Page 57 of Escaping Wildfire
I woke up happier than I had felt in a long time. We had somehow managed to get Nora out safely, and Gema let us know that her brother had sent a message around 6 am that she had made it to Harvest Moon.
‘We’ll get out of here, too, someday.’ My wolf, Phoenix, had always been the more hopeful of the two of us. She kept me sane in this prison of a house, though, and having Gema in the house this summer had also helped. She was my first real friend if I didn’t count Larkin. Father had let me finish school through high school by homeschooling but said I didn’t need college as he would show me how to be a good Luna. So far, that meant helping with the pack paperwork, planning dinners, and making sure I didn’t talk back to the Alpha. I could only imagine what kind of alpha he would marry me off to.
‘We’ll find our mate, and he’ll take us far away from here.’
‘Come on, Phoenix, Larkin and Flint couldn’t keep Nora and Lily, what makes you think we’ll fare any better?’
‘Our mate will be strong, I know it, and he’ll take us with him to his pack, and we’ll never have to step foot here again.’
‘But I don’t want to be a Luna.”
‘Come on, Rory, we have to trust in the Moon Goddess. She’ll bring us the perfect wolf. He’ll be strong and won’t be afraid of your father.’
‘You’re too much of a romantic, Fi.’ I shook my head at my wolf. I loved her, but she always had her head in the clouds.
There was a knock at my door, even though I wasn’t expecting anyone.
“Beta Griffin, how can I help you?” I hated my father’s Beta. Being around him always put me on high alert and made my skin crawl.
“Your father sent me to come get you. He wants to see you in his office.”
I nodded, but a part of me was scared. Did he find out about Nora? I had to keep my nerves down, they’d be able to sense my heart rate. Luckily, Larkin had given both me and Gema an alpha command to not say anything. He even forbade us from answering questions from my father. We weren’t certain the command would work against my father, but we had to try.
Beta Griffin and I walked silently to my father’s office, and he then ushered me inside as he opened the door.
“Aurora. I assume you know why you’re here.”
“No, Father, Beta Griffin only said you wanted to see me but not why.” I feigned complete innocence.
My father scoffed and cocked his head to the side.
“Let me put this another way. I know you know about your brother’s mate, and I know your brother helped her escape.”
“She escaped?”
My father laughed mirthlessly. “You really expect me to believe you know nothing about this.” He came over and sat at the edge of his desk as he looked me in the eye.
“You know, I promised your brother I wouldn’t touch you if he went to boarding school, and like the good little son he is, he went off to school. Then, I promised him I wouldn’t hurt his little bitch, if he married Gema.”
My eyes started to water as I sensed what my father was getting at.
“We both know I’m not good at keeping promises…” He stood up and came closer, towering over me. “And now your brother is going to find out just what it means to cross me.”
He suddenly reached out and slapped me hard. My ears rang, and my head exploded with pain as I was knocked to the floor. Before I could really register what was happening, he kicked me hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I saw spots before my eyes as I tried to calm the pain.
It wasn’t the first time he’d hit me, but I had never seen him this angry before. I saw as his wolf came out through his eyes. He was as ruthless as my father, and I tried crawling away from him.
Before I could get away, I felt several more hard kicks to my side. I didn’t want to cry, but the hot tears poured from my eyes involuntarily. He crouched down in front of me and lifted my face, squeezing my cheeks hard between his hand.
“You’re just as weak as your mother, pathetic…and if your brother thinks he can get away with this, he’s going to learn the hard way that he can’t cross me.” He tossed me aside and slapped me again, harder than the first time. I could feel the blood pounding in my head from the pain.
“Take her.” He walked back to his desk not looking at anyone as he spoke. “Finish teaching my son his lesson. Do what you want with her, but don’t kill her. Now get her out of my sight.” He spit out those last words as if disgusted. If I ever thought he cared even just a tiny bit for me, that thought was extinguished today.
Beta Griffin yanked me up by my arm and tossed me over his shoulder. My side hurt, and each step he took was torture as I bounced around. He put his hand firmly on my bottom, and I felt disgusted by his touch. Would my father really let him do anything to me? I wanted it to not be true, but I knew better. I had to find a way out of this.
‘Larkin! Larkin!’
I called out to my brother through the mind link, but for some reason, he wasn’t answering. Was he off territory…or had my father already gotten to him, too? I couldn’t think straight, and Beta Griffin kept walking away from the pack house.