Once Rejected, Twice Denied.

Chapter Seven

TESSA POV:

"We found this little wanderer sleeping by the river, Alpha. She hasn't said much to us. Didn't put up a fight at all, so I think she is a bit of a weak one. Has her ribs busted up pretty bad there too."

The "boss" announces to his alpha, who is looking at me with a penetrating and calculated stare.

"STATE YOUR NAME, WOLF."

He says now and his deep voice makes bile rise again to my throat. It is exactly as the stories explained. When the alpha rogue was a pup, he killed an innocent friend over a chocolate, but the friend managed to claw a little at his wind-pipe, causing him to have an eerie voice with an odd timbre. It is deep and loud, yet scratchy and dangerous. It sounds uncomfortable, as if he has something stuck in his throat and needs to cough it out.

"Tessa."

"IT IS ALPHA, TO YOU!"

"Tessa, A-Alpha."

I stutter and his lips lift as if he enjoys hearing my fear. His chunky black boots lift to stand and now he is walking closer to me and man, is he enormous and I do not mean in a good way. He is tall, large, over-weight, yet muscular, yet dirty and stinks. It is overwhelming to say the least. This man is the undefeated rogue alpha?

"I know that look..."

"Uh-oh, here we go..."

The "boss rolls his eyes and then looks at me with messed-up sympathy. Here we go? The Alpha slaps me across my face and I am too shocked to move.

"Long, blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. Cleanish clothes and painted toenails. You are a pack wolf based on your appearance alone, yet I cannot smell a wolf on you, which means..."

I do not need to look at him to know that his eyes have widened at the realisation.

"You are a RUNT."

I have heard that word so many times before and yet hearing it said like filth from the mouth of the rogue Alpha hits, on a new level.

"I also don't sense your tie to any pack, so my guess is that you either left or you were banished."

I wince at this painful memory and my eyes begin to water.

"Ah, girly, don't cry here. We were all banished or left our packs."

I look now at Sammy, who surprisingly offers me some odd words of comfort.

"But then we were at least able to shift and could add value to this territory. You are just a runt!"

Sammy snickers now and I feel stupid to think he was trying to be anything but rude. The truth hurts and Sammy is telling the truth. I am worthless, even to the rogues.

"SHUT UP!"

The alpha booms and everyone tilts their necks in submission. He is breathing heavily now as he stares at me.

"What pack are you from?"

I breathe in deeply.

"My former pack was the Full Moo..."

"FULL MOON PACK! WELL f**k ME SIDEWAYS!"

The "boss" gasps now and they all share a look. I know that Full Moon is a powerful pack, so obviously they have some feelings around this.

"There are only a handful of reasons a girl like you would leave a pack like Full Moon to become a rogue. Either, you were banished because your pack didn't feel like a weak link amongst them, or you left because you felt offended about how people were treating you and you thought that, just maybe, the rogue life would be better or less abusive than what you had at home."

The memories flash before my eyes and it's all too much. The rejection, being banished, Aimee's betrayal, the shed, the hurtful words...

"Based on that look, it would seem you have hit the nail on the head, Alpha."

"Hmm..."

The rogue Alpha moves to go sit again and for a few long seconds he seems to be lost in thought. When he looks back into my tearful eyes, I just know I am eternally screwed over.

"The truth is, little runt, is that you are of no use to me without a wolf and I don't need weak links in my army."

More tears. Not even the rogues want me.

"The way I see it, is that you are a dead weight and I just cannot have that, so I think there really is only one option here for us all."

He extends his claw and stands up now. Of all the times in the shed, all the moments I have felt close to death or through all the abuse I have suffered, I have never been more sure that this is my time to go. I close my eyes, inhaling for the last time and saying a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess, thanking her for what was wonderful in my life and begging her for a place in her eternal paradise, and then I wait for the feeling of death.

"Alpha, she is a virgin. Can't you smell it?"

Silence. Death never comes.

"And her golden hair. Imagine what the merchant could get for her. You were just saying the other day how we needed to find the cash to buy some silver chains."

More silence. My brows knit together. Are they speaking about me?

"Where would the merchant take her?"

My eyes are still closed, but I now know that it is Sammy.

"WHO THE f**k CARES, YOU i***t?"

The "boss" shouts.

"Don't you see the opportunity here? Who cares where she ends up, whether it's in the bottom of some s*x pit or dead on the side of the road? The merchant will pay a lot for her and we need the cash right now. We could even swing it that she is a human. They would go crazy for some fresh and innocent flesh!"

My eyes snap open and I can't help the vomit from pouring out of me. They want to sell me to some gross men? I will be a slave to a master who doesn't care for my well being.

"Please, alpha, kill me now rather!"

I try to beg, but the intense stare he is giving the "boss" is enough for me to know that I have lost this battle. My fate has been sealed. I am to be sold to this merchant and thrown to the wolves to be even more of a slave than I ever was in Full Moon. All of a sudden my dusty room under the staircase seems incredibly privileged.

"Please, I beg you!"

They drag me from the room and, despite the pain in my body, I kick and thrash with everything I have. This only makes them laugh more.

"There's the spirit, girly!"

"LET ME GO!"

I try to bite at the hands that are holding me.

"f**k!"

The "boss" cusses now and then smacks me so hard across my face.

Darkness consumes me.

_______________________________

The girl next to me hasn't stopped crying for the past half hour and her sobbing has become even worse since finding out that she has been sold to some elderly alpha down South who needs a toy to play with after losing his mate. It has been three days of torture in this tiny wagon where myself and some other she-wolves have been stacked like sardines in a tin. The merchant is the one driving the wagon. There are pieces of stale bread scattered all over the floor by our feet and there are jugs of dirty water if we get thirsty. Two large guards keep watch at the door and there are no windows. Our feet have been barred to the floor, so no escape route either. I sigh and turn to the girl. She looks younger than me and petrified.

"Hey"

She peeps at me and carries on sobbing. I am getting a ripper of a headache from her wails, but my heart does break for her and I am equally as scared of whatever lays in store for me.

"What is your name?"

She looks at me again with puffy cheeks.

"L-L-Lizza."

I smile at her with as much strength as I can.

"I know you are scared, Lizza. I know that this all seems impossible to face right now, but you need to be strong, okay? You need to find that light inside of you and you need to let it drive you to have faith as you face each day."

She sobs now and hiccups. We could hear the wagon coming to a slow stop.

"I don't want to go! I want to stay here. I didn't ask for this life. I don't want to be a toy for some old alpha!"

Everything she says is valid. Lizza is in a terrible position right now. We all are. She starts to wail again.

"Hey, Lizza, hey..."

The girl next to me tries now. She had been rubbing her temples for the past ten minutes, so clearly the sobbing is getting to her too. Lizza and I also looked at the girl, who has an afro of stunning chocolate hair and caramel skin.

"Yes, it is real crap that you are being sold to some horny, old f**k who needs company so bought you, but girl, you need to hold onto any hope you can. The reality is s**t, but maybe the man is actually kind and maybe he just needs a friend. Was your life back at home a good one?"

Lizza winces and shakes her head. A bad past.

"I thought so. Look, girl, I don't know what lies ahead for you. Goddess knows I have no idea what lies in store for any of us in here, but we have to be strong."

"She is right, Lizza. I also come from a bad place and I ask myself daily what I did to deserve this, but the truth is that we have to hold onto the hope that somehow there will be a silver lining for all of us. What is happening to us is not right. It is disgusting, in fact, but..."

Lizza and the other seven girls are all looking at me now. I breathe in.

"We need to believe that we will be okay and that justice will be served and we need to make a pact here today, that if any one of us were to find ourselves in a place of power to help right the wrongs, we will do so and we will put an end to all of this."

"Hell, I promise to kick as many asses as possible to help all of you if the day comes."

The girl next to me says. She puts her hand in the middle and, slowly, each girl follows behind and, just like that, we have joined together like sisters. A lump forms in my throat as the wagon stops. Our little moment as a bunch of strangers joined together through adversity is brought to an end as the guards stand and the back door is opened.

"YOU THERE!"

The merchant points to Lizza, who still has tears in her eyes but is looking a lot stronger than before. Her brown eyes look at me one last time.

"You promise?"

I nod and have to keep my own sense of confidence and strength for her.

"I promise."

Is all I say before she disappears through the doors. The last thing I see is her straightening her shoulders before the door is closed and the wagon starts to move again. As the trip carries on, more and more girls leave through the back door, their final smiles scared as their eyes search mine and others for courage to face the future ahead. All of them dropped off for different reasons, some of which are better than others. A family loses a daughter and wants a replacement. Mistress for wealthy wolf. Surrogate mother for battling couple. s*x slave at a strip club. I feel my own sense of self-worth and strength slipping with each lady that leaves. Where are they taking me? What will be the reason for my fate? I look up to see it is me and one other girl who also has light hair, but it is cut into a pixie style. She looks around my age.

"Both of you will be reaching your destination soon. You were both bought together by an alpha who needs females at his pack to see to a very specific need of his."

The merchant announces. Specific needs? What in Goddess name does that mean? The pixie girl and I share a look together. She looks as scared as me.

"Needs?"

She finds the courage to ask.

"Yes. A slave to do with as he sees fit."

Is all the merchant says before driving off again. Silence fills the space between us as we both take in what was just said. Slaves to do with as he sees fit. A slave to bully. A slave to abuse. A slave to clean up after. A slave to warm his bed. A cold shudder runs over me. I am to be a slave until I die and this thought makes my whole resolve fade. My breath becomes quick.

"Hey, Tessa, right?"

I nod as the girl puts her hand on mine.

"I heard you telling the other's your name. You were so strong for each of them and that was so kind of you. You are going to be okay. We have each other..."

Her voice trails off as our eyes meet.

"My name is Taz."

She smiles softly at me and I manage to muster up a smile for her. We don't say anything again for hours and we don't look at each other either. It all just seems too surreal, to face our futures knowing it is so grim. I didn't even notice the wagon coming to a halt.

"We are here."

Taz says softly and I lift my body up and out of its daze. The back door opens and the merchant pulls us out in our chains, like a master herding his sheep on auction day, and I expect to arrive in a place that looks as foul and sad as my fate, but it is quite the opposite. We seem to be in some sort of clearing. A whole row of warriors are looking on and avoiding eye contact as a female emerges from the tree's. She is tall and strong with a pin-straight pony tail of divinely shiny, dark brown hair. Her hazel eyes scan both me and Taz over with a neutral expression before she turns to the merchant and tosses a bag of coins at him.

"Is it all in here?"

"Yes, you piece of filth. Every dime is accounted for, now hand over the slaves."

The merchant grunts in disapproval at the female's tone, but even I can tell that she is a high-ranking woman who will not take any s**t from anybody. She looks like she is made for speed and would kill someone within a flash if threatened. I swallow down the lump in my throat as my eyes start to water again. Taz also has not looked up again. The merchant and his guards climb into the wagon and, without a second glance or word, they drive off at speed, leaving us in our chains and completely vulnerable to whatever lies ahead. I suppose why would they care if we were killed on the spot?

"Guards, see to their transportation to the pack house. Make it quick."

Is the last thing the strong woman says before turning her back and walking off. She seems to be made of ice too and all I can think of is how it feels like I have been spat out in some cold and military-type place with no sense of home. Goosebumps rise on my skin and I frown, now noticing for the first time that the climate is a far cry from the hot and humid air back in Full Moon or the rogue territory. I try to move my feet, but they feel heavy in the shackles on my ankles. The terror of my life finally dawns on me.

I am a slave and I will never have a home again.