I screamed out in complete horror as they forced me down unto the forest floor. My legs flared wildly as my arms tried to push their filthy hands away from me. Tears streamed down my face as I screamed my lungs out, crying out for help, for Zion, anyone at this point.
âWhat are you doing!? Iâm your Luna!â I cried, sobs racking my body as I felt their hands probing around my body.
A wheeze escaped my lips as a fist landed in my stomach. I curled into myself as I whimpered in pain. A dirty boot came pounding into my side, causing a pained scream to rip pass my lips. I felt a slap hit the side of my head and splitting my upper lip.
I coughed and wheezed in pain, spitting out the blood that welled up in my mouth.
âYou donât deserve to be our Luna!â One of them hissed.
âFight back you pathetic bitch! Youâre weak!â the other chimed in, punching me in my stomach once more.
âZion!â
âZion!â
âZion!â
No matter how hard I screamed his name, he didnât appear. He was nowhere in sight or nowhere to help me, to save me from his pack.
My wolf surfaced in the front of my mind and growled out in pain. The growl made it pass my lips and caused the boys to pause for a second.
My wolf had lost all control under her anger. She wasnât angry at them though, she was angry at herself. She placed us in this position because of her cowardice. She came forward, wanting to know if I was okay because she felt at fault for our weakness. As a result, she relinquished complete control of herself and broke the barrier between us.
Something snapped inside of me.
The urge started out as just a little itch and then thrummed into blazing hot lava that ran throughout the veins all over my body. It was our anger and frustration boiling over.
A frustrated scream tore its way pass my lips, echoing throughout the forest like a song cascaded by the wind.
The men had stopped to watch me with curious eyes as they must have realized that I wasnât moving anymore.
I snapped my blazing eyes to the guy leaning over into my face and snapped my hands up and around his neck. I quickly threw him a few feet away from me. This sudden strength in me given by my wolf brimmed as I quickly kicked the one closest to us in his private area, causing him to curse loudly and stumble away.
The other three came at me with full force. With my wolfâs constant fear out of the way, I dived out of the way of the attack, causing the three boys to almost collide with each other. I quickly went to the first one I could get my hands on and grabbed a hold of his leg, twisting it harshly as the sound of bones grinding and breaking filled the air. The boy screamed out in pain, his foot now twisted in an awkward angle as he dragged himself away from me.
The other three quickly got up and started advancing on me, their eyes now glowing a bright gold.
âEnough,â the voice that spoke sent a wave of relief crashing through me.
The wolves looked over at Zion, who appeared from behind a few trees. He took a look at the scene with a blank expression on his face before nodding his head at the two wolves left standing.
âGood job. Take your friends and get them to a doctor. You have your Alphaâs approval.â
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as me and my wolf processed his words.
The boys nodded gratefully and bowed slightly in submission, âThank you Alpha,â they chimed.
They left me and Zion alone, dragging their injured friend behind them.
I could feel my heart rate slowing down a bit and breaking ever so slightly.
I watched Zion with a betrayed expression on my face as I finally realized what happened.
My wolf whimpered.
âYou were here the whole time.â I whispered, the question coming out as a statement.
âYes.â
âYou told them to do this?â
âYes.â
âI screamed for you.â
âYou did.â
âYou didnât come.â
âI didnât.â
Tears spilled down my face as all the adrenaline released itself from my body and the pain came throbbing its way back all over again.
âAre you angry?â Zion asked, his voice holding slight anticipation.
âDo you want me to be?â I asked, looking up at him through blurry eyes.
Zion nodded, âYes. You can use that anger to help you fight, to help you become stronger. I wanted to see if your wolf would let you die and she didnât.â
A strained chuckle slipped pass my lips as I shook my head and wiped at my tears. What did I expect?
âIâm not angry,â Zion narrowed his eyes at my words, my voice cracked slightly, âIâm hurt, I feel betrayed, I feel powerless... because of my father... because of you... Iâm used to the pain Zion so no matter how many times you hurt me or kick me down, I wonât get angry. Iâll just be sad because my mate is the one doing this to me. The person whoâs supposed to love me unconditionally is hurting me and I canât leave him so whatâs the point if I get angry? What will that solve? At the end of the day, Iâll still be your mate and Iâll still be forced to love you eventually. So no, Iâm not angry. Iâm just depressed that this is the life that the goddess assigned to me. To be with a man that wasnât even destined to be mine.â
Zion stepped forward and caused me to take a step backwards. His eyes became conflicted.
I shook my head as the tears streamed down my face.
âThe only thing I seem to be doing these days is crying. Because of you, my father, and everyone around me. You ever think to ask me how my life was before I was sold to you? What I had to endure? Why Iâm this cowardly? Did you ever stop to wonder if this could be solved without the use of violence? How can I get stronger emotionally when all I get from you are insults? I know what I am and I donât need you to constantly point it out. I need you to help me fix it because I canât do it on my own. I need someone and not just anyone Zion. I need you. My mate.â I pointed a shaky hand at Zion and narrowed my eyes, âBut itâs clear to me that you donât feel the same. Thereâs obviously a reason why you chose me despite the many options you had but right now, I donât even care what it was. I need space, Zion so leave me alone.â then I walked off into the forest alone.
My body was numb. I couldnât feel the pain anymore. I willed myself not to feel the pain. I wandered the forest aimlessly, my thoughts scrambled all over the place. I wanted to bring my wolf out to run but my wolf refused the invitation. Instead she retreated into the back of my mind, completely silent.
That night I wrote.
~Dear Diary,
Iâm back again with another tearful paragraph of the nightmare known as my life. Today, I was beaten bloody. I called for my mate but he never came so I had to defend myself. I did it though. Thatâs the one thing that Iâm proud of. I successfully defended myself from those men and although I know it was a test, Iâm not even angry at the men for hurting me or playing with my emotions. Iâm not angry at all. Even after finding out that Zion was the one who orchestrated the entire thing. This is my life now. I had to get used to it. No matter how broken I am at the end of the day, no matter how hurt I feel, I have a duty as this packâs leader... so Iâll accept the abuse. However, after today I realized that remaining silent was not going to help my case so despite my fear, my voice will be heard. In this world, thereâs only me and my wolf. No one else. I canât keep depending on people to solve my problems for me. I have to do it on my own.
Starr~
Zion kept his hands to himself that night and I was extremely grateful.