Chapter 3 III

HANNAH

"Did you stab my son?" Alpha Dawson asked in a mild voice, but his eyes told a different story.

They burned and blazed and promised the worst kind of punishment for me. He was an intimidating man under the best of conditions, but right now, he looked downright frightening.

I looked up at him from my place on my knees, with the tears streaming down my cheeks, his very muscled hands clenching and unclenching on the armrests of the chair he sat on as though he was resisting the urge to wrap them around my neck.

The guards had forced me onto my knees before him, but though their hands weren't on me anymore, I couldn't have moved an inch even if I wanted to. I was petrified, frozen to the spot. My life could end at any moment if the Alpha so willed it.

Attacking his son was tantamount to attacking him.

I opened my mouth but could manage only a sigh. Somehow, my words got lost between my head and my mouth.

All too well, I recalled my father being in this same position I was in while he stood trial for the attempted murder of the Alpha, a crime I was sure he did not commit.

Now I was here, before the very same man, accused of almost the same thing.

"I repeat, did you stab my son, Asher?" he said again.

I started to nod, then shook my head.

"Yes," I squeaked. "I mean no-"

"Yes and no?"

"I did it, but I didn't mean to do it. I did it in self-defense." And because he looked like he thought I was talking gibberish, I had to tell him the whole truth. "Asher's friends were about to rape me in the woods at school. He- he told them to. They were about to do it, and I just had to defend myself; that was the only way I knew. All I wanted was for them to stop. I really didn't mean to hurt anyone."

The second I had finished speaking, I knew I had made a terrible mistake by telling him exactly what happened. He looked murderous. I could not suppress a shudder. I had not thought he could be angrier than he already was.

Through gritted teeth, he said, "You have the nerve to accuse my son of rape?"

There was nothing for it but to go on with what I had said. "Alpha, it's the truth. I-"

"Shut up!" he ordered. "One more sound out of you, and you'll never speak again. I'll cut out your lying tongue." He stared at me for a long, long moment. I clapped my hand to my lips to keep the frightened whimpers in. "I know exactly what is going on here. You and your family are a bunch of traitors, traitors hell-bent on destroying the pack. Your traitor father failed to kill me. He failed. He told you to finish his work."

"No..."

"And now... now you took it upon yourself to kill my son instead with some trumped-up talk about rape!"

My tears fell harder and faster. I shook my head vehemently, trying to convey the fact that I had no such intentions. The Alpha straightened and nodded to one of the guards standing in the room's corner. The guard immediately stepped forward. Without once taking his eyes off me, the Alpha ordered him to call Asher.

"Tell him to get here as soon as possible. I have the little rat that stabbed him." The guard ran off immediately to find Asher.

Though Asher entered the room very quietly, I knew the moment he came in. It felt like the hate in the room intensified a hundred times.

"Son, come forward," the Alpha said. Asher obeyed, clutching his shoulder. Surely, I hadn't stabbed him that hard. "She's the one who stabbed you, isn't she?"

"She is," Asher replied. I didn't think such a bully would run to his father like a baby, but he proved me wrong.

The Alpha nodded. "I was about to punish her, but I thought it best that you, the one most affected by the actions of this thing-" He favoured me with a scathing look before turning to his son. "-you should be the one to decide her punishment. Tell me, son. What kind of punishment do you want for her?"

Asher's lips twitched at the corners as he struggled not to smile. The seconds ticked past as he pondered the question. He deliberately drew the moment out so I would squirm, and he succeeded. My mind reeled with thoughts of all forms of sadistic punishments he would have in store for me.

"I want her to be my servant in school," he finally said. "There, she has to attend to my every need and do whatever I ask her to... without hesitation."

The Alpha nodded once in a satisfied manner. "You heard him, girl. I personally wouldn't have chosen such an easy punishment for you. The price for laying your worthless hands on my son should have banishment or... execution." He paused to let that sink in. I had a sudden horrible vision of my head leaving my shoulders. I shuddered again.

"Yes. You are right to be afraid. But since Asher has already decided your fate, you must do as he asks. Without hesitation. Remember that part. What do you have to say for yourself, girl?"

"Thank you. Thank you, Alpha," I said between sobs.

"Show your appreciation properly," he barked. "Bow. Now."

I quickly bowed with my forehead touching the floor. "Thank you, Alpha."

"We need to put you to work immediately. There is really no need to wait for school hours to begin your punishment." Asher nodded in agreement.

"Guards!" I raised my head in time to see two guards appear at the Alpha's side. "Take her to the pig pen. It needs cleaning up."

At a signal from the Alpha, the guards grabbed me and dragged me out of the room even though I had no intentions of putting up a resistance.

I was dragged through the house, across the courtyard, and to where animals were kept.

One guard let me go long enough to open the door of the pig pen, and then I was thrown into it. I landed painfully on my arm. The pigs squealed at my intrusion and trotted to the far side of the pen.

I slowly sat up when the searing pain in my shoulder subsided a bit. I looked down at myself. I hurt all over, my shoulder especially. The animal's poop stained my clothes and my hair. I wrinkled my nose.

The smell made me want to throw up, but I had nothing in my stomach. I fought down my gorge and carefully got up on one foot.

My other foot hurt. I barely had time to gingerly put it on the ground to check if my ankle was broken when a guard barked out an order, "Get to work now! What do you think you're doing? Training for the ballet? There are two more pens to clean!"

The other guard looked more inclined to do me bodily harm if I dallied, so I hurriedly picked up a shovel and began scooping up the poop in the pen.

After all, I had two more pens to clean.

The stench and my pain made my eyes water.

"If you're not going to kill me, then give me strength." I prayed silently to the moon goddess as I worked. "I'm tired of this life. I miss my father and want to join him wherever he is."

Surely, death was much better than this magnitude of suffering.

A part of me, the part that had kept me sane all this while, didn't want to give up. But it was hard not to. So damn hard. That part of me prayed to the goddess for help, for strength.

Laughter interrupted my thoughts. I turned to see Julia pointing at me and laughing her head off.

"Look at you, pig! You finally found where you belong. How sweet." I pursed my lips, continued working and hoped she would go away. "Oh yes. It's better you remain silent forever. Tread carefully, or I'll make your life worse than it already is. The best part is no one will believe your side of the story. Next time, I won't take it easy on you."

What? The shovel slipped from my hands as I turned to Julia in shock, as the realization hit me.

"It was you," I cried. "You spread that rumour about me, telling everyone Asher was my mate, didn't you?"

Julia threw back her head and laughed some more.

"It's good to know you're not as stupid as you look," she said. "But listen, I am going to do something worse to you if you ever come close to Asher. Asher is mine. We'll be together forever. I'll be his Luna, and I'll have his pups while you'll be here shovelling crap or whatever it is you are supposed to be doing."

She spat at my feet and walked away before I could muster another word. The anger I felt made my temples throb and made it difficult for me to breathe.

"You will pay for this," I swore under my breath. Julia had to pay for what she did, even if it was the last thing I did.

"Hey!" a guard yelled. "What did I tell you? Get back to work now!"