Fated Love and War

Her Abused Mate #3, Melody

A scream escapes my lungs as I tumble out of my small cot and on to the cold stone floor. My burning eyes match the fiery sensation on my scalp from the rough tug of my hair that woke me. Once my the blur of my vision from my exhaustion cleared enough, I see two men both dressed formally and officially with badges. Both had the symbol of the wolf trade system, a small paw print with a chain circling it, but one also had a pin with the symbol of this pack, a burning leaf, while the other man had a blank silver pin of neutrality. This is always what happens when I move packs.

The man on the left with the symbol of this pack is in charge of this pack's slaves, a monitorer of sorts to make sure I'm fed and not mistreated. I've only seen him a couple times since I've been here, he is an overweight short man with greying greasy brown hair and a constant gross smile full of yellow teeth. The other man is from the pack of neutrality, basically just meant to stop wars and monitor things like territory, human contact, and of course the slave trade. I've never seen the second man before but he looks like all the other men I've seen from the neutrality pack, clean cut, middle aged, buzz cut, and dark blank beady eyes.

"You have 45 minutes to collect any and all belongings plus clean your space and then you have to be upstairs by the front door. Where you'll be checked for any mistreatments and that you only take your belongings." The man from the neutrality pack spoke like a robot, though I already knew since I've moved packs over a dozen times.

"A moment later and you'll be punished!" Barked out Mark, the slave monitor of this pack trying to sound important and looked at the other man for some type of validation but only finding the other man already leaving.

I quickly stood up once both of the men were gone and looked down at my ripped up t-shirt and shorts with holes and stains. These clothes were awful, uncomfortable and destroyed. I brushed through my hair with my small black plastic comb the best I could and placed it pulled out my clothes from my single sack sort of bag.

I had one other change of clothes I was only allowed to wear for important food servings or events the pack had that they needed me to work at. The clothes weren't beautiful or spotless, just a plain white shirt and black pair of thin pants that were a size of two too short but they were better.

I pulled off my soiled clothes that I had on and without any time put on the cleaner outfit. Then I clipped my hammock style cot from off wall and shook it out looking for the small singular item I own just for me in the entire world. The small stuffed faded brown bear about the size of my fist tumbled out of the cot. I grabbed my bear and tucked it in my back pocket as I folded up the fabric that makes up the cot. I also folded up the tattered clothes and put it all in my sack with the comb.

With only my sack in my hand, I don't even look back as, I leave the small dark and moist room. It wasn't hard to leave it behind. It wasn't home. If anything it was one of the worst parts of being here. Coming back to the dark and dirty hole in the world to shiver and cry myself to sleep covered in grime and hurting all over. And the worst part, was waking up in this room every day to do it all over again.

I run up the stairs to the front door, a large wooden door with the symbol of the pack carved on the outside part above a glass window. A minute later the men were back, Mark coughing into his hand as the other man looked through my bag before handing it to Mark, who also looked through it.

"None of these things are hers. She didn't come with any of them" Mark said, setting the bag down on the ground as the other man checked my skin for any wounds.

It was funny really, the inspection for mistreatment was only for any rotting or open cuts that would make me unuseful for the next pack. Along with a pregnancy test usually, since the only way to leave slavery is to marry or have my freedom purchased. If a slave is pregnant she has to marry the pack member who is the father but if he is already married her baby is given to the father and she remains in slavery. I used to know a girl who had her baby taken in that very same situation, she cried for days and then one day disappeared.

"Then she won't leave with it." The man said taking a step back from me and pulling out a small box from his bag.

"But she did well cleaning her area rather than leaving it everywhere in her quarters. As for you, I believe you know how to use this." He said as he handed me the box, it was a pregnancy test, my heart quickened in pace as I nodded and walked toward the bathroom down the hallway.

When I got in the small bathroom I locked the door quickly. I opened the box, I had no reason to read the instructions after taking it so many times. I trembled as I quickly did the test and set it on the counter. My hands still anxious shook as I washed my hands and opened the bathroom door to find both Mark and the other man waiting for me. So I handed the stick to man from the neutrality pack, who placed it in a baggy. He gestured for Mark and I to follow him

We all silently walked outside to a big truck. It was still early in the morning but dark grey clouds already filled the sky. Mark pulled out a dark black wrist cuff and gripped my left arm with his greasy hands. I tried not to wince to badly and stared at his yellowing finger nails as he locked the cuff on. It is a tool used to stop wolf transformation, I usually have to wear them during the travel portion of transferring packs.

Mark then put me in the back seat of the truck and got up front into the passenger side. The man from the neutrality pack got in the driver seat started driving. I watched out the window as the truck drove on the bumping dirt road toward the forest. The trees shaded the car for the little bit of sun that wasn't covered by the over cast coulds.

Within an hour I drifted off to sleep. My head leaned against the window. The warmth of the car was a welcome pleasantness compared to the cold of the den house this morning. The moving of the car soothing my body into a simple sleep.

Authors Note
Is it just me but winter is getting old, I'm ready for warmth and sunshine and swimming and grass and ugh I miss the summer! Anywho question of the chapter, whats your favorite season? Mine is fall. Don't forget to comment yours! See y'all next week for next weeks update!
~Nat