Heartless Angels

Chapter 2 – Oakley

Chapter 2 – Oakley

3 months later…

A pounding on my door rouses me from the listless half sleep that I’m in. I rub my eyes, trying to figure out what time it is. I

don’t know why I still do that. It’s not like time matters anymore. Not in this half-life that I live in.

When I rejected Levi, I had fully expected that he would have accepted the rejection and that the resounding pain and

ripping away of the other half of my soul would have killed my wolf right then and there. Instead, he rejected my rejection and beat me within an inch of my life before leaving me in the forest for dead.

I have no idea what he told the rest of the pack, but he told my brothers exactly what had happened. And to my great

astonishment, my brother’s took Levi’s side.

“You’re just like our mother. Running away from your responsibilities. Can’t you see this is what’s best for the pack?” James hissed when he and Jack found me in the woods. They had picked me up and carried me to the cabin, hiding me there from the

rest of the pack so they wouldn’t see what their alpha had done. For he was no longer an alpha I claimed.

“Selfish little bi tch, aren’t you?” Jack says, staring at me coldly as James roughly washes the blood off of my face. “I can’t believe that you’re fated to an alpha. Don’t you understand how f u cking lucky you are? How even your status as a breeder could

help our family? We wouldn’t be regulated to some outpost at the edge of the territory We’re there because of you Because

the entire pack shuns your weakness. You take this deal and we could come live in the heart of the territory James and I could

rise in rank at record speeds. Father could stop putting himself in such dangerous positions to get enough money to pay for worthless, wolfless bit ch like you!”

I can’t believe that these are my brothers speaking to me. They have always been so kind to me. Maybe not necessarily lovey dovey, but what brother was? Not any of them that I knew. Now they’re saying these awful things to me and I don’t know how to deal with it. I’d always loved my brothers and looked up to them. Seems they see me as nothing but a means to an end.

Had I been in any condition to care for myself at that point, I would have. As it was, I had several broken bones, including two ribs and a dislocated jaw, and bruises, cuts, and scrapes all over the place. As loath as they were to do it, my brothers ended up having to call for the pack doctor.

I don’t know what they told the doctor about how I got the injuries that I did, but he didn’t ask me any questions and fixed me

up so that I was at least not in pain and could sleep.

The next day when my father arrived, the twins told him some convoluted story that was a mixture of truth, their perception, and lies. He knew that I had rejected Levi, but he thought it was because I had seen him with his girlfriend and, like a typical, Jealous teenager, I had thrown a hissy fit. I’d gotten into a fight with Brittany and she, as the daughter of an alpha, had beaten the sh it out of me. Levi, though, the saint that he is, had still been willing to take me as a mate, but I had rejected him out of spite. It had killed my wolf.

Levi hadn’t rejected me, afraid to cause me even more pain, so there was still a connection between us, which Levi greatly cherished. He was hoping to change my mind after I had healed some.

Excuse me while I hurl.

We’ve stayed at the cabin within sight of the packhouse since then. As I couldn’t get out of bed, I was excused from the alpha ceremony and the loyalty binding, but I heard that it was a beautiful affair. Even more beautiful was when Levi announced his engagement to Brittany and his hope that our two packs would grow and thrive together for many years to come.

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Chapter 2 Oakley

Jack made sure to tell me how stunning Brittany looked in her red gown, the color of her home pack, and how Levi had

doted on her throughout the entire ceremony. “You could have that for yourself. All you have to do is accept his offer. It won’t

be unheard of. Many alphas have done it throughout history.”

In my head, I think “Yeah, those alphas were some of the most tyrannical and cruel in our history, using their true mates to

produce pups until they literally died of exhaustion. But I don’t give him the satisfaction of an answer.

I haven’t spoken a word since my father came to see me lying in my bed in the cabin and wouldn’t listen to my explanation.

No, he believed his sons and his alpha. Why would he believe his powerless daughter?

So when the pounding woke me from my sleep, I didn’t bother speaking. What was the use?

“Open the door, Oakley, James calls to me.

I just roll over and face the wall, trying to find a comfortable position to fall back to sleep in. It’s not like the door was locked. They’d busted the kn ob the one time that I had locked it. They still had hope that I would take back my rejection and

take Levi up on his offer. And to do that, I had to eat. I had to retain whatever humanlike strength that I had and heal from the

beating that Levi had given me.

As it was, my ribs and jaw were healed, as were my bruises, cuts, and scrapes. I still had a cast on my left wrist, but it was a removable kind, only to be worn when I slept so that I wouldn’t hurt it if I rolled over Yay! Read the thick sarcasm in that one

word

I don’t bother responding to my jailer…I mean brother. It’s not like what I want matters anyway

He pushes the door open and the smell of food hits me. How is it possible to be starving and nauseous at the same time?

My b*dy craves the nutrition that he’s bringing me, but I know that the second I finish eating, it will force the majority of it into the toilet. The pack doctor says that it’s depression and the after effects of the rejection What he doesn’t know is that it only

happens when I feel Brittany and Levi f ucking. And with the regularity of their S**, it’s a wonder that Levi gets any work done as

an alpha

How do I know that they are f ucking? My ever-so-loving mate made sure that he took her in the woods right under my window one night during a pack run. Wasn’t hard to put two and two together when every moan that she gave was accompanied by a twist in my gut that almost made me pass out.

No one knows of that particular pain, except maybe Levi. I made sure that I muf fled my screams in my pillow and, since I’m not talking, no one heard from me that it was happening.

“Oakley,” James’s voice calls. It’s soft and concerned. Ha! That’s funny. Now he’s concerned. “Oakley, you’ve gotta get up. sis. I’ve brought your favorite oatmeal. Please sit up and eat.”

I sit up as quickly as I can, putting my back to the wall to help support myself. Not because of James’s begging, but because Jack’s scent enters the room. I don’t have to look up to know that he’s standing in the doorway. Jack is the worst of the twins. He will stuff the food down my throat if I don’t eat it. I know because I had tried to starve myself at first. That didn’t last

long.

I don’t look at either of my biological siblings, but hold my hands out for the tray that is in James’s hands.

“I’ll help – “James starts, but I vehemently shake my head and thrust my hands out to him again. He sighs and places the tray in my hands. From my lack of exercise and inability to keep my food down, my b*dy is even weaker than normal and I nearly drop the tray.

I somehow manage to save it, but I spill some of the orange juice that was in the glass on the tray. Oh, well. Not the worst thing hat buld happen. No, according to my brothers, the worst thing that could happen is me rejecting their alpha..

Chapter 2 – Oakley

Both James and Jack watch me choke down several bites of the overly sweet oatmeal before either of them speak. Again, I don’t look at them, just at the food in front of me, wondering how much I’ll have to eat before they’ll leave me alone and I can go back to sleep.

“Levi and Brittany will be coming by today. Brittany doesn’t know that you are Levi’s mate. She thinks that you are a rejected wolf and she wants to come and help. Apparently her Goddess-gift is some healing power… Jack says.

I freeze my movements at the mention of Levi’s name, but move back to the mechanical movements of bringing my spoon from the bowl, up to my mouth, and back down again. It really doesn’t matter who comes to visit me. It won’t be the first time that Levi has been here since I’ve refused to come out of my room. He’ll stay for a few minutes, remind me of his offer, call me a pathetic excuse of a wolf, and then leave.

It’s all so tiresome.

When I don’t respond, Jack continues speaking. “They are coming here to hopefully ease some of your pain and to move

you into the pack house.”

My eyes shoot to Jack’s, the spoon falling into the nearly full bowl of oatmeal, sending it all over my shirt and the blanket.

James speaks up this time. “Brittany thinks that you will need more than just one dose of her healing abilities based on

how we’ve told her you’ve been affected by the rejection”

If I wasn’t so incredibly angry and scared about what they were saying, I would laugh out loud. How much I’d been affected?

Yeah, you could say that. The depression and apathy that have set in after everything that happened with Levi and my family

has made my toned and slender frame nearly skeletal. My cheeks are sunken, eyes hollow, and you can see the outline of nearly

every one of my ribs beneath my shirt. My long blonde hair is dull and stringy and my outgoing and joyous personality is gone. I

can’t even feel the minimal rubbings of fur that I used to have in my head from my wolf I’m a shell of the she-wolf that I was

before, not just because of my mate’s rejection of me in everything but words, but also the mistreatment and hate-fueled

actions of my family.

I had thought that Levi would finally be done with me when he sees how poorly I’m dealing with everything and he would reject me and be done with it. Apparently my would-be mate is a lot more of a sa dist than I took him for

I still don’t speak, but I know the twins can tell by my reaction and the glares that are laser-pointed at them exactly how i

feel about that.

James, at least, has the grace to look embarrassed, squirming in his seat and suddenly having difficulty meeting my eyes.

Jack has no such issue, it seems. He stares me dead in my eyes. “They are coming tonight after dinner, so you have plenty of time to pack. Though his eyes travel down my ravaged and wasted b*dy and I see a glimmer of pain and remorse on his

I

face before he quickly covers it up. “Maybe we could take you to go get some new clothes? I don’t know that any of your old

clothes will fit.”

I just stare at him incredulously. Shopping? He wants to f ucking take me shopping after all that he has done and said to me over these last three months? Is that supposed to make up for the heartache they have given to me?

Very slowly and deliberately, I shake my head no. I don’t want to go anywhere with either of them.

Jack sighs, starting to back away from the door. “Alright. Pack your stuff and be ready to leave in a few hours. Make sure that you shower in that time. Try to take care of your appearance so that you can convince Levi into wanting to keep you by his

side

I don’t know where it comes from, because I thought that my wolf was dead. But suddenly a deep growl rumbles out of my chesDant resonates around the room. It takes all three of us by surprise, none more so than myself.

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Chapter 2 Oakley

Before either of my brothers can say anything, I move the tray of food to the side, scoot out of the bed, and into the en suite. I’m actually able to lock this door, which I do as soon as I have the door shut.

Standing at the sink, I try not to hyperventilate.

There’s a soft knock at the door and James’s voice finds me from the other side. “You have about three hours, Oakley. Then they’ll be here to collect you. We’re supposed to have dinner at the pack house before they come for you, so please get your stuff together.” His voice ends on a plea and all I can think is that my brothers got what they wanted out of this situation.

When I don’t respond, I hear the twins retreat from the room, closing the door behind them.

Seems like my mate means to make me his little w h ore whether I agree to it or not. Well, I hate to burst his bubble, but I refuse to be used that way. I hurriedly hop in the shower, making sure to use the unscented shampoo and soap that is next to the flowery fake stuff that my brothers and father brought, thinking that it would coax me back to the person that I used to be.

Once I’m done, I check to see where the twins are. Seems they left the cabin and I can move forward with my plan. I set about looking for a duffle or backpack that I can stuff my things in and carry easily. Once I locate one, I grab one of Jack’s belts, him being the slimmer of the twins and put it on the pair of pants I had pulled on. I have to carve another hole into the belt in

order to make it small enough to fit me. I throw in toiletries, clothes, power bars, a few bottles of water and

my

debit card.

Snooping through my brother’s and father’s things, I find about $200 that I can use until I figure out where I’m going to go, as well

as a pocket knife and the keys to Jack’s jeep.

I quickly scrawl a goodbye note to my family, making sure they know that I left of my own volition and that I don’t want them

to look for me. Truthfully, I don’t ever want to see these males again.

As I walk to the door, I stop in the open doorway. I realize that this is my last chance to back out. I’m leaving everything that

I know and a certain future behind me. But then, I remember that the certain future I am leaving is a future that has a certainty

of pain, abuse, and quite possibly death.

into

No, I can’t stay here. I have to go. I close the door behind me, throw my backpack into the passenger seat and climb up

the driver’s seat. Luckily, there’s no one around to see my departure and I have the moon in the sky to guide me. Turning the key,

I start the jeep and put it in drive. No turning back now.

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