I had endured another three days of torture before Ethan had finally released me, throwing clothes at me, “Get dressed and go get cleaned up. We have a 3rd pack joining the banquet and the Alpha wants to see you about the additional preparations. Do not keep him waiting, and do not open your mouth about Vincent’s visit.” He snarled at me.

I glared at him as I dropped to the floor. My legs were shaking and my muscles were too sore to take my sudden weight. I summoned all the physical strength I had left and got to my feet, putting on the sweats and t-shirt that he had thrown at me. I was drowning in the clothing that was far too big for me and it reeked of Vincent. I began to wonder if they had planned this. Everyone knew of Vincent’s infatuation with me over the last couple of years. Had Vincent planned to do this all along? To take what he couldn’t get willingly, while I wasn’t able to fight back, while no one would be around to stop him? I had originally just taken it at face value, an attack of opportunity, but the fact that I had been forced into Vincent’s clothing made me re-evaluate the situation.

Ethan shoved my shoulder causing a wave of pain to spread throughout my body, more intense where the freshest lashes were, “Get moving.”

“Kiss off you sadistic asshole.” I spun to face him, catching him in the jaw with a right hook, letting him get a brief glimpse of my actual strength. He grunted and staggered backward, clearly caught off guard and surprised at my strength. I took the chance to run, despite my muscles screaming in agony when I did so.

I fled the isolation hole, darting out of the shed that hid it. I had planned on going straight to Jake and Faith’s, but decided to get my summon from the Alpha out of the way first. I hadn’t even bothered to clean up, I went straight to his office, slamming the door into the wall as I flung it open. I hadn’t bothered to knock, or wait for an invite. Nor did I submit, or wait for him to acknowledge me from where he sat behind his desk. I stood there, looking him straight in the eyes. He had ordered my punishment. Now let him deal with the sight of the results, “You wanted to see me Alpha?”

~Andrew~

I was surprised when my office door flew open, lifting my head to see Alyce standing there. Everything about her was disrespectful, but I didn’t have the time to deal with it right now. The banquet was 2 weeks away and we needed to start preparing sooner than planned with the addition of a 3rd visiting pack.

Oscar, my wolf, moved towards the front of my mind, his fur bristling at the disrespect she was showing, *Who does she think she is? We will teach her a lesson.* He roared in my head.

*Yes, but not now. We need her now, need her to help make this event go smoothly. Maybe we can trade her off, after the event, to help form alliances. We will punish her again afterwards, with no limitations this time.* I replied. This seemed to please Oscar and he settled back down for now.

I turned my attention to Alyce, “Yes, though I gave express orders for you to clean up before entering my presence!” I growled my displeasure at her, and I could have sworn I saw her smirk before she wiped her face clean of any expression. “We will have a 3rd pack joining us for the banquet. You will need to start preparing everything you can in advance in a couple days. Given that my hands are tied by the circumstances I will give you two days off to focus on making yourself presentable. You will be serving in the kitchen and on standby for wait staff during the event. You will be on your best behavior, and you will be respectful while our guests are here or I will put you in the hole until you wish death would take you. Do I make myself clear?”

I let my Alpha aura out as I gave her the commands, a feeling of satisfaction washing over me when I saw her submit. I was beginning to wonder if she actually was an Omega, my aura seemed to make her less uncomfortable than others, even those with a title seemed more bothered by it than she did.

“Yes Alpha,” she said, “What packs will be joining us? I will make sure I have every pack's preferences accommodated.”

“The Moonlight Pack and Dark Forest Pack from the secluded mountains, as well as our allies to the east, Cold Moon pack. Now get out of my sight.”

I watched her leave, closing the door to my office behind her. I threw an empty glass that had been sitting on my desk at a wall in frustration and turned my attention back to the paperwork I had been working on.

~Alyce/Faelyn~

I kept my face a blank canvas despite my desire to smirk when he let his Alpha aura flood the room. I was too tired to deal with his ego at the moment so I bared my neck in submission to him just to move this along.

I made a mental note of the packs and what little I knew about them. I would ask Faith about them later. I could feel my adrenaline running out and the events of the last two weeks starting to creep up on me.

I made a hasty retreat from the manor once the Alpha dismissed me, heading straight for Jake and Faith’s. My strength was fading and I would need their help to clean up and address my wounds. When I reached their house I let myself in, nearly collapsing before Jake caught me around my waist, keeping me from kissing the floor.

“Alyce!” I heard Faith cry out before I succumbed to everything I had endured the last two weeks and passed out. I would never give my tormentors the satisfaction of seeing how much what they did got to me, but here I was safe. I could let my guard down a little and let everything out. Jake, Faith and Matheau were the closest thing I had to family. Spots danced in my vision as I passed out in Jake’s arms, knowing I would have a lot of explaining to do when I came to again, but for now I could rest.