already is. You can guess what he'll probably do if you go to his office." To say I was shocked would be an understatement. This was not something that happened in the book. Yes, Emma was ab*sed, but it never said anything about se*ual ab*se.

"Does anyone know?" I ask.

"His Beta and the Luna," Sky said, and I gasped, "It's not just you, though. She knows there are she-wolves the Alpha beds, but she doesn't know who they are. She actually doesn't care."

"But doesn't it hurt her? Every time her mate sleeps with another, doesn't she feel it? Emma sure as hell does."

"She's done the same to him. And yet they continue to do it even though they know they'll cause each other pain." I couldn't help being bewildered by this. "I pity their wolves. I'm sure they want to be faithful to their mate, but our human side doesn't always tend to follow their heart. I'm sure somewhere, deep down, they both care deeply for each other…" Before Sky could continue her monologue, I stopped her.

"Their business is not ours," I scolded her.

"I'm just saying," Sky defended, "If the Luna finds out the Alpha is bedding you, she'll definitely order your execution or make you spend the rest of your life in the dungeon." I stopped what I was doing.

"Hold up. You said she didn't care who the Alpha slept with," I was confused and started to feel rather scared.

"She doesn't, as long as it's not the pack slave," Sky said. "I mean, think about it. We're treated like dirt. As the Luna will see it, the Alpha would rather sleep with dirt than his own mate. It'll be a huge blow to her pride. You're f**ked if she finds out," she added so matter-of-factly that I couldn't help but panic. I don't want to die or spend the rest of my life in the dungeons of this godforsaken pack. "So, what are you going to do?"

"You keep calling me you as if this doesn't concern you! If I'm stuck in a dungeon, so are you!"

"Exactly! So, what are you going to do?"

"Well, I'm not going to stand still and get m*lested. We'll have to run away right now," I said. Once I give them their food, I'll head upstairs, get my backpack, and we're out of here.

"Running away in broad daylight? Is that a good idea?" Sky asked.

"There are so many people going around, in and out of the pack, I'm sure they won't pay any attention to a small omega passing through."

"You're not just some small omega; you're the pack sl*ve," Sky said.

"You keep saying you, like you aren't me," I say. Sky chuckles.

I purposefully made much more food, to the point where it was almost on the edge of the plate. I also filled a pitcher with orange juice in case they called on me for a second serving or a refill. There's a short window in which I have to run upstairs, get my stuff, run back down, and cross the pack border. If all goes well, I'll be long gone before they realize I've left.

Once everything was ready, I put the plates in a cart and rolled the food and drinks over to them. I placed each dish in front of them, gave them their drinks, placed the pitcher in the middle of the table, and said, "Enjoy your meal," making sure to smile.

"This server hospitality won't stop your punishment," the Alpha said. "Go to my office right now and wait for me." The look he gave me screamed desire. When I saw him lick his lips, I knew what Sky said would come true. If I went to his office, he would definitely try something.

"Yes, alpha," I said. For the first time, Damon actually made eye contact with me for more than just two seconds. His eyes held what I could only assume to be longing. If I were Emma, my heart would have skipped a beat; thank goodness I'm not. I noticed the Luna smile devilishly, surely thinking I would get the beating of a lifetime if only she knew.

I power-walked out of there and headed to Emma's bedroom. As I walked down the halls, I saw people staring again. Sky would tell me their names as I walked by. The book never mentioned any of them, so I felt a sense of relief. Sadly, when I turned a corner, I was suddenly pushed back and fell on the floor.

"What the hell?!" I said loudly. In front of me stood a girl with long blonde hair styled in beach waves. She was wearing a light pink dress, a summer dress, and heels. She screamed cliché mean girl.

"That's Jessica," Sky said. I sigh. Of course, I'd bump into one of Emma's tormentors while I'm in a hurry. As if I don't already have enough to worry about. Jessica looks at me with a smug expression. She is a stereotypical mean girl. The complete opposite of the female lead. Even though she's pretty, she can't compete with the female lead's natural beauty. Like many villainesses in these novels, she's Damon's girlfriend. The one he forced Emma to watch him f*ck. She also knows that Emma is Damon's true mate and has treated Emma worse than before. She feels a sense of superiority as Damon chooses her over Emma, but she still sees Emma as a threat.

"Well, if it isn't the pack slave," Jessica grinned. I rolled my eyes as I stood up.

"Well, if it isn't the pack wh*re," I clapped back.

Her face reddened with anger, "You f*cking b*tch, how dare you speak to me like that?!" she screamed. She rushed over to me and kneed me on the side. A soft spot where Emma had recently been beaten. It felt like I was on fire. The pain was unlike any I had ever felt.

"Calm down, if it were anyone else, you would be suffering from internal bleeding," Sky told me.

"Wow, thank you. I feel so comforted right now."

"No need for sarcasm," Sky said, "Do you want to hit her back?" Emma would have told her no; she wanted to be the bigger person, but people like Jessica only listen to violence. I lifted my right leg and kicked her on her side as well. She went flying, hit the wall, and slid to the floor. Holy shit! I didn't know Emma could hit that hard, being as weak as she is.

"What can I say? I have an innate talent for fighting," Sky said.

"No one likes a gloater," I told her. She whined, and I chuckled.

"Doesn't feel good, does it?" I told Jessica.

"Oh, you are f*cked. The Alpha is going to hear about this!"

I crouched beside her, "Let's talk seriously for a moment, Jess…can I call you Jess? Listen here, Jess, when it comes to looks, I'm prettier than you," Jessica was glaring daggers at me.

"No one likes gloaters," Sky said. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Don't be mad, Jess, it's just facts. The men here lust after me, but when they see you, they see someone they want to be mated to. When it comes to Damon, you and I both know he doesn't like you. You're a good f*ck, but you won't get the love you want from him. But just because he doesn't like you the way you want him to doesn't mean he loves me and wants me to be the next Luna," I pause. He definitely wants me, but I won't tell her that. Since you're his girlfriend, he'll make you the next Luna, so you have no reason to be intimidated by me. I didn't want to be his mate anyway. I'm actually glad he 'rejected' me. Who wants a mate that beats them to the brink of death the moment they find out they're mated? It's time to stop this inferiority complex you have towards me because it's not good for your mental health. Just ignore me because the more attention you give me, the more you'll hate yourself. Also, if you touch me again, I'll snap your neck, and I won't give a shit what the Alpha does. You understand me?"

"How dare you talk to me like that?! I'm the next Luna, and you're nothing but a sl*ve!" she yelled. She was angry, but I could see a hint of sadness and maybe even fear in her eyes. It seems that a bit of what I said got through to her. Hopefully, she'll accept the truth, and once I'm gone, she'll realize her mistakes and become a better person. After all, she's the weakest wolf in the pack. Yet, she prides herself in thinking that Emma is the weakest, but that was only because Emma was beaten up various times a day. Her wolf would spend all their time and energy trying to heal her that they didn't have enough strength for anything else.

I left Jessica on the floor and continued walking towards Emma's room. It surprised me that she didn't run after me, but I was also thankful. I had wasted enough time as is. As I was reaching her room, three guys got in my way. They were all different, but they all had the same buzz cut, brown eyes, build, and basically wearing the same clothes.

A white shirt, jeans, and a jacket, all in different kinds of gray. Not to mention, they were all staring at me with smug looks on their faces.

"Hey, Em," the guy in the middle said.

Who are these men? I wondered.

"The one on the left is Carter, the one in the middle is Dean, and the one on the right is Hunter," Sky told me. I rolled my eyes. The cliché novel names again. Hold up, I remember them. They were mentioned at the beginning of the novel as Jessica and Damon's friends. Since Hess and Damon would laugh at and hit Emma, they obviously did the same; the only difference was that they hit harder when no one was looking. Not to mention that Dean was always handsy. He's felt her up while the other two held her down. One day, when Dean was feeling her up, some pack members were walking by before things could escalate, and Emma was able to escape. If those pack members never walked by, Emma…I don't even want to think about it.

"Just like the alpha, they're a waste of air," I whispered to Sky.

"What did you call us?" Carter asked. Oh, I forgot for a moment that I don't actually need to talk to be able to communicate with Sky.

"What do you want?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Just wondering how our favorite toy is doing," Dean said, "Those are some nasty marks you got there," he chuckled. As he passed his hand across my cheek.

I didn't say anything. The novel didn't say it specifically, but it was obvious Dean had a thing for Emma. In these types of novels, one of the bullies always likes the female lead and is just playing along so the rest don't find out. He's just a plot device for the male lead to see that she's desirable.

"Well, you've seen me. Now, if you'll excuse me," I said as I tried to walk past them. Dean grabbed me by my hair and pushed me against the wall. I winced.

"I wasn't done talking to you," he said. I don't have time for this. I have to get out of here before the Alpha is done eating.

I lean forward and whisper, "I know what you really want. The others don't see it, but I do. And let me tell you, you're not getting anywhere near my pants if you keep acting like this." Dean looked at me with obvious shock.

I liked the type of reaction I was getting, but Hunter suddenly asked, "Yo, what'd she say?" and Dean's expression hardened. Before I could process what was going on, I was in the air, with Dean's hand clenched tightly around my throat and started to squeeze. The other two were surprised by this development but then started laughing.

I have to say, I've always wondered what it'd be like to be strangled, but in a sexy way, not this. As his hand keeps tightening, I start to gasp for air. This pain is unlike any I've ever felt. The thought of dying crossed my mind. It scared me. I was scared. It suddenly dawned on me the life I had: a loving family and great friends. I left them, all of them. My mom must be crying right now, and dad is probably hitting a wall, both blaming themselves. I hope they don't divorce; they still have my baby brother to care for. It dawns on me that I promised him I'd go to his soccer game this weekend. Not to mention, I was going to meet my friends for brunch tomorrow. Tears start streaming down my eyes. I had a life, and now that I got a second chance at life, I'm leaving it before I could actually live it.