Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future by Neener Beener chapter 1

Most people don’t even remember the packhouse has a dungeon. I do though. I have a little room in the back that used to be a solitary confinement cell. It smells of old piss, vomit, and blood. You get used to it. I have a cot and an old tattered blanket to keep me warm. I even scored a lamp out of the trash. It still works, so I have light to do my homework. Home sweet home and all that jazz, right? I mean, at least I’m not a rogue.

Oh yeah, I should introduce myself. My name is Iokaste Latmus, but I go by Kas. No one calls me Iokaste except for teachers on the first day of school. I’m a werewolf in the Silver Moon pack. Since I’m an orphan, I’m not

completely sure how old I am but pretty sure I’m sixteen. Also, I’m an omega which means I’m a servant. My job is to make the meals for the werewolves who live in the packhouse. Between making breakfast and dinner for over a hundred wolves, cleaning up after them, and

restocking the pantries of the ranked members’ apartments on the third and fourth floors, I do normal teenager stuff. Except, I don’t really have a lot of spare time to do normal teenager stuff. So homework, homework is the extent of my normal teenager stuff.

Right now, it’s eleven-thirty at night. I’m putting the finishing touches on my English essay when I hear the door of the dungeon slam open. Great. Now what did I do? It doesn’t take much. Alpha Graham Connors is an alcoholic. It’s really difficult for werewolves to get drunk,

which means you have to drink really heavily to feel the effects. Which means he probably had a fight with Luna Caroline about his drinking. Which means she locked him out of their room. Which means he has come down to take out his anger on me. Just an average Tuesday night in the packhouse.

The sharp smell of whiskey hits my nose well before he appears in front of my door. I know the drill. I’m already on my feet waiting for him.

Oh crap oh crap oh crap. I’m thinking in my mind.

“Alpha Graham, what can I do for you?” I ask with my eyes looking at the floor. I keep my hands clasped in front of me, trying to look as small as possible.

Without a word, a whiskey bottle whizzes past my ear and smashes against the wall above my cot. I flinch and can’t help but start to tremble and hug myself. We’re beyond ‘Oh crap’, we’re in ‘Oh shit’ territory now.

Whatever is about to happen it’s going to be worse than usual.

He lunges forward and grabs me by the throat with both hands. I feel tears coming to my eyes as the lack of oxygen turns the edges of my vision dark. I desperately claw at his hands, trying to escape his grip but it’s no

His eyes are pitch black indicating his

shards of the broken bottle pierce the skin on my back through my thin t-shirt. The whiskey makes the cuts burn. I try to muffle

me to the ground. He kicks me in the gut and stomps on my back over and over. The glass bits are grinding deeper into my back. I can feel blood soaking through my shredded shirt. I

then whips me until

the broken jaw and blood pouring out of my mouth. He abruptly stops and walks out of the room. He comes back a

dripping

glass shards still in my back, combined with the wolfbane is

blurry

being dead is like? It’s peaceful, but a little bit boring. At least I don’t have to feed the pack. Oh dang, I didn’t get a chance to turn in that English essay. It was a good

a brightly lit, clean room. This is the afterlife? Maybe this is some sort of waiting area, but where’s the lobby? Is

causes excruciating pain. I start to panic, making the beeps in the room become faster. Oh, I’m hooked up to a bunch of machines. I try to figure out how to unhook them so no one hears the noises. Too late, I hear people in the hallway getting closer. I try to sit up. I need to ignore the pain. I have to escape. I slowly slide off the side of the bed. My legs were wobbly. The tubes and

an older man. He has black hair that’s turning gray on the sides. The nurse is young with blond curly hair pulled back

in bed, shall we?” The doctor says gently. He and the nurse come to either side of me and reach out to hold my arms.

My voice is scratchy and raw and my mouth feels like a thousand needles are poking

you heal. Let’s get you back to bed and get you

cup of water with a straw. It hurts the whole lower half of my face to drink, but the water

sits in the chair beside the bed as the nurse checks my vitals and starts messing with the tubes and

of glass from your back, we also had to reset some ribs, your jaw, and you had a lot of wolfsbane in your blood. We gave you a transfusion to clear it from

could heal,” the doctor

about that last part, doc? I

Beta Tate went to get you and found you on the ground in your…uh…room,” he looks at