Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Most people don't even remember the packhouse has a dungeon. I do though. I have a little room in the back that used to be a solitary confinement cell. It smells of old piss, vomit, and blood. You get used to it. I have a cot and an old tattered blanket to keep me warm. I even scored a lamp out of the trash. It still works, so I have light to do my homework. Home sweet home and all that jazz, right? I mean, at least I'm not a rogue.

Oh yeah, I should introduce myself. My name is Iokaste Latmus, but I go by Kas. No one calls me Iokaste except for teachers on the first day of school. I'm a werewolf in the Silver Moon pack. Since I'm an orphan, I'm not completely sure how old I am but pretty sure I'm sixteen. Also, I'm an omega which means I'm a servant. My job is to make the meals for the werewolves who live in the packhouse. Between making breakfast and dinner for over a hundred wolves, cleaning up after them, and restocking the pantries of the ranked members' apartments on the third and fourth floors, I do normal teenager stuff. Except, I don't really have a lot of spare time to do normal teenager stuff. So homework, homework is the extent of my normal teenager stuff.

Right now, it's eleven-thirty at night. I'm putting the finishing touches on my English essay when I hear the door of the dungeon slam open. Great. Now what did I do? It doesn't take much. Alpha Graham Connors is an alcoholic. It's really difficult for werewolves to get drunk, which means you have to drink really heavily to feel the effects. Which means he probably had a fight with Luna Caroline about his drinking. Which means she locked him out of their room. Which means he has come down to take out his anger on me. Just an average Tuesday night in the packhouse.

The sharp smell of whiskey hits my nose well before he appears in front of my door. I know the drill. I'm already on my feet waiting for him.

Oh crap oh crap oh crap. I'm thinking in my mind.

“Alpha Graham, what can I do for you?" I ask with my eyes looking at the floor. I keep my hands clasped in front of me, trying to look as small as possible.

Without a word, a whiskey bottle whizzes past my ear and smashes against the wall above my cot. I flinch and can't help but start to tremble and hug myself. We're beyond 'Oh crap', we're in 'Oh shit' territory now. Whatever is about to happen it's going to be worse than usual.

He lunges forward and grabs me by the throat with both hands. I feel tears coming to my eyes as the lack of oxygen turns the edges of my vision dark. I desperately claw at his hands, trying to escape his grip but it's no use. He picks me up by the neck so I'm at face level with him. His eyes are pitch black indicating his wolf Ruckus is at the surface. His breath stinks from drinking and his face is red with anger.

I start gagging and choking from the lack of oxygen. Without warning, he throws me across the room as if I weigh nothing. My body slams against the wall and I land on my back on the cot. The shards of the broken bottle pierce the skin on my back through my thin t-shirt. The whiskey makes the cuts burn. I try to muffle a scream as the pain sears through me. He comes across the room and picks me up roughly by the hair. I feel the shards of glass cutting deeper as he pulls me up.

to the ground. He kicks me in the gut and stomps on my back over and over. The glass bits are grinding deeper into my back. I can feel blood soaking through my shredded shirt. I don't dare move and make him even madder. I feel my ribs snap when his

he slaps me a few times, then whips me until I'm bleeding and raw. In the past couple of years, he started dipping the

Gahm, sthoph. Pleesh," I manage to eke out. My voice is small and garbled between the broken jaw and blood pouring out of my mouth. He abruptly stops and walks out of the room. He comes back a moment later with the whip and starts lashing my back relentlessly. The whip is dripping with wolfsbane. The lashes, combined with the glass shards still

blurry and

At least I don't have to feed the pack. Oh dang, I didn't get a chance to turn in that English essay. It was a good one too. The constant soft beeps

afterlife? Maybe this is some sort of waiting area, but where's the lobby? Is

move causes excruciating pain. I start to panic, making the beeps in the room become faster. Oh, I'm hooked up to a bunch of machines. I try to figure out how to unhook them so no one hears the noises. Too late, I hear people in the hallway getting closer. I try to sit up. I need to ignore the pain.

is an older man. He has black hair

doctor says gently. He and the nurse come to either side of me

me," I snap, shaking them off. My voice is scratchy and raw and my mouth feels like a thousand needles are poking into

No one is going to hurt you here. We're trying to help you heal. Let's get you back to bed and get you a drink of water," the

their help back into the bed. The nurse hands me a cup of water with a straw. It

as the nurse checks my vitals and starts

back, we also had to reset some ribs, your jaw, and you had a lot of wolfsbane in your blood. We gave you a transfusion to clear it from your

about that last part, doc? I think

ground in your...uh...room," he looks at me with sympathy, "Kas, who did this to you? It's a crime that could be grounds for banishment from the pack. Based on the scarring, this isn't the first time you've been