The Last of US

{Aris POV}

I found myself sitting alone in a small room in the basement, which was more like a closet. It had a small cot and a tote for my things that doubled as a stand. Looking around, it was all dark, but a dim light came in from the door at the top of the steps.

-This is my life, hell-

I came to terms with it a long time ago and that was how my life would be. Hell locked in a tiny cell. My father was the leader of the snow leopard pride. He was their Alpha, making my family the ruling family over the snow leopards.

-A pride we can’t even call ourselves anymore-

In truth, there was nothing pride like left about this group of leopards. A pride loves and protects its members. What they were doing was repulsive. I didn’t know much, but I knew young members of my pride and other local areas were disappearing. My family had something to do with it.

-How could they be in my family?-

I hate being part of this family; I hate being part of this pride. The saddest thing about it was, as far as I know, my pride was the last of the snow leopards. The legacy they would leave behind was sickening. Deep down, I truly wished they would all die and be done with it. Then no one would suffer anymore. The only downside I could see was losing Gemma.

Gemma was my leopard and best friend; she was a small leopard in part due to their malnutrition and lack of time to run and explore shifted. She was small; every other leopard I saw was double Gemma’s size. Gemma had snow-white fur with black spots. Her paws were also tipped with black fur, as was her tail. The unique thing, the thing we were careful not to let anyone see, was the blue glow that came from Gemma when they were shifted; neither of us knew what it was or why it was there. We only knew it was beautiful and powerful. Gemma was sweet and protective of me; she was indeed my only friend. Since the only other friend I had, had gone missing all those years ago.

I was the outcast of my pride and family; I never understood why I had a brother whom everyone loved; I assumed it was because my parents never wanted a daughter. However, they did use me; when I wasn’t locked in the dark basement, I was forced to clean the entire home and serve my parents and brother. I wasn’t allowed to speak or look at them unless they spoke to me first. That wasn’t even the worst of it. My brother Mason was four years older than me; ever since I turned 13, my brother, father, and mother have touched and raped me. At first, it was just Mother; I wasn’t sure if it was because they wanted me ready before the boys came in.

I lay my head against the wall as that flashed through my mind. My mother, Laylee, entered the small dark room. I remember thinking it was odd because I was already done cleaning and given my food and water for the day, so why was she there? However, when she spoke, I couldn’t fathom what was being said. Yes, they hated and used me, but I never thought it would get this far.

Mother sat on the bed next to me. “Hello dear daughter, I have some news for you; you are 13 and you’re a true woman. From now on, you will serve your family differently. Your new role is to truly please us.“ A devilish smirk crept onto my mother’s lips. It was a look I had never seen before, and it scared me in ways I had never felt before. I was about to ask what she meant. However, the moment I felt her hand on my leg, I knew exactly what she meant. My mother’s hand slowly moved closer and closer to my core.