Once Rejected: A Slave To My Alpha Stepbrothers

Make it fun

Veil.

"Run, Veil!" Ryder's voice echoed in my ears, dripping with twisted excitement as his dark eyes trailed down my trembling body.

I'm back in the vast field of the Ghostriver pack, the crowd buzzing with excitement and eagerness as Ryder addressed them, the pack elites, about this sick game.

My body is drenched in sweat, my stomach swollen with my fourth pregnancy. The only one that has lasted this long– nine months.

Fear clung to me as a second skin, and blood rushed through me. I stood at the center, exposed under the blazing lights and the silvery moon, while the massive crowd, who paid a huge amount of money, watched for their pleasure. Sick entertainment.

I can't look at them, scared of what I'll see on their faces. The darkness, the bloodlust. That desire to watch me go through the pain of losing another part of me, my child.

I keep my gaze on the moon, silently asking it when it's going to stop this cruel fate. This harsh reality, the mate it gave to me, brought me.

"I said f*****g run!"

The bite in his voice now made me flinch, and a warbled cry wrenched from my throat. I peer up at him.

Ryder stood like Satan in the bleachers, his eyes glittering with lethal intent.

In his right hand rests a gun. A revolver.

Panic begins to slither through me, numbing my legs. I'm in a chokehold, barely able to breathe as though invincible hands have wrapped themselves around my neck.

I bunched the ripped dress I'm putting on with my callused hands, chest heaving as I watched him raise the gun at me.

"Don't you want to live, Veil?"

I'm already backpedaling, seeing the sinister curl of his lips and the words spilling from it.

"Don't you want to save our baby?"

My baby...

Those words unravel the knot of determination inside me. The strong will to save my baby bolts through me.

Strength floods through my veins, and I whirl around with one sentence gushing from my mouth, "I have to save my baby..."

"That's right, Veil. Make the moment count." His voice echoes like a clap of thunder, rattling my nerves.

I don't let it stop me, I keep running barefoot.

A chorus of cheers ricocheted from the crowd, hands jamming together in excitement.

I don't stop running, not even the perverted words they're hurling at me could make me pause.

I flinch hard at the first crack of the gunshot, my eyes widening.

He's started hunting me like prey.

I zigzag blindly across the field. His brutality and my exhaustion made my throat dry like sand.

Water.

I needed water.

None was coming, and I made peace with it, or maybe I didn't.

I clutched my protruding belly, gasping and whimpering as my feet scraped over the underbrush of the field.

I stumbled over the hurdles placed on the field just to heighten their entertainment and my punishment.

My wolf could barely lend me strength.

More bullets chased me across the field, unrelenting.

Thorns ripped through my legs.

I've got to survive. Goddess, I need to survive.

"Make it fun, Veil!" Ryder's howls shook the atmosphere while he fired more shots.

I dodged, ducked, and darted fluidly past the rain of bullets.

A whine of disappointment rose from the crowd, who were here for the blood and not for my redemption or victory.

For a moment, I rejoiced in the fact that I was not giving them the entertainment and pleasure they sought, until my toes stumbled over a rock.

Everything happened so fast, I couldn't find my balance. The world spun on its axis, and the next thing I knew, I was crashing face-first on the ground.

A broken wail ripped from my core as my stomach met the ground with force.

Fire blazed through me. My joints felt sore.

"My baby." I whimpered, shaking terribly on the ground as the cheers of the crowd resonated, bells ringing.

They didn't care if I was hurt or if I was alive, not even my mate.

Hot tears splurge down my face. I crawl on the dirt and thorns, wanting to get away, but my limbs are too weak to budge.

Pain lanced through my belly, spreading to every other part of my body. In a heartbeat, my water broke.

The shock hits so hard, making me dizzy until I lose grip on my surroundings, surrendering to the darkness beckoning to me.

*

*

Whimpers erupt from my throat, and the unmistakable tang of tears bursts on my tongue.

I unfurl from my position, looking confusedly around me.

I zoned out.

Goddess, the memories hit again, pulling me under fast.

What triggered it?

My brain wracks, and suddenly I remember the gunshot from earlier.

My heart tempo flares immediately.

Did Rio see me like me? A broken, weak female who's haunted by her past?

I hope it's not true.

I hope my secrets are buried. I hope everyone remains ignorant of the tragedies I went through.

I have so many triggers, and gunshots are one of them.

Wincing, I stagger to my feet and hold onto the chair's headrest for support.

Deep grunts, blows, and curses erupt, coming from downstairs.

"Alphas! Please...stop!" A chorus of pleas follows.

A deep frown sits between my brows.

What's going on?

My legs move on autopilot. I hold the stair rails for support, tentatively, as I climb down.

Maids and guards surround the entrance, looking at the scene beyond.

I join them and take a look, surprised to see Rio and Hunter fighting.

They've bruised each other up, the metallic scent of blood clouding the air.

The maids are wincing as if they're on the receiving ends of the blows, not those fighting.

Rio's bare chested, a thin layer of sweat clinging to his skin. His ripped torso shudders as Hunter lands a blow on it.

I look at Hunter, and he has just as much rage on his face. Darker even, as though he's ready to spill Rio's blood.

They speak conspiratorially in between their wild curses, and I wonder what's happening.

"Why are they fighting?" I ask no one in particular, watching them.

Rio's on top of Hunter now, saying something incorrigible to him while messing his handsome face with blows.

"No one knows. The two alphas are always fighting each other. Goddess, I fear they'll get each other killed." The caramel-toned skin servant beside me speaks, worry evident on her face.

Suddenly, she clutches my hand in desperation, her warm brown eyes pinned on my face.

"Someone needs to stop them."

"I...um..." I stutter, unsure of what to say.

"You've got to try and stop them. You're their stepsister. Please stop the alphas from fighting. They're going to kill each other!"

As if to confirm the servant's words, the sickening crack of bones echoes, and upon looking, I realize Hunter has pulled Rio's left arm out of its socket.

Everyone shouts in fear at the grotesque angle of his left arm.

Rio doesn't even flinch; only a knowing smirk curls on his lips.

Hunter's nose is equally disfigured, bleeding heavily.

"Please...do something!" The servant rasps again. I try to pull my hand away, but her grip tightens. Our fuss draws others' attention, making me embarrassed.

"I can't do...it...I'm not their..." Words tumble out hastily, and in my bid to get away, I feel someone push me forcefully and I roll down the cobblestones steps, squeaking like a wounded rat.

Everyone gasps, and in a flash, my two stepbrothers instantly stop fighting, their gazes pinned on me.

"Veil!" My name bounces through the air, and suddenly, I feel muscular arms clutching onto me.

Tbc.