Betrayal And Redemption (Wolves of Hollow Ridge Book 1)

Chapter 24. Rising from the Ashes!

Possible tigger warning!  Please be aware this chapter contains details of abuse and sexual violence!

As Sophie continued to tell her harrowing story she focused on a small stain she could see on the wall above Alpha Jacobs head, it was much easier to talk when she didn't have to look at his face and see the pity she knew would be there.

"I healed pretty quickly after the first time, my wolf was much stronger then." She paused to gather her thoughts. "He raped and beat me every day for the next month or so. Said he was "breaking me in."  I think he was just trying to break me. He kept me chained like a dog in the corner of his room, only releasing me when he wanted to use me. Those weeks are pretty much a blur and for that I am thankful. I don't know if I would have survived with my mind intact if I was not on the verge of unconsciousness the whole time."

"After the first month or so he finally unchained me and I was allowed to move about the cabin freely. I think he thought I was too scared to try and run away.  But I tried.  I tried so many times over the years to get away, but he caught me every time. And every time he brought me back the punishment was worse than the last." Sophie finally looked at the imposing alpha sitting silently and tried not to see the pity and horror in his eyes.

Jacob swallowed the lump which had been wedged in his throat for the last five minutes and asked softly, "why didn't you approach someone in the pack and ask for help? You must have saw others at some point."

"Oh I did ask for help, numerous times. The first time I got out was a few months after the first rape. I was covered in bruises and filthy. I had climbed out of a window and ran. I saw a male walking toward the pack house and called out to him. When I ran up to him and tried to approach him he took one look at me and turned away. I called after him and asked him to take me to the alpha. He ignored me and kept on walking. He came running after me when he realised I had gotten out, grabbed me and dragged me back to that hell hole."

"I couldn't understand why the man had walked away, why he had ignored me. Turns out he had told them I was mentally unstable caused by the death of my parents. That I would attack him for no reason and the bruises where from him defending himself and disciplining me. He told them I refused to bathe and because I was a teenage girl he didn't think it was appropriate for him to bathe me." Sophie scoffed contemptuously. "Goddess he must have been a very convincing liar."

Shocked, Jacob could only shake his head incredulous at what he was being told. Oh how this pack had failed that poor child. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that everything he was being told was the absolute truth. He could scent no deception, only pain and despair. He knew that there was much she wasn't telling him. She had brushed over the mention of the punishments she received after her attempted escapes. He could only imagine how truly horrific those must have been. He cleared his throat once again trying to dislodge the permanent lump there.

"I'd like to move forward if I may to the day you turned eighteen. Can you tell me what happened that morning?"

Sophie frowned and focused once again on the small stain that had become almost a life line for her. "I knew the chances of finding my mate on the very day I came of age where slim, but when you live the life I lived hope is really all you have. I snuck out of the cabin early in the morning. He was still sleeping of the alcohol he had drank the night before. I made my way down to the creek where I knew many of the younger members of the pack hung out in the summer. He was the first person I saw."

"Who was Sophie?" Jacob asked.

"My mate! Zack. He had just came out of the water. I had never saw him up close before and I was surprised by my reaction to him."