Tasting

247–Her Threats

Nora:

“It’s only the beginning. You’ll get it worse; it’s going to get worse,” Natalya said, startling me so much that I jumped and stepped as far away from her as possible.

“Awe! Did I scare you?” she pouted, clicking her tongue at how shaken up I seemed by her

rrival.

“Why? Why are you doing this to me?” I asked in a whisper, trying not to upset or anger her.

“Because you were enjoying this life and making sure none of the others could get a piece of happiness. You were protecting these brothers as if they were all yours. I guess it was about time you lost. what doesn’t belong to you,” she shrugged.

“I wasn’t doing any of that. Please, just stop,” I hated that I had become so weak that I had to beg her, of all people in the pack, to have mercy on me. I used to think no harm would come my way as long as I stayed here with the brothers on my side. I guess I was wrong.

“Well, you’re going to be surprised,” she smirked and then stepped away top sit in the living room with Lod Atwood.

Flashback:

My hands trembled as I was struck on the back of my head once again.

“Give her the belt!” my father ordered, allowing my brother to take control of this grim task.

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247–Her Threats.

“Really? You want me to do it?” The excitement in my brother’s voice sent a shiver through my heart. I had always known deep down that my brother would never be my protector. He had consistently found ways to get me into trouble.

Even when he knew my minor mistakes would anger our father, he would push me into making them. And today, my father was opening another door to hell for me.

He was initiating a new era of torment where my brother would now be the one to strike me, taking out his frustrations on me.

My brother eagerly grabbed the belt from my father’s hand, and as soon as he raised it, I heard a terrifying whooshing sound followed by the scent of freshly wounded skin. But it didn’t hit me.

I quickly turned to see my mother standing over me, taking the blow meant for me.

“Get out of here! You’re ruining all the fun,” my father snarled, seizing my mother’s arm and dragging her to the side. My brother now came into view, and he didn’t look pleased.

In fact, he seemed confused. His eyes shifted from the belt to our mother, who was held back by our father.

“Do it!” my father shouted at him.

“It’s because of you that I raised a hand at my own mother!” my brother screamed at the top of his lungs, raising the belt and striking me hard in the stomach. Then he continued to hit me indiscriminately, crying loudly about the fact that he had accidentally hurt our mother.

It was the first time I had ever heard him express love for our mother. He wanted to be the perfect son for her. But why not for me? Why

247–Her Threats

couldn’t he show the same care towards his own sister?

Why did he always look for ways to cause me pain?

Why couldn’t he be a protective brother to me? I eventually lost consciousness and woke to the whisper of my mother in my ear.

“Run! Find a way to escape from them.”

End Of Flashback

I couldn’t help but think of Natalya and my brother as being the same. She had just threatened to ruin my life even more than she already had. I sighed, trying to calm my breathing as I walked into the living room, but I didn’t sit down. That’s when Silas burst in, holding a phone in his hand.

“Dad! Nash caught the whistler again!” he shouted, trying to grab the attention of his father and brothers.

I smiled, relieved that at least this might ease some of the pack’s tension. Natalya looked a bit down because now that the whistler had been caught, all attention would shift back to him.

“Really? How and where did he catch him?” Lord Atwood hadn’t smiled so widely in a long time, so I was happy for him.

However, there was a part of me that was worried about something. How convenient that the whistler was caught just a few days before. Mia’s case was shut and closed.

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