Healing His Broken Luna.... Chapter 89

#####Chapter 2 - Visitor

I could feel his strong Alpha aura pulsing through the air from the opposite side of the barn. He stood at the door, fists clenched and ready to attack. Domino let out a snort and backed up in his stall uncomfortably. He wasn't usually spooked so easily but this unknown visitor had us both nervous.

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" He asked. His voice was deep and rich.

I wasn't sure what to do, the water was freezing and all I wanted was to get out of the bath. I didn't dare stand up in front of him, I kept my eyes on the ground and sat still. I could see him from my peripheral vision and my heart was pounding.

"ARE YOU DEAF? I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" He growled at me.

Okay, so he doesn't exactly know who I am, and he's definitely an Alpha. I might in fact be human, but even my ignorant human brain registered the sheer power and dominance of an Alpha, especially this one. The sound of his voice sent strange flutters through my stomach.

I continued to look down at the ground while he stared me down. I swallowed hard, unable to move. So many thoughts were running in my head. Who was he? What was he doing here? Why was he angry with me? Why did he want to know my name?

I heard the barn door open and close again. I looked up and he was gone. I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around my little body before I ran into my stall to get dressed. Domino neighed at me and I reached to stroke his head after I was dressed. 

I walked back to the pack house and realized that the Alpha's sister, Donnatella, and other guests had probably arrived this afternoon. Hopefully this means that extra food will be prepared in honor of the guests and I might actually get something to eat. I walked up the back stairs and stood at the side of the door waiting. The house was full of werewolves with sharp senses. I didn't need to knock; they knew I was out here.

I had to wait while everyone finished eating. My stomach grumbled at me and I hung my head down. I continued to stand in the crisp night air, just waiting. The maids brought stacks of dirty plates into the kitchen and the door was pulled open. I didn't need to be told what to do, I was only ever allowed into the kitchen to wash dishes or scrub the floors on my hands and knees.

Two hours later, every dish, bowl, glass, silverware, platter, pot and pan, was washed, dried and put away. My hands were pruned like little raisins, and I was exhausted.

"You may go now." Sandy said to me. She was usually the one who gave me food a few times a week. I stood for a moment and dropped my eyes to the ground. Realizing I wasn't going to get anything again tonight, I walked to the door.

"Oh, for Goddess sake Sandy, you want her to keep working, you're going to have to feed her. She hasn't eaten all week with all the commotion around here. Humans can't go long without food." Chef Millie said. She was an older and kind lady. On the few occasions when Sandy was gone, Millie had to feed me and was very generous with the amount of food she gave me.

"I can't. Alpha didn't tell me to." Sandy replied. I kept my eyes on the floor and walked to the door. I could feel their eyes on me as I quietly left the kitchen and walked back to the barn. I was used to going with very little amounts of food, but five days was the longest. Tomorrow will be day five.

I walked into the barn and grabbed the wheelbarrow. I pushed it to the haystack and loaded eight large flakes into it and gave the horses their hay to graze on during the night. Just because I was starving, doesn't mean the horses should too. I turned off the light and buried myself in my pile of straw inside my stall.

My stomach pains left me restless and my sleep always seemed to haunt me. I moved my arms to pile more straw on top of me for warmth. The night was still young, but when you wake up before dawn, it was bedtime. I closed my eyes and stirred awake when I heard the sound of the barn door creak open. I heard the clacking of heels and another set of heavy footsteps as the light flickered on.

"Oh, there's my sweet boy." I didn't need to see her to know exactly who that was. It was Donnatella, Alpha Jaxon's sister.

"Did you miss me? I've brought you treats." She cooed at Domino.

I laid still, practically holding my breath. Something inside of me was stirring, a need that was pulling me to make my presence known, to see who was with her. Donnatella was never nice to me and like her brother, she somehow blamed me for the death of her mother because my father had failed as a warrior. She's been in Italy studying fashion and modeling these last few years and has returned for her brothers mating ceremony. 

I could smell something different in the air, like sweet vanilla and an earthy spice. For a brief moment, I felt a strange stirring inside of me again; and then my stomach growled. I prayed they didn't hear that, but I knew they did. Damn these wolves and their super hearing, I bitterly thought to myself.

"We may have a mouse problem in the barn, I'll have to let the stall keeper know." Donnatella said trying to dismiss me. She knew I lived in the barn and probably didn't want whoever was with her to bother with the slave.

"I hear breathing inside of this stall, is there a pup hiding in the straw?" The husky voice said.

I heard the stall door open and was suddenly yanked out from under the straw with my foot. I squealed like a mouse. My dress was riding up my thigh from being dragged, which exposed my cuts, bruises and scars. It was him again, the visiting Alpha. I could see him from my peripheral vision but couldn't bring myself to look up at his face. Higher ranked wolves saw this as a sign of disrespect, a challenge, and looking a higher up in the eyes could earn you a punishment.

I could feel his eyes on me, and my hands instantly moved to adjust my dress and hide my legs. He let go of my foot and I instinctively scooted back on my ass into the corner of the stall. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as I shivered.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home with your parents, pup?" He spoke to me as if he was talking to a child who got caught doing something naughty.

I shook my head no and kept my eyes on the ground.

He stepped closer to me and leaned down, the power radiating off of him was suffocating. It was stronger than Alpha Jaxon and his father, Alpha James, combined. I kept my head down, his close proximity to me was making me nervous. I could just imagine what a pathetic, beat up mess I looked like. I could feel his repulsion in the air. He took a deep breath and I realized he was trying to smell me. He was scenting me!

"Darling, she's my father's prisoner. A human mute who cares for the animals." Donnatella told the visitor who I assume may be her mate.

Of course, Donnatella would be mated to an Alpha, she is Alpha born as well. Something inside of me desperately wanted to look at him, to see his face, to look into his eyes. I could tell he had raven black thick hair, broad shoulders and bulging muscles. He smelled delicious and from what I could see, he was well dressed.

"A human mute? I think not." He sneered.

"Her parents are responsible for my mother's death." She told him.

"Why is she still alive?" The jackass Alpha asked. I felt a whimper bubble up inside of me, his words seemed to squeeze my heart. He was clearly a good match for the ice queen, I thought to myself. 

"She was a pup when father took her in. Pathetic really. She's lucky to still be alive to clean these stalls. Let's not waste any more time on her, they're waiting for us at the house." 

He stood up and stalked off back to Donnatella. She gave him a kiss and dropped another apple in Domino's feeder. They walked towards the barn door and I waited until they were gone before I crawled over to check the area under Domino's feeder. I was hoping to find a few chunks of apple that may have fallen when he chewed but had no luck today.

I pushed my straw back in a pile and turned off the lights before I curled back down in the straw. I sat quietly wondering what fresh hell tomorrow would bring. More guests will be arriving for the ceremony that will take place the following day. Hopefully no one else notices me or questions why I'm still alive. Even though I often wondered why I was still alive, hearing him ask stung me for some reason and I couldn't explain it.

I woke up just before dawn and made my way to the sink to wash my face. I used one of the brushes used on the horse's mane to brush my hair and tie it back in a low braid with a piece of twine. I usually slept with my shoes on because some of the teens enjoy sneaking into the barn at night and tossing my shoes on the roof. I only get one pair of hand me downs a year, so I had to take care of them.

Today is bath day for the horses. I led Domino, Jemima, Neville and Thunder out to the meadow behind the barn to graze while I cleaned the stalls out. After I finished with the stalls, I made my way to the kitchen back door and waited. I was hoping to do the breakfast dishes and finally get some food.

"Alpha doesn't want you in the house or near the guests until after the mating ceremony when the guests have left. You'll have to return to the animals." Sandy said to me.

She knew I hadn't been fed for five days now; did she really think I could survive two more days? I felt very weak and my head was hurting. I kept my head low and walked out to the meadow to get Domino for his bath. When I arrived, I found all four horses at the meadow's fence eating carrots and apples. The young pups were eagerly pushing each other trying to get closer to the horses to feed them. My hunger pains grew stronger and I chewed on my lower lip wishing someone, anyone, would just feed me a carrot too.

I stood quietly a few feet away from the pups just watching them. I liked them at this age, they were still sweet and kind. In a few years, they would eventually grow to become the same as the other teens, nasty and mean. An aggressive behavior they would learn from the grown-ups in this pack.