Good! Go Marissa.
Maisy was overjoyed for her friend. She was . . . but it now meant that every other female in the Pack was on the chopping block. No, scratch that. Only the young women were now in line for what Marissa had been faced with before she ran and that was, to put it bluntly, a fate worse than death . . . the Alpha’s sex mate.
Not a true mate. No. He had one of those, and he had three daughters, but women were treated like shit here, and he wanted a son. His solution? Saul fucking Farrar had sold his daughter to the Alpha as a sex mate until she produced a son.
Who the hell did that? A fucking asshole, that’s who. But now she was gone and the Alpha was on the hunt for a replacement. So here she stood, clutching Libby’s hand and praying to the Goddess that neither of them caught the Alpha’s eye.
Maisy knew she’d never survive something like that. Maybe her body would, but her mind could not. She’d lived most of her life in fear, she was the typical “scaredy cat”. She jumped at loud noises, cringed when people shouted, and tears sprang to her eyes whenever there was any kind of conflict.
How could she survive being abused by that bear of a man? Quite simply . . . she couldn’t.
“You will stand fucking still!” Marlon poked a girl at the end of the line, his face closing in on the white face filled with terror. “Or I’ll take you out back and teach you some manners.”
“Oh shit.” Maisy’s heart thudded in her chest. She knew the girl, hell, she was barely fourteen.
“Shush, sweets, leave it be. We can’t help her,” Libby mumbled.
When the girl started to cry Marlon’s hand snapped forward, grabbing her hair and pulling her out of line. “Fine, you were warned.”
Maisy watched as he dragged her behind him, out of sight around the side of the nearest cabin. “What will he do?” Maisy couldn’t stop herself asking.
“Shh.” Libby tightened her grip on Maisy’s hand.
The Alpha smirked, addressing them again. “That’s what happens when you don’t do as you’re told.”
Utter silence fell over the area; no adults had been allowed to attend. Their Alpha ordering them to stay in their cabins. If they refused, then their daughter would be “given” to his men for the night. Not surprisingly everyone stayed inside.
Maisy looked around at the line of girls, possibly only twenty were here. Shoot, one in twenty wasn’t great odds. Her mind focused on the chances of her being picked when she heard the first scream and then she knew what Marlon was doing.
She pulled her hand from Libby’s to cover her ears, but she still heard the cries as Marlon carried out his own “punishment”. For the hundredth time, she sent a prayer to the Goddess asking her to send someone to help them. Surely she couldn’t allow this to carry on?
“I can’t do this.” Maisy’s feet took a small step back, her body trembling uncontrollably. “I’m going to faint, scream, or throw up. Not sure which, Libs, but one of those is gonna happen real soon.”
Libby’s hand shot to her shoulder, holding her in place. “Don’t.”
She looked up at her friend, knowing her eyes were filled with tears, and she’d look frail and weak in comparison to Libby’s tall and strong stature. “I can’t, Libs.”
“Stop, I’m here. I’ll protect you, babe. Don’t I always?”
Maisy took a deep breath in, focusing on Libby and shutting out everything else. No sound made it past her total attention on her friend who nodded. “That’s it, sweets, we’ve done this a hundred times. Just breathe.”
Maisy did, and soon her fear settled back down, as Marlon walked back to parade before them as if he was some fucking hero instead of a lowlife abuser. The girl, however, didn’t reappear. At least she was out of the pick for the Alpha. Small mercies.
Libby straightened, facing forward when Marlon came their way, head up. Maisy couldn’t look at the Beta, she was terrified he’d see the disgust, loathing, and hatred in her eyes and take out his anger on her, again. She kept her gaze down, hoping he wouldn’t stop.
Only he did. Oh shit.
It was the Alpha’s shout that halted Marlon’s feet. “Stop right there, Marlon. Let’s have a look at that timid little mouse.”
Oh shit. Maisy’s feet moved of their own volition . . . backwards. Marlon’s hand grabbing onto her upper arm painfully.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
He pulled her forward, causing her to stumble and almost fall, but the hold he had on her stopped her from tumbling into the mud. Marlon tugged her along, her heart almost bursting from her chest as terror invaded her. This couldn’t be happening. No way.
Surely the Alpha wouldn’t want her? She was tiny, small for a female in both human and Wolf form. He’d want a big strong She-Wolf to bear him a son . . . wouldn’t he?
Maisy’s throat spasmed, bile rushing up, and she swallowed convulsively, knowing if she puked right now that her life would end. What an insult that would be, puking right at the Alpha’s feet. Shit, he’d tear her apart. So, she did her best to stop herself from throwing up but she didn’t know how long she’d manage to hold it in.
Marlon stopped, one of his hands latching onto her long blonde hair and tugging hard so her head was forced up. “This one, Boss? She’s pretty scrawny.”
“That may be, but look at the fear in her eyes, Marlon. I think it’ll be fun having her for a while.”
The Beta
