Obey.

Five

My body felt as if I had slept the wrong way, my mouth was dry and there felt as if there was a pressure inside of my brain. And something circled my neck. It was cold. Tentatively I reached up to touch cool metal.
Shit. An iron collar. And it felt attached to a chain.
"Nurghhh," I moaned a weird noise as I blinked and coughed. And then blinked some more but only found darkness around me. Even my wolf eyes couldn't see beyond my outstretched hand.
Had he really caught me this time? Or was Cayden working on breaking me out? And why was I anchored to the floor like a dog?
Hunter was nearby. It was his m.o to collar and chain me.
"Bastard," I growled bravely but my heart was slamming wilding against my chest, wanting to break out as much as I did. For a year I had trained mentally and physically but I never stopped to heal from what Hunter did to me. Cayden had me slowly trusting being with another: but the anxiety I felt whenever I even tried to put on a scarf or necklace was always there. And now here I was in an actual locked collar: again.
It sent my mind into overdrive, causing me to lose my zen as Cayden would say. In a state of fear, thoughts are irrational, survival and escape minimized.
"Clear your head Hayley," I hugged my knees to my chest, Placing my chin down as I tried to calm the turmoil inside of me.
I needed to think of the worst possible scenario that could happen, and come to peace with it. And then I'll be able to face Hunter without shaking like a leaf and losing my gaze like a little bitch.
Ok worst scenario. He could kill me. But wasn't I already dead inside? So ha! Jokes on him.
Cayden's face popped into my mind a flashback of us ice skating in Central Park played inside of my head. I had felt overjoyed as we held hands and smoothly skated around and around after many first failed attempts before we got the hang of it. A warm ness had spread inside of me like honey and I knew I wasn't dead inside any longer.
Damn you Cayden, you're the reason I didn't fall but now the reason Im afraid. Losing him was worse case scenario. Hurting him was worse case scenario. The pain he went through losing his father. All because he saved me and we had to run off like fbi's most wanted. He sacrificed his dad's safety and time to spend with him, for me.
And I'll be damned if I die and leave him in agony.
Ok now a rage burned through my veins. Screw trying to get over fear I guess the answer is becoming consumed by it; becoming enraged at those who made me feel it. Letting it drive me. With new determination, I grabbed the old feeling chain that was attached to my iron collar (thank god it's not new and feels like it could be rusted) and I started to scream as I yanked on it as hard as I could, feeling my body shift somewhat as I dug my feet into the ground for leverage and pulled. I could feel the groan before I smacked myself in the face with the damn thing as it came loose.
"Shit!" My veins were pumping with adrenaline so I didn't feel the hit but knew I would later a blood sprayed feom my nose and lip.
Reaching down to feel the chain I found a ring that didn't quite get out all the way, so I yanked it off. Feeling the end of the chain still connected to my collar, I realized I was free!
Worry about the accessory still attached later girl let's go!
Shifting into wolf form, my wolf wasn't breaking through the metal and I felt like I was suffocating so I stopped trying to shift all the way, leaving the claws out and letting my ears morph into a wolves, I prowled around the empty cold room.
My ears twitched as it picked up the sound of howls.
My first thought was that Cayden was here, trying to break me free. My next was that they were killing him. Red filled my vision as I started feeling against the walls.
C'mon there's got to be a door!
The more i felt around the more i realized something. I was in a freaking container. A big metal container. About to ship me off? I don't think so.
Growling, I shifted my hands and arms completely as I started to claw at the container. It hurt like hell as the metal bit into my skin as much as my nails bit into the metal. Moonlight started pouring through the more I clawed. I practically shredded a Hayley sized hole into the damn thing before hopping out.
Not this time Hunter! I wanted to laugh but heard Cayden's unmistakable howl once again: he sounded to be in pain.
"Cayden!" I gave a howl of my own as I ran, looking silly with wolf legs and ears and fangs with a human body. The stuff of nightmares, but with this collar I couldn't shift all the way or it would choke me to death.
I could practically hear Hunter taunting me, "you think you can hide from me in wolf form? I'll make sure you can never fully transform again, you fucking slut."
God, how did I ever allow him to do those things to me? Say those things to me? Looking back I was more horrified with myself more than anything. Sometimes I could get lost in the "what if" game. But then Cayden would shake me from my thoughts with a touch or feather light kiss and remind me the horrible things done to me were only the fault of one person. That abusive asshole Hunter.
He found an orphan omega and took advantage. Cayden also found an orphan omega. But what did he do? Rape? Manipulate? Abuse? Nope, he's been training me to become a strong wolf and trying to reverse the effects of my time with Hunter. He's been gentle and kind and patient. He has never pushed me for sex or forced his way into my personal space. He got me past the phase of saying Im sorry too much and being meek and submissive and never has let me lay down and despair for too long, always getting me going so I don't stop and think too much.
And he's pushed me and gloated me into pushing back and standing up for myself and demanding what's right, all the while gaining my trust and showing me that standing up for myself wouldn't result in being smacked down. "Take up space, demand what you want, you have a voice and a right Hayley."
Outside of training he's never raised a hand or his voice. When he yells it's to scream at me that I'm better than that when I want to give up on a really tough day of training. But never in a way to degrade me.
So far I wasn't alpha status yet, but I no longer felt like an omega anymore. No longer submissive. I knew no alpha could make me kneel. I was in charge of my own mind and thanks to the mental part of training I wouldn't be forced to obey ever again.
Hunter was the only thing stopping me from a better life. No one could smell omega on me, no one would try it again. I'm a werewolf, which generally means Don't fuck with me. Only omegas get picked on.
Cayden and I talk a lot about going around, helping and saving omegas from shitty situations. Maybe opening a school. Once an omega didn't mean always an omega.
Breaking into a cold sweat, I came onto the scene of Cayden in wolf form fighting two other wolves. He chomped down on the leg of one and nearly tore it off.
"Cayden!" I gasped just as he jerked to the side( the other wolf clamping down on his neck.