One Last Torment

Addy

The day whizzes by with Myra and Kevin by my side through all my classes. The last class of the day is strength training for the boys and fighting training for the girls, along with a lesson on being a good mate. Myra and I head into the girls’ locker room and change into the uniforms required for this class.

Myra taps my shoulder. “Hey, I need to use the restroom before class starts. Can you manage alone for a bit?”

I nod, and she disappears around the corner to the restroom. Suddenly, a forceful blow lands on my back, slamming me into the lockers and cutting my lip on the locker door that slams shut from the impact. I crumple to the floor, and another blow strikes my eye.

“~He’s MINE~, you fucking ~reject~,” she yells in my face. “I don’t know what you did to make him dump me, but when I’m done with you, he won’t even glance your way because of how ugly you’ll be.”

Fists pummel my face, and feet kick my body. I curl into a ball, trying to shield myself from the onslaught. I hear distant screams from the other girls but can’t make out who it is. The rush of blood in my ears drowns out the voices. Suddenly, the door bangs open, and a roar fills the room, shaking the floor beneath me. The girls stop their attack as strong arms scoop me up from the floor.

“She attacked me, love,” I hear her lie.

He retorts, “You don’t have a scratch on you. Myra, call Dad now. This ends today.”

She gasps. “Why are you calling the Alpha?”

“I’ll tell you when the meeting is scheduled.” He adjusts his hold on me, cradling me against his chest, and takes the phone. “I need a meeting tonight after dinner with Macie and her parents. She just beat the shit out of Addy again.”

A muffled voice responds from the other end before the call ends. “You need to be in the Alpha’s office at seven tonight to meet with my dad and me.”

She reaches out to touch his hand, but he pulls away. “What will happen at this meeting?” she asks, her voice trembling.

He growls, “You’ll find out. Myra, tell Sam she’s coming with me to the pack doctor, and I won’t be at training today.”

I hear footsteps receding as she replies, “Don’t leave me, brother. I’ll come with you both after I grab our stuff.”

He shifts me in his arms, holding me close. We walk down the hall, and a door opens. I hear birds chirping and feel the warmth of the sun, indicating we’re outside the school. The sound of a car door opening prompts me to turn my head and see the seat he’s gently lowering me into. As I settle into the seat, I hear him click his tongue.

“Addy, baby. Look at me.” He gently brushes my arm.

I shake my head, burying it in my hands. He gently tugs at my hands, asking me to lower them. I press them harder against my face, which throbs with pain, but he pulls harder, and I can’t resist.

“Jesus,” he mutters, his finger lightly tracing my face. “We need to get you to the doctor now. My sister can meet us there.”

He shuts my door and quickly gets into the driver’s seat. He backs out so fast that I almost get whiplash as he shifts into drive and speeds out of the parking lot. As we race down the road, he’s silent for a few minutes, his eyes glazing over for a few seconds, indicating he’s linking with others. I’ve never had the link since my wolf rarely comes out, and they never allowed me to be properly accepted to establish the connection.

“Please, talk to me, Addy. What happened?” He glances at me before focusing back on the road.

I touch my eye, wincing at the pain. “She attacked me because she thinks I stole you from her,” I whisper.

“That fucking bitch will get what she deserves tonight. I’ll deal with her,” he growls.

I turn to him. “Don’t do anything rash, Drake. She’s hurting because she lost you, and I know what it’s like to be the ~reject~ in this pack. She had her whole life planned out with you.”

He laughs harshly. “I know she did, but it was never going to happen. She’s been told this repeatedly, but she wouldn’t listen. She thought if she could hold onto me long enough and my mate didn’t show up, I would choose her. I was waiting for the right time, knowing my mate was close. It’s been almost a year since I knew someone of age would come around in the next few months. My mate can only be a year younger than me, so she was just helping me pass the time until I found the right scent.”

I look out the window, seeing the reflection of my battered face. “How did you know she was doing this to me? I thought I heard Myra yelling, but it was hard to hear with the blows landing on my face.”

He growls low in his chest. “She linked me, saying Macie was attacking you and the others joined in. They’ll answer for this too, but first, she’ll pay for disobeying my orders. Why didn’t you let me know?”

I hang my head. “I don’t have a pack link; my parents never allowed me to be properly accepted to have it.”

The car swerves before he corrects it. “They what?” he almost yells. “Addy, I’m so sorry. I was so wrapped up in my own world that I didn’t know about this. Most pups are accepted by the age of five.”

I look at him through my one unswollen eye. “You were only six. You couldn’t have known.”

He shakes his head, his hair flopping from side to side. I resist the urge to run my fingers through it. “My father should have known. Your dad is his Beta. How did this slip through the cracks?”

I groan as he hits a bump in the road. “My father probably faked my records. He has access to all the paperwork and could have written down a date saying I went through the acceptance ritual. I wanted to, knowing all the other pups in my class were talking about their parents letting them take the oath. But mine never came.”

His eyes flash back and forth, indicating he’s trying to control his wolf. “I’ll look into this while the doctor checks you out. My dad must not know that your father didn’t do the one thing required for all pups, and he might lose his position when my dad finds out.”

A small smile creeps onto my face at the thought of my father losing the one thing he flaunts because of his rank. But it quickly fades; they are my parents. I may not like how they raised me, but they did provide a roof over my head. Some might call me stupid, but I’ve always respected them, despite the abuse.

Soon, we arrive at the packhouse doctor’s office. He gets out and opens my door, lifting me out of the seat. He holds me close as he bounds up the steps two at a time, causing me to groan from the jostling.

“Sorry, just trying to get you to Mark as quickly as possible.” He pats my lower back gently.

We enter the room as a nurse opens the door, allowing him to bypass the others waiting. I feel guilty seeing the small pups with runny noses or coughing, and others waiting for their family members who are already being seen. I give them a weak smile as they bow their heads to Drake while he rushes past them. The nurse points to an open door halfway down the hall, and he carries me into the large, pale yellow room. He gently sets me down on the bed and steps back. The nurse closes the door, and his eyes scan my injuries.

His finger lightly touches my face. “Fuck, Addy. This is ridiculous. Has it always been this bad?”

I shake my head gently, trying to avoid the pain. “Not always. This one’s pretty much as bad as the time that gang jumped me. Usually, it’s just a punch to the body or my feet getting stomped. But this time, she was more aggressive.”

He pulls out his phone and starts taking pictures of my face. His fingers then begin to lift my dress. I swat his hand away before I even realize what’s happening. His eyes meet mine, a smirk spreading across his face. “I’m just documenting the damage for my dad. It’ll help him decide what to do with her.”

I snatch the phone from his hand. “I can take my own pictures. You don’t need to see what’s under my clothes.”

His lips twitch and a low growl escapes him. “I have every right to see, woman. You’re my mate; you belong to me just as much as I,” he gestures to his body, “belong to you.”

I shake my head slowly. “I’m not ready for that yet. Maybe the other girls you’ve been with let you rip their clothes off, but I’m not one of them. I’ll take the pictures myself.”

I take a deep breath and step down onto the floor, heading towards the dressing room. I pull the curtain closed behind me. I remove my dress and shirt, taking pictures of my stomach, chest, and neck—the places she grabbed just before he burst into the room. I scroll through the images, making sure they only show the bruises, not any private parts. Then, I slowly put my clothes back on, wincing as the pain from the attack throbs through me.

The door swings open and another man’s voice fills the room. “Drake. How’s it going?”