Matheo groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, his head raging with a headache like no other, he didn't remember how he had gotten there, they must've knocked him out when they had come close the lair.
"If I flee, they won't have to worry about me coming back... Cowards." Matheo growled out as he glanced around, his knees burning from his position, his arms were still clamped behind his back by some sort of metal restraints.
He tried to move, but his metal neck clamp was chained to the floor, he grimaced at the feeling of being treated like a lowly animal, being put on his knees with upmost disrespect.
The door slowly opened, a large decomposing werewolf looking beast walked in, heavy grunts leaving its throat with each step, licking its lips as Matheo groaned, his shoulder stinging as he felt the tightly strapped bandages around his wound.
"The fuck are you here for?" Matheo spat before the creature chuckled in a distorted tone, reaching out to pick up Matheo by his arm clamps, forcing him to stand up and feeling his legs regain circulation, a curse leaving him from the stabbing feeling in his shoulder.
"Eat." It growled out before throwing a raw slab of meat to the ground, blood splattering from the impact and onto the wall, it made Matheo's gut wrench at the thought of eating raw meat.
"How am I supposed to eat, my arms are locked you dumb beast!" Matheo said before spiting at it's face, the creature huffing and slamming Matheo head first into the ground, causing a loud grunt from the impact.
The beast walked out with no further words, locking the metal door behind him, leaving the wolf to his demons, alone in this now reaking room, stenched with the scent of that cannibal.
"Ain't no way I'm putting that shit in my mouth." Matheo mumbled as he looked over to the meat, not even trusting what it could be coming from, he couldn't risk it being some shifter's flesh.
His stomach twisted at the idea, closing his eyes as he turned himself around to face the ceiling, now having a heavy bruise and a shallow scrape on the side of his chin.
"Fuck... Bastard busted my lip." He said as he spat blood on the floor, sighing as he sat up, wiping the side of his mouth on his intact shoulder, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath, his wound was killing him right now.
"God what I'd do to get pain killers..." Matheo whimpered out before a giggle echoed behind the door, making Matheo flinch as he opened his eyes, glaring as the door slowly opened to the man he wished he could never see again.
"You seem in a fighting spirit, little wolf."
"Go fuck yourself!"
"Case in point, I bet that shoulder hurts. Don't worry, your wolf will heal you. It might leave a scar however, a present, I dare say." The man said as he walked in, Matheo's eye twitched as the man walked up to him, dressed in a fancy suit with shiny leather shoes.
"You got dressed pretty fancy just to come visit? How flattering." Matheo sarcastically said before the man chuckled, lifting Matheo's chin with a finger, receiving a glare from the boy.
"No, not for you little one. My son will mate soon, the kitsune has returned. Once that is done... I will make good use of you and dispose of your remains." The man said before Matheo snapped at him, the man dodging his teeth just in time to avoid loosing a finger.
"I hope you rot till your body falls apart!" Matheo snared as the man chuckled, crossing his arms with a chuckle, it made Matheo's blood boil, there was no way Devan would mate with Liam, not that it even made sense to begin with.
Liam was already in the process of mating... Or would soon.
"Devan would never do that, he wants to be normal... He is nothing like you monsters!" Matheo yelled as the man's smile fell, his face getting serious before gripping the chain that was locked to his neck, lifting him up in a way that caused the clamp to choke him.
He wiggled fiercely, feets kicking as his arms desperately wiggled to try and free themselves, his vision was trembling from fear as he tried to take a gasp of air to no avail.
"You are a pathetic, worthless little beta wolf. You're unimportant, to anyone. Not to your pack, not to my cannibals... Not even to my son. You do realize he only played with you to spite me? I forbade him to mate with males... He went to you in hopes to defy me. You, are nothing little one." The man said before he let go of the chain, giving a brief moment of air time before Matheo crashed into the ground.
His head colided with the cement, shutting his vision to total darkness while a tear escaped his eye, the word echoing in his mind as his consciousness slipped away.
-
(Flashback, 11 years ago)
Liam sighed as he threw a rock at the water, the pebble hitting the surfacr with a click, taking a leap or two before sinking to the bottom of the lake.
"Lili? What are you doing here?" A female voice echoed as the seven year old boy sighed, not wanting to be bullied today, he didn't have it in him, taking a beating or even being mocked, not today.
"Narcia, just... not today, please." He whispered out, his eyes losing themselves into the distant sunset, sky stretching from oranges to purples, it almost made him feel better.
A silence settled between the two of them, wind blowing through the little girl's hair, making them dance with the ripples of water that displayed her on the water surface.
"It's that time of the year again, huh?" Narcia asked as she walked down the small grass hill, making her way to his side before Liam grabbed another stone, making it skip the water again.
"What's it to you..."
"Well... My parents are out again... So I sneaked away to come to you. I just didn't expect you to be here, I was going to your house." She said as Liam turned to face her, a glare in his eyes that said everything he needed to say really, but he needed to said every last word that was on his mind.
"What for? So your sorry butt can come whine to me about how unfair her parents are? Do you even realize how badly I wished I could complain about my parents, about how protective and caring they are? About not being able to bring a crush home? About them being anything but dead!?" Liam yelled as tears fell down his cheeks, her face changing its expression to empathize with what he was saying.
She didn't stop him, she could tell he needed it, today was their 5 year death anniversary, he had every right to be upset today, he was entitled to feel this way.
She sighed and took a step forward, the boy taking one back, his fists closing tightly in defense, or perhaps even frustartion, she looked to the side, pushing a strand of her hair behing her ear before looking at him.
"I wasn't coming to complain... I was coming to give you company." She mumbled, their eyes meeting for a moment, it warmed his heart to an extent she would never come to know, the gesture had meant the world to him.
All his anger vanished as he jumped at her, hugging her tightly, feeling her sigh before hugging him back, rubbing the poor boy's shoulders as he pushed his nose into her neck, making her sigh in comfort.
"I wished you were always nice to me... I wished all of this could stop." Liam sobbed out as Narcia hugged him tighter, she felt the same, but changing her friend group's habits would be difficult.
"I will try..." She said softly, his lips rubbing against her neck as they curved into a small smile, it warmed her heart to know he was currently smiling thanks to her.
If only it had gone so smoothly.
(Present day)
She opened her eyes slowly, tears threatening to fall from her eyes though she refused to let them go, they would not show the pain she felt inside, treason would not happen on her face.
Why did her mind had to remind her of Liam, to show her that dream like it had so many times before, had she not memorized the words, the scenery, the smells.
Had she not suffered enough yet?
Perhaps, in some weird twisted way, this was the Goddess's punishment for her conduct, the lady had given her a mate, one she had tortured with words and then sat there, watching as others continued without her.
She regretted it even before she saw him that day, in university, looking like a completely different person, looking like a man.
She remembered how badly she felt at each and every occasion, crying in her fathers arms for some sort of enlightening on what to do, the man having never found a solution for her.
"You will need to figure that out yourself Narcia. You did this, it is your job to correct it." Her father had said at the time.
He had been right, she was the responsible one, yet she never fully took responsibility, in fact, she did not even believe she ever even tried to up until that fateful day...
(2 years ago)
"Alright everyone, settle down... I need to take presence." The teacher said as students began to rush to their desk, giggles and muffled words echoing within the confined space that formed this classroom.
One by one, the teacher called a student, Narcia being one of them, only few were left uncalled, one of which was Liam, who was absent that day.
"All right! That should be it. If I called your name, congratulations! You have graduated, as for those I haven't named... Well, I will see you next year." The teacher said before standing, making his way towards the hall.
Narcia frowned at this, quickly standing up and making a run for the teacher, catching him in his step before blocking his way, confusion on her face.
"Pardon me, sir. It's just... I realized you didn't call out to Liam."
"The boy wasn't present."
"Yes... But, did he pass?" Narcia asked as the man in front of her sighed, pushing his glasses up before pulling a note out, giving it to her before closing his book, walking away from her calmly.
"Say hello to the alpha on my behalf my lady." The teacher said as she nodded, opening the letter in confusion, her eyes widening.
She knew that handwriting all too well, she had always loved the way Liam could write letters on a sheet of paper, truely remarkable, she didn't, however, like what the content of this letter was.
'Dear Mr. Morales, upon consideration of my many applications, I have decided to move forward with the one we had spoken of. The university in Danville is simply too tempting, the location is hours away and I will never have to see anyone from here again. I thank you for your guidance in this, I will not attend this school any longer, please forward my documents to my address I emailed you yesterday. I will reside there for 2 years until I join my new school. Sincerely, Liam.'
The paper crackled between her fingers as she squeezed it, her eyes watering as she fell to her knees, hugging the piece of paper closely to her chest.
He really had left, he had left without saying goodbye, without so much as a look behind himself, he wanted nothing to do with this place, with it's people.
Nothing to do with her.
(Present day)
Narcia cursed to herself, wishing this could all be over with, she didn't think her life would go so wrong, that things would end up the way they were now.
She was trapped, imprisoned in her own pack, fated to be mated to the guy she most hates in this world, if fate didn't have it for her that day, it definitely had it for her now.
Slowly, she got out of bed, her every step being as heavy as a prison boulder, she had one direction in mind, one thing to go do today, and that was to sit by the one she no longer could dream of.
The day had only just begun, and yet she had no idea of the horrors this day would bring to her.