Obey.

27

"I wish you didn't have to go," Cayden spoke as I rolled out of his bed. We slept on the sofa together all weekend, staying awake as long as we could, enjoying each others company, knowing it would end soon, but last night I suggested we sleep in his bed this time, feeling bad at the awkward position he was always forced to sleep in. After that first half kiss, we haven't tried again, more so because he was holding himself back, I could tell he wanted me to make a move first, which made me feel even more relaxed around him. He wouldn't push me and force me, it was all up to me. He was unknowingly giving me my power back.

I let out a long sigh, "I don't want to either. But if I don't go, he'll come for me," the deadness in my voice even made me flinch, so different from how it had sounded to my ears all weekend.

"You aren't a possession Hayley, just remember that ok?"

I rolled my eyes with my back turned to him. Yeah sure I wasn't. "I'm going to leave my stuff here ok?" I moved to his side of the bed, sitting down slowly. he was sitting up on his elbows, watching me. I bent down and planted a butterfly kiss on his lips, soft, barley there, before I was up and out the door.

🐺

Back at the mansion, scrubbing my skin raw, suddenly all the fear and despair washed over me, this place feeling as eerie as a haunted house. The evil impressions on it just too deep.

The imprint of what's been done here, haunting the room. Squeezing my eyes, I tried to hold the panic attack rising inside of me. Spending the weekend with Cayden was the most foolish act I could have done to myself. It was comfortable, safe and I laughed every single day, smiling almost non stop.

But Hunter's parent's would be gone, not to return for months, maybe another year as long as there isn't anymore missing kids or emergencies, which Hunter would do his best to make sure doesn't happen, hating when his parents were home.

And that meant no more sleepovers at Cayden's. I would be under literal lock and key. Cayden and I had even ran around in the middle of the night for a couple hours as wolves, it was freeing and lovely.

Gasping, I realized that wouldn't be the case. I wouldn't be able to shift into a wolf for a few minutes much less hours. I should have spent all weekend as a wolf dammit.

Black dots danced across my vision as my chest felt tight. Sliding down the tiled shower wall, barley feeling the hot drops of water splashing all over me, I let out a low whine.

The beatings, the drugs and alcohol to numb the pain, the forced sex, the forced happiness I would have to display at school... it was hitting me hard like a freight train. My hand shook as I covered my mouth to scream into it, afraid Hunter would be home any minute.

I knew well that life wasn't fair and it was useless to rant about it but, I couldn't stop repeating inside my head.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

Knowing I didn't have long to dwell, I stood up and got out the shower, wrapping my white robe around me and my hair up before going out the room in the same style walk one would approach a firing squad. My heart was beating all over the place as I peeped out to see if he had returned.

The room was as silent and empty as I had left it. The silence used to comfort me but suddenly it felt deafening. Grabbing the remote, I switched on the tv for background noise.

Before I could walk back to my closet, the bedroom door was opening and Hunter was barreling through. He had wild eyes as his gaze found mine, I could see bruises starting to form on his face, his shirt looked wrinkled and his whole body seemed to be vibrating.

"Hayley," he whispered it like a prayer as he strode forward. Flinching, I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing he had found out about my time with Cayden.

He must have and is going to beat-

But to my shock he was throwing himself into my arms, laying his head on my small shoulder, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Hayley," he sobbed softly, gripping me tighter.

Ah, I knew now what had happened. His dad had a temper same as his son. In the beginning, when I first got with Hunter, I had felt so bad for him. Not only did his parent's leave him for months on in and with a big responsibility of taking care of the pack, but his dad beat the shit out of him for any minor issue he had.

"Shh, shh. It's going to be ok, they are gone now," I spoke softly, afraid of saying the wrong thing as I stroked his back, feeling him tense under my touch, knowing most likely there were brusies there too. But unlike me, he could shift and heal when he wanted, so I knew this beating was very recent. His dad's parting gift.

It wasn't fair, I had no one to turn to, to comfort me after Hunter beat on me. I just couldn't understand how someone who understood how it felt to be beat down and degraded would turn around and do it to someone else.

I couldn't sympathize, don't see me going around physically hurting people. Made no sense. Hunter had to be a special kind of heartless bastard.

And I was sick of it. Sick of him.

"I need you Hayley, I need you," Hunter started kissing sloppily up my neck and I froze.

"Hunter..." I wanted to say no, I didn't want his kisses, his touches like that, but feared his gentle touches would turn violent.

So I allowed him to disrobe me and I allowed him to walk me to the bed, holding back tears threatening to spill as he kept kissing me, hearing him unzip his pants, I started to shake, but he didn't notice.

The quick kiss I shared with Cayden felt like a lifetime ago already as he pushed against my shoulders, and crawled on top of me naked after I laid back.

All I could do was shut down and allow him to cry and kiss me and slip inside as I stared at the large bruise on his shoulder.

I've been in Hunter's presence five minutes and already I'm forced to submit. It felt like a foreshadowing for the long week to come. Tomorrow his sorrow would turn to anger. And I was his personal punching bag.