The Rise of the Prophesized Luna

Chapter Two: From Frying Pan to Fire

“That’s what you get for talking to me like that,” he said with anger in his words. “I don’t tolerate disrespect, especially not from someone like you. You’re nothing but a maid who thinks she’s worth something. You’re not. You never will be."

I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision and stop my tears from falling.

"You don't get to say no to me, Valeria. I am your Alpha's heir. I do the choosing and dumping. Not you or anyone else in this pack. I, Dennis Gregory of the Stormwolf Pack, reject you, Valeria Campbell, as my mate"

The moment he said it, I felt the severing of the bond between us, the unbearable pain ripping through my chest. It was like my heart was being torn in two, leaving an aching emptiness. I bit my lip, forcing myself to stay strong. Dennis and his friends stared at me, their expressions unrelenting, as if daring me to break.

Dennis, not looking like he was satisfied with putting me in mystery, finally spoke, “Your suffering in this pack has just begun. I will make sure you regret the day you ever thought you could defy me. Now get out of my sight.”

I could still hear their voices as I stormed away from Dennis's private parlor and out of the palace with tears in my eyes. As I walked farther away, their voices faded, replaced by the sound of my hurried footsteps.

It was almost as if everything that had happened in Dennis's parlor was a nightmare. Thinking about it again has me shivering. Why would anyone be that wicked? I ask myself. I could hear my wolf, Gwen, growling in anger in response to mine.

How could he see me as nothing more than a toy to use and discard? I knew he was arrogant, but this was beyond cruel. He thought I’d be grateful just to be near him, like I had no self-respect.

Any other girl in the pack would have jumped at the chance to be by Dennis’s side, even as a mere plaything, but I wasn’t that girl. I wanted a mate who saw me as an equal, not as someone to be used. I wiped away my tears, my hands shaking with a mix of pain and fury.

What will I do now? I thought in misery because I knew Dennis would carry out his threat of making my life a living hell in the pack. Having no mate means I have no one to protect me. This makes me more sad remembering the high hope I had before entering that parlor and having my world shattered.

All these thoughts were still running round my head when I got home. I didn’t even bother to look for my family to greet them, I just decided to go straight to my room. But before I could take another step toward my room, I felt a hand pull my hair from behind. I yelped in pain.

"Where do you think you are going?" I heard my foster mother ask me from behind.

I turned to face her and Tiffany, who was now standing beside her. I blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Tiffany scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Don’t play dumb, Valeria. We heard you’re Dennis’s mate. How dare you try to steal him away from me?”

“How...how did you even find out?” I asked, surprised at how they were so quick to know.

“We’ve been watching you,” Mother said coldly. “You really thought you could sneak around and flirt with him behind our backs? We won’t have you ruin Tiffany’s future.”

“I wasn’t—” I tried to explain, but mother cut me off.

“—Ungrateful brat,” she hissed and gripped my hair again, pulling it harder.

“After all we’ve done for you, you repay us by trying to steal what isn’t yours? I have warned you several times to stay away from Dennis. Who do you think you are, that you think you can disobey me?”

I try struggling out of her hold, but this only makes her pull tighter. I could feel some of my hair leaving my scalp.

“Ple…please Mother, you are hurting me,” I begged her brokenly.

“You don’t know anything about hurt yet.” I heard Tiffany say, as she came into my line of sight and sneered in my face. She pulled me by my clothes away from Mother and pushed me roughly at the wall. This had me hitting my head and falling to the ground.

“You ungrateful, insolent b***h! How can the one person I ever wanted be your mate? Do you think you are better than me?” Tiffany asked and kicked at me on the floor.

I winced in pain from the kicking and pulling. “I don't know how you are so quick to find out about the mate bond with Dennis, but I didn’t choose this,” I said, my voice shaking. “Dennis rejected me! He doesn’t want me as his mate.”

Tiffany’s face twisted with a sneer. “Of course he did. Why would anyone want a weak, pathetic wolf like you?”

Her words hurt more than I wanted to admit. “I never wanted to come between you and Dennis,” I said quietly.

“Stop lying,” Tiffany snapped. “You’ve always been jealous, always trying to take what’s mine. You don’t belong here, Valeria. You never did.”

“You are getting out of this house. I can’t continue to keep someone that is as ungrateful as you are. Thanks to the moon Goddess, you are eighteen now. Go fend for yourself and get out of my house.” Mother said.

Hearing that I am about to be homeless, fear has me kneeling and begging. I could see that look of satisfaction on Tiffany’s face. “Please, don’t send me away. Dennis didn’t…”

“Don’t you dare say that name,” Tiffany said, slapping me hard across the face.

Mother pushed me out of the house and closed the door on my face. I bang the door with my fist, with tears flowing down my face, I beg them to open the door and not lock me out. I stood there for a long time, begging them, but they paid me no heed.

Suddenly exhausted, I slid down the door and sat on the floor, thinking to myself that surely this is just one of their punishments, and they would open the door soon. It is times like this I wish Father were still alive, not like he treated me with love himself, but the beatings and punishments never escalated this much while he was alive.

Mother and Tiffany only abused and degraded me with their words and father pretended not to know, but I still felt safe in his pretensive care.

But ever since his death in the last battle against the Rogues that kept attacking our pack, Mother and Tiffany's abuse of me escalated, always beating me for no just cause, and sometimes starving me.

I was suddenly yanked out of my thoughts when the door opened behind me, before I could do more than sigh in appreciation, a full bucket of cold water was dumped on my head. I screamed in shock and scrambled to stand up.

“I told you to get out of my house, I don’t want to see you anywhere near this house.” Mother said while Tiffany stood beside her with hatred in her eyes for me.

I wanted to beg them more, but Mother picked up the bucket beside her as if to throw it at me, so I ran away from the only home I ever knew since I came to this pack many years ago with my nanny. I didn’t know this but learned it from my foster family since they find joy in letting me know my family and everyone from my pack are long dead.

I ran down the street looking around me for somewhere I could rest as it would be night soon.

How will I even survive living on the street? I briefly thought of going to the palace to stay in the servant's quarters for the night, but I remember Dennis's earlier threat of making my life hell. Tired of all the stress, I stopped running but continued walking down the street.

While still wandering, I hear the sound of footsteps behind me. I became scared, and I quickened my pace, but the footsteps only grew louder, like they were actually following me.

“Hey, look who it is,” a voice spoke from behind me. I turned to see it was a group of men who were popularly known to be bullies following me. They are the type who prey on the weak wolves within the pack.

“Please, leave me alone,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt.

“Aw, come on now,” another one spoke, “We just want to have a little fun.”

Sensing that I was in danger, I turned and began to run.

“Get back here!” one of them shouted. I could hear them pursuing me from behind.

I pushed myself to run faster, but they caught up with me as I reached the outskirts of the pack’s territory. I felt a hand grab my arm, yanking me back with force. I stumbled and fell to the ground.

“Not so tough now, are you?” one of them jeered as they surrounded me. Soon, they all began to kick me.

I managed to stand up and began fighting with everything I had. My wolf, Gwen, growled inside, snarling and trying to push forward, but she was still too weak to stand against them.

The beating went on for a while when, suddenly, it all stopped and the bullies moved away from me to start running away. Afraid that maybe the Rogues that do attack the pack were around, I struggled to run away also, but one of the bullies ran past me, pushing me away from his path.

I hear a distant voice as I fall down from the push, and then everything goes dark.