The next two days after my birthday went by in a blur. Nothing bad has happened yet and I'm still on edge since the bad feeling hasn't worn away. Dawn, my wolf, hasn't even spoken to me since. "Hurry up!," Isla yelled as she hit my door lightly. I rolled my eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me!" Sometimes, I really hate how well she knows me.

She has moved here and is living with Zayn who is Graysons Beta.

I quickly threw my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head before I left my room. "Took you long enough," Olivia mumbled as Isla snickered beside her. I gave them a playful glare.

"So what's up?," I asked them. "I really wanted to just eat ice cream and watch Netflix all day." I plopped down on the couch, next to Isla.

"Plans have changed," Isla shrugged. I raised an eyebrow, wanting one of them to tell me the new plan. They both looked at each other before Isla let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, I'll tell her!," she exclaimed.

"TheAlphawantsyoutoomovebackinwithhim!," Olivia rushed out before Isla could speak.

"I was supposed to tell her!," Isla whined like a child.

"Shush," I told Isla before talking to Liv. "Say it slower and try to breath in between." She nodded her head before opening her mouth to speak.

"Your mate wants you to move back in with him!," Isla blurted out before Liv could speak. Isla covered her mouth with her hand as she said something she wasn't supposed to.

"I was going to tell her," Liv whispered harshly. Why is she whispering? I'm sat right here? Does she know that I can hear them too?

"You were taking too long," Isla groaned. "You do know that I have a hair appointment at 3. I can't be here that long." Liv and I rolled our eyes.

"So," I said slowly. "I have to move back in with the man that kidnapped me and kept me locked up."

"Yeah."

"I guess so."

I let out a sigh and leaned back in my seat. I really don't want to go. I love living with Olivia and Noah even though I haven't really seen much of him since I started staying here. That's strange. But I guess they do need their own space since they're a couple and they're probably really sick of seeing me all the time.

"Anyway, I gotta go. I'm meeting Noah," Liv said before she grabbed her phone and left Isla and I in her home.

After she left, we both just sat in silence. "I can't believe this," I stated. "I'm not going down without a fight."

"You better not," she warned me. "I taught you better than to just give up. Anyway, you know you can always stay with me."

"I doubt Zane will be happy about that," I mumbled. She looked at me. "They're best friends, Isla. Plus, he's the Beta so he has to listen to my stupid mate."

"I didn't think about that," she revealed. After that, we sat for hours eating ice cream and watching Netflix, just like I planned.

-

I let out a groan and shifted slightly. When did I fall asleep? Suddenly, I heard whispers. Who's here? It can't be Isla. I can feel her legs on top of me. I cracked open an eye to see a man carrying a suitcase that belongs to me. No doubt there was another man in my room getting my other one. Oh no.

Without thinking, I jumped up from my spot on the couch and launched myself at one of the men. He let out a grunt as my body hit his. Thankfully, I managed to get onto his back. I held onto him for dear life as he threw himself around the room, clearly wanting me off him without hurting me. He thinks his Alpha would kill him if he hurt me but I doubt he would.

My suitcase tumbled to the floor with a loud thump. "Alana!," a loud voice boomed in anger. The man I was sort of sitting on stopped in his tracks and faced the source of this voice. There stood a mighty Grayson with his fists clenched and veins popping.

"Yeah," I said sweetly as I kept my grip on the man tight.

"Get. Off. Him. Right. Now!," Grayson growled out calmly, breaking down each word.

"I don't think I'm gonna do that," I told him. "See, you don't respect my privacy and my opinions so why should I listen to you?"

"We will talk about this when we get home," he hissed out as he pulled me off the man.

"Home?," I scoffed out. "I don't have a home here. It's a prison."

"Let's go."

"No," I said, stopping in my tracks. His hold on me tightened as he struggled to contain his anger.

"Alana-," he began to say, his voice dangerously low.

"Are you gonna lock me up again? Cos you've been there and done that so it's not gonna work this time."

"Leave," he growled out to the other two men in the room.

"What's going on?," Isla said groggily as she woke from her nap. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed Grayson and I glaring at each other. "Oh, he's here to take you 'home'?," she asked using air quotes. I nodded my head, not breaking eye contact with him. "Have fun doing that!," she laughed, looking at Grayson before she left. He let out a low growl at the disrespect before I growled back, my wolf feeling protective over Isla. She was like a little sister to me.

He looked at me amused and with a hint of respect in his eyes before it vanished and his annoyance returned. "Let's go." I stood in my place, crossing my arms over my chest. He let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair at my stubbornness.

"Why the fuck do I have to go back to your house anyway?," I asked.

"Shut the fuck up and let's go," he snapped. I have to say that gave me butterflies for some strange reason. "I don't have times for your games. We have to go."

"Where do 'we' have to go?," I asked.

"To the training grounds. Didn't you hear there's a whipping today?," he looked me with a raised eyebrow before he leaned against the doorway. A whipping? He's gotta be kidding me.

"How'd you think he got named the most ruthless Alpha ever?," my wolf Dawn piped up. I didn't even know he was named that to be perfectly honest. I didn't even know his fucking name when I first met him.

"Well, I'm not going. I have plans."

"Pack rules. You have to be there."

"I'm not part of your pack," I spat out. I didn't like the fact that he hurt his own people and I'm guessing by my reaction that he knew that now. I hate physical violence mostly because of my past. I won't be able to stomach sitting there and watching someone get hurt.

"I don't give two fucks. You're coming with me." He grabbed my arm and pulled me all the way to the training grounds with me trying to pull back.

When we got there after a very long walk, he let go of my arm. I instantly cradled it as I saw my skin was red and raw. I blew onto it, hoping it'll help stop the burning sensation. He turned back to look at me to make sure I wasn't trying to leave again before he set off down the isle the pack made for him. If I did leave there's no guarantee that he won't throw me in the cells and leave me there for a while.

I didn't bother to look at him. Instead my eyes skimmed over my surroundings. There were at least over 1000 wolves here, excluding the children obviously. They were sat on benches. It sort of resembled a baseball or soccer field from high school. Everyone was sat on the bleachers, overlooking the enormous empty space down below. That's where fights would usually happen but in this case, it's a punishment.

"Thank you all for joining me!," Grayson's loud voice boomed out. He didn't even need a microphone to be heard. Once the pack sensed their Alpha was here, they quietened down. If a pin dropped right now, everyone would be able to hear it.

"As you all probably know, this man," he pushed the man next to him on his knees. He was sporting bruises. I looked around to see a woman who looked around my moms age crying silently. The man next to her (who was most likely her mate) was comforting her. "-beat up another pack member. That pack member was offered to decide his fate. She wanted to let him off with a warning." The pack gasped at this revelation. "That's correct. He beat up a woman. That woman is his mate. Because his mate decided to let him off with a warning, I decided to lessen his sentence in a way. Instead of being banished from Pack grounds, (which you'd probably prefer after this)," he said looking at the man with a murderous, blood-thirsty look in his eyes before turning back to the crowd, "You are sentenced to 100 whips, cleaning the pack house and no shifting until I say so."

I held my breath as I watched the man close his eyes waiting for the leather whip to hit his back. I watched in horror as I watched the blood drip down his back. Suddenly, I was flooded with memories I wish would disappear.

The metallic stench of blood.

His sinister laugh.

The bloody leather whip.

The cuts.

The dark tiled room.

The metal shackles.

My burnt wrist and ankles.

The feeling of constant fear.

I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't fucking breathe.

"Alana, breathe!," someone yelled. It wasn't enough to get me free from my prison of a mind.

I can't go back there.

"Alana," a voice said soothingly. "It's okay. you're safe. You're with me. Take a deep breath." I broke out and the harsh sunlight was hitting my eyes. I stared at the spot the man was. It was empty. Arms wrapped themselves around me. I flinched before realizing it's Isla. She held me even tighter. "It's okay. Everything is okay."

I choked back a sob. "I-I was back there again," I harshly wiped my face. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

She pulled away and sat next to me. I noticed Olivia, Noah, Grayson and Zane were stood near us but not too close. They were whispering to each other. "I'm sorry you had to see that," Isla said referring to the man. "I didn't know it was happening. I'm so sorry."

"What did you tell them?," I asked her.

"Nothing. It's not my secret to tell, Alana. You are gonna have to tell him soon. He's your mate. You can't keep it from him."

"He can't know," I said as I looked down at the ground. "If I do tell him, he'll probably just try to hurt me and I'm done with all the pain. I just want to move on. I want to be free. I don't want to be looking over my shoulder waiting for someone to come out with a knife or something."

"Alana," Grayson called out, making my head snap towards him. "Lets go." I would've argued with him but I'm too mentally exhausted to do anything. We stayed silent on our walk to his house as he walked a few feet ahead of me as I hung back a little, getting deep into my thoughts.

I can't believe that happened. I don't understand why it won't stop. Why aren't the memories buried in my mind somewhere?

As soon as we arrived, I made my way to my room and just crashed onto my pillow, not even saying another word to Grayson.