*****
I coughed and pulled my knees to my chest. I felt so cold, my head was pounding and terrible coughing kept ripping through my chest preventing me from getting any sleep. Was that what having a cold felt like for humans? Because it fucking sucked. I brushed the sweat from my forehead surprised by it because I was freezing and shifted my eyes to the door as I heard it unlock. It had been some time since I heard that, yet I was still annoyed my solitude was being interrupted. My hearing had diminished so much I couldn't hear anyone walk by outside of the door. I watched Nicholas stroll in.
"Oh. I forgot to bring you food again. Oops." he chuckled. I didn't respond. Food was the last thing I cared about recently. I didn't know how long I had been there, did not know how long it had been since I saw him or Craig but I knew I had not gotten any better in their absence. My body didn't seem to be healing fast enough to deal with the amount of wolfsbane in it.
I had gotten used to the burning running through my body but not how my arms seemed to become heavy or numb at random times.
"You could just eat more of this instead." he grinned.
"No. No –" I cut the instinctive mumbling off when I realised my thoughts had left my mouth. I felt worse than ever and I knew my body couldn't take anymore wolfsbane.
"What was that, Alpha?" he asked smirking.
I bit the inside of my cheek. I wanted to curse at him and fight him but I didn't trust my voice at the moment. If I spoke, I might have begged him not to touch me.
I felt him nudge my head before wincing as he hit the side of my head harder but I didn't respond. He chuckled and hit me again.
"What's wrong, Alpha? Too weak to fight me?"
Yes. It would be pointless trying to fight him and I would only sustain more injuries. I hated myself for being that weak. Alphas never backed down. Never... But I was afraid. He could kill me if he wanted to, I wouldn't be able to put up a fight.
I gasped clutching my stomach and doubling over when a force slammed into me.
"You know, I always knew you were weak, Eli. And deep down, you knew it too," he said.
I felt dazed as he kept talking while he hit me and I didn't hear a word between his blows or respond as I tried to cover some parts of myself until I received a sudden stab to my arm making me cry out as he twisted the knife a little. I winced as he pulled it out while shoving my head back against the wall and we both stared at the wound as it bled. I felt my eyes burn with tears. Because everything hurt like fucking hell and because of the fact that it wasn't healing. I wasn't healing. Not even very slowly.
"Wow, look at that... A few litres of wolfsbane and you're nothing like I've ever seen you. I'm actually quite disappointed in you, Eli. I mean I didn't expect much but this? I'm sure Sean and Corey would be too." I watched Nicholas play with the knife in his hand trying to mentally prepare myself for another stab. I clenched my teeth at the mention of Ashton's father, the Alpha that preceded me and my father, the Beta before Ashton. I bit my tongue as he moved suddenly and the knife pierced into my thigh. I was not prepared for it.
"Apple obviously didn't fall too far from the tree." he chuckled. He was referring to how my dad was an Omega, one of the weakest wolves in our pack. I kept my eyes on his hand which still held the knife in my leg praying he wouldn't twist it like he previously had in my arm.
I was almost relieved as he pulled it from my leg without doing anything more, I hoped he would leave but he knelt down in front of me and grabbed my chin lifting it so I would look up into his eyes.
"Look at yourself. Pathetic." I swallowed as he glanced over me before meeting my eyes again, "Nothing is mistaken in our world, Eli. We're werewolves, everything is destiny. Alphas don't go down this easily, you were never as strong as you pretended to be." he said. I clenched my jaw as he leaned closer to me, neither of us breaking eye contact as I glared back into his eyes, "Maybe you were never meant to be Alpha, or at least not for as long as we all thought." He waited for a reply but again received none. "Probably why you haven't found your mate yet, you're supposed to go insane by yourself, so your death wouldn't hurt anyone that badly." He chuckled.
Right. No one knew about Karabo. His face disappeared as a thought moved into my mind drawing me into myself. Mates are destiny... But Alpha mates were not. Karabo and me... it was new.
Nicholas chuckled patting my leg and successfully bringing my attention back into the room as I bit my tongue again to keep from wincing when he touched the wound sending pain jolting through me. "We'll talk later, I have to get back to my pack." he grinned before he walked out.
I looked down once I heard the door lock and lifted my hand using my wrist to wipe my eye as I cursed at myself for letting out a tear. I pulled my collar slightly so I could see the tattoo that covered half my chest. The symbols every Alpha was born with laced into the identical tattoo everyone in my pack had. I leaned my head back as I lifted my hand to my arm trying to at least slow the bleeding with some pressure.
Was he right?
Was I mated to an Alpha because I wasn't supposed to be Alpha?
But Karabo... He was nothing like me. That was probably a good thing... He was probably a better Alpha than I was...
I was in a cell wasting away while the same probably happened to multiple members of my pack on our grounds because I could not get the cure for them. I don't even know if my parents were alive or...
He was right.
I'm no Alpha.
I shut my eyes and felt a sudden wave of exhaustion consume me.
-----
I blinked as I had been staring at the wall for some time without noticing it. I leaned forward feeling nauseous and realised the pain in my chest seemed to have gotten worse while I had gone blank. For a while, I had been drifting in and out of sleep and the pain in my chest had been there for hours.
I sucked in a breath as it suddenly spiked, pinching painfully. I grabbed my shirt above my heart and gasped trying to control my breathing and distract myself from the tight, piercing pain in my chest. It did not help and my breathing became gasping as I lifted my knees to my chest and shut my eyes gritting my teeth as my eyes burned with panicked tears.
I opened my mouth but not a sound left it. What was I trying to do anyway? Call out? To who?
I didn't move as the door opened.
"Oh, hey Eli, I brought you breakfast," Nicholas spoke. He stopped walking in front of me and I didn't open my eyes because I was a hundred percent sure I was dying and if I opened my eyes I would start crying in front of him.
I cringed as I smelt wolfsbane and shook my head.
He chuckled. "What, not hungry?" I really couldn't take more of that. "What's wrong? Chest pain?" He asked amused.
"Plea-please." I coughed out.
"Please? Please what? What do you...? Oh shit." I opened my eyes hearing him place the plate on the ground and through my blurring vision, I saw him pull a small black bottle from his pocket. He placed it on the floor as he began opening a water bottle and I watched as he added a drop of whatever was on the black bottle to the water. He closed the bottle again and began shaking it. "Drink –" he suddenly froze and I looked at him confused as his eyes stared blankly at me. He was focused. What was he listening to? He cursed suddenly jumping to his feet and running out as he dropped the water bottle across the room near the door. It was too far away. I pushed away from the wall causing me to fall onto my side before I reached out shakily, straining against the chains on my wrist until successfully grabbing the black bottle and shoving it into my pocket as I rolled onto my back feeling my arms lose their strength.
I felt my body go numb as blurring colours surrounded me. They were moving. Why were there so many colours when the room was so dark?
"Eli?" Wait... No. Please no.
No, Eli. It's not time to worry about that.
I looked at the person above me.
"Wat –" I forced out past the pain in my chest and my lack of oxygen, " – Water." I groaned.
"Eli –" Tammy. Her voice felt so comforting. Maybe it was just knowing that she was alright.
"Let me – I can – I can help him," Ashton said.
"No, he said 'water'." Danté? I would have been so mad at him for being there but it was a relief he was alright too. I did not mind dying that much knowing they were fine. My shoulders slumped calmly as I closed my eyes.
"Eli, stay – don't sleep –" I felt a gentle shake on my shoulder, "We need to find the cure," Tamia spoke.
"There's no time, I can help." Something warm pressed against my lips and my mouth was suddenly filled with the taste of blood, "Swallow, Alpha." Ashton's voice sounded desperately worried.
I tried to, it just took too much effort and I felt fighters gently stroke my forehead as the colours blacked out while the voices drowned into silence.
*****