Thalia's POV
It is in the deep of the early morning. I am pushed out of my slumber by the sound a loud boom. I can hear the splinters of my door tearing from one another. The sound is eery and my response is immediate.
My survival skills have been honed and tested for this moment. I have to move quickly. I knew this would happen eventually, that my personal space would be invaded. I need to do whatever I have to make it through the next few hours. I look at the clock on my nightstand and it reads 3 o clock. It seems about right. It is still quite outside, the birds only wakening at six.
I am on my feet, my bedcovers sliding from my body, I avoid getting tangled in them as I take out my backpack from underneath my bed.
I have been preparing for this moment for years. My backpack has the essentials: my human identification, my money, and a map. There is a change of clothes and a pair of shoes as well. I have nothing more in it as anything more would be weighing me down.
My heart is pounding. I am struggling to breathe and swallow properly as panic sets in. I try to quite my breath down as I can hear their footsteps approach. Oh no, I am not ready for this. The footsteps are heavy, and they become silent as they stop in front of my door.
I open my window, just as the door rushes open. An audible sigh escapes my mouth as I can smell that the invader is my Alpha and his Beta, or also known as Johnny the second in command.
The power and dominance of the Alpha looms over me. It is almost stifling, but I stay on my feet even though the power he is radiating is there to bring me to my knees, to ensure that I bow in submission. It is the way of the pack.
"What?" His voice rings with sarcasm, accompanied by a menacing chuckle. "You thought that you could have that foolish son of mine threaten me away?" I get goosebumps on my back, and it travels up to my neck. The Alpha's voice takes on a deadly tone.
"You really think that you could leave my pack without going through the pain of the pack rejection ritual?" His voice rises an octave and the anger that is radiating from him sets me even more on edge.
I grit my teeth in frustration, this is not the plan. Damn Blake for not keeping his nose out of my affairs. Fuck. What can I do now? I climb through the window, thankful that my house does not have an upstairs. I do not want to turn around because I know that he will beat me worse if I look him in the eyes. Lana my wolf does not want to submit to any wolf. She will get us killed.
"Yeah, I will get us killed." I can feel her rolling her eyes and it is difficult to keep my focus, so I shut her out. It will probably be the best because when I shut her out, she will not feel the pain of the beating I am sure that we are going to receive now.
I can taste the chance of freedom, he is standing still and waiting for me to react. I just need to be quick enough to make it to the pack line and then I am free.
Free from the Alpha and his co abusers.
My legs are quick as I move through the frame, careful of the splinters. My heart is beating out of my chest and my hope in my chest is flickering a little. It is short-lived. What an idiot I am, thinking I can outrun an Alpha.
I scream in pain as I feel my hair being pulled. I try to look behind me to see what is going on but that is a big mistake as this gives Alpha Manus the chance to grip my hair even tighter. He climbed out the window faster than I even imagined, and he is clutching onto me now.
My heart is sinking into my shoes. Why does this have to happen today? Why? Why? Why?
"I will tell you, though." He pulls my head at an awkward angle so that I look him in the eyes. His eyes are like deadly glaciers. The type of blueness that will trap you like a deadly predator and then your heart stop because of the deadly coldness. His smile is cruel, and I have never seen anyone eviller than this man.
A hatred is throbbing in my chest, the feeling is what keeps me from giving up. "I will let you go." The words contradict his statement as he only tightens his grip on my hair. "If you survive the Rejection Ritual."
He starts walking, and I wail in pain as he does not let go of my hair. I can feel there is going to be a patch where my hair used to be. This man is like the devil himself. His pace is fast. Tears are streaming down my face as he leads me to what I am sure is the Punishment Patch.
I do not know how far he has dragged me, the only way to escape from the pain is by looking at the dirtied shoes of the Beta who is walking behind us in order to ensure that I do nothing to hurt the Alpha, like I even have the power or authority to make a dent in him.
There is a vicious howl that reverberates from above me, there is dust in my mouth as I gasp in surprise. I hear the pack howling back in eagerness. They are thirsty for the blood of whoever is going to be on the bloodied patch of grass.
I sigh in relief as the Alpha lets go of my hair, but I feel nervous as I know something worse is going to happen now. I can feel the air move into something more sinister as more of the pack approaches.
I look down, as I am now on my knees and hands. The Alpha pushed me to the ground, I can feel little stones digging into my skin. There is blood between my fingers as I am now in front of a metal pole with an attached chain.
The blood on my hands are not my own, but those of whoever was punished before me. It reeks of pain and death. I shiver in fear as I feel someone grip my bag from behind. It is shredded as it is ripped from me. I look behind me to see the Beta looking at me like I am the scum of the earth. Nothing more than a leech that is spoiling his day.
My eyes water and I know that I am going to start crying any moment, but I am still not going to talk. They will hit me harder if I do. This will be the worst pain I have endured, and I know that, the words that Blake spoke earlier is haunting the halls of my mine.
Steel tipped whip.
"Today we are rejecting the little runt Thalia." His voice is poisoning the ears of the pack, making me out to be a villain. "The runt that thinks she is too good for us." I say nothing as I keep my head down. My eyes can only see red as I focus on the wet grass underneath me.
The pack all growl their distaste for me. He laughs as he moves closer to me. I close my eyes in fear as he ties the band of the chain around my neck. I wince as I feel the metal of the band sizzling my skin. They are using steel, to supress my wolf.
There is cheering come from all around, "Let the bitch die." My fear intensifies, they are out for my death and blood and I know that I will be unable to protect myself either way.
This is it; this is the moment that my life has been leading up to. My death. My shirt is ripped from my body and I reach to cover my breasts. It is an attempt to shield at least a little bit of myself from their hateful gazes. The clear skin of my back is open to the wrath of a hateful Alpha.
"Please don't." My voice is soft, and my breath gets caught in my throat as I hear the heinous sound of him approaching. I know I am talking after I said I would not, but I have to at least try even if it is futile. The ground cracks underneath his heavy boots.
He slaps me on my back with force and I fall down. "Do not worry, I will make sure that just when the pain gets too much, you will die."
His words do nothing to take away the anxiety I am feeling. I sniff the air and the familiar smell of Blake is not present. Where is he?
"You see" He walks away, and I can hear a swish in the air. "No one here cares about you." His words sting and I move into an upward position, clutching onto the pole in an attempt to keep my modesty. I look forward and the pack members are surrounded in a circle around us. They are all giving me looks of disgust.
There air moves and I inhale deeply, there is a tearing of my skin. The flesh sizzles because of the silver. I bite my tongue and close my eyes "le cumhacht bandia na gealaí agus déithe Ceilteacha Fógraím go ndiúltaítear duit ó Phacáiste Hades."
It is our native tongue, Irish. My Alpha is rejecting me from the Hades Pack. I can feel the bond of the pack breaking as my skin tears over and over again. There is blood dripping from everywhere, wettening the bloodied ground even more.
Another tear. And another. I fall down and the torture continues. The Alpha is tlaking but it feels like my head is submerged, nothing is reaching me the way it usually does.
I want to plead, but my mouth cannot form any words, I know that I am screaming as my throat feels raw.
I can feel blood dripping out of my body, the amount I am losing is alarming. I feel faint as the unbearable pain subsides.
My mind is numbing me from everything as darkness settles in.
Vulcan's POV
There is something brewing in the air, I can feel it brewing underneath the swell of the storm. My feet are heavy as they trudge through the mud. There has been a breach in the boundary line, and as an Alpha it is my duty to see what the danger is.
This feeling id familiar as it settles in my stomach. I know that my world is going to be unearthed by what we find, the moon goddess is intervening, I can feel it.