Talons

Chapter 81: The Abuse

Rhea’s POV

 ----Trigger Warning 16+----

General has been visiting me daily. At first, it was not bad; he would just sit and talk to me or watch me study. I had even started to let my guard down around him, but now, each time he visits I become more repulsed by him. 

He clearly doesn't respect me, and it shows in the way he flirts with other women even when I’m sitting right in front of him. The worst situation was when he left me sitting in his car so he could sleep with one of the waitresses at the restaurant he took me to. 

I can’t smell it on him, but the red scratch marks on his neck were all I needed to see. If I’m indeed fated to the man, I’m certain that I’ll be part of the unlucky ones who end up suffering from infidelity pain until it eventually kills me.

I have mentioned it to General once before and he slapped me so hard that blood sprayed from my mouth. He accused me of trying to find an excuse to reject him, and while I would love nothing more, I know the chances of me getting the rejection I desperately want are slim.

I had been genuinely trying to like General, but I can’t anymore. He is openly unfaithful, cruel without cause, and I see myself as being miserable for the rest of my life. The man continuously humiliates me by sleeping with girls who go to school with me, and he has a thing for buying them gifts that they rub in my face.

I honestly wish that one of them will take him off my hands, but it's unlikely since he believes that I was created just for him, like all believers in the bond. In short, he will never reject me. From his own mouth he has told me that he would rather kill me than to let me go, and I believe him.

Over the course of a few months, I have become so miserable that it's hard for me to smile. I keep lines of communication open with Brent and Brice, but we no longer hang out. General has come in and taken control of my freedom in a way that makes me think of Luna Stone, who left her fated mate to ‘help’ Dolton in the UK. I wonder if that was just an excuse to leave the man who I know is just as loathsome as General.

Sometimes, Sylvia and I wonder if we should kill him and let the council kill me as retribution, but I know it won't end there. Every time I think of my nephews being killed for my actions; I break into a cold sweat that forces me to stay put. 

Since I technically have brain damage, I shouldn’t even have a fated mate and I’m hoping that like my mother said, General is wrong about us. She has completed goddess studies fully, and while she’s not supposed to speak about her lessons, she can give advice.

According to her, wolves over twenty-four start to feel a pull toward those they are attracted to. This is why the council made the legal age of marking twenty-three. It is right before that pull begins, and the longer it is ignored the stronger it becomes. 

So far, General has not tried to force me to do anything, which is the one plus side to him. He is too busy sleeping around to want anything from me anyway, but it doesn’t stop him from telling me all the things he plans to do to me.

The last time he went into such graphic detail that I tried to kill myself when I got back to my room. Jamie is the one who saved me, and when General found out, he was prepared to beat me to death.

It was my mother who stopped him at that time, telling him that he would go mad if he killed me with his own hands, and while I know she was just telling the man what he wanted to hear, I really wish she would have let him kill me.

Raven’s POV

It's my sister's eighteenth birthday and her ‘mate’ has arranged a small celebration in my apartment. He is abusive toward her, and while we all know it, there is nothing we can do to stop him. 

He is a high alpha, so he outranks us all. Our only hope is that he stops what he has been doing after they are marked and mated, and he can feel the pain he is causing her. He wasn’t like that for the first few weeks, but as soon as my sister started to let her guard down around him, he changed.

I used to be jealous of B, thinking she got lucky with a strong mate to protect her. He is respected by the council and if she accepts him, it will put her in a position to demand respect from those who have always treated her like trash.

Sadly, I was mistaken. General treats her so poorly that I wonder if I should kill her to help ease her suffering. She has already tried to end her own life, but Jamie panicked and got her to a hospital before she bled out. 

By the time she realized that she had only caused B more suffering, it was too late. General was already tossing my sister around the hospital room, and she wasn’t even fighting back. I know she is more than capable, but she just allowed herself to be hit, clearly wanting the man to murder her.

It was my mother who intervened, and her words sent General into a zombie-like state. He looked down at his hands as if he could not remember what he had just done and when he saw ‘his mate’ on the ground, he fled.

He has only come back to claim B, and while she hasn’t said anything, it's clear by the look on her face that she would rather be anywhere else in the world.

Rhea’s POV

I sat like a statue, waiting for the hour of my birth to come. No one is happy, except for General, who has bought me so many gifts that the apartment is full. He has been rubbing my hand while apologizing for his actions, but I will never forgive him.

Sylvia hates him so much that it's hard to sit next to him without pushing forward but she is fully tamed, so holding her back is not an issue for me anymore.

General releases me abruptly, and I flinch, thinking he is going to hit me again, but he races over to my brother, and they exchange words that seem urgent. He comes back over to me and kneels in front of my chair before squeezing my legs tightly.

“I have to go handle an important council affair. It will take just over eight months. I don’t want to bring you with me because it will be dangerous, but I’m warning you; if you disgrace me while I’m gone, your entire family will regret it.” I just stare at General who kisses my forehead before leaving.

As soon as he is gone, I break down into tears.

Mavis’s POV

I have always wanted my children to be fated, but this is the first time that I have regretted my prayer. Rhea is a sweet girl, but she has been paired with a man that I know is beyond cruel. Even now, he is on his way to violently secure land for the council. The situation could not wait because a war between two packs is brewing, and the packs are extremely near human territories. 

The eight months he will be gone is time I want my daughter to run and hide. She does not deserve the mate she was given, and since he did not stick around to confirm whether she was actually fated to him or not, this is her chance to flee, regardless of what the consequences are.

“Baby girl, there are three months left of school, right?” My daughter looks up at me with questioning eyes and she stands to hug me tightly. “I would never ask you to stay with someone so disgusting,” I say, realizing that she thought I would be angry if she left the man.

“He will have people watching me. I will finish my classes first.” My daughter lets her words hang and I know it's because she doesn’t want me to be involved any further. The cloud of dread and depression has been lifted from the room as she finally lets a smile show on her face, which has light bruising.

She immediately gets down to the floor, and starts to play with Ducky, who she had been keeping her distance from to prevent General from using the baby against her.

Lark’s POV

We all know what our mother said to B, and we all agree. She needs to get away from General before he kills her. I have already put in a complaint with the council, but it was rejected on the grounds that B is not a part of our pack, and while the council claims that they will address the situation, the only thing they can do is send General on assignment.

High Alpha Dwightenhower has always had a bit of a soft spot for B, so when he heard what was happening, he pulled a few strings to send the man to a far-off location. He has visited pack territory, and he has told us that he cannot keep Alpha General Newt away for longer than a year, which means my sister has only that much time to become a distant memory to us.

I don’t know if it is possible, but if anyone can do it, it's B. She has no social media presence and the small group of friends she has is mostly made of humans, who care about her enough to show up at my doorstep. They likely would not sell her out, and like Alpha Dwightenhower said, General won't be foolish enough to seriously hurt any of them, lest he lose his rank and position.

The man already came close to losing everything when he fractured the wrist of a teen who attends B’s school, but he was let off because he claimed that the bond drove him into action. It doesn’t help that his father is a member of, and has friends within the council, so he was ordered to pay for the boy's treatment and compensate him for his losses indefinitely. 

I just hope my sister can get away because we all know that she’s dead if she doesn’t.