The Outcast Hybrid Luna

Scarlett.

"Please," I hoarsely whispered, attempting to raise my shaky hands to block the first splatter of rain. It started like a whisper, but soon it was falling down on me intensely. A sheet of heavy dark clouds had since occluded the moon and the stars. As the drops increased, I pushed myself faster, my body sliding on the wet grass. I whimpered yet again, the large bite on my heel stinging as the cold water poured down on me.

“Please,” I repeated, even though I was all alone, but I still had a shimmer of ephemeral hope inside of me. My enfeebled hands clutched on the slippery grass, while I used the only strength I had left to push my entire body forward. I struggled to stretch my numb fingers, but they put up a little resistance. I couldn’t see clearly, not because of the downpour, or the darkness but because my eyelids struggled to stay open in the dark. My head pounded with every little movement, the extreme ache dizzying me.

I tried harder to pull myself from the grass-covered roadside, to find shelter under the woods on either side of the gravel road. Despite the murk of the rainy evening, I was able to make blurry figures of the trees as they swayed in the unforgiving wind. Small pebbles scraped across my exposed skin, making me hiss as some cut on the existing wounds.

“H-e-l-p.” The word stuck in my throat, forcing me to cough the words up with extra force. I couldn’t even recognize my own voice under the sound of the pelting drops. It was indistinct, tremulous and croaky. My hair was sticking all over my face, soaked and dripping. My teeth rattled against each other, while every part of my body burned with cold.

I could see myself getting closer and closer to the first line of trees. The rain blew into the eyes, nose and mouth, but in the forest I knew its fall was broken by the trees. Then I heard it, a rumbling engine over the sound of the curtain of the water drops. The flicker of optimism grew in a second, shining a little bit brighter.

“But what if it’s them?” I mumbled to myself, a gulp of saliva going down past my throat. I couldn’t let them see me; I had come too far to lose my freedom yet again. There was no way I could make it to the line of trees before the vehicle came into view, I was finished.

My head turned, looking in either direction of the road. I lost temporarily my view of where I was headed, including the slope that could have been very easily avoided. The last thing I saw before my body was pulled downwards was the flash of headlights and the shiny raindrops under the yellow light.

I knew I was screaming when my throat burned as my body was thrashed against hard objects. My eyes were tightly closed, but my hands tried clutching on anything to slow down the rolling. I thought I was going to die and so I braced myself for the worse. Then I felt it, electricity coursing all over my head as if it had been wired.

My eyes didn’t open again. Just like that, my hope had been shattered. I could feel it, the heaviness inside my head and entire body. I could feel myself being lulled into sleep, but before I slipped into it totally, I felt a feather-light touch over my eyes, trying to pry them open. I could have sworn I heard a man’s voice before everything went black.

****

Pounding pain ground in my temples and across my forehead.

I could make out voices around me even though my eyes remained closed. I tried moving my hands but they wouldn’t budge. My legs felt like they had been glued to the hard surface that my body lay on.

“She looks harmless.” The statement was hushed but it left my ears ringing. I attempted to lift up my hands yet again, to cover them, to massage my temples that were making it hard for my eyes to open.

“Rogues are never harmless.” The other voice was firm, with a hint of disgust in it.

“Look at her, Jasper! She can barely move. She might be an outcast but those bite marks show exactly how vulnerable she is,” the first speaker argued. My fingers twitched as the speed of my blood running in my vessels increased.

“The marks don’t mean a thing, Thierry!” I swallowed saliva yet again, the liquid going over my dry throat. Where the hell was I? Why couldn’t I move my body? Who were those...?

“Sshh, calm down beautiful,” a man soothed, somewhere around where I was, followed by a gentle touch over my head. It cut off my thoughts, my body enjoying the movements of the fingers over my head.

“Get away from that piece of trash, Thierry!” Just like that, my eyes flew open, only for them to shut reflexively in fear of the light.

“Open them beautiful.” His voice coerced me, I didn’t know why but its tone made me feel safe. So I opened them again, this time around slowly, adjusting to the light. The first thing I noticed was the face hovering over my own. I would have let out a loud scream, had I not heard people conversing before.

“There you go.” The man’s mouth curved as his lips stretched, revealing straight teeth with dimples on either side of his cheeks. There was something about him that calmed my racing heartbeat. An indescribable warmth enveloped me when I noticed the twinkle in his hazel almond-shaped eyes.

“Who the fuck are you?” I flinched at the voice, the ringing in my ears coming back full force.

“Jasper!” the man beside me warned, his eyes widening and face contorting into a scowl.

“Shut up, Thierry!” I recoiled yet again, the authority in his voice washing over me. When he came into view, I swear my numb legs came to life. There was nothing in his deep-set brown eyes except disgust. His thin lips were set in a firm line, curling upwards when he finally took in my form.

“No you shut up, Jasper!” he yelled, “you’re scaring the poor beauty, just go.” My lips twitched briefly into a smile at the thought of him finding me beautiful. I hadn’t expected Jasper to leave but soon his feet thudded on the floor, but not before looking straight at me with an obvious squint.

“Ignore him; he’s just an angry man.” Thierry, who I had learned his name through their confirmation flashed me yet another warm smile.

I nodded, not trusting my voice box at the moment. I attempted to raise my hands again, this time round looking over at them. How hadn’t I noticed the strapping around them and over my stomach and legs? They had purposely restrained my movements.

“This is Jasper being a paranoid little shit.” Thierry had noticed my train of sight and immediately began to unfasten them.

“I told him you are harmless, I kept on telling him but the big headed man didn’t listen,” he stated. He was a talker, that was for sure. Even when I remained quiet, he still continued talking as if we weren’t strangers. He didn’t seem to mind my silence though and he would nod at me while speaking.

“Do you remember what happened?” he asked after he was done, his playful tone changing completely.

“No,” I managed to whisper, a series of dry coughs following soon after. The throbbing in my frontal head picked up, forcing my eyes to glue shut. I raked my brain for anything, a clue as to how I had ended up in Thierry’s presence.

“You hit your head pretty bad but the doctor said you’d be fine though.” I heard his voice from afar, my jumbled thoughts cycling around.

“The bites you sustained were too deep too.” The word bite seemed to awaken every single nerve inside my body. Just like that, I could feel canines sinking into me as if I were living the scene all over again.

I whimpered, images of what had transpired flashing inside my mind in bits. I could feel the contents in my stomach roiling, looking for a way out.

“No, please no,” I croaked out the words in a hushed tone, lifting my hands up. Before Thierry could utter a word, the door was pushed open forcefully.

“Jasper, you c—"

“He’s back, Thierry, do the right thing before he finds out. You know what will happen if word gets out.”

I didn’t know who they were talking about, but judging by the way Thierry’s back straightened, it was someone important, dangerous.

“But...” The man beside me ran his hands over his face, heaving a loud sigh.

“No buts, if you want the girl to stay alive then you know what to do.” Jasper was firm, looking at me straight in my eyes.

“Alive,” I repeated the word in a whisper, a shudder raking through me.

“What is it that you are supposed to do?” I knew deep down the answer wasn’t going to be pleasant at all. And when Thierry’s face dropped, my eyes shut yet again, my ears taking in every single utterance that followed.

“I’m sorry, beautiful, but since we found you in our territory, you have to be locked up in the dungeons, and on the third day your punishment will be decided.” I shook my head, picturing myself doing all sorts of hard work.

Then Jasper’s cold voice filled my ears, the man dragging each word between his teeth.

“You will either be sold or killed. If I were you, I would be preparing for death.”

Scarlett.

I attempted to move, to stretch, to find a little comfort on the damp floor, but every single position proved to be too much for my rigid muscles. The little space was pervaded with repugnant stench of stale urine and rotten meat. My nose wrinkled, attempting to control the amount of the foul air that seeped into my lungs.

The space was dark all the time; I couldn’t tell how long I had been there. I couldn’t even tell how I got there but I had a feeling I had been knocked out cold, because the last time I was in a better room. My head spun as my eyes stung with the excessive ammonia in the musty room.

If I had known I would end up locked in a foreign territory, I wouldn’t have escaped. I only wanted to be free; to enjoy my life away from the vile beings but seemed fate had another plan for me. I leaned back on the cracked wall, shutting my eyes briefly as my whole head pounded mercilessly.

Even through the loud throbbing, my mind took me back to my former living conditions. The Crane Power; that was the name of the place I had grown up in. It was a pack in the East, the second most powerful in the area after The Yellow Moon Pack.

My stomach growled for the umpteenth time, reminding me I hadn’t had a decent meal for quite some time. If I had been back at The Crane, I would have eaten, even if it was one slice of stale bread. I knew nobody missed me there; the only thing I was sure of is that if the alpha ever found me he wouldn’t hesitate killing me on the spot.

I recalled how I had escaped the hell hole. The day had been normal and quite similar to the others. I worked extra hours around the pack, running errands for the alpha. I cleaned the pack house and alpha Silas room, served his food only for shit to hit the fan when I found him naked, in bed with the Beta’s wife.

Flash back I dragged my feet across the corridor, a tray packed with neatly arranged dishes in my frail hands. The aroma of the food intensified the hunger I was feeling, tempting my fingers to just dip into the dishes. I knew though the consequences if I got caught. Wanting to keep my fingers intact, I flashed the thought of stealing out of my mind. The last time I did that the alpha had broken all my fingers.

When I got to the alpha’s room, I was humming to a song my mother had taught me. Everything seemed to move in slow motion when I finally lifted my eyes, looking at the centre of the suite. Nude, two bodies moved in an acquired rhythm as the beta’s wife moaned under the alpha male.

A gasp from my mouth, followed by the sound of the tray and the other contents as they came into contact with the floor, had the two adults scrambling apart from each other. It was as though everything else was moving except my feet, when I really wanted them to.

“Get out!” the alpha boomed, breaking the trance that had been holding me. I went to move, but another firm utterance stopped me from making another step.

“Not you!” He pointed at me, while his hard gaze fell on Maggie, the beta’s wife whose lips were set in a thin line. She scrambled out of the room, with a bed sheet wrapped around her body.

When she locked the door, I swallowed a gulp of saliva, my body beginning to shake. I knew that was the end of me, I wasn’t stupid, I had walked in on something I shouldn’t have. Looking at the alpha as he advanced towards me, I took a step back reflexively.

He didn’t bother to cover himself up, he walked slowly, with calculated steps, his eyes raking over my shaking body. I willed my eyes not to look at him, I didn’t want to see his nudity at all. I was twenty years and yet I had never really looked at any man sexually.

“Strip.” My downcast eyes shot to his face, the command catching me totally off guard.

“Wh-a-a-t?” I stuttered in a whisper, my wide eyes darting across the room.

“Fucking strip!” I flinched at the loud thunderous voice, the power in it making me move my hands over the back zipper of my dress. My bladder was full, and with the alpha in front of me, the feeling that gripped me almost pushed me to the point of pissing on myself.

“You’re wasting my time!” He gripped me by the collar of my maroon dress. Before I could comprehend his actions, the sound of the material as it was torn apart filled my ears.

“No, no.” Feeble, cowardly, shaky, the sound of my articulation was barely audible as he trailed his fingers over my exposed body. He left a path of disgust under his touch, crawling along my body. My throat constricted around my windpipe, as I attempted to breathe in quickly.

“Since you interrupted Maggie and me, you will now help me finish what she couldn’t.” The words were spoken lowly and firmly. Blood rushed fast into my ears, as my heart pounded in my chest.

“Pl-e-ase.” My vision blurred as I tried coming to terms with what was about to happen.

His demonic laughter filled the tense atmosphere, almost deafening to my ears.” I will enjoy fucking you.”

End of Flashback “Eat up, the alpha will see you shortly.” I barely heard the sound of chains, or the metal doors as they were pushed open by the guard. I stared down at the plate as he slid it to me, across the damp flooring. My gut churned, my throat opened to let out stomach contents as droplets of the dirty water splashed on the only piece of sandwich on the plate.

“I said eat up!” I flinched at the guard’s voice, but didn’t make a move to reach out for the plate. My stomach rumbled, reminding me that I really didn’t have a choice.

“Cane!” he called out for his friend, and I couldn’t help but feel a shudder course through me. The few days that I had been locked up Cane made sure that I remembered I was trespassing in their territory. He beat me up with every chance he got, so when his name was called, I knew that one way or the other I was going to have a black eye.

It didn’t take long before the sound of his heavy boots coupled with the sound of dangling keys filled my ears. I sank further on the floor, recoiling in an attempt to make myself smaller. I didn’t dare look up when his black combat boots came into view.

“We don’t condone wastage of food in this pack,” he sneered down at me, and when his foul breath hit my nostrils, I realized he had squatted in front of me.

“Maybe she isn’t hungry, for food,” his friend chuckled.

“You might be right, Steve,” Cane agreed, standing up. I thought they were going to leave me alone, but when the door was locked, my heartrate began to pick up.

“I can’t believe we haven’t sampled the goods yet.” Steve’s words rendered me motionless. I became frozen, my whole system trying to process what was about to happen.

“Pl-e-a-se,” I whispered, my voice rough and broken. But the two men advanced, the sound of their belts as they were unfastened ringing loud in my ears.

“You’ll be begging when I take you bitch, not yet.” Cane pried my legs apart forcefully. My will desired to stop them, but my bruised and battered body had no chance against them.

“Don’t ple-a-se.” I tried pushing him away, but Steve pushed me on my back and pinned me on the floor, just as his friend tore the only piece of fabric that I wore.

Everything was spinning out of control. My windpipe squeezed around me, the feeling of being choked making my vision hazy. I tried lifting up my hands, but the strong grip on me weighed them down. I cried out but no sound left my mouth as pain spread inside my chest, gnawing, making me almost wheeze.

I was slowly losing touch with the happenings around me, only a memory of my former alpha remained with me. It invaded every single cell of my brain and deep down I knew what was about to happen, only that it was as if I was relieving it all over again.

I could feel something nudging me between my legs, but I couldn’t see. I could hear from afar as the two men laughed, I could feel my body shaking, my feet tingling with pins and needles. I could as well make out the most powerful voice I had ever heard.

“Get away from her.”

Then I gave in to the lack of breath, and my eyes finally closed, welcoming me into nothingness.