Forgetting whatever pain I was experiencing, I began to panic.
Axton seemed to only ignore my struggles and let out a low growl that made me tense up in fear.
I was not strong enough to do anything, much less stop him.
I squeezed my eyes shut as tears started to freely flow down my cheeks. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of my cries or screams. That was all I could do.
I had never felt so hopeless and vulnerable than I did right then. I covered my mouth with my hand to hold back a sob. This was really happening! This was my breaking point.
I had hoped to at least die without being defiled by some greedy man, yet Alpha Axton was about to crush any hope of a peaceful death I had left.
As he got to the end of the hallway, he opened the door to his room and shut it, locking me inside with him.
He walked over his bed, and I let loose a sob. As soon as the sound left my mouth, he dropped me on the bedding roughly, causing a yelp to escape my lips.
“Knock it off with the hissy fit, Princess. It’s not the end of the world.” He looked down at me with a scrutinizing look and crossed his arms.
Carefully lifting my head, I sat up from the position I had been thrown down onto the bed in and looked him in the eye. There was a strange mixture of emotions swirling in his eyes.
“Hmph.” He took a step closer and reached his hand toward me, and on instinct, I flinched away and turned my head away, so he wouldn’t hit me in the face.
But after flinching away, I could hear a low rumble from him, nearly a growl. “Stop being stubborn.” He spoke slowly, sounding a bit angry.
I looked back at him, and he stood back up, looking me over.
I felt a bit embarrassed and disgusted by how repulsive I must look and smell, and I could see it in his eyes that he indeed thought me repulsive.
“Strip,” he demanded. My heart skipped a beat, and I looked at him in fear.
“What? I said STRIP, undress, toss away your clothes, then get in the bathroom,” he jabbed his thumb in the direction of the master bathroom. “And clean off. Don’t think about running because I’m going to be waiting right here.”
He walked around to the side of the bed behind me and lay down with his hands behind his head. Closing his eyes, he relaxed and got himself comfortable.
“I gave you an order, Princess.”
I gulped and shakily stood up, ignoring the pain of my battered body and supporting myself with one of the bedposts. There was no point in upsetting him more.
I shuffled over to the bathroom and went inside. Locking the door behind me, carefully going over to the bathtub, I turned on the water to a comfortably warm temperature.
I sighed at how nice it felt being out of the cold cell. But it was hard to enjoy anything; I was absolutely terrified.
Now for the hard part. I began removing my clothes. My shirt came off, then my pants, leaving me in my undergarments and bandages.
Looking at the mirror, I took in a sharp breath. I looked like I hadn’t slept in weeks.
My arms and legs were heavily bruised with a few minor scratches. My fractured ankle was swollen and throbbed just as my torso and backside did.
Sitting on the side of the tub, I carefully removed the bandages to see even more bruises, nearly black from my broken rib. And my back...red, bloody, and inflamed, most likely from infection.
I held back a sob at how terrible I looked. I was not sure why, but there was an aching in my heart due not only to my father but Axton as well.
For some reason, him being the cause of my pain made it so much worse. I moved off the side of the tub and sat on the floor, resting my head against the side of it.
Once I was clean, Axton no doubt would probably drag me out of the bathroom, throw me on the bed, and do what he wants. Maybe he would kill me if he was harsh enough.
I watched the water flow out of the faucet and smiled. Why? I was not sure, maybe because my life was so messed up, or maybe because I had lost my mind and hit my breaking point.
After nineteen years, this was how my story would end. I suppose my father was right. No one was going to care about me because I was worthless.
I sat there for a moment, blankly watching the water. Once it was full, I reached over and stopped it.
I put my arm in the water to feel its relaxing warmth, possibly the only good thing I had had in the past week. I wouldn’t mind drowning in this warmth, literally.
A knock on the door startled me, and I flinched, pulling my hand away from the warmth.
“You better be getting cleaned off.” Axton’s threat made me nervous, and I didn't realize I stopped breathing until I heard his footsteps walking away.
I glanced back at the water, then at my reflection. There was no way I could possibly get into the tub.
Instead, I grabbed a towel and dipped it in the water before carefully washing my body off with it. I had to avoid my ribcage, ankle, and back. It hurt too much to rub the towel over them. My back was already infected, so no doubt there wasn’t much point cleaning it without anything to kill the infection.
Once I was finished, I attempted to clean my hair the best I could but only got as far as rinsing it.
I wasn’t completely better, but it was the best I could do. Looking around, I saw a bathrobe hanging nearby. I would have gathered something less exposing, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore.
Taking the robe, I slipped it on. Draining the tub, I watched the dirty water run down the drain until it was empty. I didn’t want to think about what was about to happen next once I left this room.
I rested my head on the side of the tub again, feeling exhausted and tired. I was so tired. I fought to keep my eyes open, but it felt so good to let them close as I drifted off into the darkness.
I hated it when she struggled in my arms when that was where she belonged, and I hated it when she flinched away from my touch. I even saw tears and fear in her eyes.
The tears were most likely fake, or pity party tears. It must be the same with her fear; she was only scared that she was going to lose whatever power she had over the pack.
It did unnerve me to see her like that, but I couldn’t let her continue to be a spoiled brat. She needed to learn. It was interesting to see how horrified she looked when I told her to strip.
I was sure she was in the bathroom, still embarrassed to be given such an order.
Sighing, I wondered what the whole limping to the bathroom was about. Did she think I'd take pity on her and give her what she wants?
Mate or not, I was not going to tiptoe around and do her bidding. She would learn that her place was not above me but beside me.
After waiting several minutes, I knocked on the door to make sure she was doing what she was told. She needed that bath bad.
I didn’t mean to leave her downstairs for three days. I just got so caught up in establishing the pack, and I was so angry to find out whose daughter she was that I didn't want to think about her.
Well, she could think of it as punishment, and it was a good way to lower her self-image. Embarrassing her by leaving her down there like a prisoner shouldn’t have hurt her; it would’ve just made it clear she was no longer in power.
I went over to the bathroom door and tried twisting the doorknob. Surprise, surprise. It was locked. I rolled my eyes. Why were locks even a thing in werewolf communities?
It was not like they would stop any wolf from entering.
“Open the door, Princess,” I said, not really in the mood for her spoiled behavior.
No response.
I cracked the doorknob off and opened the door. To my surprise, she was leaning against the tub fast asleep.
She was wrapped in a soft gray robe that covered most of her body. Sighing, I went over and picked her up bridal style and carried her to bed.
I smiled a little, enjoying how small and cute she was and enjoying having her in my arms.
Laying her in my bed, I covered her in a blanket and went over to the opposite side before getting comfortable myself.
I sighed and looked at her face. There was definitely a bruise on her cheek as well. The sight of both injuries bothered me, but she looked peaceful in her sleep. I would have to deal with them later; I didn’t want to wake her.
I decided to keep my distance for tonight so that she could sleep peacefully, but tomorrow, we would have to start getting her into shape to become a proper luna.
Closing my eyes and yawning, I turned away and fell asleep.
