A Royal Pain

chapter five

(TW: Abuse)

Aurora 

Soft light filled my vision. As I craned my eyes open, all I could see was a smiling woman standing above a crib. It seemed like I was in a nursery, but why?

The infant began crying and the woman's face turned sour. She reached into the bassinet and began shaking the baby. Of course, I couldn't stop her, but my maternal instincts made me want to drop kick this awful woman across a field. The shaking suddenly stopped when another young boy entered the room.

"Mama," he said.

With much more care than she'd shown the other child, the woman dropped to her knees and gave this boy a hug. "Oh, Ryan! How are you, darling?"

He pushed past her to peer into the crib. "Is bubba okay?"

Her nostrils flared. "His name is Mason. Don't use pet names," she sneered. Mason? As in... my Mason?

. . .

All of a sudden, the scene changed. I was suddenly in the middle of a dark field, watching the same woman crouch over a boy's body along with another man. Another young boy ran up from behind them.

The woman whirled around in a defensive position. "Don't come any closer," she screeched. "This is all your fault. I should have never had another son."

My jaw dropped, but young Mason didn't seem very surprised. "Mother," he glanced up at the older man as if expecting some kind of patronly kindness. "I didn't know Ryan was out here, I swear."

She wailed, clutching the dead body to her chest. I could see that blood dripped down from his forehead and into his eyes. "LIAR. It should have been you!"

The man, still not looking at Mason, placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Marina. The medics will be here soon." They stormed away carrying Ryan. Mason couldn't have been more than ten years old, but he already looked accustomed to verbal abuse. He slowly sank to his knees and began to cry.

. . .

The scene changed yet again. I was standing in the middle of a kitchen, watching an adolescent Mason creep around. He slowly opened cabinets, grabbing anything he could. As another person entered the kitchen, he whipped around only for her hand to catch him directly in the eye.

"GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT," Marina screamed, continuing to hit him. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT FOOD?" As painful as it must have been, Mason didn't shed a single tear. He simply laid there on the floor and took everything she gave him.

. . .

I was outside, standing in another field. In front of me was a crowd of somber people. Mason was towards the front, facing a long piece of wood. A hush fell over the crowd as a black car pulled up in the distance.

As people got out of the car, my eyes zeroed in on Mason and Marina. She discreetly took a cigarette out of her mouth, pressing the lit end into his wrist before letting it fall to the ground. He didn't even flinch. My heart ached for my young mate, but my attention was quickly refocused. My parents had climbed out of the car, meaning this was no ordinary gathering.

The King and Queen usually only appear at the funeral of an Alpha or their mate. Was this Mason's father's funeral? My father stepped up onto the podium with my mother next to him.