The Luna Alpha

CHAPTER FIVE - REMEMBER THE TIME

It was Wednesday and I set out on my task to hide from the alphas the rest of the week. I did the same routine for the next 3 days. Hide and run. On the first day Aaron tried again and I escaped. Again.

But the next day the alphas tried nothing. They didn’t try to find me, run after me. I didn’t feel their presence breathing down my neck. Even in our last class they seemed to be relaxed and not looking at me at all. Except for Axel. Axel was always looking at me.

Maybe it was because they had basketball practice on Thursday afternoons. Even though it was a stupid idea I decided to try something – I was going to walk out of class without running today and see if they tried to run after me. I needed to see what was happening.

I waited until the bell rang and walked to the door casually. The alphas got up and did the same. I was confused. Did Aaron actually decide to leave me alone? Was I safe? I kept walking and nothing happened. It was an elation I hadn’t felt since I was a child.

Except now I was completely alone. I had no Amanda. My only friend was a kid not in my class and I had avoided everyone else because of the alphas. Maybe it was better this way. No, it definitely was better!

I went to my bag behind the tree and gathered it with all its goodies inside. I walked along the short path to the middle school and just as I entered my heart dropped in my stomach.

“So this is where you go every day. To pick up your nice little friends from middle school?”

Both Aaron and Andrew smirked at me. Just down the hall Cisely had already jumped off the railing and was crouching below it, shaking.

“Did you really think we would continue chasing you every day? It only took a little detective work to follow your path here. Good ol’ Axel knows how to figure out a mystery.”

I looked at Axel with his stony face. I knew it was too good to be true.

Aaron clasped his hands together with a pop. “Well,” he sucked his teeth, “time for your overdue punishment. And I’ve invited our Beta Derek to help me since these two just like to watch.” He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me back along the path into the school. He brought me to my locker.

But it wasn’t just Beta Derek that was there. Lucian and Amanda stood close to Derek, both with anger on their faces. Also Misty stood by with a couple girls from the cheerleading squad and a few basketball players already suited up. Aaron ignored them and pushed me up against my locker with his chest to mine. I could feel his breath on my face.

“What’s it gonna be today huh? I decided last time so I think it’s your turn. And hurry up, we’ve got practice in 30.” His eyes sparkled with mischief and his muscles bulged.

“Wait! Don’t hurt him!”

Out of the blue Cisely ran in the other side of the hallway with her bookbag hanging from her arm. Oh my Goddess, I couldn’t let them hurt Cissy.

“Little girl you seem very sweet but stay out of this,” Andrew said softly.

“I won’t let you hurt him!”

Cisely tried with all her might to push Aaron off me. It was like a fly trying to move a buffalo. More annoying to Aaron than anything. Andrew gave a sympathetic sigh. Aaron let up of his own accord and lifted Cisely in the air. I saw red.

Aaron looked her in the eyes. “Listen little one, we’re your alphas. Now have a seat over there and we won’t do anything to you.”

“Aaron,” Axel said sharply but calmly. Aaron placed her down but she hit him in the arm, which didn’t move … a muscle.

I audibly gasped and I think Cisely and the rest of the crowd did too. The brothers looked at each other and Aaron raised his eyebrow. He crouched down to her. “What's your name little one?” He asked in a deep voice.

“Uh ..uh …Ci..ci..cici…Cisely.”

Aaron almost smiled at her. “Come with me Cisely.” He grabbed her arm but to the surprise of everyone, including me, I shoved his hand off her.

“No! You can’t! She’s just a kid!” I shouted. “You do all this crap to me but you won’t do it to her!”

I shielded Cisely behind me. “You think you’re all big and tough because you pick on those smaller than you, well if I was as big as you I’d be helping those smaller than me! And I’d knock you flat on your ass!”

Some of the basketball players and cheerleaders laughed and made “oooooo" sounds.

“What did you say?” Andrew sneered. He stopped leaning on the lockers and moved forward. Axel caught him with his arm but said nothing.

“You’re all a bunch of cowards.” People stopped laughing. The air was thick with tension. At this point a couple of unwanted angry tears were coming out of my eyes and I could tell my face was red hot. I looked behind me at Cisely. “Go.”

She shook her head.

“I mean it,” I whispered. “Run, now. I’ll be fine.”

Cisely took off running and Aaron came forward but Axel stopped him too. I looked back at the alphas, most of my courage waning now that Cisely had gone.

“You can’t just say that to the alphas! Especially not my boyfriend!” Misty had finally spoken up with anger in her voice as well. She tried to move toward me but Axel held up his hand to her, never taking his eyes off me. She stopped in her tracks.

“Don’t move,” he directed at me. “The rest of you, leave.”

“What are you gonna do to him Axel sweetie? I wanna be there!” Misty whined.

Axel finally looked back at the group who hadn’t budged. He growled. “I said …leave! Now.” Everyone scrambled for the hallway doors while Derek left slowly, looking on in concern for the first time. This wasn’t fun and games anymore. The only one who hadn’t followed orders was Lucian.

“Axel, what are you planning?” Lucian asked.

“I said leave. Our little omega here is going to learn to respect his alphas.”

“Axel, I swear to the Goddess …”

Axel looked back at Lucian a second time with no words. Lucian pursed his lips and left defiantly. Axel turned back to me. I hadn’t even noticed the angry looks on his brothers’ faces until now.

They were all crowding me. All of my courage was gone and I was cowering again with no fight in me left. My lip was quivering and Axel was a breath away from me now. He’d never been this close. Well, not in five years.

“Tonight. Midnight. After everyone else is asleep. Football field. Don’t be late.” With that he strode out of the hallway with his brothers following behind.

It was official. I was a dead man. I would be remembered as the 16 year old who got disciplined by the alphas. Hell I probably wouldn’t be remembered at all. Just another picture thrown in the trash, somebody who didn’t matter to anybody. I wondered how long the kids at the orphanage would talk about me. Probably until the next kid brought them food. It was a good run though.

Tonight. Midnight. After everyone else is asleep. Don’t be late.

Those words kept going over and over in my mind until it’s all I heard. I know Dimitri kept telling me that I was daydreaming but today I didn’t care. It was my last day to care about anything.

Would they miss me in the kitchens tomorrow or at school? Well the teachers might wonder where I was and write me up for being absent. The kitchens would just find another omega.

It was 7:30. Time for our last dishes. The dishes the alpha and his family ate off of. His family. His sons. The sons that were gonna tear me limb from limb tonight.

Was it my imagination or did one of these plates have the number 12 written in the sauce by finger? No wait. All of them did. Oh my Goddess, they were seriously gonna kill me. And there was nothing I could do about it.

I said goodbye to Dimitri for what I’m thinking is the last time. Bye friend. Am I being dramatic? I don’t think so. Anyone who’d seen the look in the alphas' eyes wouldn’t think so.

What would they do? Tie me down on the field? String up my clothes? Make me hang from the goalposts? Bury me in the ground? Rip out my throat? I don’t know.

I made it back to the orphanage just to eat my last meal of corn chowder and tell the house mothers the alphas wanted a meeting with me. They looked concerned at my solemn face but said they understood. I hugged Cisely goodnight and told her everything was fine and that the alphas weren’t going to hurt me.

I hated lying to her but she had been crying earlier in the afternoon until I’d come back with the apples and oranges before work. Everyone drifted off around 10 and the house mothers kept eyeing me until I got myself ready to go.

Before I left I looked at the picture of my parents and me as a baby one last time just in case. I stuffed it back in my pillow and wished they were here.

I stood in the field by the goalpost as I figured they probably want to throw me against a hard object. It was 11:45. Doom approached. I could hear a car now. It was a beautiful car. An expensive car. An apple red car. A car that could feed the orphanage for years if they sold it.

They all got out after driving on the grass on the side of the field by the bleachers. Andrew had rope in his hands and Aaron had duct tape. They started walking down to the other side of the field saying nothing to me. I hurriedly followed.

Axel stopped at the flagpole. Were they gonna put ME up the flagpole? He turned to look at me. “Disrespect of your alphas is not tolerated. Here are your consequences. String him up. Let him fly in the wind all night.”

Aaron paled. “All night? I mean ….we’re gonna take him down at some point right?”

“Tomorrow.”

For the first time Andrew didn’t have a scowl on his face. He was focused on Axel, a concerned look coming through. “You sure we wanna do this? We could still do the toilet bowl thing.”

“Yeah. This is kinda harsh.” Aaron laughed nervously then looked at Axel who hadn’t wavered. It was a bit chilly in the night air. It was March and Spring was approaching but I couldn’t imagine being out here all night. I think a beating might have been better.

“Strip,” Axel said out of the blue.

“What?” both Aaron and Andrew asked for me.

“Jacket, pants, shoes and socks off.”

“Axel, he’ll freeze to death,” Aaron pointed out thankfully. “He’s just an omega.”

Axel walked up to me. “I said strip.”

I quickly did as he said the fear making me silent. And as I stripped the coolness was making me shiver more than the fear.

“Well, what are you waiting for? String him up.” Axel growled at his brothers and they both growled slightly back. Andrew put the ropes through my shirt and boxers. He tied the rope onto the other rope on the flagpole and then under my arms. Aaron secured me with the duct tape so I wouldn’t fall over and the ropes wouldn’t move. Then Aaron pulled until I was halfway up the pole, nice and secure.

I don’t know if it was my courage I found or if it was just the feeling that I was literally at the end of my rope.

“Why are you doing this to me?” I said in a small and desperate voice on the verge of tears. They all looked up at me in shock of my question.

“We used to be friends. Remember? When we were 10. You…you used to like me.” I hung my head, my real emotions getting the better of me. I don’t think they cared anymore. I didn’t expect a response. Of course they didn’t remember. It was just a thought I should have never said out loud.

“See you in the morning,” Axel said as he and his brothers walked off into the night.

As I heard them drive off I thought at least Aaron had secured me so that I wouldn’t fall down on the rope and snag anything-

And that’s exactly what happened. One of the pieces of duct tape gave way, then another. Before I had been straight up but now I was hanging on my side, the rope searing under my thighs and into my backside. The other part of the rope that was catching me was burning into my underarm.

This wasn’t so bad. No. It was better than being dead right? Or mauled? It kinda felt like I was being mauled. But it was just rope burn. It would heal eventually. Right? Right, yes.

And I just had to not run my mouth again. I don’t know what came over me. I just couldn’t stand to see them hurt anyone but me. I wouldn’t allow it. I would do this 10 times over if it meant they punished me instead of someone else.

I don’t know how long it had been after I realized I’d been crying from the pain. Physical, emotional, you name it. I looked up at the moon and prayed to the moon Goddess that one day my mate would save me from all of this. It made me feel slightly better. And hey, maybe it was midnight already.

Happy birthday to me I guess.