TRIGGER WARNINGS: s****l abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse. 18+ ONLY please

Celeste

I flinched as Gus raised his hand to backhand me again, my lip already split. Thankfully, he didn’t hit me this time. “I shouldn’t have come back here,” I mumbled, unsure why he was yelling at me.

Gus had covered his scars with theatrical paint from the dancer’s tent, making him look ridiculous. Despite wanting to laugh, I was too scared to. His sour breath made me think he had been drinking from the bootlegged brown bottle he held, likely stolen from another alpha’s train car. We usually only drank swill and moonshine.

“I bet you sold it for some dough, right?” he accused, taking a few gulps from the bottle.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied, my drop curls bouncing as I shook my head, my legs crossed to ward off the chill.

He slammed the bottle down and picked up a bit of rope from his desk. “You’re gonna tell me who you sold it to or where you hid it,” he demanded, a cigar in his mouth and a lighter in his other hand.

“I didn’t take anything from you,” I said, trying to reason with him.

He smiled with the cigar held in his teeth. “What you took from me wasn’t yours anymore. It was mine the moment I took you in. And well, I need it back.”

He blew smoke in my face, and I choked on it as he laughed. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, hoping he would believe me.

He looked at one of his henchmen behind me. “She doesn’t know what I’m talking about,” he mocked in a high-pitched voice. “Oh Celeste, Baby...” He lifted his fist to hit me but stopped short of my face. “See anything missing?”

Opening one eye, I peered at him. “Your ring?” I guessed.

“Don’t be coy, Celeste,” he growled, grabbing my chin. “I don’t have time for it. The alpha of The Luna’s Last Circus will be coming here after the show, and I have a meeting. Without that ring, I’m gonna have to tell him something.”

Gus glared into my eyes and pinched my cheeks. “Where is my fucking ring?” he demanded, threatening to burn the cigar on my face.

As the bombastic song, ‘The Entry of the Gladiators,’ began playing in the Big Top, Gus realized he was late for the show.

“Showtime. And you made me late,” he said, tossing the ties to his lackeys. “Tie her up good and tight. I want her to be here when I get back in thirty.”

I looked behind me, my gaze trying to see who was there. I couldn’t see when they were in the shadows. It wouldn’t matter if I saw them. Many of the thugs wore clown masks as if their ugly mugs weren’t terrifying enough.

They weren’t gentle as the ropes scraped across my skin. It wasn’t soft rope, either. It was the roughest twine used to tie up crates for the animals.

I could hear the acrobats racing to the Big Top. If they didn’t hurry, they were going to miss their cue. Gus would be in a mood.

I licked at the blood in my mouth and shook my head. My earrings jingled. I was lucky he didn’t box them. I wouldn’t be able to work if I couldn’t hear.

Turning my head back and forth, I was surprised to find myself alone in Gus’s tent. The small size wasn’t much, but it was more privacy than was afforded to me.

Who was I? If this was a normal circus, then I was a nobody. I wanted to scoff at that brief observation. Even in my rogue pack, I was still a nobody. But this group was all I knew, and I tried to run once. It didn’t work out. Still, I regretted coming back if this was the treatment I expected to receive.

The animals made a fuss. That was no surprise. Howley’s Moon Traveling show was not known for being kind to the animals. They bought them second-hand from other circuses looking to retire the poor beasts, but Gus wanted to save some pennies. It was his mistake.

They didn’t perform half as well, and the audience was not half as excited to see a lion who wanted a nap.

The show wasn’t that good either. No one knew how to arrive on cue, and if there was any entertainment to be had, it was in laughing at the sheer incompetence of everyone to do even the simplest part of their job.

With a sigh, I look out the gap to see the circus lights. They were at least beautiful. I could look at them while listening to the distant music and ponder what new hell Gus promised. Then I remembered something… Gus mentioned the alpha of The Luna’s Last Circus. My head popped up, my jaw dropping as well in surprise. I felt a wave of terror overcome me.

I heard the new alpha of The Luna’s Last Circus was now a man all packs feared above all others. Alpha Deidrick Cardum was notorious not only with the packs across the nation but also with regular gangs in both Chicago, New York, and Seattle.

I was scared of Gus, but he was an injured dog with fleas compared to the wolf that Deidrick Cardum was. I could see people passing outside of the tent, but I dared not whisper to gain their attention. It might get them trouble they would be unable to contend with.

Struggling with the biting ropes that bound me. I didn’t want to be here when Gus returned. I couldn’t imagine what he had in mind for me next when he threw out such outlandish accusations. Such things would get a wolf’s throat cut or ripped.