Forbidden Hope: A Werewolf Wars Prequel Novella by Bethany Shaw Read Free Book Online Page A

rolled through her in waves. He’d hit her. Her father had never hit her before. Ever. It hadn’t been a simple slap either; he’d beaten her. Gone out of his way to break her.
    A sob tore through her throat and she clutched Daniel’s shirt like a lifeline. This isn’t happening. It’s a nightmare. Wake up, Emily. Wake up.
    She blinked her eyes open and swallowed, pulling away from Daniel as he lay her down on her bed. Without a word, Daniel backed away and slipped out of her room, closing the door behind him.
    Emily sat up in her bed, her heart slamming against her ribs painfully. She stuck her tongue out to trace it along the outside of her mouth. The area was already puffy and tender. Slowly, she raised her hands, gingerly touching the sensitive skin. Her hand came back bloody and she inhaled a sharp breath as she stared at the crimson liquid.
    Her head shot up as her door opened and closed again. Daniel walked back in with something clutched in his hand.
    “Here,” he said. The bed creaked as he sat down next to her. Without another word, he held a cool compress to her jaw.
    “Thanks,” she mumbled, placing her hand over his.
    Daniel removed his hand and stared down at the floor. “I’m sorry. I should have better prepared you for what was going to happen,” he stated as he stood. “You should heed dad’s warning, Em. He’ll kill Marcus. He’s not bluffing.”
    “He wouldn’t,” she insisted.
    “This,” he paused, motioning with his hands to her face, “is only a glimpse of what dad can do. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt.”
    “So, I’m just supposed to go be some thing for these guys to pass around?” she asked incredulously.
    “I know it’s not ideal-”
    “Ideal?” she hissed. “It’s barbaric-”
    “Emily. What’s done is done. Don’t make it harder on yourself or Marcus than it already is.” Daniel stood up and walked to the door. “You’ll need to shift so you can heal. You should do it before anyone sees you. Let me know when you’re ready. I’ll be in my room.”
    Emily gritted her teeth as she glared at her brother. “So I can heal up and pretend this never happened?” she snapped, standing up and walking toward him.
    “In case you haven’t noticed, there has been a lot of tension in the pack recently. It’d be better if no one knew about this incident.”
    Emily swallowed. “I’ll remember it.”
    “Don’t, Em. I know-“
    “What do you know?” she spat, poking his shoulder. A shimmer of fear coursed through her when her brother balled his fists at his side. When he didn’t move she regained her courage and continued. “Normal girls my age have a life, go to school—they have friends and go to parties. I haven’t left our property in four years and one-hundred-and-ninety-two days, Daniel. Not since I started my heat cycle. I can’t even go to the mall and buy my own clothes. I have to purchase online, or pray mom picks stuff out that I’ll actually like. I don’t even know what it’s like to have a friend; I’ve never been around to have one. While you, Dev, and Vincent all got to go to public school, I was stuck here with mom in home school. It’s suffocating. I’m a prisoner.” And it’s only going to get worse , she thought.
    Heat crept across her cheeks as her anger grew. Everything she’d been keeping bottled up for so long came tumbling out. “I can’t live like this anymore. I want do things—get out and be happy. I don’t even have a friend I can talk to. I want to mate with the man I’m in love with. I want to live my life the way I choose to. Is that too much to ask?” She stopped, looking at her raised shaking fists.
    To his credit, Daniel looked away and let out a long breath. Good! She thought. He should be ashamed.
    “I know things aren’t the way you want, but following along with dad’s plan is the only thing we can do. It’s the only way to keep people from getting hurt. Or have you forgotten how close you were to