"Took you long enough to heal," Father snaps as I stand motionless in front of his desk.
He stands up and moves to stand beside me. My body shivers uncomfortably and he growls. "The doctor said a week. You took two. Fucking pitiful," he growls lowly before punching me in the stomach. My body curls in on itself instantly and I cough as the wind gets pushed from my lungs. "Get in your cage," Rupert snaps, and I walk toward my silver bars quickly. He closes and latches the door behind me as I curl up into a ball. I wish I had stayed hurt. Better yet I wish I hadn't woken up. "Don't think you got out of training! You will be out there this afternoon," Father growls as he heads for the office door."Yes, Alpha," I whisper as the door clicks behind him.*****"This time I want to see if keeping you alive has been a waste. You aren't allowed to stop until one of your opponents either bleeds or forfeits," Father says and three of his men step onto the training mate. Kids my age and younger have been brought out to watch me fight this time. They are looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and hate. But I can't focus on them. "Go," Rupert orders and I try running at the male closest to me. He laughs and punches me in the face before I can lay a hand on him. As I hit the mat next to his feet I act. I kick his shin as hard as I can and surprisingly the bone snaps right in half. He screams as he falls to the ground clutching his leg and my other two opponents freeze. They look at their miserable friend and back at me as if we sprouted wings."WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR GET HIM," Father yells, and the males instantly attack me. They pound my newly healed body into the mat until I am screaming for mercy. I can hear the pack kids crying over my screams and that only makes me more scared. Not for me but for them. Father hates kids who cry. "Stop," Rupert says slowly, and the blows halt. "Atticus, stand up," Father says, and I climb to my feet on trembling legs. "You aren't trying. You want to go back to that cozy bed in the clinic don't you," Father asks and I shake my head while I wipe my bleeding nose. He smirks at me before strolling toward a defeated looking female holding a baby. "You see this tiny baby, Atticus," Father asks as he strokes the infant's soft looking hair. I nod as my blood turns to ice."Her name is Adeline. She just turned a year old a few months ago. She looks just like you don't you think," Father says, and my heart squeezes in my chest as I realize the baby is another one of my sisters. He sees my terror and chuckles before lifting the infant into his arms. "You should fight hard my pathetic son... Because if you don't Adeline might get hurt," Father says, and the world around me slows. The beautiful girl in my father's hands turns her chubby face toward me and I see the face of my mother staring into my soul. I immediately turn around. I feel the fire burning through my veins as rage consumes me. I attack the first of my father's men with everything in me. I bite and scratch as he lands blows on my exposed head. I take one punch that makes me dizzy which scares me so I grab his nuts and yank. He screams bloody murder as the smell of iron fills the air. My father's last man runs and tackles me to the ground. His claws dig into my arms and his teeth elongate, but I ignore the obvious danger. I bite his forearm as hard as I can before kneeing him in the back. He arches slightly from the pain and I punch his Adams apple. He falls off of me coughing and I stand up as quickly as I can. I kick him in the side of the head and he falls to the mat unconscious. I breathe heavily as I realize I did it. I beat three of my father's men. I beat up grown males with wolves. "Well, would you look at that? Atticus only needed a little encouragement. KILL THE LOSERS. I don't need pathetic beasts who can't even win against a seven-year-old pup," Father shouts, and a few more of his guard run onto the mat.They break the necks of the three men I barely managed to defeat and Rupert hands the baby back to the scarred female to the right of him. "I say you earned a trip to the lower level," Father says and I almost smile as I realize I will get to see Mother. He begins to walk and I follow him along with the scarred woman holding the baby. The trip to the lower level takes forever this time. But I remain quiet and keep my pace slow. I don't want Father to know how excited I am. When we finally arrive at the steel door that houses my mother Father halts. He turns back toward me and the females. "Give him the child... You have thirty minutes. Then it is time for your feeding," Rupert says and the scarred woman passes me Adeline instantly before disappearing. Father opens the steel door and I step into the twelve by twelve room my mother lives in. Her face instantly lights up as she sees me and Adeline standing there, but it darkens just as quickly when she spots my father behind us. "You have thirty minutes, Mate. Don't get any ideas," Father growls before slamming the door closed. Mother wastes no time running across the room to scoop us into her arms. "Atticus! Adeline," she says as she cries and presses us into her bosom."Mother," I whisper happily as the warmth of her embrace soothes the new aches in my body. "I have missed you," Mother says after a few minutes.She moves back to lay a small hand on my cheek and looks down at her daughter in my arms. She smiles sweetly which warms my fragile heart. "I see you finally met your little sister," Mother says as she lifts Adeline from my arms. I nod and watch her as she cuddles the small child against her chest. "I fell pregnant after your father last brought you... He wasn't pleased. I was frightened he would kill her, but so far he hasn't. But he has used her against me... I have two weaknesses now," Mother says softly and I move to her side. She takes my hand in hers and sits down on her bare mattress. She rotates between looking at me and Adeline every few seconds as if she can't decide who she wants to look at more."Mother... I killed someone," I whisper after a few minutes of silent observing.Mother nods and looks at me but this time with sad eyes. "I know, Sweetheart. I heard. The males down here like to hurt us in more ways than one," Mother replies softly, and tears well up in my eyes. "She was my half-sister... I am a monster," I manage to choke out and Mother wraps her free arm around my head. She presses my face back into her bosom and quietly shushes me."It's okay, baby. It's okay. You freed her. She isn't down here anymore. Her spirit is free," Mother says gently as I cry into her shirt. "The men down here are evil. She wasn't living a good life. You freed her from the pain of this life," Mother says after I continue to cry for a few more minutes. Finally, I sit up and wipe my swollen face. She watches me with a small smile. "Whatever you end up having to do, Atticus remember you aren't him. You wouldn't do any of it if he wasn't making you," Mother says quietly and I nod. She nods back and gives me a megawatt smile. "So tell me, how is training? I see the bruises," Mother says and I touch my sore cheek "I won today. I won for Adeline... He threatened to hurt her. I beat up three of his men," I say proudly as I look down at my baby sister now asleep in Mother's safe arms. "He... He threatened her," Mother asks and I nod. "Yes. He pointed out her resemblance to me and said she might get hurt if I lose," I answer softly, and mother grabs my hand, hard. I look up at her in surprise. She has never grabbed me harshly before. "Thank you, Atticus. Thank you for fighting to protect your sister... One day when I am gone you are going to be all she has. Protect her as best you can. She is your full sister. Your blood matches hers. You stay alive and you keep her alive, promise," Mother asks and I nod my head quickly."I promise, Mother. I will always protect her," I vow as the steel door begins to slide open.I stand with my eyes locked on the two most important people in my life. My father doesn't exist as I walk toward him. Only my mother and sister exist to me now.9 YEARS OLD KANDACE VISITS "You think I care about that," Father snaps into his phone as he talks to one of his allies. I have only been half listening to his argument for the past twenty minutes. I have been too focused on my new cage. It's taller than the last one. I can sit up straight in it. My back doesn't have to curve down. The silver of the bars looks new and super shiny. "I will fucking kill you! That land was once my families. I have proof! The Kincaids are descendants of the last King! I am owed what was ours," Father shouts and I flinch a little as his voice activates my defenses. When Rupert Kincaid is angry people get hurt. Sometimes he hurts me, but mostly he hurts people I love. I have begun to predict his moves based on his emotional state and right now anyone near him is in danger. "Fucking Scavenger," Father snaps as he slams his office phone down. He takes deep breaths as he stares at his office door and I hold my breath while keeping my eyes d
RATED R!!!!! ABUSE. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU FEEL THIS SCENE WILL UPSET YOU. THIS IS PART OF ATTICUS's back story. This is not a must-read chapter. ATTICUS'S MOTHER DIES IN THIS CHAPTER AND THAT IS THE ONLY DETAIL OF THIS CHAPTER YOU NEED TO KNOW. Atticus and Adeline were subjected to the cruelest acts that could be done to a living person. Please feel free to skip it. I write things like this because Darkness like this happens in the real world today. Children need our protection. Hugs and love to everyone who has ever suffered abuse. I cough violently as I fall to my knees once more. Blood trickles down my chin and I look up at the burly man excited to see me hurting. "Get up, Little Alpha. Your father won't get to kill me," he snarls, and I shrink back a little. My breathing is constricted and my limbs are burning. I am exhausted, but I haven't made him bleed and I sure as hell haven't made him submit. Father won't call an end to the match until I do one of those two
15 YEARS OLD. ADELINE 9 years old. My mind drifts over nothing as the silence in the office pulses around me. Rupert has been working for hours at his desk. On what, I'm not sure nor do I care. Nothing he ever does is good. His plans are never for the better. They never help the pack. The opposite actually. Our pack is dying. Too many generations of poor leadership have killed the spirit of our people. They hate it here. I hate it here. I hate the man who spawned me and every Alpha before him named Kincaid. Our females are mistreated and if males stand up against my father they are killed. I adjust my left wrist as the silver shackle cuts into my flesh again. I miss my cages, but due to my size, I can no longer be held in a small cage. I am instead chained to the wall. I am a battered office decoration. One of my father's many living objects that he gets to watch and torture when he feels like it. A knock sounds on the wood of my Father's office door and in walks one of th
19 YEARS OLDMy eyes widen in shock for a brief second as I listen to my Father explain that I will be leaving the pack and going to the eight-month-long training for young Alphas. He didn't let me go to train there myself but he is sending me as an instructor. I have no idea what to do there. I will be the dumb brute who is only good for one thing. No point in worrying about it I guess. I am who I am. "You will not lose. You will not discuss what goes on in our pack while at the training facility," Rupert growls and I feel his orders lock into place with his others. I hate following his orders. Throughout my life, I never truly understood why my body always seemed to obey him no matter how I was feeling. But when Rofer let slip that he was enforcing his Alpha command I finally understood. Some of my guilt eased from my past, not all but some. "Yes, Alpha," I say emotionlessly and he eyes me over. He seems to be pleased with what he sees after a second and he continues. "I need
I get back to my father's office as quickly as I can while remaining calm. The pain in my chest feels like it is building, but I can't respond to it.I sit down in the corner Father has designated as mine and close my eyes. Karina's face immediately appears behind my eyelids. Her happy smile and sparkling hazel eyes tease me as the pain in my chest pulses with life. Suddenly the cord pulling me to her snaps and I grab my chest in a panic before I realize she must have accepted my rejection. Sorrow instantly fills the hole of my broken bond and for the first time in a long time tears well up in my eyes due to the unfairness of my life. For ten minutes I allow myself to grieve what could have been if my father was a decent man and Alpha before I clean my face and become stoic. Hours tick by but I don't move. I have been trained to remain still and quiet. When the door does finally open I know it is time to leave my home pack for the first time ever. Two of my father's men have come i
I grind my teeth together as my kneecaps separate and move against my skin. I take deep breathes and try to count backward from one hundred, but I know before my transition is over I will be screaming. I have never felt this level of pain before. My entire body is on fire and my tendons are ripping from the bone. I finally scream out as my back arches and my skull feels like it is being pulled apart. One second I feel like I am about to die and the next my body goes numb. The pain evaporates and I find myself panting on the floor coated in dark fur. Feelings of accomplishment and sadness mix together in my mind as I examine my slender legs and large paws. I have always been curious about what life would be like stuck in an animal's head. Unknown- Hello The rich voice of my wolf vibrates in the hollowness of my brain and my attention quickly shifts from my new body to the personality that came with it. Atticus- Hello. I stay quiet as I begin to process that my mind an
Never have I felt so out of place. The constant laughter and smiles between the young Alphas make me feel uneasy and awkward. They joke and tell stories about their home packs every other minute. I don't have anything to add to anyone's conversation so I have just been silent for two days. The retired Alphas keep eyeballing me, but I have begun to ignore their stares. I grab the 110lb dumbbells and lean back on the slight incline. I have been working out on the exercise equipment while the young Alphas take their simple leadership courses. I wish I could partake, but unfortunately, I am only here to be a part of the physical training. I grunt as I hit my fifteenth rep. I have never lifted weights or exercised like this before. I didn't even realize there was more to physical training than fighting on the mat. I have already begun to gain muscle mass and now that I have a wolf I will become slightly larger. Unknown- They should be out soon. Don't wear yourself out. Atticus- I won'
I swallow down the bile rising in my throat as the train approaches the station where I am supposed to get off. I wish I could run away, but Adeline has been without me long enough. As the train begins to slow I stand up. The bulk and knowledge I accumulated while at Alpha training is impressive, but I still feel like the old Atticus as I approach my prison. I feel scared and weak. I fear my return home won't be anything but an interrogation and possibly pain. Father might even consider my new physique to be threatening. I grab my bag and move to the door. Unknown- Think of something else. Maybe Karina is still here... Maybe you can give me a name. I roll my eyes at my wolf's request. He has been mentioning the fact he doesn't have a name for two months and I still don't have any idea what to call him. I step out onto the platform and the door slides close behind me almost instantly. I am relieved to see no one waiting for me this time and begin to head in the direction of