The Wolves and the White Bird

02. The Alpha

When the footsteps were only a small distance away, Cora let go of the cell bars and took a few steps back. Even though she knew someone was here to take her to her next prison cell, she was still wary of where she was going to end up this time. But then again, it couldn't be much worse than this place.

Into her view walked a towering figure, his eyes intense and alluring as he searched the cell in front of him, his eyes immediately locking onto hers. In an instant, her body tugged her forward a step, sensing a pull towards the man in front of her. The same butterflies in her stomach she was experiencing earlier were drawing her to this man and drawing him to her in return.

Snapping out of his daze, the man in his shirtless state, wearing only a pair of green harem pants and looking like he stepped out of a men's fitness magazine shoot, moved towards the cell door jingling a set of keys in front of him. On the first try, the key clicked in place and he swung the door open.

"I am Alpha Draven. You will come with me," he said, stepping into the cell and grabbing her by the arm.

The moment his hand touched her arm, she shrieked. Not in pain, but in surprise. A warm pulse radiated up her arm and down her back, sending shivers through her entire being and an unusual burst of energy cast over her weakened body. Cora had never felt anything like it before, but as quickly as it had appeared, it had disappeared as the man in front of her retracted his arm away from her at a lightning speed.

Alpha Draven appeared more shocked than she did, and it was likely that he felt the same strange pulsing sensation. Only once his shock had dissipated, he looked from his hand up into her hazel eyes, which locked on to his in an instant. A look of confusion then realisation crossed his face at once, but she had no idea what thoughts were running around his head, only that she felt an usual warmth radiating through her body. Her mind had turned blank to all but the rugged man in front of him, with the strong jawline and black as night hair that was short at the sides but thick and lush on top as it moved in waves across his forehead.

"You're..." The words stumbled on the Alpha's lips as he stared back at her and she watched as his chest raised up only to fall back down in a heavy breath of air.

"Not coming with you," chimed in Cora as she took a step back, ignoring the curiosity she had of the man in front of her.

The alpha stepped forward, eyebrows raised in disbelief as though he had never heard anyone challenge his words before. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not interested in a different cell today, thank you." Cora turned her back on him, walking to the back of the wall before running her fingers along the stone wall as she did often, counting the number of stones as she went.

The alpha stood back, leaning up against the bars of the cell. He smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "And you think you have room to negotiate? You seem to be forgetting where you are." He pointed to the confines of the cell she was in.

She was well aware that she had no room to negotiate but her time was running out and her care factor had reduced to practically zero over the last couple of months as she watched her countdown timer draw slowly to its end. So maybe this was an opportunity for her to get some benefit on her end before she died. It may not be the freedom she was looking for but a few perks to ease her final days would be nice.

"How about we make a deal?"

The alpha stood back, looking at her with curiosity but he simply waited to hear what she had to say.

"I'll come with you easily, no fighting on my end but I want a guarantee of a few things on your end."

"Such as?" said the alpha, smiling in amusement.

"A bed," said Cora, thinking up a list of the only things she thought she could wrangle out of this poorly made deal. "And not just a mattress on the floor. I'm talking about a proper bed. On a bed frame, off the floor." Anything to stop her mattress from getting soggy if the floor gets wet, which is usually did.

"Anything else princess?"

"Three square meals a day. And decent meals as well. None of this stale bread crap."

Before she could say anything else, a sound coming from behind broke them out of their reverie.

A massive brown wolf with glowing red eyes roared with rage as it launched itself at the alpha, catching him off guard. The two tumbled into the open cell as Cora jumped backward, narrowly avoiding the claw that lashed in front of her as the strike landed on the alpha's back. In a rage of his own, Alpha Draven shifted so fast she nearly missed it and a massive werewolf twice the size of the other appeared before her eyes. His dark black mane rippled with power as he charged forward, roaring with a fierceness that shook the walls of the cell as she felt the floor rumble between her feet.

The alpha didn't falter as the two beasts collided, shattering the cell bars with the force of his impact as the smaller wolf clawed and bit back with his own savage ferocity. The black wolf dodged most of the attackers moves however, one blow caught him on the side, tearing through his fur and skin. He didn't back down though and fought on, his eyes fixed on his opponent. Finally, he saw his chance and, with a lightning-fast motion, he lunged forward and snapped the brown wolf's neck.

The brown wolf collapsed to the ground, dead.

Alpha Draven shook his fur coat as he glanced back to look at Cora, captivating her with his speed, power and intense icy ocean eyes. He shifted, just as fast as he had done before, and was once again standing in front of her, staring again with the same icy ocean eyes that his wolf form had taken.

His hand moved lower to his side as he gripped onto the deep claw marks that cut across his clearly defined muscles. The blood ran fast from the wound, dripping down his body as his gaze seemed to move in and out of focus.

Then suddenly, he collapsed.

"Holy shit," she said, moving towards the unconscious man on the floor. She nudged him once in the shoulder with her foot, making sure he was indeed passed out cold before watching his lifeless body rock subtly with the motion as she nudged him again.

Cora glanced up at the open cell door, listening as the battle raged on up ahead. If she was lucky, maybe she could escape, get away from this all and maybe even survive if she didn't have to heal anyone anymore. Then she glanced down again at the man on the floor before shifting her gaze back and forth between the open cell door and the man in front of her.

It wasn't like her to leave anyone injured if she could help it. She may have disliked how people used her but she wasn't normally in the habit of leaving an injured person to die. But this could be her only chance at escape.

Stepping over the body, she moved towards the cell door and was almost halfway through the door when she stopped, pausing with her fingers tapping in rapid nervousness against the bar. She gazed at the open dungeon door.

"Oh fuck, I'm going to regret this."

She twisted her body back to the alpha, still unconscious on the floor, and walked back over to him, letting out a deep sigh of frustration. Bending down to kneel beside him, she struggled as she pushed him onto his back, revealing the wound on his side. Her hand inched forward to cover the scars running down his torso, and she felt the familiar cool tingling course through her hands. The wounds stitched closed.

Cora tried to get up, tried to make a run for it, but instead fell back against the wall in a heap of exhaustion, breathing heavily as her eyesight blurred. Lifting up the bangles on her arm, the last thing she saw was the numbers on her wrist change.

00039.