SCORNED LUNA

CHAPTER THREE: ESCAPE FROM DELIRIUM

Life in Winter Stone pack was.... different.

Sasha woke up every morning naturally, without anyone screaming at her, kicking her or pouring water on her. By the time she woke up, Keith would be gone, and she rarely ever saw him. She would shower, eat, and spend the day alone. Sometimes a healer would come and observe her health, prescribing herbs and such.

Three weeks passed in this monotony. She easily got bored of it, With nothing to do and nowhere to go. One fateful evening however ,when Keith returned,he actually looked at her. It was the first time in weeks. He took a shower and emerged from the bathroom dressed in only a towel.

"Take your clothes off." He said to her.

Sasha recalled what Leon had said to her. 'You should be grateful you're going to be of use to THE Alpha Keith, you pathetic mutt'

Was this the kind of 'use' he had meant?

"Alpha...." Sasha said softly, looking up at him. She wasn't sure how she exactly felt about this strange request. On one hand, she felt an excitement deep inside her. On the other hand, she was scared.

"Don't look at me like that. Don’t you know why you're here?"

She didn't know. But now she had a rough idea. Her heart broke as she started to take off the dress shirt she wore. Sure Keith was her mate, but he wasn't even acting like that. He was cold to her and aloof.

Or maybe he knew, and maybe he would mark her tonight and claim her as his. The thought made her feel giddy with joy and more eager to comply with his wishes.

Sasha stripped and laid on the bed, her hands curled into fists at her side. Her face was bright red and she was breathing heavily. For her mate, she decided She would do anything he wanted her to. The cold air made her skin erupt in goosebumps.

He got into bed looming over her, a majestic figure with Flowing long hair. One of his hands on the side of her head planted firmly into the mattress, the other taking a lock of her hair and twirling it. Sasha felt her heart pounding in excitement. She wanted to kiss him.

"Is this your first time?" Keith asked, his voice low and seductive as he ran his hand over her breasts.

She nodded wordlessly.

He blinked. There seemed to be a change in his expression, but she couldn't place it. "I'll be gentle." He said, leaning down to kiss her neck. She waited for the pain of the mark to come but it didn't. He kissed down her breasts, down to her navel, his knee prying her legs open.

Sasha closed her eyes and focused on the new sensations he was giving her. True to his words, he was gentle, she only felt a slight pain that was quickly followed by pleasure she'd never experienced.

That night, they laid side by side. The next morning, he took her again.

And just like last night, he didn't mark her. Sasha was starting to wonder if she got it all wrong.

***

"What is the result?"

Sasha turned and glanced at Keith. He was staring at the Healer with an expression she had never seen on him.

The healer, an elderly woman shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, my esteemed Alpha, she isn't pregnant."

Keith cursed under his breath and rose to his feet. Sasha watched him, wary of his movements. She tried to make herself as small as possible, ready for the hit when it came.

He turned to her sharply, making her flinch. "Let's go." He said and was already walking out.

Sasha rose to her feet and trailed after him, her eyes trained on the floor.

It had been like this for the past two months.

Sasha felt her sadness growing as the days went by. Her joy of having found her eternal mate was disappearing with each visit to the healer that turned out negative.

Turns out that Keith only needed her to produce an heir for him. She learned it the hard way.

But still, she didn't let it sadden her at first. He was her mate, she loved him with all her body, soul and heart. She wanted to make him happy, make him see how much of a wonderful mate she would be for him.

She took everything he gave her. She made his meals for him, even though each time he would turn her away and send the food back to the kitchen. She would clean the bedroom, go as far as clean the entire house. He would not say a word to her, or acknowledge her efforts. She went as far as ask Piper his favorite things, all to no avail. Piper knew next to nothing about him.

She also made sure he never asked her to take of her clothes. Once evening approached she would ready herself and wait for him, eager and plaint on the bed.

She didn't know what she was doing wrong. She didn't know why he wouldn't mark her.

"Sasha," Keith's voice reached her ears, pulling her from her thoughts.

She raised her head and looked at him. She hadn't realized that they were now in front of their bedroom.

"I'm sorry, Alpha I'm really sorry." She said quickly. "I'll do better! Please don't send me back to that house! I beg you don't...."

"Shut up and listen to me!" He barked at her.

She flinched, gasping in fear and bit her lip hard.

"You skipped lunch for the past two days, didn't you?"

"I...."

"If I get such report again, I would force the food down your nose. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Alpha."

The next visit to the healer turned out negative. So was the next.

With each visit, Sasha could feel Keith's anger increasing and her despair increasing as well.

She experienced a depression she had never felt before, nothing compared to how she felt back home. Back home she had hopes, something to hold on to. But now, she had nothing.

With each passing day, she began to doubt if Keith even knew that she was his mate.

"Why won't you mark me?" She asked him after one night of trying to make a child.

Keith looked at her, his beautiful eyes cold. "What do you mean?"

She kept quiet.

"The only use you of to me, is to bear this pack an heir. Never forget that. That is all I expect of you, and nothing more."

Sasha could describe how much her heart broke to hear him say those words.

All she was to him was a tool to bear him an heir. A tool that he would likely discard once it had served it's purpose.

He didn't even know that she was his mate.

That night, she cried herself to sleep. If he heard her sobs, he made no move to console her. The next day, he left before she woke up. Sasha went about her usual morning routine.

She noticed that she had changed. Her hair had regained its shine, and it was longer now. Her eyes shone with life, but looked sad as she stared in the mirror. Her lips were red, her skin rosy and full of life. She looked healthy, enough to bear a child.

So why wasn't it working?!

"It's useless..." She muttered to herself. "I can't keep on living like this. This....this is hell."

Tears gathered in her eyes as she made her hard decision.

She would run.

She would run and not look back.

Surely he wouldn't miss her, he would easily get another tool to bear him a child. Afterall, he was Keith Lockwood. Any wolf would be thrilled to bear his heir.

She chuckled darkly. "What a joke. Believing that he would love me...."

She got dressed and waited for him to return while she plotted her escape. She would leave while he was asleep. She already barely had any presence, no one would notice.

The night came slower than she expected. She cried that night as he took her. She cried for the love she never had. The eternal mate that never acknowledged her.

As he slept, she crept out of the bed and silently slipped out of the open windows. She ran as fast as she could without making a noise. She bumped into a person and thought it was all over.

But the person handed her a dagger and told her to run and never look back.

Sasha ran till her lungs gave out and she collapsed on the cold forest floor. She could hear the howls of wolves coming from all directions. Her heart seized with fear and cold sweat formed on her brow.

She was lost, with no idea of where to go, no belongings except the flimsy nightgown she wore and the dagger she clutched close to her chest.

She felt a presence above her and raised her head. Silhouetted against the moon was the figure of a girl.

"Well well," She said in a melodious voice. "Look what the wind brought in."

Sasha wondered if it was too late to go back to Winter Stone. It probably was, given how the girl was looking at her with hungry eyes.