DAVINA
"Let me out, please." I whimpered, as my body sprawled on the cold floor. I knocked, kicked, and stumped the door for hours but nobody came. However, I kept hearing footsteps down the hallway, voices from the servants, and the three brothers alongside their Alpha.
Not once did I hear my mother's voice. Was she not here or was I truly nonexistent to them?
Maybe they would have a better, bigger, and happy family when I left. When I became invisible just like they wanted.
Tears pooled again in my dried-up eyes for the umpteenth time. My dress was soaked in sweat, snot, and tears and the worst that could happen was for it to be soaked with my urine.
But at that moment, I heard a creaking sound and I jumped.
"What's that?" I gasped. That sound was definitely from inside the room. Or was I hearing things? I heard the creaking sound again and my head snapped in the direction of the door, the key snapped in the lock, and in a few seconds, the door creaked open.
The dim hallway lights shone through but a figure blocked the entrance, in the way of the light. He was ever so familiar, my first crush.
"Shawn?" I gasped, wiping my eyes just to see perfectly. At that moment, he stepped into the room, hovering over me. As he looked down at me, I saw his eyes, blank ones which slowly filled with emotions. Remorse and pity.
"Please, let me out," I begged, my hands clasping together as I knelt. "I know I may not mean anything to you but I don't want to be here anymore. I just want to go home—"
"Home?" He chuckled, his voice dangerously low. "This is your new home, Davina. The moment you accepted to be that man's stepdaughter, no turning back."
"What?" I gasped, my lips shivering. Why did he speak of his father like he was some demon a person couldn't get away from?
"Don't scare me," I whispered.
He sighed and then bent down to my level. For the first time, I got to see Shawn up close. He was much more handsome, with his high nose bridge, his thin lips, and sharp eyes.
"I just wish you didn't belong to that woman, Davina. I wish you were not her daughter." He whispered as he gently tucked a strand of wet hair behind my ear.
"I wish you didn't have to come into this family."
The more he spoke, the more I got confused. He was cold to me earlier and now he looked at me with eyes that bore a deep mystery I couldn't fathom.
As his hand moved from my hair, snaking around my neck, I spoke, "Make me understand…ahh!"
I felt a slight prick in the back of my neck, and then his soft lips on my cheek, and in the next second, I lost consciousness.
______
I woke up, gasping for air, my head turned frantically around, expecting to be in that same dark room. But I woke up in a large bedroom, with fancy interiors, and on a large comfortable bed.
"Shawn?" I called out. He was the last person I had seen and he had surely taken me out of that dark room. However, he was nowhere to be seen. I didn't know where I was and it was like fire was put under my bosom as I quickly pushed myself off the bed.
I was still in the same clothes, with everything on me. I picked up my phone from my torn backpack. Who knew what evil would be done to me next? I had to get out.
My bare feet thudded on the cold floor, rushing out of the room. I ran around the house, no headway in sight only to realize the house was like a maze I couldn't escape from.
"Oh Goddess, please..." I cried, frantically looking around to see if any of those brothers would be coming my way either to bully me or talk down at me. But I saw someone different, a servant who moved silently, her head down and skin red.
"Hey!" I called out to her but she didn't answer. However, I didn't hesitate to follow her. We reached a craftily hidden stairway and before I realized what was happening, she disappeared and I was left to run down the stairs on my own.
I didn't hesitate. My goal was to get out of this hellhole I was in, especially when Shawn's words from last night kept echoing in my head.
As soon as I got to the foot of the stairs, I realized I was in the living area, greeted with a scene of the three brothers lined up before their father who sat on the couch. His legs were crossed and his back turned to me.
I could see the grave expressions on the brothers' faces. Fear that couldn't be hidden.
"Tell me, how did Davina disappear yesterday only to be found in her room this morning?" His Alpha voice echoed in the room and I saw the mental torture written all over the boys' faces. They were being compelled to speak the truth but they resisted.
"We found her this morning and we brought her in," Ethan spoke up first as he had overcome the compulsion. "She must have wandered off, after refusing to come with us—"
"That's a lie!" I yelled and immediately, their heads snapped in my direction. A torrent of anger flowed through me when I heard the lies that spilled out of his mouth.
"You…" I pointed at him shakily as I recalled the grueling hours I spent in that dark room. I turned to look at the Alpha, "He locked me up yesterday in a dark dingy room and I was only taken out by Shawn hours later."
The outburst and confidence came from deep within my soul. Just what did I do for them to bully me? I couldn't keep quiet.
"Is that so?" The Alpha raised his brows, a dark look in his eyes. I nodded, confirming my words.
"They are bad boys, aren't they? Shouldn't we punish them?" He asked with an eerie smile on his face. I parted my lips, feeling very uneasy about his words. How was he going to punish them?
"I don't think that's necessary. I just don't like lies—"
My words were cut short in my throat when the Alpha suddenly stood up. He had a rod lying on the couch all along and I never noticed. My hands trembled in fear as he watched the boys and I slowly realized what he was going to do with that.
"Watch how liars get punished in my house, Davina." He walked around, going to stand behind them.
In the next second, a jarring sound of a thick rod slamming into thick flesh echoed in the room.
Bang!
The three boys all had red marks on their backs as their knees collided with the floor and then their body bent forward. The sounds and sight sent chills down my body and I took a step back, almost tripping over.
The Alpha didn't stop there as he struck the rod again, against their backs.
"Hmm…" Grunts of pain resounded from the boys. I watched them, horror shining in my eyes as they looked back at me with hardened gazes.
Ethan looked at me as if he was going to chop me in half.
Shawn stared at me, silently telling me he warned me.
And Uriel was all smiles, but his smile didn't reach his blank eyes at all.
"That's enough for today." The Alpha dropped the rod in his hand, already stained with blood. Immediately, a few servants trooped in and carried the rod away without saying a word.
Had they not seen the abuse that had just happened now?
"You three are going to oversee this Pack in the future. How can you do that when you can't protect your little sister?" He snarled at the boys but Ethan had a defiant look in his eyes.
"She is not our sister! She can never be!" He yelled, in his father's face, shooting up to challenge him. However, Shawn quickly dragged him back.
"We will see to it that she is welcomed here." He said, pushing Ethan behind him while facing the Alpha. A slight smile shone on the Alpha's face as he silently commended Shawn.
"You learn well, Shawn. Now, run along." He waved his hands at his sons, dismissing them.
I was still rooted to my spot when they all walked past me, their backs dripping with blood and torn skin that was starting to heal. Their jaws locked as they suppressed their pain. I turned to the Alpha, a build-up of words and emotions inside me. I immediately wanted to express my dissatisfaction with him.
But then, I stopped as his eyes fixed on me dangerously. My legs moved, running back up the stairs with my hands clawing the railing.
I brought out my phone and quickly dialed my mother's number. I didn't want to be here anymore.
One ring…two rings, the call connected.
"Mum…" I cried, my voice shaky. "Where are you? Come take me away, please."
"The Alpha…the Alpha is a monster… I can't…"
"Nah, sweetie." My mother's sweet voice resounded on the phone. "He is just being a father. A disciplinarian…"
I gasped, my eyes darting suspiciously, "You knew? The Alpha is abusing his sons."
"Of course. He is your father now. He can do what he wants to you too."
"No, that's not fair—"
Beep!
The call ended before I could protest further.
"Are you looking for your mother?" The monster's voice echoed and I jumped, my back hit the floor while my phone flew out of my hands.