My Abuser, My Mate

Causing Her Misery

*This chapter is the same morning as the first chapter, but from Cody's POV)

  "Do it!" Katya egged me on, opening the wench's bedroom door for me. 

  I smirked as I snuck into her room. 

  'You shouldn't be such a jerk to her,' my wolf, Jared grumbled. 

  I rolled my eyes inwardly. 'Lighten up.'

  'Lighten up?' he snorted. 'You want to torture an innocent she-wolf, and I'm the one in the wrong?'

  'It's not torture,' I argued. 'We're just having a little fun.'

  'Not torture?' he scoffed. 'Look at it from her point of view.'

  'She would've told us if it was torture!' I insisted.

  This time, he was the one rolling his eyes. 'Keep telling yourself that. Idiot.'

  "What are you waiting for?" Katya whispered. "Do it! I'm hungry!"

  "Sorry, my wolf wanted to offer his opinion," I whispered back.

  She rolled her eyes. "He's such a stick in the mud sometimes," she whispered. "I just know my wolf will be way cooler."

  Jared snarled. 'She only wishes her wolf could be half as cool as me.'

  "Jared disagrees," I told her, still whispering.

  She rolled her eyes again. "Whatever. Just wake the wench up."

  With that, I crept over to the cot where CandiAnn was sleeping and threw the bucket of ice water on her. She sat straight up, gasping and sputtering. 

   "Get up, wench! Breakfast won't make itself!" Katya shouted at her.

  CandiAnn looked around wildly, trying to focus in the darkness. Finally, her eyes landed on us, and my best friend, the future beta, David Richards, who was standing behind us. All three of us were laughing at her. 

  She averted her eyes and mumbled, "I'm coming."

  "You have fifteen minutes, wench," Katya snarled. "If I'm not eating in fifteen minutes, well, you know what happens."

  With that, we turned and walked out of the room. 

  I walked with Katya and David down to the dining room to wait for breakfast. 

  "So, are we going to the dance this weekend?" Katya asked me.

  I shrugged. Dances really weren't my thing, but I didn't have anything better to do. "I guess. But I thought you said you were going shopping for your birthday outfit that day."

  She laughed. "Of course I am. Daddy insisted I get something new for my party, and I'm sure he'll let me get something for the dance too."

  "Why don't you just wear the same dress to both?" I suggested. "It's not like you can't wash it in between."

  She looked horrified, and I could see David behind her rolling his eyes. He thought she was way too superficial, and honestly he was right. I didn't really care about that though - she had a rocking body and that's all I really cared about. She was about 5'10, 125 lbs. She has a body like an athlete, and her short black curly hair and blue eyes are perfectly complimented by the tan she keeps year round, as the result of twice weekly trips to the tanning bed. 

  "I can't wear the same outfit to them both!" she gasped. "What would people think? They'd think Daddy didn't love me enough to buy me enough clothes!"

  I laughed. "Everybody in this pack knows how much he spoils you, sweetheart."

  She smirked. "Well, and why wouldn't he? I mean, I am their only daughter!"

  Well, technically she wasn't, but she didn't like to be reminded that CandiAnn was her fraternal twin sister. I never quite understood why her family completely disowned CandiAnn, but I honestly didn't care enough to try to find out. 

  Finally, the wench started setting out breakfast food. Good thing, because I was absolutely starved. 

  I had just finished filling my plate and was walking back towards the table when I heard some commotion.

   "To the basement with you!" I heard Gamma Richard roar. 

  I walked over to where Katya was standing, looking smug. "What's going on?" I asked.

  "Little thief stole a piece of bacon, then burned me with coffee," she said, fuming.

  I saw CandiAnn bow her head and start to walk towards the stairs. Gamma Richard was right behind her and already unbuckling his belt.

  "Wait." I turned to see my dad, Alpha Kyle approaching them. "Gamma, I know this is not my business, but she turns eighteen in three days, correct?"

  "Yes, Alpha," Gamma Richard replied. I was positive if it wasn't also Katya's birthday, he would've forgotten.

  "Perhaps she should be allowed at least a few meals between now and then, so she will have the energy to shift. Child sized meals at least," Dad said calmly. "After all, if she dies, we would have a body to deal with plus we'd have to find someone else to cook and clean." Most people wouldn't realize it, but I knew that calm manner hid Dad's true feelings on the subject. The way the gamma and his family treated CandiAnn disgusted him, but he felt that it was not his place to say anything to them.

  Gamma Richard considered for a minute, then nodded. "I suppose you're right, Alpha." He turned to CandiAnn and grabbed her chin, turning her to face him. "You got lucky this time, you little thief. But mark my words, if you do something like this again, it'll be twenty lashes and a whole week with no food, you hear me?"

  She nodded. 

  "I don't hear an answer!!" he roared.

  "Y-yes, Gamma," she stammered. 

  "Now, what do you say to the alpha?" he demanded.

  "T-thank you, Alpha," she stammered.

  Dad nodded at her and walked away. 

  I turned to Katya. "Are you all right? Where did she burn you?"

  She held her right arm up and pointed to the nonexistent burn on her forearm. "Right here," she said with a pout. "Kiss it for me, baby."

  She held her arm up to my face and I obligingly kissed it. She smiled at me. "Thank you, baby. You're so sweet to me."

  Behind her back, I saw David dramatically while hugging himself and making kissy faces. I ignored him and sat down across from Katya to eat my food. David sat to my left. It wasn't news to me that David found Katya annoying - I'd known that since we were pups. Just as I'd known she found him boring. They only put up with each other because of me and I knew it. 

  Ethan, another member of our little group and the pack's future gamma, came sauntering over to the table carrying his plate of food, piled high with eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Since Gamma Richard and his mate didn't have sons and Katya wasn't interested in the position, that meant that I as the future alpha had the right and responsibility of choosing the next gamma. I chose Ethan because he was such a great fighter and seemed to be a born leader. He had turned eighteen a month ago, two days after I did. He was a known womanizer, and some of the pack leaders questioned my choice because of that. But I figured he'd settle down once he found his mate. 

  He sat down beside Katya and across from David with a grin. His blue eyes were dancing with amusement, and his short, spiky blonde hair was styled perfectly, as usual. "So how did y'all like the entertainment this morning?" he asked with a chuckle. 

  We all laughed. 

  "Wench had it coming," Katya said smugly. "Dad told her she wasn't allowed to eat anything but she did anyway. And she freaking burned me! Clumsy idiot."

  "So, Katya," Ethan started, "is it cool if I bring a date to your birthday party?"

  "Depends," she replied. "Who is the date?"

  He shrugged. "Probably Jessica. Or maybe Jana. Or maybe both.," he added with laugh. 

  She rolled her eyes, but said, "Yeah, I reckon they're both OK. Both definitely not as pretty as me."

  Ethan snorted. "Whatever you say," he teased. 

  Jessica and Jana were a set of identical twins in our senior class. They hadn't found their mate either (identical twins usually shared just one mate) and they were both known as the pack s**ts. I personally wouldn't touch either of them with a ten foot pole, but to each his own. 

  I finished my food and stood up, leaving my dirty dishes on the table. "Come on, y'all, we're going to be late for school," I said. The others followed suit. 

  We walked together to the parking area, elbowing each other and cracking jokes the whole way. 

  We stopped at Katya's black 2020 Mazda MX 5 Miata. Her parents had given it to her for her 17th birthday. Some days she rode with me in my blue 2020 Chevy Silverado, but today she was going to have her hair done after school and I had to meet with my dad and some other alphas about rogue attacks that had been plaguing some of the local packs lately. 

  She turned and wrapped her arms around my neck, and I wrapped mine around her waist. "See you at school, baby," she said with a smile. 

  I pecked her lips. "Yep, see you there," I replied, giving her butt a final pat before releasing her. 

  I turned to walk to my truck. We weren't one of those mushy, gotta-say-I-love-you-before-you-leave type couples. I was eighteen, but she wasn't yet. Katya was sure she was my mate, but I wasn't so sure. I refused to tell a she-wolf I loved her until I was sure she was my mate. 

  I climbed up into my truck and cranked it up. I turned the music up a little - classic country from the 70s and 80s, my guilty pleasure - and was putting on my seatbelt when I saw CandiAnn come out of packhouse, pushing a beat up old bicycle. I idly wondered where she'd gotten it, but didn't really care. 

  When I got to the school, I saw that Katya's car was already parked in the space next to mine and shook my head. She had always had a lead foot. I ambled into the school. We had about another twenty minutes before the bell rang. I spotted Katya but she was chatting with a couple of other girls. I patted her butt on the way by. She turned and smiled at me, but kept talking to her friends. 

  David and Ethan walked in a couple minutes later. David had a blue 1969 Camaro that he kept in mint condition, but he was having some work done on it that day - oil change, new tires, tune up, etc - so he rode in with Ethan in his silver 2020 Dodge Ram.

  The three of us, along with a couple other guys decided to wait outside for the bell to ring. We weren't really supposed to hang out outside the school, but this high school was comprised solely of werewolves from our pack, including all the teachers and staff. I was the future alpha of the pack, therefore they really couldn't stop me. David and Ethan were the future beta and gamma, so they really couldn't say anything to them either. And since the others were with us, they all fell into that category too.

  Ethan suddenly looked up and said, "Look, it's the packhouse wench. Let's mess with her!"

  I looked up to see her walking across the parking lot, head down and not looking at anyone.

  "Well, well, well, what have we here, boys?" I drawled.

  Ethan stepped out and blocked her way. 

  "Please let me by," she whispered quietly.  

  We all laughed. "Please let me by," Ethan mocked me in a high pitched, nasally tone. Then, in his normal voice, he added, "But why, baby? Don't you want to hang out with us?" He attempted to run his hand down her back, stroking her ponytail, but she shoved his hand aside.

  "Ooh, Ethan, did she just hit you?" I laughed. "You gonna let her get away with that?"

  "You know, I don't think I am," Ethan answered. With that, he shoved her hand away and grabbed her ponytail this time, yanking her head back. 

  I saw tears of pain in her eyes as he pulled her ponytail as hard as he could. I'm surprised he didn't rip it out. The tears caused me to feel a little guilty, but I refused to let that show. 

  "Listen here, fatty," Ethan growled. "You hit me again, you'll be swallowing your teeth, understand?"

  She glared at him with hatred in her eyes. 

  He pulled her head back a little farther. "Did you hear me, fatty?!" he roared.

  "Yes!" she managed to say. 

  "Yes, what?"

  "Yes, I understand!" she whimpered.

  He let her go and slapped the back of her head, shoving it forward so fast it's a wonder she didn't get whiplash. "Good. I'm glad we had this talk."

  The other guys and I all snickered as we walked past, and I shoved her head down again. 

  We laughed as we walked into the building. 

  'i***t,' Jared growled. 'You have no idea what you're doing.'

  'Oh yeah?' I replied, rolling my eyes. 'And what's that?'

  'You'll find out,' he said, and retreated to the back of my mind, still seething.

  I shrugged him off. Whatever. He didn't like a lot of things that I did. But he was still stuck with me. He'd be fine once we found our mate.