Chapter 8 Forever Scarred

• POV: Echo
• The harsh sound of the dryers buzzing, signalling the end of their cycles, startles me awake. My joints scream in protest as I slowly dragged myself to a sitting position. I’d passed out in the same crumpled heap I’d been tossed in, and my whole body was stiff and sore.
• Sitting for a minute, I waited for the aching to fade away. Attempting to take stock of my injuries, new and old, I frowned, raised my shirt, and gingerly touched my ribs, before cautiously stretching.
• My ribs don’t even so much as ache, which is odd given how many were broken prior to my tumble down the stairs. Curious, I inspect my other injuries and find they are also absent. Undoing my finger splint and pulling it off, I see my finger has also healed entirely, which surprised me because its healing had been slowed considerably before.
• Jumping up off the floor, I rush towards the bathroom, pulling off my shirt as I go. Quickly removing the bandages from my back and letting the gauze flutter to the floor, I began turning halfway facing the mirror, contorting myself into odd positions until I could see just enough of my back in the mirror.
• I can’t help but weep at the thick scars reading PROPERTY OF ALPHA BRADY. I’d hoped they’d be healed away into nothing. Looking at them now, I know I will carry these scars for the rest of my life.
• Tears were running down my face as I scrutinized my ribs, and there was not even so much as a bruise. Next, I checked my face. When I’d passed out, my eyes had both been swollen nearly shut. Now you would think it never happened.
• All my injuries, combined with the years of starvation, should have slowed my healing considerably. I hadn’t expected to fully heal from my previous state for at least a week, maybe two. I looked into my hazel eyes in the mirror. Healing this fast can only mean one thing…
• ‘Hello?’ I called inside my head excitedly. ‘Are you here?’ I waited a moment, and my excitement faded into confusion. ‘Please… please tell me you’re here? I am so alone…’ The last part slips out as a whisper. I hang my head, drowning in the overwhelming feeling of isolation.
• ‘I’m… here… you… are… not… alone…’ a soft voice whispers slowly in my mind, as though it’s taking all her energy just to speak. ‘Too… weak… from… healing… must… sleep…’ she slowly fades out. I can’t help but feel elated! I have my wolf! That means today is my twentieth birthday!
• I smiled, feeling a sliver of happiness for the first time in years. I leave my wolf to rest as I imagine it would have taken an immense amount of energy to heal my body from all my injuries at once, the way she had. She deserved as much rest as she needed to recover from that much work.
• If she can heal all of that in one go, maybe I won’t need a mate to leave this place! I hugged myself tightly in front of the mirror, eyes gleaming with hope for what may be the first time since I arrived in this Goddess forsaken pack.
• My mind couldn’t help but drift to the day I arrived, the earliest memory I have. Everything from before I came to the pack at 10 years of age is gone, an unknown mystery.
• ******************************************************************************
• I woke up cold and shivering on the forest floor. Hopping to my feet, I looked all around, my heart racing in pure terror. Wait… What am I scared of? I try to think, but nothing comes to mind. Squinting, I try to remember how I got here, and there’s nothing.
• Frowning, I try to remember the basics, like my name or age. I can’t even remember so much as what I look like, aside from the brown curly hair I can see framing my face.
• Looking down, I realized I was covered head to toe in blood. I don’t think any of it is mine though, as it smells different. I wonder whose it is. I shook my head and looked around. Five feet in front of me is a path winding through the trees.
• I walked over to it and looked in the two directions I could go. I do not know where this path comes from or goes to. I raise my head and sniff the air. The one to the left has the smell of food cooking, and my stomach growls loudly.
• Shrugging, I started racing toward the delicious smell. I am not sure how long I have been moving along the path when it leaves the forest, opening into a large clearing with houses centred on one giant house.
• “You!” I jumped as a large, blonde man stalks toward me across the clearing. Suddenly, his clothing explodes, and a tan-coloured wolf comes rushing toward me snarling. I am not surprised that he turned into a wolf. For some reason, it feels right to me.
• No, what scares me are the savage growls and snarls coming from his mouth, which was dripping with saliva. As he circles me, I can’t help but tremble in terror. We lock eyes, and his are flashing with murderous rage.
• I have no idea what I’d done to earn such a look and no time to think about it. He lunges for the kill, and a dark brown wolf collides with him from the side, knocking him off course. I scream, frozen in fear, only a few feet away from two large predators who are fighting viciously.
• It’s over as suddenly as it began, and in the blink of an eye, there are two bulky, naked men staring each other down. Each sporting bloody wounds from their fight.
• “Alpha Jarrod, this is not how we do things! She is just a child; she would not have been involved in her parents’ plans! Even if she was, they are gone now, and she is just a child. What is a ten-year-old little girl going to do?” The brown-haired man shouts, his back to me as he stays between me and the furious Alpha.
• “THEY KILLED HER! SHE DESERVES TO DIE FOR WHAT THEY DID TO HER!” The dirty blonde man screams in rage, spit flying from his mouth. I trembled violently. I can feel the murderous intent in his aura, which he does not reign in.
• “She is not her parents! They are dead! Killing her won’t punish them because they aren’t alive to know! Please, Alpha! Look at her! Do you really think that the terrified child shaking in front of you had anything to do with what happened?!” The Beta replies.
• Feeling many eyes on me, I looked around. Pack members had made their way over, curious to see what the fuss was about. Seeing me, they do not hide their sneers and looks of unbridled hatred.
• Their whispers reach my ears, “I can’t believe she came back here after what her parents did!”, “Beta Seth shouldn’t interfere, let the Alpha have his revenge!”, “She deserves to die!”.
• My eyes filled with tears as I hyperventilated. What happened here? And why can’t I remember? Whose blood was I covered in? I can still hear the whispers as I turn back to who I now know are Beta Seth and Alpha Jarrod.
• I sneak a glance at the Alpha, as he hasn’t replied to the Beta. He is staring at me, chest heaving, ice-blue eyes flashing. Seeing him only makes my breathing come faster, sheer panic gripping every inch of my body.
• My vision fades as black spots appear. Given the chance, he’d rip me to shreds! I think, just as everything fades away.
• ******************************************************************************