The Beta Series: The Redeemed Beta

Chapter 3

~Unknown~

I thought I had made it. I thought that Khalid had made it out, and I was willing to die to keep him safe. I was ready to fight to the death, hoping that he would find someone to care for him. Once I saw that Khalid had been captured and was back here, I lost all the fight I had built up. I could do nothing other than agree to everything that Brackston demanded of me. I knew if I fought him, Khalid would pay.

I watched them pull Khalid away, and I’m terrified of what they are doing to him. I’m supposed to be studying these plans, so I understand the layout of this pack. I can’t lie, though. I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything other than my brother. I need to know if he’s okay. I need to know if he’s being fed, if he’s safe.

After they took Khalid away, I was pushed into this tent with these rough pack plans. I was expected to study them and commit them to memory. Of course, I can’t do that when my mind is everywhere else. I don’t even know what any of this is about. I have no idea what pack this is or why I would need to be aware of the layout.

The idea that I’m meant to set the groundwork for innocent people to get hurt is eating at me. I could ask what this is all about, but I know how that conversation would play out, and I’m not interested. It’s bad enough that I’m held here against my will. I don’t want to add any more mess on my shoulders or Khalid’s. I want to find a way to make us safe so we can make it out of here.

I sigh and drop my head, exhaustion threatening to take over. I’m so tired and hungry. I’m so worried, and I’m scared. I’m not afraid for me; I’m scared for my brother. I don’t want anything to happen to him. I know I should be worried about what they want me to do, but I always put my brother first. I could starve to death as long as he’s well taken care of.

It’s just my brother and me, and it’s been that way for a bit now. My dad died when my brother was just a toddler. He was coming home from work, and he had an accident. There was a drunk driver. I was devastated. My dad had always been a significant fixture in my life, and I couldn’t imagine living without him.

My brother was 2 when he died, and I was 16. It was hard navigating those teenage years without him by my side. It was even worse when my mom became someone that I didn‘t even know. I had heard that losing your fated mate could destroy you and even kill some, but I never really understood it until my dad died.

My mom became a completely different person after my dad died. She stopped being a mom, really, barely doing anything to care for us. She started to drink and do drugs, which is crazy because a lot of stuff doesn’t affect us wolves. She began to use things that were made specifically for our kind.

Mom started going out to party, leaving me at home to care for my brother. I struggled to maintain attendance at school, but because I was a good student, they allowed me to do my work online. The issue was having access to a computer and the internet.

Mom sold anything she could get her hands on when her habits got really bad. We had nothing in the house and barely had food. I would try to work little odd jobs when I was able to, just so I could feed my brother. I had a few neighbors who were nice enough to watch him when I needed to work. I would take him with me to the human library to complete and turn in my schoolwork. It wasn’t a great life, but it was manageable until my mom got worse.

She suddenly had us pick up and move. This happened a few times, and each time we settled, it ended up being worse than the place before. I’ve lived with roaches and bed bugs more times than I could count. I starved so many times, making sure my brother is able to eat. I would ignore the hunger pains as I watched him devour any food I could find.

After a while, my mom got with this guy, and things changed. We no longer lived like homeless people. She was still using, but everything was being provided for her. I didn’t have to find odd jobs anymore, and we were settled into a decent place. I was 18 and thought about leaving, but I couldn’t leave my little brother. Even though things had settled, Mom still wasn’t doing the mom thing like she should have been.

Mom found herself settling with a warrior in a nearby pack. He seemed like a nice guy at first, but then I learned that wasn’t the case. He was abusive to my mom, on top of helping to keep her drugged up. He kept my mom plied with liquor and drugs, often ignoring her slumped on the couch in the living room. I was expected to cook and clean the house, which was a daily chore. I wasn’t able to make any friends because I was always in the house taking care of it or my brother. There was no one I could turn to because he was so loved in the pack. They didn’t see the truth in who and how he was.

What really changed things was when he came after me. I thought it would happen, but I had hoped that I was wrong. He would look at me with lust in his eyes. I made sure to avoid him and never stayed alone with him in a room. I always made sure I had my brother with me so I could care for him and so I could have a buffer. One night, my luck ran out.