Chapter 3 Lemon Cake

Rylee

The pack's prison is an old warehouse that used to be a chicken pen. It still smells like chicken poop and feed. My hands are tied behind my back, and whip marks cover my body. They dumped me on a stiff, musty pile of hay. Tiny stalks of grass dig into my skin, stinging and bleeding.

I want to scream, but I don't. I'm pretending to be unconscious.

In Greenvale pack, thieves get 40 lashes, executed by Gamma. Anto, that brutal dog, loves to play dirty. I fainted and woke up in pain several times during the torture. At the 35th lash, I thought I was going to die. But then I saw Syd rush over and pull Anto's whip. He got another 10 lashes for that.

Thanks to Syd, I survived. Then I thought pretending to be unconscious was a good idea. Anto likes to see the look on my face when he tortures me. If I don't react, he might give up sooner.

"Go see if she's dead," I hear Anto say to his men. Footsteps approach me, and I hasten to make my breathing soft and even. A hand comes up to my nose and probes.

"Still alive. She just passed out," Anto's henchman says.

"She might be faking it." Anto walks over and kicks me in the face. I imagine I'm a pile of straw, a piece of turf, something inorganic. I don't need to breathe. I don't react. I can't feel the pain.

Then Anto kicks me hard in the chest.

I'M STRAWS! A TURF! A FEEDER!

I clench my teeth to keep from groaning. Anto's kick sends me rolling off the haystack, landing face down on the cold, hard ground.

Terrible pain surges through my chest. Are my ribs broken?

No. He's watching me. I can't move.

After a few seconds, I hear Anto say, "Looks like she really passed out. Let's go."

The men's footsteps fade away, and I hear the warehouse door close.

I start counting silently: 1, 2, 3... After about two minutes, Anto returns. Seeing me still in the same position, he curses and leaves.

Ten more minutes pass. Making sure it's safe, I groan and roll over.

The wounds on my face hurt badly and my skin is burn and bleeding. Blood drips onto the floor. My arms are numb from being tied up so long. My chest aches dully. When I move, it hurts like hell; more than one rib must be broken.

Gasping for air, I struggle to move myself back onto the pile of straw. It stinks, but if I spend the night on the cold ground in this condition, it would be my corpse that stinks worse tomorrow.

I collapse into the straw, whimpering in pain. My stomach is empty and protesting.

I try to distract myself.

I try to distract myself. I think about the potatoes I didn't have time to eat for lunch. I imagine them perfectly baked and jumping into my mouth. I picture kicking Luna out of the packhouse, hogging her 4k screen, and soaking in her hot tub. I imagine people turning off the lights to surprise me with a birthday song, bringing me roast chicken and lemon cake. Wait, that smell...

I open my eyes. There's really roast chicken and lemon cake in front of me!

Syd covers my mouth. "Shh, don't scream, it's me."

I nod, signaling for him to put his hand down.

"Hurry up and untie me. I can't feel my hands anymore," I say weakly.

Syd's rough movements intensify my pain. Beads of sweat break out on my forehead. I grit my teeth and say, "Be gentle. If I'm not beaten to death, you'll waste me. My ribs seem broken."

"Ribs? Shit, Anto dares to abuse lynching! When I become Beta, I'll make him suffer." Syd softens his movements. He unties the ropes, picks me up, and cradles me. "I'm late. I got someone to trick the warehouse guard into drinking before I dared to come."

"Water?" he asks. I nod. He feeds me small sips from a bottle. I can't take my eyes off the lemon cake.

Syd understands. He picks up a piece and brings it to my mouth. I don't mind his dirty hands and take a bite.

Lemon cake is the best thing in the world!

After a while, I feel better. My body, though fragile, recovers faster than the usual wolves. It's probably the only good thing my parents left me. I tell Syd to let go and start enjoying the roasted chicken with my back against the wall. Syd sits next to me, eating too. In no time, we wipe out all the food.

It's early morning, and time for Syd to go. Soon, the omegas will be up and working. He risks being spotted on his way back.

But Syd sits still. Moonlight spills over his young face through the fence at the top of the warehouse. I see confusion glinting in his brown eyes.

I know what he's confused about. Since this morning, I've known it. This is a gift from the moon goddess. We have to live with it. I understand what he thinks about me. I know how he feels. I understand him. I suffer the same way he does. But I have something I desire more and I can't accept my fate. He doesn't know that...

"I..." He hesitates.

"Give it to me," I whisper.

"What?" He blinks, dumbfounded.

"My birthday present." I spread my hands. "Don't hide it. I saw it this morning in your pocket."

"How do you know it's for you? What if it's not?" He grimaces but pulls the box out and hands it to me. "I was going to give it to you at dinner, but then I wanted to say happy birthday sooner. So I went to the dining hall to find you, but Anto..." He pauses. "Anyway, happy birthday."

"Thanks." I open the box. It's a necklace with a moon carved from wood, rough and handmade. Clearly from an apprentice's hand.

Syd blushes slightly. "I know you like looking at the night sky, so I thought you especially like the moon... I carved this myself..."

I look at him, and he averts his eyes uncomfortably. "How did you guess I was giving you a present?"

"Of course I did." I sigh, stroking the still unpolished back of the carved moon. "Because I'm your mate."

"WHAT?!" He freezes, his expression as rigid as a statue.

"You knew that a long time ago," I turn my head and smile at his already frozen face. "Didn't you?"