Crescent (Under Major Rewrite!)

Chapter 3

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Dad, please-."

"No! Of course, you weren't thinking!"

Screaming and shouting from the first floor echos through my room, waking me with a start. I hear bits and pieces the conversation, mostly Adam yelling at Nate about something. What could he have possibly done to make him so mad?

I tip-toe to my door, trying to listen for more. Suddenly things go silent. I look at my door as if it has the answers. Then it starts to vibrate. A rhythmic pattern. Oh shit, they're stomping up to my room.

Running back to my bed, I jump under the covers for protection. My door slams open. "Get up!" The force and warning tone of Adam's voice leaves no room for defiance. I slip out from under the covers, feeling cold and exposed in my pj pants and t-shirt. I look up at him shyly, seeing Nate cowering behind him. Stressing every syllable he says, "Basement in five minutes." I didn't want to think about what would happen if I was late. I look at the time on my phone, shuddering violently as my door slams shut.

Quickly, I dress in workout clothes, hurriedly wrapping my hair in a pony tail and running down the flights of stairs until I land on the matted basement floor. The clock on the other side of the room tells me I have a minute to spare. Adam is there, tape wrapped around his knuckles in full out fighting gear.

Oh shit.

"You want to learn how to fight, huh?" He bounces on the balls of his feet, his arms up bent at the elbows protecting his chest and fists ready to strike. "Don't think I've been teaching you well enough?" He jumps closer, forcing me back and around near the edge of the mat.

"Oh no, you will not run away." He slides up beside me and I'm in the middle of the arena. "You want to learn how to fight? Think sneaking down here in the middle of the night and getting some tips from an amateur on how to punch an inanimate object is going to help you?"

His fist comes out of nowhere, hitting me straight in my right cheekbone only to retract back to it's original position as I stumble back, almost falling. Disoriented, I keep walking back, reaching up to feel the bruise already starting to form. "Come on! You think you can actually be a warrior for this pack? Then fight!"

He lowers his body slightly lashing out another hit, aiming for my unprotected stomach. It connects, knocking all oxygen out of my lungs as my throat seizes unable to take a breath. I fall hard on my back, shoulder blades just off the mat onto the cold concrete. I kept my head from snapping back just barely by tensing my neck, but still unable to comprehend my surroundings. My vision seeing spots, I feel Adam coming closer, his anger washing over me. Out of desperation I lean on my pain shoulders and send my left foot out aiming for something to get him away from me.

I feel my foot connect with flesh and open my eyes enough to see Adam pushed back a few feet, hand on his stomach. His eyes narrow, a deep growl escaping his throat. He lunges for me and I roll away to the side, somersaulting into a kneeled position opposite him. At least that's one thing I've learned, how to dodge. "Dodging and one mediocre hit, that's rich. Fight back!!"

He flies toward me, hands outstretched, and before I can make a move to escape, their wrapped around my neck. His fingers tighten around my small throat, my body writhing helplessly under his body pinning my arms and upper body. I don't have enough length or leverage to reach up and...

Things are getting foggy. He pinches just the right place so there are no gaps for me to gain much needed oxygen. Spots of color cloud my vision and my face feels cold as the blood is drained from it. "You see? You'll never win in a fight. Your father was an idiot for making you a warrior. I doubt he even thought you could do it. He just said it and because he's Alpha we all just have to listen to him, right?" His grip tightens during his rant. My consciousness started to fade, his voice echoing around my head. "He didn't even have the decency to start training you himself, at least giving me something to work with. No, he just drops you on my doorstep with all the shit to figure out on my own and expects me to train you as if overnight you'll ever amount to something."

My eyes close and his voice fades, darkness is all around me. I guess he's right.