The Lost Goddess, A War On Mates

Chapter 14

Lucas looked around the room and found the disrespectful wretch that called Aeris a fat slut. I stalked over and Adonis pushed forward. It was the same little b***h that came up to my room to try and please me, she was doing a shitty job so far.

Growling I grabbed her throat, “Who do you think you are to disrespect me in front of my pack?” Tightening his grip her eyes widened.

Choking out and gasping, “No, Alpha, did not, mean it,” Blood started to trickle down into her cleavage from her neck. Quickly tossing her aside he huffed and went back to his seat. The hall stood silently, and Lucas boomed,” Eat or get out!” Rubbing his temple, he found himself thinking of bringing Aeris dinner. She did not get a chance to eat the food he gave her, and he remembered the doctor saying she would not heal quite right until she was healthy. Darting his eyes around he spotted an omega.

Yelling across the hall startling the omega, “Runt, come here…” Wide eyed he immediately appeared in front of his Alpha.

Bowing he shakily asks, “Yes A-a-a-lpha? How can I h-h-h-elp you this evening?”

Grunting out, “Take a plate of food to the slave along with some water. If you fail to do so or harass her then you die.” Narrowing his eyes, the omega nodded furiously. Bowing he ran off to the kitchen. Lucas sunk into his chair and looked at all the wolves in front of him. Irritated with his pack he stood and walked to his office.

Once in the office Lucas started work on the peace treaty festival. It was once again the packs turn to host it. It was the elder’s idea to have it held here a few years in a row since we skipped a few years of hosting. I was always curious, but father brushed me off. He gave me only one clear instruction. Aeris had to be in the dungeon during the treaty and she was to never be mentioned.

Running his hands down a filing cabinet he went and searched for the paperwork that came with Aeris’ purchase. He searched for almost an hour without finding it.

‘Why would it be missing? She was bought so we have to have that in order to keep her tethered to the pack…’ an ominous feeling started to fill Lucas’ chest and he sat down looking through all of the peace treaty paperwork frustrated. For the rest of the night he ran through pack law, peace treaty summit laws and traditions, and finally books on chosen mates.

Jake sighed and smiled. Aeris looked amazing coming out of the kitchen with a big smile on her face and I frowned knowing that she was letting that prick fool her into being happy. It hurt knowing she was never a vengeful type of person and did not seem to mind Lucas used to beat her worse than anyone else in the pack. It was driving us crazy, me and my wolf, he was growling lowly at Aeris blaming her for letting him near her. He was extremely possessive, and I was as well now that I had realized we imprinted. It would not go away until she let us either mark her or she rejected us. Although, imprinting rejection was nothing to sneeze at. I have heard depending how long it stays intact the worse the bond breaking feels.

Adrian put his arm around my shoulder and brought me close whispering,” Dude get Roman under control, you keep flicking back and forth.” Taking a few deep breaths, I bit my lip sadly as Roman whined one last time feeling rejected. She had not looked over at us yet and when she came into the dining hall me, Adrian, and Basil were always the first ones she searched for. She suddenly looked our way and her smile faded. ‘Tch of course, she did not want or need us. She could not even bother with our feelings.’ I looked away first, then Adrian and Basil followed as we sat down to eat. None of us spoke as all our wolves bristled at Lucas grabbing her arm and almost throwing her into the seat next to him. He began filling her plate to the brim with food. She stared at it uncomfortable and shifted uncomfortably.

She picked up her fork when a snarky brunette mocked her, “Look everyone the fat slut actually does eat like a pig. Look at that plate, it is a mountain." Everyone around her laughed while the majority of the hall stilled, watching Lucas’ wolf come forth and growl. Each of us stiffened and looked down. Aeris shifted in her seat and put the fork down. I heard a small, shuddered breath as she stood hugging herself walking out of the dining hall towards the kitchen.

I looked back to the girl, Roman ready to make her pay, but Lucas had already dealt with it. She was on the floor gasping, and he was heading back to the head of the table. He called over an omega and then sent him on a task. Adrian’s wolf, Dominic was rumbling from his chest as he clenched the table. He knew this only happened because Lucas filled her plate, it was an intimate act between wolves. We were sure Aeris did not even understand what she allowed him to do. She may have been here for almost seven years, but she only recently started to eat and not even with the pack. Basil sat seething staring at his untouched plate as his wolf also flashed across his eyes.

“Mine, my inferno…” His wolf, Sebastian, growled out. Basil was the sweetest out of all of us but with that came way more territorial behavior. Basil shot up and stormed off out the door. Adrian followed him and as I looked back to find Lucas, I noticed he was gone. I quickly ran off to the boys and found Basil was stripping as he walked to the beach. Sebastian needed out for a bit and so did Dominic and Roman. Stripping we all started to shift.

Basil shifted into Sebastian first, he was a beautiful red color with streaks of ashy grey and black peppered throughout his fur, his piercing green eyes glowed with intensity. Then Jake shifted into Roman. He was a beautiful sandy blonde wolf with baby blue eyes that were darkened with sadness and anger. Finally, Adrian shifted into Dominic. Dominic was a light brown wolf with deep navy-blue eyes. He seemed to be in thought as the other wolves nudged him forward for the run whimpering at him. He huffed and they all started racing through the forest trying to wear down their excess feelings and energy.

Running full speed, they had circled the entire territory at least five times before they decided to head back. As they entered their room they quickly rinsed off and began dressing for morning training. Each one sore and tired but still mentally restless.

The omega shook while holding the glass of water and the food. He had only heard of the pack slave and how she was terrible and snarky. Everyone avoided her and all the girls said she was a slut. I saw her on occasion when I had kitchen duty, but she never spoke to anyone but Fran. It made her seem stuck up, but she was thin, she was only scary when you looked her in the eyes. They were red and people gossiped about how she is a vampire hybrid because of it. I was terrified to deliver this food to her. I took in a sharp breath and knocked on the door. Silence ensued so I knocked again. I hear a shuffle noise and step back when she cautiously opened the door. She looked at me in shock and furrowed her brow, “Um, hello, can I help you?”

She seemed timid so I tried to speak clearly, “The A-a-alpha wa-wa-wanted you to eat.” I nudged the food towards her embarrassed by my stuttering.  Looking the boy up and down she noticed he had dark black hair, sharp features, light brown eyes like honey, and was only a bit taller than her.

“Oh, okay, come in…” She walked away and I followed her shaking. She sat on the floor, and I placed it in front of her. She smiled sadly at me, and I felt a pang of guilt thinking she was something terrible, after all she was a slave. Finally chancing a look at her room, I gasped. It was so tiny and empty. There was a floor length mirror, a tiny wooden chest, and a rug on the floor with a sheet nearby.

It was sad. Looking back down at her she just stared at the food. I do not know what came over me, but I sat down and whispered,” Can…can I eat with you?”  She beamed a smile my way and suddenly I felt at ease and happy.

“I would love for you to eat with me. What is your name? I am Aeris.” She smiled and put her hand out.

Grabbing it for a shake, “I am Tyler Osborne, I am the runt of the pack. Hence why I have brought you a meal. I actually think me and you are on the same level instead of being above you like regular omega?” I laughed a sad dry laugh.

She tilted her head smiling, “How are you a runt Tyler? You are huge, I am sure your family will be impressed when you shift.” She handed him some food and she nibbled on a tiny roll.

“I am wolf-less. I am the equivalent of a human in terms of speed, strength, and any wolf-like characteristics I should have gotten. I was disowned by my family because of it. I was also demoted to a runt.” A sad smile crept onto her cheeks, and she slowly reached for my face. She pulled me forward gently and leaned her forehead to mine. I closed my eyes enjoying the familiar comfort that my mother used to give me. She nuzzled me and tears started to well in my eyes. I opened them gasping as she kissed my forehead and pulled me to look into her eyes. They were not so scary once you looked at them. It was like gentle rubies.

“Tyler, it is okay to be without a wolf, the world is cruel for its own reasons. Yet here you are still doing your best no matter what and that is amazing. Do not let this hateful pack fill you with blatant lies. You have value outside of a wolf.” Tears flowed freely after that, but I was smiling. I pulled her into a hug, and she stroked my hair. We talked for hours after that until I had to leave for bed. I found out she was seventeen this fall. I was a year older than her, but she felt otherworldly. Smiling I walked to my bedroom and fell asleep happy for the first time since I was thirteen.

Aeris stirred awake and found herself unable to sleep. I looked at the mirror again and undressed myself, completely bare I stared at my reflection contemplating what exactly I was meant to look like if I had never been beaten or starved. Scars littered every inch of my body and bones still jutted out of my pale skin. Turning around to grab my clothes I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Gasping I bit my tongue and covered my mouth to stop the scream. I slowly turned my back towards the mirror and looked over my shoulder.

Gaping I mumbled, “When in the f**k did I get a tattoo!?” It was beautiful and intricate. A pair of black angel wings rested gracefully folded into my spine as if they needed to hide away until they were ready for flight. It was mesmerizing and odd to see my skin with something other than a bruise or cut.

After a while, I turned to face the mirror and fixed my hair. I put on a large black hoodie and some black sweatpants. I made my way down the stairs quietly to go and watch the training. I could not concentrate very well watching the warriors from a tree near the beach, instead I practiced moves I already knew to settle my mind. Thoughts were running a million miles a minute.

‘This was not good; how would I change in gym? The Alpha still has not seen my hair since I chopped it all off and now a tattoo. He may accuse me of stealing money, these are not free right!” Panic slowly set in as thoughts continued to bombard my mind. I sat down and started to meditate. Focusing into my surroundings, I heard warriors grunting and contacting punches on each other’s skin. I heard birds chirping, cicadas buzzing, the ocean waves crashing gently onto the shore. I felt the soil and grass beneath my feet, the soft texture of my hoodie, the rough tree bark against my back. I could smell the salt misting off the water with a hint of fresh air.

Smiling at myself I stood up. The anxiety had ebbed away slowly, and I was thinking much clearer now. I went through my basic fighting forms and then did some yoga. I could feel my heart clenching tightly when I heard a rustle away from the warriors. I stood up pretending I did not hear the noise and stared at the waves. The rustle happened again and then a twig broke.  I whipped my head around to see Tyler walking out of the woods and tripping what seemed to be for the millionth time. I giggled at his struggle to get through the brush and took his hand guiding him through to the sandy beach.

“You scared me you know. You should announce yourself better.” Smiling he sat with me.

“I was actually heading here to think and then I somehow found my new friend hiding out ogling some warriors.” He wiggled his eyebrows making me burst into laughter.

“I was actually doing some top-secret training. I get restless I am stuck to the pack or school, so I train and draw to pass my time anymore.” Tyler seems happier this morning. I smile at that, “You cannot tell anyone that I train though, come on we can walk to school together and talk more.” I stood and took his hand helping him up.

He quickly snatched me into a hug and mumbled, “Thank you.” I nodded knowing exactly why he thanked me. He was just as lonely and scared as I was for being different. Now we could be alone together though. I pulled away smiling at him.

“Let’s go!” I took his hand and we walked back to the school’s trail as he talked about different things he always wanted to do in his life. I finally had a friend who could understand me and keep me company.