"I howl for hope
and for those now gone,
who had once hoped
themselves."

-unknown

---------------------------

Chapter 14

Pack Party

"But Kane, I do not want to meet the pack members." I whined.

Kane has his face stuffed into my stomach again. It seemed to be his favorite resting spot lately, where he could fall asleep to the sound of his babies' heartbeats.

Kane ignored me and started talking to my bump in a baby voice. "Whose a good Alpha baby? Hmm? You're my cute Alpha babies. Yes you are."

I felt a sudden rumbling in my stomach and jolted at the weird feeling. "What was that?" I looked at Kane in confusion, my heart racing at the sudden movement.

Kane simply laughed and observed my stomach closely. "So defensive." He chuckled. Warmth travelled through my body as I felt his vibrations.

"That was one of their first growls, love. I can already tell they'll be strong Alphas when they grow up."

I shook my head as I felt the rumbling again. I knew what he was trying to do. He would distract me from the topic, until it was too late and I had to go meet the pack anyway.

Placing my palm on his head, I pushed him away. "I know what you're trying to do, Kane." I looked at him with a accusatory stare.

He finally sobered up and straightened beside me. "Phira, you have to meet the pack someday."

I was hoping to get away by then.

"Okay." I said through gritted teeth.

Must keep up façade.

Kane didn't notice anything strange, as he hugged me tightly and the deep rumbling started in his chest again. "The pregnancy has changed you. For the better." He mumbled.

I bit my tongue to keep quiet.

Yawning, he stood up and held his hand out to me. "Come. Let's get dressed."

His stern look of finality stopped whatever feeling of protest I had in me. I flinched as he gripped my hand and guided me to his closet.

I could say that this room was as beautiful as any of the other rooms here. On the right side of the room, filled to the brim, were quite possibly hundreds of suits, jackets, cuff links and belts, of different materials and colors, some of which I had never even seen ever before.

I screamed as I felt hands grabbing the hem of my dress and pulling it upwards before I could even register what was happening. I cried out as I felt the cold hit my body, but it was soon replaced by a warm body.

"Which one of the dresses would you like to wear, love?" He had his arms wrapped around me from behind, his hands resting on my stomach.

I shivered as I felt the mate bond kicking in.
Or was it the babies?

When I felt his hands start to roam a bit, I panicked and pointed at a random dress across the room, not even bothering to look at the equally impressive collection of dresses.

I presses my chin hard into my chest when he continued, his hands being followed by flashbacks of my weakest moments. But when I felt his hands touching and running across my stomach, I wrenched back with a glare that surprised even myself, never mind him.

"My. Babies." I growled with a tone that I never even knew I had had. Immediately, my body heat rose in defense.

Even Kane looked surprised. But his surprise soon turned into shock, and then into a mixture of amusement and pride.

I felt myself turn a hot red, as I took in his raised eyebrows and eyes filled with humor. Looking down, I shielded my face with my tangled hair.

But soon enough, I felt strong hands grasp my chin, and my face was gently lifted up. I couldn't even meet his eyes out of embarrassment. "You're the most adorable thing when you get angry, Phira. Like a bunny." My wide eyes met his, as he laid a small kiss on my dry lips.

"But you're my adorable bunny. One that I'll love and cherish forever." He whispered.

I tried to turn around, whimpering when his arms kept me in place. He released his hold when I struggled harder. As soon as I could turn, I wrapped my arms around his incubating torso, and placed my head on his chest.

I couldn't hold him close enough though, because of my frustratingly huge bump.

Why am I feeling this way? I'm supposed to be planning an escape. Instead, I'm hugging my captor. I'm crazy. For sure.

Before I could say anything, I felt a strong vibration come from the top upper right portion of his leg. Sudden music filled the room, as I got startled and jumped back.

Kane looked at me weirdly before he put his hand into his pocket and pulled out the same small and slim box that I had seen multiple people carrying around. He held it up to his face, its light illuminating his face for a few seconds, tapped at it and held it up to his ear.

"Yes?"

I heard the voice of someone talking faintly, from the box.

Must be some other weird torture device he uses to control me.

After a while, he moved the box away from his ear, and pressed and tapped for a few moments, and then looked up at me.

"Zephira? What's wrong?" He asked upon seeing my cautious gaze.

I pointed at the light-up box accusingly. "You have to tell me now. What is that? You can't keep secrets from me anymore."

Kane laughed loudly, his head tilted back from its force. "Zephira love, it was funny the first time you said it. Stop joking around."

He sobered up pretty quickly when he saw the tears build up in my eyes. "No, no love. Don't cry." He rushed towards me, smothering me in his heat.

Well, at least the pregnancy's useful in this sense.

I angrily wiped my tears away. "I wasn't joking. What is it? I've already seen many of your pack members carrying it around."

Kane surprisingly answered my question without laughing this time, the same weird look on his face. "It's a phone, love."

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at him questioningly. "A f-fone? What's a fone?"

Deep rumbling filled my stomach as I watched Kane rub a hand slowly down his face in exasperation. "Phira, it's not even funny anymore."

"But I-"

"Look, let's get you dressed first, shall we?"

It was only then that I noticed I was only in my undergarments, and nothing else. My face flushed a deep red as I covered myself up as much as I could.

Kane smiled, just plain smiled as he pulled my palms away from my body and kissed its sweaty insides. He didn't seem to mind it though. "You're body's beautiful, love. Don't hide it from me."

Before I could say anything else, he pulled me towards the dress I had chosen earlier, and looked at me with concern. "Are you sure you'd like to wear a dress that heavy and long?"

What does he mean? That is how long a dress is supposed to be to be deemed as appropriate.

He didn't wait for my answer as he hurriedly took the dress off it's hanger and held it against my body.

After a few moments, he nodded and gestured for me to lift my arms.

I vigorously shook my head as I remembered an important detail.
I didn't shave.

Kane didn't seem to understand as he growled at my disobedience, and yanked both my arms upward.

I squealed as he held them up, my bushy forests now uncovered.

Kane laughed as he seemed to realize the reason behind my discomfort. "Love, there will be a point of time when I'll see you with hair. I don't expect you to be hairless all the time. Especially, as I didn't provide you with a razor."

I don't even know if I hate him or like him anymore.

He didn't say any more, as he opened the skirt of the dress and slid it over my head, making sure to gently pull my arms through the arm holes, and smoothen the fabric around my stomach, so it flowed down beautifully.

I mumbled a meek 'thank you' as I wrung my hands, feeling the rough lace at the end of my sleeves.

Kane laid a tender kiss on my forehead. "Just seeing you in that dress is thank you enough, love."

I swear I can smell the cheese.

I didn't get enough time to smell the cheese, as I felt clumsy hands combing through my hair, and pulling it back into a braid.

"I had a sister." He said, sensing my confusion on how he was able to plait hair so neatly.

Had?

"Don't bother asking." He said, and I shut my mouth quickly.

Unexpected rage filled my chest suddenly, upon hearing how he dismissed me easily. My body heated up as the pups in my stomach started kicking incessantly.

Apparently, Kane did not care, as he started pulling me out the door behind him.

"Kan-" I was interrupted once again, as Kane abruptly placed on hand behind my knees and the other around my upper back to lift me up.

Once he had me in his arms, he started running as fast as he could. "We're late for the party, love. I'm sorry."

Sorry doesn't cut it.

I humphed and folded my arms across my chest in response.

We reached the center of the pack-where the party was being held, within a few minutes. Kane took a few moments to steady me on my feet as he set me down.

I turned to start shouting at him before he silenced me by swooping down and stealing a kiss.

I heard the faint sound of cheering, over the rush of blood in my ears, and the chest pounding feeling of being in Kane's warm arms.

The babies seemed to kick in delight. Or disgust. I'm not sure.

It reminded me so much of how naughty Eleanor was.

As Kane pulled away, I took in my surroundings. We were in a large clearing of some sort, surrounded by a circle of trees, covered with bright hanging lights. There were benches set up in one end, surrounded by laughing families enjoying a good day out.

There were children of all ages, running around everywhere. What seemed weird was that, every one seemed to be dressed in the same attire. Even the girls and women of the pack were all wearing breeches, which I had never seen them wear before.

I gasped as I watched a group of young women clothed in breeches that barely reached their knees nevertheless their ankles. Their upper torsos were covered in what I would only dare to wear as my inner clothes.

Apparently, it was normal in this pack, as none of them attracted any attention.

Close to them, were these strange round contraptions on steel sticks, controlled by one person each. They seemed to be poking at something inside it, as smoke continuously streamed out in thick grey clouds.

My attention was snatched away from the lively atmosphere as I felt my head gently being turned by gentle fingers on my chin. I glared into Kane's amuses eyes as he just chuckled and pulled me close to him, swinging an arm across my shoulder to keep me warm.

Though I was still mad at him, I appreciated the warmth and the support his body gave me, as it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to walk properly without my back, or feet, or anything aching within a few seconds.

As I leaned into him, I noticed the small crowd of curious onlookers, some of whom I had seen around the pack house within the last few weeks.

Some of them awwed at the sight of their heavily pregnant Luna curled against their Alpha for comfort.

If only they knew what happened behind closed doors.

I faked a smile, as I silently greeted everyone. After a while, most of them walked away to avoid interrupting our private bubble.

Suddenly, an unexplainable urge to hit Kane came over me. Just as I pulled my fist back and swung it in his direction, he turned and caught it. In one hand.

I trembled under his hold and sharp gaze.

Using the one arm holding my fist he pulled me toward him, and wrapped his arms around me. Then, he slowly rested his head on my shoulder. A position that would look to others nothing but romantic.

But it's not.

"Do you want me to show you your place?" He asked, gruffly into my neck.

That one action in particular, brought back unnecessary memories. My vision filled with flashes. Flashes of him overpowering me, me lying helplessly under his power, how weak I was.

When I tried pulling back in defiance, I couldn't. I literally couldn't. He wasn't holding me in a particularly strong grip, but as soon as I tried to pull away, it felt like there was an invisible barrier preventing me from doing so.

I willed my body to pull back, but my efforts were in vain.

My mind filled with fuzzy panic as I realized I had no control over my body. As my breathing got faster, my body started shaking. Nothing could compare to the nightmarish feeling of being trapped in your own body. With no control over it.

Kane only realized what had just happened, after he felt my body shaking against his chest. Immediately, concern filled his face, as he let go of me and stepped back.

As soon as he let go, all feelings of powerlessness left my body. I could move it again. So I moved it away from Kane.

My breathing got considerably shallower, and I started coughing violently as my body begged for more air. Kane ignored my attempts to get away from him and came even closer. I didn't even bother moving away. I was too busy panicking on the fact that I couldn't breath anymore. My mouth was open, huge gulping sounds coming out of it.

Just as the edges of my vision grew dark, I felt calming hands cradle my face. "Hey. Hey. Love, focus on me. Come on, look at me." My eyes flickered upwards as my body registered the Alpha command.

"Good." He encouraged. "Now, focus on my eyes, and take a deep breath in through your nose." Through this ordeal, I realized, my cheeks still had the audacity to function and over-exercise its ability to darken in color.

"You're blushing. Good. Your mind's coming back." He bent his head so we were level to level. "Now, breath in for me, love." Dazedly, I sucked in a large amount of air. "Now, slowly let it go, through your mouth. Do this for me, love. You can do this." He encouraged me by gently parting my lips with his fingers.

And all the breath seemed to leave me at that moment. He continued instructing me for a few more moments, until I was able to regain my breathing completely. As soon as I could breath again, I snatched myself away from him, breathing in heavily, my hands on my knees, in relief.

As soon as I felt composed, rage like no other filled me mind, my body, my heart. I felt like fire. It left me feeling like the most powerful being in the world, in that fraction of a second.

And I loved it.

"What. Was. That." I snarled, my fists clenched so tightly, it started shaking from the pressure.

"Lo-"

"Don't "love" me. What happened there!?!" I growled, keeping my eyes on him, just in case he wanted to pull anymore tricks again.

A defeated looking Kane stepped towards me as he started explaining. "It is no-" He stopped when he saw the furious glare I was giving him, and took a step back.

"Part of the reason." He breathed out. "Part of the reason behind you receiving those daily doses, is to make you more compliant, so it helps us agree with each other, which helps strengthen our mate bond."

I swallowed the urge to chock him with one of the rectangular light boxes he carried around. I knew that wasn't all. There had to me more to it.

"What else." I asked, in a strangely calm voice.

"Aside from making you more reasonable, it also increases your fertility levels, so the chances of us having more kids are higher. It also increases the success rates of all your pregnancies."

That was not something he could do without my permission. It's my body.

"It also helps so become more comfortable with me, if you could call it that. So the process of us having children, is less painful, and more pleasurable for you."

So basically it makes me more horny.
Nice.

For some reason, my mind was upset on the fact that he had lied to me, and not on the fact that he was controlling my body for his own selfish reasons .And I knew there were more purposes to the doses I get, as I noticed him hesitating.

I knew I wouldn't succeed in hitting him. So I did the only thing I really knew how to do.

I ran. And the only place I could run to? The woods.

It seriously felt like Déjà vu. Except the last time I was running through the woods, I had two wolves behind me. I didn't even bother to look back this time.

I ran until my lungs started burning, and my legs screamed in pain. I noticed there were no sounds of advancing footsteps, so I fell down in a heap.

Running was so much harder when you're carrying two smaller versions of yourself. My stomach hurt, my feet were bruised from running with no shoes, and I had a pounding headache.

At least he left me alone for a while.

He must've known that I had no chance on going anywhere, as this forest looked pretty deep. A haunting howl filled the forest just as I stood up, cradling my stomach. My arms filled with goosebumps upon hearing the sound.

I knew that hearing howls so close to you meant danger, but I couldn't help but walk towards the sound. As I grew closer, the howl sounded so much more painful. Like the wolf was mourning for something.

I pushed branches and trudged through the thick leaf covered mud, until I reached a lake that seemed to stretch far on both sides.

Right across the lake, was a large grey wolf, it's nuzzle pointed high into the air, howling for the third time that night. The howl ended as the wolf slowly brought its head down.

Just as it started lifting its head up again, it froze. I could clearly see it's eyes despite the distance; they were of the lightest shade of blue, bordering white. It's dark brown fur shined under the glowing moonlight as the wind carried its scent across the river.

It looks like a wolf of status.

It held itself with a regality that I had seen no wolf have ever before, with its stance wide, ready for any kind of unsuspecting attack. It's huge ears were perked up high, waiting to pick up on sounds of danger. And it's eyes were wide and focused, concentrated on my every move.

I stepped forward in a trance, and the shadows fell away, replaced with light which revealed my bulging stomach.

Almost immediately, it's attention snapped to it, as a bone chilling growl tore out of its mouth, covering up all of the beauty I had just seen earlier.

Not even a second later, it leaped across the river onto a large boulder sticking out, amidst the flowing water. My whole body froze, as I watched its powerful body jump once more, landing gracefully on the river bank.

Just a meter away.

It's growls grew progressively louder as it walked closer and closer to my fear paralyzed body. With a final growl, it pounced, cutting through the air with terrifying speed.

Just as I opened my mouth to scream, a large black figure flew at it from the side, throwing them both off balance.

I watched, wide mouthed as the two wolves rolled across the ground roughly, from the impact.

Finally, the black wolf seemingly had had enough, as it stopped their rolling, and pinned the brown wolf down with it's jaws clenched tightly around it's jugular.

But the brown wolf did not want to go down with out a fight. Readying itself, the brown wolf reared it's hind legs and threw a powerful kick, that had it's opponent flying across, with a painful yelp and directly towards a tree.

Dirt and sand filled my lungs, causing me to cough uncontrollably. I clenched my eyes shut as I heard the result of the impact, followed by a few broken whimpers and cries. Slowly, I inched my eyes open, to see a crumpled wolf at the bottom of a nearby tree, and the brown wolf steadily approaching me.

I seemed to have finally gained control of my body, as I cautiously stepped back into the tree behind me, hoping I would camouflage enough. The wolf eyed me with a weird look on its face as I pressed myself further against the rough bark.

Slowly, I rose my arms so that it would resemble the branches, which I declared would help me in camouflaging better as a tree. The wolf stopped its movement, regarding me cautiously, with a pinch of curiosity as it's head was tilted slightly to the left.

The camouflage's working! Though it's not in the way I wanted it to, it's working, alright.

The wolf seemed to realize my intentions, as it growled lowly. My branches were shaking, it's imaginary leaves falling, as a struggled to remain frozen.

Suddenly, with no warning, it fell face down, as the black wolf tore off a piece of it's hind leg and flung it away.

I had my mouth covered tightly, pushing down to urge to retch out my lunch as the piece landed next to my foot.

Growls and cries filled the air as the two wolves fought ferociously, not one of them backing up or surrendering. The brown wolf finally managed to find a weak spot, as it sliced open the flank of the black wolf.

Neither of them stopped, even when their blood stained the muddy ground. My hands now covered my ears instead, blocking away the violent sounds of flesh tearing and bones breaking.

In what seemed like a final move, the brown wolf pinned the other, like it was pinned earlier, with it's jaws just inches short from death. Just a small squeeze and the black wolf would be done.

Oddly, I felt a strange sense of protectiveness for the black wolf. The guilt of doing nothing gnawed at my brain, and pained my heart.

As I watched it struggle, my courage grew, as did the heat in my hands, all topped up by boiling fury. With a shout, and an unexpected trip, I ran as fast as I could with my heavily pregnant self and slapped my palms on smooth brown fur.

It didn't take more than a second for the wolf to register the skin burning heat, as it immediately released it's death grip and stumbled backwards, yowling mixed with the smell of burnt fur.

I stayed a good distance away, fearing the wolf would attack back. A cold blast of wind interrupted the momentary period of silence, as I wrapped my self tightly with my arms.

To my utmost horror, the brown wolf, ignorant of the injuries inflicted on it's body, ran at full speed at the recovering black wolf, throwing it completely off balance.

The brown wolf quickly held both of his enemy's front limbs down, and roughly pushed downwards. A sickening crack filled the air as I watched both limbs snap clean in half, bones clearly seen as they protruded out of broken skin.

The black wolf whined and cried in agony, writhing on the floor, covered in its own blood, as sobs wrecked my body. I blubbered as I noticed the brown wolf finally getting a clear chance at attacking me.

Not even a second later, I felt my back harshly meeting the rocky ground, as the wolf pounced on me. I clenched my eyes shut, as I felt it's hot breath fan across my face, it's drool slowly dripping down on my chest.

I flinched as I felt it's nose on my neck, soft puffs of air coming out, as it sniffed the tender skin around my mark.

Slowly, I opened my eyes, to come face to face with an extended claw, right in front of my face. I screamed and struggled with all my might, as I noticed it coming closer. I shut up as soon as I heard it's chest vibrating with a terrifying growl.

The cold atmosphere chilled my eyes, as my tears slowly cooled against my heated skin. I held my breath as the claw went out of my range of vision, and right towards my mark.

A huge amount of air left through my cracked lips, as I felt the pointed tips, slowly tear through the mark, each inch causing more of a blazing hot pain than the next. My mouth opened in a silent scream, my eyes bulging, as the pain intensified.

Blood flowed steadily out of the long wound, flowing across my shoulder, and into the ground, mixing with the evidence of the fight that still remained.

I gasped and struggled for breath, as my nose blocked up from crying. The fear that accompanied it just worsened my state. Slowly, I brought my eyes up, to meet the wolf's. A strangled sob floated out of my throat, as I noticed it's eyes steadily watching mine.

My breath hitched as I felt it's claws slowly retract from the wound on my neck, dripping with thick blood. I watched it cautiously, as it moved down my pain wrecked body, and observed my bulging midsection.

For a few painstakingly slow moments, it inspected the region, sniffing it thoroughly, and without a second thought, plunged it's claws deeply into the flesh.

I had never yelled so loudly in my life, my broken screams and cries drowned out by the helpless whines of the black wolf nearby.

I watched, through haze filled eyes, as the wolf ripped it's claws out of my body with a squelch and turned away, as it heard the fast approaching sounds of the pack defense.

The sounds of cracking and tearing filled my ears, as the wolf shifted, revealing it's bare body.

"Who. Are you?" I croaked out, breathing dangerously shallow, as each inhale brought a whole new level of pain.

The tall figure tensed in surprise, before turning around, revealing feminine curves and a small face, surrounded by long, flowing hair.

"Call me Reya, bitch." She smirked and wiggled her fingers in goodbye, as she sashayed shamelessly out of my view, just as shouts of anger filled my drowsy brain, and my world turned black.

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Phew! Ok, wow. It's like the chapters just keep on getting longer and longer. This one took me three days to write. I hope you enjoyed reading it, if you're still with me, that is.

I have a question for you guys. Am I the only one who loves strawberries, but hates strawberry flavored things? Because I find it weird, like where's the logic in that, right?

Anyway, thank you for reading so far, and do pat that star [#preventstarabuse] and drop a comment too, if you can.