Say My Name Read online

  Chase was 26 now, with a mate of his own, and she rarely ever saw him. Though she was abused daily to the point of passing out from the pain, she was never taken to the clinic and was attended to by the Beta's female, Kate. Kate was a nurse and completely caring – unlike Jeremiah – but she couldn't do anything to help her other than bandage her lacerations and bring her medicine when needed. Usually strong pain medications.

  A few times, Giselle thought to hoard the pain meds so she could escape the world completely one day. An overdose would be a welcome relief after the constant pain that was inflicted upon her daily. But she also knew that since she was a werewolf, it would take more pain medication than the clinic’s pharmacy probably had stocked to effectively do enough damage to kill her. Fucking werewolf genetics didn't allow for them to be as affected by maladies, alcohol, or medications as a human would be. Sometimes Giselle wished she were human. She probably would have been beaten to death by now. Painful, but final. This slow death of her body and soul was too much for her to bear.

  After Jeremiah fucked her throat until he came, it felt raw and ached. He was not gentle, and it hurt when she had been forced to swallow down his seed.

  Throwing her back on the bed, he then continued to fuck her anally until she bled from her ass, the usual lacerations replacing the old ones.

  "Fucking pathetic," he hissed out at her as he finished on her face.

  Jeremiah left her there to clean herself up, his come still slowly dribbling down her face as he walked off to take a shower. Probably washing away the evidence that he had been with her.

  Why not just come inside her ass? It was not like he could get her pregnant that way and have another reason to keep her around. He was merely biding his time until he totally lost control one day and killed her. Then he could take one of his other whores to mate and become his Luna. Though he didn't want her, he couldn't seem to bring himself to kill her purposely either.

  Giselle eventually limped over to the bathroom and used a wet towel to wash his seed from her face and then turned on the bathtub. She couldn't put any bath salts or bubble bath in it. Even if he had kindly provided her with some, it would have stung her privates too much to use. Instead, she would have to hope that the scalding hot water would be enough to help soothe her aching and bruised muscles. Either that, or burn her flesh off her and ultimately kill her.

  Giselle had once been a part of a loving family at Blackriver Pack. Two caring parents, a protective older brother, and two more sisters. She was the youngest, the baby of the family. Coddled and spoiled, she had thought that having her mate would be all sunshine and rainbows. Her experiences in life had never prepared her for this grim reality.

  She sat in the tub, the water gradually cooling to a normal temperature while her red skin turned a light pink. The water was discolored as well with the blood seeping from between her thighs.

  She didn't even realize that someone had come to visit until a soft hand came down upon her shoulder.

  Giselle flinched before looking up at the visitor.

  Kate. Thank God. Or the Moon Goddess. Or...whomever.

  "We need to get you cleaned up," Kate told her softly. "Carter's in the other room with one of the pack doctors. Don't worry. It's not your brother."

  Carter was Kate's mate and Jeremiah's Beta. Giselle had begged for none of them to tell Chase what was happening. She was afraid he would try to challenge the Alpha and be killed in the process. He had a mate and two children that needed him, so it must have been Dr. Dandridge that Kate or Carter had summoned.

  The blood continued to seep from between her thighs after she was washed, and she didn't bother to put on any panties with the overlarge t-shirt of Jeremiah’s that she wore. They would be ruined by the blood and would probably have to be taken off anyway so Dandridge could sew her up. It wouldn't be the first time. Or the last, most likely.

  Sighing as he placed stitches around her vulva, the doctor looked disheartened.

  "I...If this type of abuse continues, she'll be dead before the year is out," he told Kate and Carter softly as he walked over with his soiled gloves to toss them into his red hazmat container. "There is only so much a wolf can take, and she is getting more fragile by the day."

  Giselle was used to them talking about her like she wasn't there. For all intents and purposes, she wasn't. She was merely a placeholder until the Alpha would eventually kill her and take another to mate. The man had never believed in rules and bucked all traditions when he could.

  Carter and the doctor spoke a bit more before the Beta thanked the man and allowed him to leave.

  Walking over to Giselle who was seated on the bed next to Kate, he spoke lowly but clearly.

  "Luna," he said. "This can't continue. You heard Dr. Dandridge. We need a plan to get you out of here. For good."

  Giselle simply gazed up at him, looking numb and feeling like a heap of trash. If it hadn't been for the fresh trickle of tears falling down her face, Carter would have thought she hadn't heard him.

  "Then kill me," Giselle said after a brief moment.

  There was a pleading quality to her dead voice, and Kate let out a soft sob. Carter's pained eyes flickered over to his mate before they slid back over to Giselle's.

  "You know I can't do that," he told her. "And I know you don't deserve that."

  "I don't deserve this," Giselle said quietly, gesturing about the room. "It's like I'm in prison for a crime I didn't commit. I have no life anymore, no friends. I'm forbidden to see my family. I...please – I just want to die."

  Carter's jaw ticked with agitation. He had known Giselle – mainly through her brother – since she was young, and this was unlike the vibrant girl she used to be. She had always been a little shy until you cracked her outer shell, but she was kind and warm to everyone. He had never imagined she would become Luna only to be beaten down by his Alpha. An Alpha whose head had grown too big with the power of his title.

  Yet, maybe she had something there. If Jeremiah thought she was dead, he would probably request for her body to be taken off his land and then blame a rogue on her disappearance and death.

  "I have a better idea, Elle," he said to her, using her childhood nickname to garner her full attention. "Now listen carefully..."

  ∞∞∞

  Giselle woke with a start. An irritating beeping noise was coming from somewhere, and she looked frantically around the room to figure out where she was, and what the sound meant.

  The room was dark, but her heightened wolf senses could still distinguish almost everything in the space.

  The last thing Giselle remembered was Jeremiah's eyes. They were black with rage as he pulled back his fist before connecting with her face.

  Then...silence. Complete and utter nothingness. It was a relief.

  She thought she had dreamed about waking up in a forest and seeing a few men surrounding her, but it was only a flash and then it was gone.

  But...where was she now? It smelled heavily like the antiseptics of a sterile environment. She had only been to a hospital once growing up when she had received a compound fracture to her leg falling out of her treehouse. The leg had to be set quickly before healing kicked in, and she remembered that this is what it had smelled like there as well.

  So, she must not be in her own pack lands since she wasn't ever allowed out of the Alpha's home. Carter's plan must have worked, somewhat. But where was she? How far had he traveled in order to get rid of her body? And was Jeremiah unaware that she still lived? God, she hoped so.

  Giselle tried to call out.

  Nothing. No sound.

  Clutching at her throat, she felt bandages there and decided to try and get to her feet to find someone. She needed to know where she was. Though she was certain that this wasn't Blackriver territory, she wouldn't rest until she was completely convinced.

  Her legs gave out from beneath her when she stood, and she nearly stumbled before moving away from the bed.

  One faltering step. Two st
eps. Three.

  She made her way gingerly over to the door and flicked on the light switch.

  The room bathed itself in fluorescent lighting, and she cringed away from the harsh glare of it in her eyes.

  The beeping started to escalate, the invasive sound becoming more rapid with each passing moment.

  She started to panic, and moved away from the door. She needed to make the beeping stop. Pulling at anything on her body, Giselle found she had something clamped to her finger. It was a foreign object. And there were circular pads on her chest, gleaming white and stuck onto her skin with little wires attached.

  Giselle pulled everything off of her body and the beeping stopped. Only then, it was followed by one continuous loud noise. Like the beeping had turned into a high-pitched shriek that threatened to break her down with its insistence.

  Giselle clamped her hands over her ears to try to quell the sound, but it was almost useless. She could still hear it, and her hands only dampened the sound the slightest bit.

  On her knees now, she crawled over to the corner of the room in her flimsy hospital gown and panties, folded her knees to her chest, and wished she could make a sound. Any sound. Just so someone could find the source of the noise and make it go away.

  As the tears poured down to her chin, the door to the room opened swiftly, and Giselle looked up to see a female in a white coat.

  The woman seemed to be mid to late 20's and was a pretty blonde with sparkling blue eyes. She was of medium height, maybe five foot six or seven, and wearing sensibly low heels under black slacks.

  Looking over to the small creature huddled in the corner, Evelyn D'Amato saw her flinch away from her as she moved to come closer.

  Giselle gave a high-pitched scream and another nurse came running into the room.

  "Call the Alpha," Evelyn told the frightened nurse. "Tell him the patient is awake."

  "Is...is she rogue?" the nurse asked, nose crinkling.

  "Does she smell rogue to you, you idiot?" Evelyn asked, immediately becoming irritated with the moronic nurse. "She is a patient only. Now, do as I say."

  A few minutes later, Evelyn was waiting in the main lobby for Alpha Liam, who had been awakened from a deep sleep for this.

  Seeing him in his black leather jacket over a muscle shirt and black jeans, he rushed into the facility and went straight to Dr. D'Amato.

  "Where is she?" he asked, voice still thick from sleep.

  "She's awake and in her room," Evelyn told him. "But there's a problem, Alpha."

  "What is that? Does she refuse treatment? Send her away if she does," Liam spat out, irritated that he was being awoken for a non-compliant, trespassing she-wolf.

  "No, Alpha," Evelyn told him. "She doesn't speak."

  "She refuses to or cannot?"

  "I believe a bit of both," Evelyn told him. "She tries to make sounds, but nothing comes out. For all intents and purposes, she is a mute."

  Chapter 3

  Liam took Evelyn’s information in with a few rapid blinks. It was difficult for him to fathom that any damage done to such a hearty species would cause this psychological and physical trauma in one so young.

  "I will get her to speak," he said firmly. "Where is she?"

  "Alpha, the girl is not only traumatized, but her throat was nearly torn from her neck," Evelyn warned him. "It is not just that she is unwilling through some sort of psychiatric cause, but her throat needs time to heal as well. It would be unwise for her to strain it until she is completely recovered. It may also traumatize her further. If you need to question her, at any rate, please be gentle."

  Liam slowly closed his eyes and thought for a moment, thinking of a way to get the information he needed without breaking the girl. If anything, at least get her to tell him which pack she hailed from.

  "Evelyn," Liam finally said. "Do you have a spare notepad and a pen? I will ask her questions that way."

  "Of course, Alpha," she said. "Give me a moment to fetch them."

  The doctor went to the reception desk and pulled out a thick yellow pad and a ballpoint pen. Walking back to him, she bowed her head in respect and gave the items to him.

  "Now bring me to the girl."

  Evelyn took him back to the last room on the right and again warned him of the frailties of the girl, emphasizing her fragile mental state which seemed teetering and unwieldy at best.

  Opening the door, Evelyn went in first before Liam followed. The room was blindingly bright and he looked over to the bed, watching as the girl sat up straighter, pulling the thin sheets up farther, as if to hide herself from the unwanted visitors.

  "Miss, this man is Liam Stark, Alpha of the Plumbrook Pack," Evelyn told the girl gently. "No harm will come to you in his presence."

  The girl gazed over at Liam, looking even more frightened and seeming to tremble slightly in her bed.

  Unfazed by her trepidation, he walked over a few steps towards her and watched as she flinched backward, a high-pitched whimper the only sound in the room.

  Liam took the girl in. She did not look dangerous, but danger could sometimes come in a pretty, pint-sized packages. He knew that all too well.

  Large, blue doe-eyes made even wider by fear looked back at him while her hair tumbled in gentle waves down past her shoulders. It was jet black and looked fine as silk, though it might have been ages since it had been properly cared for.

  "Little wolf," Liam said in a calm manner. "Your beaten body was found on the edge of my lands near a highway. I need to know what you were doing there and where you come from. But first, please, tell me your name."

  He pushed the pad of paper and pen towards her and watched as she stared blankly back at it before blinking and taking it from him.

  He watched as in slow, methodical cursive, she penned her response.

  My name is Giselle. No surname. I cannot tell you where I come from and why I'm here.

  Reading the words, Liam's bright blue eyes seemed to grow cold as he looked back at her after he finished reading her response.

  "Why can you not tell me? Do you not know, or do you refuse to answer an Alpha's question?"

  Though he tried not to, the words came out sounding cruel and blunt, and Giselle jerked back at his tone. Her eyes immediately became glassy and a tear spilled down her cheek, though she made no other sound but for a loud sniff.

  Fuck.

  "Alpha," Evelyn murmured softly so that only he could hear.

  Liam closed his eyes again, trying to remember that this was no rogue, no interloper. At least not of her own free will. She could not have made it from the nearest pack in the condition she had been found.

  "My apologies," Liam told her, his voice a bit softer, bordering on contrite. "We are mistrustful of strangers here at Plumbrook, and I need to know you are not a threat to us. If you could, please, answer my question."

  He gave her the pen and pad back and watched as she reluctantly put pen to paper and wrote her response.

  I know where I come from, but I do not belong there anymore. I am afraid that if I tell you, you will send me back and I only just escaped with my life. I did not know where I would be left. I passed out before being dropped at the side of the road.

  Liam read again and understood. He nodded at her.

  "Is there a reason you had to flee, or were you being punished and escaped from your pack's cells?"

  I am no fugitive. I am merely someone who wishes to start fresh. The only way to do that was to flee.

  "And what or who do you flee from?"

  That – I cannot tell you. You would surely send me back. If you make me tell you, you must promise to kill me before sending me back there, because I am as good as dead if I return.

  Liam read it through twice. Then a third time. He didn't understand fully, but he was certain she did not, and would not, tell him the truth if he pressed her for an answer now.

  Liam caught a movement in his peripheral vision and saw that Giselle was motioning to take the notepad back. Pe
rhaps she had more to say after all.

  Why can I not speak?

  Liam deferred to Dr. D'Amato for this information, and Evelyn explained the physical trauma first.

  "You may regain your voice back in time, though it is up to you and your mental state on how quickly you learn to speak again," she told the younger woman. "It will take time and hard work, but I am sure that if you put your mind to it, you will regain the ability to speak eventually."

  Evelyn smiled at her and Giselle's face seemed to break into a soft, demure smile as well, her cheeks becoming pink at the kind words. She'd had so very few of them spoken to her in the past six months.

  Giselle motioned for the pad with a small, slender hand. Evelyn gave it back, and motioned for her to write what she wished.

  Am I still in New York State? When may I leave the hospital?

  "Yes, you are still in upstate New York and as you are awake and stable, you may leave any time you like," Evelyn told her, looking back at the Alpha who was watching their exchange with rapt attention. Like he was trying to solve a riddle.

  "You should not move around much for a while, but there is no need for you to stay here," Evelyn continued. "Alpha, is there a place in the Packhouse where Giselle may stay?"

  At that, Giselle froze and her face paled. She was not good around strange people – or, in this case – wolves.

  "The Packhouse is full at the moment," Liam said after blinking.

  Evelyn looked back at him and tilted her head. The last time she knew, there were at least four unoccupied rooms in the Packhouse and she hadn't heard of anyone moving in these past several months.

  "If you would like, you can stay in my home," Liam said, continuing smoothly. "I have several unoccupied rooms and some spare clothing my sister left before finding her mate. She was about your size but has gained some since having given birth to her son."

  Giselle took in the man with her own scrutinizing look before nodding her head in assent. Whether she was too scared to decline his offer or just wanted to leave the hospital was anyone's guess. It was not like she had anywhere to go.