A Runt Luna
Chapter 3

"Sure." Rory nodded. "Now, I better get my things done. Thank you for your help." She spoke, quickly leaving Georgia.

Returning back to the dinning room, she quickly gathered towels to clean up the mess of water and moved along to the next item on her list.

Working in the kitchen was never a fun task, she liked to cook but never was able to due to the other females taking over. The other women always ignored her giving her the smallest tasks, where they could push her into the corner of the kitchen and not have to be bothered by her. Today they were gracious enough to let her peel all of the potatoes, using a little paring knife for 45 potatoes. It was a task that was going to take her forever, but that's exactly what the others wanted. Knowing better than to complain she grabbed the pot, cutting board and the tiny knife before making her way to the other side of the room.

It took her nearly two and a half hours to peel them all and get them into a pot to be boiled.

"We will take it from here." Angel said a sneer on her face. Her name didn't represent her personality; if it had, she would have to change it to Devil. The girl was only a couple years older than Aurora and was one of the she-wolves that tried to get into the Alpha's bed every night. Unlike the other she-wolves, Angel was the most successful. It made her feel like she should act like she was the Luna and order everyone about; and they let her.

Aurora didn't respond but gave her a nod, she had wanted to get out of there any way. She wanted to run; her paw was healed enough that she could go searching for a few hours.

Feeling giddy, she walked into the woods and started to strip her clothes, tucking them away in a tree. With a smile on her face, she shifted and felt the warmth and happiness wash over her as she started to run. She quickly came across to the river, pausing to take a drink. Her bright green eyes sparkled as she looked at her reflection taking in her fox. Having no friends, and spent a lot of time by herself, she was a lot more in touch with her inner canine, than some of the others.

Her nose twitches as she quickly make sure she was alone, scanning her surroundings for a nice place to lay. Due to being chased and hunted in the past she learned that it was best to seek higher ground, rather than make a fox hole where she could be easily attacked. She may have been in a wolf pack but they hadn't discovered the art of agility to climb the trees. The cool breeze ran through her fur, causing her to calm down, which allowed her to rest peacefully.

It had only been a few hours and she wanted to stay in her tree for longer amount of time, but Alpha Darren had called for her. She ran back to the tree she stuffed her clothes in, only to discover that they were missing. Figuring something like this was bound to happen, she had already placed an extra pair in a tree just a few yards away. Quickly shifting she pulled on her clothes. Alpha didn't like to wait, and she was wasting time.

Running into the house, she quickly ran into his study, where her Alpha was sitting.

"You're late." He accused, sitting behind his desk looking annoyed.

"I'm sorry Alpha..." She whispered looking down to her toes.

"I heard that you left your duties earlier." He stated, "Is this true?"

He already knew the answer but he wanted to hear it from her lips.

"Yes, sir." She nodded.

"What was the reasoning?"

"I don't have one, sir." She didn't tell him that Alec had tried to drown her, Darren wouldn't care. In fact, he probably already knew what had happened, and if he didn't he'd probably congratulate Alec for coming up with a new way to mess with her.

"Very well. You know the punishment."

Aurora couldn't help but gulp. She knew it was coming but nothing could prepare her for it.

"Let's go." He demanded, his eyes harsh. He took her from his study, which was on the second floor and lead her throughout the house, as if on display, all the way to the basement. The old rickety stairs wobbled under her weight. The basement was dark and cold, the perfect place to hold prisoners or misbehaving runts.

She knelt on the floor her back to him. Not being able to see him made everything

worse.

"Hands." He spoke. She let him do what he needed, knowing that it was no use to fighting him. If anything, it would make the punishment ten times worse.

He moved her hands to the chain that dangled from the ceiling, with practiced ease, quickly snapping her ankles into the straps on the floor. The chain was just long enough to have her on her knees, her arms up in the air at an odd angle and unable to move her legs.

"How many times are we going to have to do this, before you learn." Darren took ahold of her shirt and tore it off her body leaving her in her bra. Unsatisfied with the height she was at, he adjusted the chains, so that she was pulled up even more, her knees just hovering on the ground.

Try as she might, she wasn't able to hold back the whimper that escaped from her lips. Her shoulders cried out in pain, the cuffs cutting into both her wrist and her ankles. Her inner beast was annoyed at the position she was in. She knew she had no power over her punishment, but to not be able to see him before he struck

was even worse.

She heard him unbuckle his belt and knew that it was going to be his method of punishment for the night. The belt was worse than the whip, especially when he hit her with the buckle.

"Count." He instructed before raising his hand.

Crack.

The blow on her back stung, and she bit into her lip to avoid crying out. "One." She whispered.

Crack.

"Two."

Crack.

It took forever but she knew she was nearing the end of her punishment.

Crack.

"Nineteen." She cried out with a whimper. Blood was spitting from her mouth as she spoke. At some point between ten and twelve she had bit through her lip, causing the blood to start pouring into her mouth, down her chin. The cuffs had torn into her skin as she squirmed. She could feel the wetness, running down her arms and to her elbows, dripping onto the floor. She was a mess.