Her Mates: Three and Some

A MOTHER’S SACRIFICE.

My back hurt like a motherfucker.

I guess being lashed with a metal spike soaked in wolfsbane would do that to you too if you were an omega wolf like me.

The fact that the punishment came unfailingly, morning, noon and night was also part of the reason for it’s almost unhealing state. I could barely move my body, as even the littlest of flinches felt like I was being torn in two.

A day and a half had gone by since I openly defied my stepfather and was placed in the famous dungeons as punishment, a damp, mildew and fungi covered enclosure in the underbelly of our huge pack house.

I was alone in a cold, small cell, with a single lamp in the narrow corridors for light. A sprinkle of straw covered the bare ground… my makeshift bed, and there was a bucket in the corner for bodily functions which I had already made half full with puke even though I’d had nothing in my belly for almost two days.

I hated it in here.

I felt lightheaded, probably from the loss of so much blood and the fact that I hadn’t eaten in a day and half and wasn’t healing. I had taken all the beatdowns I was supposed to endure while here, all except for the last one which would be delivered when night finally arrived.

After that, I would be free to go back to my life as a helping hand for the Pack, which would continue if I didn’t come up with something real quick.

But if doing it all over again meant that my mother would be up there, safe… then you’d bet that I would take that chance all over again.

I just hoped she was eating and taking her medicines, so that she would be strong enough by the time I made it out, so we could leave this godforsaken place.

I’d heard her loud hollers, begging the guards at the entrance of the dungeons to let her in to see me, or to at least give me something to eat, but I knew they were not going to listen to her.

They had strict orders, one that even the Luna of the Pack was not going to make them turn their back on.

But I wasn’t worried though.

I knew that no harm would come to her.

Steffan would have grown tired of her by now given that he had satisfied the part of his consciousness that wanted retribution with placing me in here, and the guards would not dare lay a figure on her, so she could do all of that gallivanting and shouting the roof down, no one was going to pay her any mind.

I just hoped she was eating and taking her medicines.

Speaking of escaping, I knew I had told myself that I was going to come up with a plan to get us out, but my mind was still so clouded with anger, frustration and fear that I had barely been able to come up with much.

As I lay on my belly on the hard mattress, I couldn’t help but reflect on all the events that had led right to this moment.

My father, Alpha Jaxon Phoenix, had been a respected and beloved leader— gods, he had been an amazing father… the best dad a spoilt rotten princess like me could have wished for.

My older brother, Ryder had been a perfect brother too. One who hadn’t minded that his little sister followed him everywhere, practically glued to his hip. In fact, he always seemed delighted to have me near him, and was always eager to teach me something new despite his busy schedule as Alpha in training.

Mama had told me that he was being groomed to take over as Alpha when Papa retired, and the entire pack just couldn’t wait. My father was a good man, a good Alpha, and they were totally confident that Ryder would continue in his legacy.

The two of them were my everything, and I was their little Rhys.

And now, they were all gone.

You know, I always used to watch with pride every time Ryder trained, never taking my eyes off him and stubbornly demanding to join him since all the moves he learnt seemed to fascinate me for no reason, but Papa would have none of it.

“There’s no way in hell my little chiquitita is learning how to fight. Papa will protect you, Rhys. And when I am not around, Ryder will.” He would say fondly, sternly as he held me in his arms… and that would be the end of the conversation.

It was really so hard coming to terms with the fact that they were truly dead and gone… but they were.

And we were stuck here with Steffan.

Somehow, the anger that fueled my insides at that thankfully brought the perfect escape plan to mind.

It hit me abruptly, slammed into my consciousness like a ton of bricks, the satisfaction of knowing that by nightfall, my mother and I would be far away from these walls slowly lulling me to sleep.

I must have slept for quite a while, for I didn’t stir until I heard the sound of keys turning in the lock.

It was nighttime.

The moment I had been waiting for was finally here.

A different set of guards waltzed into my chamber, each out of the two wielding the same spiky metallic club I was certainly starting to hate with a passion.

I stood up almost mechanically from the mat, trying so hard not to even let out something as subtle as a wince. I didn’t want their pity, it wasn’t as if I was going to get it anyway, and so what did it matter.

When I finally made it to my feet, I spun to face the wall, giving them my back, and then I shrugged the baggy men’s shirt that covered the upper part of my body off, barring my back to them, silently asking them to f*****g get it over and done with.

Somehow the last set of beatings hurt more than all of the ones I had endured earlier combined.

Perhaps they had upped the dosage of wolfsbane… perhaps my wounds from earlier were making it worse… whatever the case was, I took it all silently, almost letting out a gasp that I managed to suppress by biting my lower lip so hard I could taste blood.

A lot of blood.

Ten times each, and the metal club came down heavy and hard against my back, at one point I could have sworn they snapped by spine in two, and do not get me started on the ribs, I was pretty sure I had broken a sizeable number, but soon, they were done.

I slowly turned to them; my head held high as I shrugged the shirt back on. “Are we done here?” I asked, meaning for it to be breezy, but it only came out as a painful croak instead.

I was in so much pain, it was an absolute wonder that I was still standing.

My heart was burning, my throat even more so since I was trying so hard to hold the tears in.

My back was raw from the flogging, but my spirit remained surprisingly unbroken.

There must have been something powerful in my eyes, for even though I was standing before the two wolves, my breasts completely on display for them to gauge at, they kept their eyes on my face, guilt and remorse shining ever so bright in them as they nodded in the affirmative in response to my question.

Slowly and surely, I managed to get the shirt buttoned up, my mother’s face appearing in my head, begging me not to do or say anything stupid.

She was right.

It seemed I was so predictable that even they, were expecting a word from me, a biting remark about how they’d all eventually get what they deserved, but I said nothing as I stepped away from them and headed for the open doors.

My mother and I were leaving.

The pack did not care about us like we had initially believed… or maybe they had, and had been brainwashed by Steffan and his evilness.

But it didn’t even matter.

I was never going to forgive them for how they all treated my mother, and nothing they did was going to change that.

Besides, it seemed pretty irrelevant fighting old battles anyway when we were never even going to come back here in the first place. All we had to do was move to someplace so far away, far enough that my stupid stepfather would never find us.

I trudged slowly, painfully up the stairs to my room, wanting to quickly change my bloody clothes and tend to my wounds before I met my mum and told her my plans, but she was already in my room when I opened the door.

“RHYSETTE!”

My mother was by my side in a minute, seemingly very energetic as she quickly helped me out of my clothes and into the shower.

So much for wanting to keep this from her.

“Oh baby, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Rhysette.” She apologized over and over again, tears streaming down her face as she wiped my wounds clean, getting as much of the wolfsbane as she could out.

It hurt, gods it did.

So damn much… and perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I finally felt safe in my mother’s arms as well, for all the tears I had been holding back the past two days came tumbling down, wracking me in violent fits, reminding me that I was still a child who didn’t need to be strong all the time.

I cried for my father, for my brother, for everything we had been through since they left us, for my sick mother… whose loving touch had my tough façade crumbling into shambles, whose teary smile filled me with renewed strength, and repaired all the pain in my heart and head.

When I was finally spent, my mother helped pat me dry and brought me back into my room, the only thing that hadn’t really changed since our world shifted. I guess Steffan didn’t really care for all that.

By then, my wounds had started healing, but they were going at a very slow pace.

Even with that, I was already feeling so much better, I guess the tears helped a bit too.

I noticed that Mama was becoming pale all over again, and so I tried to dress up all by myself, but she would have none of it. “Let me take care of you, Rhys.”

I silently, though begrudgingly complied, sitting still while she dressed me up.

When she was done, she looked down at me, a look of urgency back in her eyes.

“Look at me, Rhys… you do not have much time. Steffan has probably forgotten that you’ll be released tonight. Leave. Escape. Now. Immediately, while there’s still time, and do not look back.”

I stared at her in relief, happy that she was on the same page as me, that I didn’t have to waste time trying to convince her.

To think I was worried she wouldn’t be taking her medicines, but she had apparently had the same plan in mind.

“I have the best plan in mind, Mama.” I told her excitedly, “You see the left wing? I noticed that it’s seldom guarded because of the hound dogs. But those rascals know us. We can escape through their place, and we will be long gone before people start to suspect anything. Though I’m afraid we cannot carry anything with us aside the clothes on our back. Come on, let’s go.”

But my poor, sick mother only shot me a sad look, her paleness was starting to freak me out, “Not we, Rhysette. You. Just you.”

She took my hand in hers, a few tears trailing down her face, “I will only hold you back my poor sweet child,”

“It doesn’t matter, Mama,” I cut her off stubbornly, refusing to listen to her reasoning, “We will figure out a way, I promise.”

“I have already figured it out, child. And it involves you running away on your own.”

“No mama... no.” I said stubbornly. “I won’t have it. We leave together.”

“It’s a little too late for that, Rhys.” She started to cough, a violent fit that sounded nothing like the one she had from her mysterious illness.

All of a sudden, a sense of foreboding washed over me, “Mama, what—what did you do?”

I reached for some water from beside table and quickly put it against her lips, she took a few sips, but somehow that only made it worse. She coughed violently a few times, and then blood become to sputter out of her lips.

By now I was frantic, “MAMA, WHAT DID YOU DO?” I shook her violently, wanting to know so I could figure out how to help her out.

“It—it was the only way, Rhys.” She whispered softly, “Wolfsbane. I drank it. Steffan has plans of selling you off as a slave, and he knows that I am too weak and powerless to fight him on it. It was the only way.”

I leaned back, looking at her in horror, trying to come to terms with the fact that there was nothing I would be able to do to help her.

I couldn’t accept it.

Even when the tears quickly formed in my eyes and streamed down my face in leaps and bounds, I still couldn’t bring myself to accept it.

“But why would you do this, Mama? Why?” I sobbed. “We could have found another way.”

“This was the only way, my child. I would have been dead weight, Rhys…” She whispered softly, painfully, “Steffan would have found us, and then when he realised we tried to escape, you will never get that chance again.” She breathed harshly and continued, “Let’s face it, Rhys… I’m dying. It is inevitable. Better sooner than later. To give you a better chance at escape.”

“No, Mama… no, please don’t do this to me, don’t leave me, you’re the only one I have left.”

This was not a request, it was a supplication, a prayer to get her to somehow remedy the situation, to stay with me…

But we all knew it was a fool’s hope.

“You don’t have much time; you need to leave. Promise me you will keep running, and never look back, Rhys. No matter the temptation to want to come back and make Steffan pay, please resist it.” She was interrupted by another violent coughing fit.

“Make a new life, new friends, new family, forget life here at the Windy Harbor, carry only the memories of your father, Ryder and myself in the happy times, and always remember that we love you. That I, love you, Rhysette. And that I would choose this life over and over again, if it would mean I get to have you as a daughter.”

She weakly caressed my cheek one last time, and then she breathed her last, her body quickly turning cold against mine.

I sobbed hard… bitterly. Rocking her like one would their little one as though somehow, that would bring her back to life, but it didn’t.

Time was not on my side.

I needed to leave.

But how could I?

How could I when I wanted nothing more than to rain fire and brimstone down this pack, taking them all down with my mother?

Her last wish was the only thing that kept holding me back though.

She had asked me to run, to run without looking back, right?

And so, with tears in my eyes, that was exactly what I did.

I ran.