Chasing The Rejected Mate

As Lunaire awoke from a terrible nightmare, a bone-chilling pain shot through her body. Streaks of tears escaped her eyes as she winced from the wave of agony and shrunk to her side, clutching her stomach.

It was nothing new for her to wake up sore from head to toe. Lunaire had been living her life in this manner since the day her parents died. Her skin had bruises and wounds from being treated like a rag, beaten and worn out by people who should have loved her.

Lunaire squirmed when a little ray of sunlight hit her eyes. She glanced over the clock, and fear drummed her heart wildly when she saw the time. It was a few minutes past six in the morning, and she should have been up an hour before.

The poor girl quickly got up despite her body's defiance, heading to the bathroom to wash up. Heart-wrenching sobs escaped her mouth with each step as it doubled the pain ripping her body apart.

Her suffering didn't end even when she got into the showers. The cold water raining on her skin felt like fires burning her insides.

Tortured screams attempted to break out of her chest, but she desperately held it in and endured.

It was already way more than enough pain that she could handle. If she pissed someone off with her screams, Lunaire feared today might be her last day breathing.

Washing up didn't take her long. After fixing herself up, she immediately went down and prepped breakfast for their whole pack.

Bustling in the kitchen alone, Lunaire went through batches of pancakes, eggs, and slices of bacon. Lay plates after plates at the dining table until members of the Black Rose pack started filling the dining room.

They took their places around the table and began their usual clamor, ignoring her existence like every day for years. With Lunaire sitting at the lowest end of the caste system, it wasn't strange for them to feel repulsed by her.

She could only sigh, knowing it was better than having them knock her down at every tiny thing she did.

Of course, someone would always be thrilled to see her suffer and look pathetic. And they wouldn't hesitate to mess with her.

Lunaire was wrapping up her work, pouring water on their glasses, when she heard someone mutter.

"Bitch."

Then suddenly, her foot stumbled over something, and she crashed to the floor in a swoop. A burst of scornful laughter erupted in the dining room as they feasted on her torment.

She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Bawling her eyes out in here was pointless. It would only invite her to more torture than she could bear.

Lunaire's heart grieved as she looked up at her bullies.

"What are you looking at bitch?" Bella, the slut of their pack, sneered.

Lunaire flinched, looking away, and hurriedly picked up the shards of a broken glass pitcher.

Right then, the door to the dining room slammed open, and their laughter died down.

She didn't have to look at who had arrived to know who they were. Her body instantly shuddered as she felt the presence of her biggest tormentors, her four brothers, Darius, Dustin, Xavier, and Lucas.

Her hands trembled as she continued to clean up, hoping they wouldn't notice her. But life had never been so kind. Sometimes, Lunaire wondered if she was born only to suffer in this hell.

When her four brothers took their seats, their eldest, Darius, slammed his hand mad on the table.

"Where's my food slave?" Darius snarled.

Lunaire timidly got up with all the shards at hand and bowed at her brother. She rushed back to the kitchen and quickly picked up their plates after throwing the broken pitcher in the garbage.

Her four brothers liked their food served fresh. They hated it if she put their food out long before they dined. The last time Lunaire made such a mistake, she almost died from their beating.

Since then, she had been careful. However, her brothers were talented at making excuses to torture her. Lunaire dreaded what would happen now that she made them wait for breakfast. If only no one had tripped her over.

When she came back, her body trembled instantly under their gaze. Lunaire had received far too much trauma to her body that trembling became her first reaction to everything.

She carefully laid their plates before them when a burning sensation began to rip her scalp off.

Lunaire screamed as Xavier harshly pulled her hair and made her look at his plate.

"Look at this, you fucking bitch, what did I tell you about my breakfast? Didn't I tell you I don't want these fucking pancakes for breakfast?!" he growled.

"I-I'm s-sorry," she stuttered between sobs.

"What's it, mutt? I didn't hear you!" Xavier snarled, yanking her head back.

"I'm sorry," Lunaire cried louder.

Xavier's grimace worsened, and he landed a brutal punch to her gut.

"You, being sorry, ain't gonna make up for ruining my morning!" he barked, throwing her across the floor.

Silence swept through the dining room at his outburst, with Lunaire wheezing as she crawled away, shaking like a weak leaf.

"Get the fuck out of here! I'll deal with you later!" Xavier yelled again and soccered her sides.

Lunaire whimpered, knowing the hit she took right now was only the beginning. She slowly got up and headed out as fast as possible.

"Out!" Xavier yelled again before she got out.

Sensing him coming near, she scampered away and dashed to her room, locking the door behind her. Her legs gave out as soon as she felt safe and slid down against the door.

Her suppressed cry finally escaped from her chest. She sobbed, hiding her face between her knees, crying out for a savior that may not come.

"Mum, Dad...I missed you. I missed you so much," Lunaire cried.

The next thing she knew, someone's loud banging on her door woke her up. The poor girl's soul was so tired that she didn't even know when she had fallen asleep.

"Open the fucking door, slut!" Dustin yelled and banged her door again.

Lunaire crawled away from the door, petrified.

"Don't wait for me to fucking tear this goddamn door down!" Dustin's menacingly roared.

Her eyes widened in horror. She didn't know what to do. She was scared to open the door, knowing her brothers would beat her to death. That end wouldn't be different even if they broke her door down.

"Little bitch!" Dustin growled, daunting her.

Lunaire frantically got up and unlocked the door, and soon as her brothers heard it click, they slammed it open. She got thrown off balance upon impact and fell to the floor.

Dustin before her with bloodshot red eyes, seething with anger. His straight lips lifted into an evil smirk, making her shudder.

He then grabbed her hair, making her scream as he dragged her downstairs to the basement.

"P-please D-Dustin...p-please let m-me g-go." Her voice broke as she profusely begged between her cries. But he only laughed and threw her across the cold, stone floor.

Lunaire wailed from the pain. She bled badly after scraping most of her skin from that throw.

She looked up to her four brothers hoping for a sliver of mercy, but their eyes had nothing but disgust, anger, and loathing.

Lunaire froze, stricken with terror. This situation was nothing new. She had those kinds of faces multiple times, but it still got her shock and hurt every time.

Her brothers would hit her as their punching bag for entertainment. They were the artists behind the bruises and scars all over her body and heart.

"I'm feeling very bored today, so thought why not take my boredom out on you, little sister," Xavier smirked.

Lunaire clasped her hands together like a prayer and pleaded to her brothers.

"P-please....p-please, d-don't d-do t-this," she cried but got laughed at, except by the serious and cold one among her brothers, Darius.

Then, Lucas's eyes glowed yellow at the drop of a hat, and he lunged at her. He swung her fist to her face, hitting her jaw and cheek with another.

A sharp pain busted her sensors, making her cry even more. He yanked his hair and dealt her another punch, making her nose bleed. Lunaire shrieked, begging him to stop but only riled her brothers up, and then Dustin and Xavier joined in.

Her tortured screams echoed in the basement until nightfall as they beat and hit their little sister mercilessly. The three only stopped when her voice dwindled into groans.

"Enough. Let's get to the fun part," Darius sneered coldly.

Xavier and Dustin dragged Lunaire away and forced her to stand up. Blood dripped at her smashed face with her eyes gazing across the river Styx. Lunaire tried hard to stay awake, but her consciousness slowly faded.

They tied both her hands and hanged her lifeless body from the ceiling. Her sleeping senses soon awakened when a stiff whip cut through the air and landed on her back.

"Ahh!" Lunaire howled as the whip continuously shredded her back.

"Ahh! P-Please...stop...brother, stop, please!" Lunaire kept on pleading between her screams, but Darius didn't stop.

"Mom... Dad, save me!" she bawled.

Her brothers were monsters who treated her like an animal. They bear no empathy despite her lying at the doorsteps of death.

"How dare you speak of their name, you fucking bitch!" Darius growled. His voice roared in the basement, sending shivers even to his other brothers.

"They died because of you, you fucking murderer! You took our parents away from us!" he yelled, making her lose breath from the suffocating pain inflicted by his consecutive whipping.

Slowly, the darkness was taking her away. Her brother's wrathful words gradually became inaudible. Her vocal cords had been tired from screaming that her cries sounded like croaks.

"Stop, leave her. That's enough for today." She heard someone say.

She couldn't see who it was, but she felt glad this nightmare was about to stop.

Lunaire felt the ropes suspending her getting cut, and she fell heavily to the ground. It might not seem like it, but she breathed a sigh of relief hearing them leave.

However, before she heard the door shut, Xavier left her with dagger-like words and dealt her tonight's final blow.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you this. Happy Birthday, Slut," he said and laughed off, slamming the door shut on his way out.

Lunaire whimpered in the darkness, lying like a corpse on a cold stone floor.

'I should have died that night instead of our parents,' her soul lamented.