Saving my abused mate

5. Unfairly accused

Cara - 6 years ago

I was still feeling awful, but I could at least move a little, so I was able to ask one of the nurses for a pen and paper to communicate with them.  From the bed it was difficult to write, and it took me a long time, but I managed to put into writing everything I remembered from the attack.  I wrote about the mysterious man that had attacked and how he had tried to kill me too.  I even included, after thinking about it for a long time, the weird words he had said, and how it must all be a terrible misunderstanding.  

"Are you done?" the doctor asked and I nodded.  Giving her the papers.  She started to read and I could see the conflict in her face, but I wasn't sure how to interpret her look.  "I'm going to give this to the Alpha.  And how are you feeling?"  I took another piece of paper and wrote that I was still hurting, and couldn't talk.

"I'm sorry pup, there's not much we can do about it.  We are giving you some sedatives, but the Alpha wants you awake, so the dose we are using is very low.  And I'm not sure if you will be able to talk again.  You need to shift, the sooner the better, if we want a chance of reverting the damage, but since the Alpha forbid it, then we can't do anything about it."

The Alpha had been very mad, so I was pretty sure he wouldn't allow me to shift any time soon.  I was worried because every time I tried to speak it hurt and all I could manage were weird sounds that sounded like what a monster from an old movie would produce, it felt like I was still in my animal form, unable to speak properly.  

I was afraid, about everything.  My parents were gone and I had never felt more alone in my life.  The Alpha had never liked me, even if sometimes he pretended for my mother's sake, but even she could see that he didn't treat me like family.  I knew they had fought about it a few times, but it didn't change a thing, it only made him hide his dislike better and pretend in front of my parents, but I knew he still felt the same about me. 

I had done my best to try and avoid thinking about my parents.  They were gone, and I missed them.  I closed my eyes and I still remembered them fighting the bad guy and losing, and it made me feel small and scared.  In a way it had been my fault, maybe if they hadn't tried to protect me they would have been able to escape.  Mom used to say that it was useless to think about the what ifs, but I couldn't help it, I had nothing but time to think about everything that had happened.  

A few hours later the doctor returned and asked me to follow her, she told me that the Alpha had asked for me.  I got out of bed, but I couldn't move fast, my legs were weak and it was hard to stay upright.  The doctor helped me until we got to the front of the clinic, where a couple of warriors were waiting, they growled at her and she let me go, so I had to walk by myself, with a warrior on each side of me.  I wasn't sure why they were acting like that, I was in no condition to try and run, besides, I wasn't the one who killed my parents, I had no reason to hide or try to run.  I just needed them to see my side of things, and I was sure they would understand that I was innocent. 

We headed to the clearing where most gatherings took place, and I realized it was full of people, most of the adults in the Pack, at least the warriors and the high ranking individuals.  The Alpha pair was in the front, both of them looking at me with hate in their eyes.

"As you know, a few days ago two very important members of this Pack died," he started as soon as I reached him, to the front of the gathering.  I could feel most of the pack staring at me, but I wasn't sure what to think about it.  "My sister and her mate were running in the forest with this girl, when she went feral and attacked them."  I started shaking my head, that was not what had happened.  I even dared to take a step forward, trying to get the Alpha's attention, but the warriors flanking me stopped me from moving.  "They tried to fight back, but it was useless, they trusted and loved too much, and they allowed her to get to close and cause too much damage."

"As you know, when a wolf goes feral, the humane thing to do is to put it down," Alpha Savage said, "but we already took precautions and forbid the girl from shifting back to her animal, minimizing any risk to our Pack.  We have talked and decided that killing such a young girl, it's a waste, but we won't let her crimes go unpunished.  She will be held prisoner and work to pay for what she did."

"Nothing we do will bring my sister and her mate back, but I know she wouldn't want to see the girl die," the Alpha said. 

I turned to see the doctor, I wanted to ask about the letter I wrote, I had explained everything there, but the Alpha wasn't acknowledging any of it.  She mounted an "I'm sorry" to me, and I understood she had done her best, it was just that he didn't believe me.  I tried to move again, but the warriors only held tighter, and in my weakened condition it caused excruciating pain.  I tried to talk, but nothing came out but weird sounds, not that anyone paid any attention to me.

"From this day forward," the Alpha kept going, "she will no longer be considered a member of this Pack, she will be our prisoner.  I don't want anyone dealing with her or acknowledging her.  She is no one.  You all will forget about her..."

I didn't hear the rest of the speech, there was no point.  By looking around, I could see that everyone was taking his words to heart, no one was looking at me, not even the doctor, everyone was just ignoring me as if I was invisible.  At one time the warriors holding me started dragging me away, the people avoided looking at me as we moved past them, they all ignored me, even when I extended my hands trying to ask for help. 

They took me to the basement in the Pack House.  I was expecting them to take me to jail, but that was a different building.  The basement was mostly for storage, but also housed the laundry equipment.  A lot of people lived in the Pack House.  The Alphas, the betas, their families and the orphans or people with special needs.  It also housed any visitors and had a dining room that could fit a lot of people because we often gathered there.  Because of that, the laundry was of industrial size, two rows of washers and dryers, as well as machines that I knew were used for ironing clothes.

We move past all of that, to a corner where there was a bare mattress, one of them went to take a chain that was lying on the floor.  One end was bolted to the wall, the other to a cuff that he secured around my ankle.  From the length of the chain I guessed it would allow me to move through most of the basement, but not to the stairs or out of it. 

"You will pay your sentence by working for the Pack.  You will be helping people here with laundry and other tasks that can be taken care of from here," one of the warriors said.  "If you try anything, and I mean anything against the people working here, you will be punished.  Clothes and food will be earned depending on how hard you work.  This is a penance, and therefore, you will need to do your best.  We won't tolerate you slacking off or doing less than your best.  Understood?"

I tried to communicate with them, to tell them that it wasn't me who had killed my parents, but the other warrior slapped me, sending me to the ground, in pain.  

"He asked you a question!" he said, but I was too weak, and the hit had left me dizzy, unable to answer, and then another hit came, and then another, until I was crying on the floor.  "If she didn't understand at first, I'm sure she does now.  Let's go, I don't want to spend more time with someone like her."

They both left, leaving me alone, in the dark, and with only an old mattress and a blanket to cover myself.  I dragged myself to what would be my bed and tried to get some rest.  I would have time later to explore my new home and to plan how to get out of there, but for the moment, I just needed some time for myself.