I woke up feeling quite dizzy. I think I have a hangover, but I'm not sure if werewolves get one. Besides, I hadn't drank much.
I tugged on my wrists but a sharp burn had me flinching back and crying out loud. The same thing happened with my ankles. I finally glanced down to see silver chains. I growled in anger.
Footsteps from far off suddenly head in my direction and realization of where I am suddenly attack me. I try to calm my beating heart but taking deep breaths didn't work. The door opened just as my head snapped up.
The wind was knocked out of me from who I saw.
"Ethan?"
Ethan. I remember him. He was my old betas son. We hung out a lot back in our old pack. He - and Blake, his younger brother- were like younger brothers I've never had.
He smiled his usual crooked smile. But something was different about him. First of all, it was that obvious scar from his lips to chin. And secondly, it was the way he had a hard look in his eyes. Before he had such kind eyes but now he had such a hard look in his eyes even though he was smiling.
"Hey Anna." I shifted a little resulting in the sharp burn of the silver chains. I winced making Ethan send me an apology through his face.
"I was sent here to see if you were finally awake," he spoke easily.
"You're working with rogues?!" I ask mortified.
He shrugged as if that wasn't important. Hell yeah, that is important.
"I don't really have a chose now," he spoke the next few words bitterly, "your mate destroyed everything I ever loved."
"What happened that night Ethan?" I ask gently. At my question he looks at me confused as if to say, you were there. "I was out cold two minutes into the attack."
"All I remember is my mom telling me to get Blake and go with the other kids to the underground hide out," Ethan began getting a distant look in his face, "I should have listened to her.
I wanted to help the pack. Shit. I should have listened and not had let my pride get in the way. I told Blake to go with the other kids and that I would meet him there. He ended up safe but I - i wanted to help my dad. I ran into the battle field thinking that I could do it but I broke down at what I saw. Bodies everywhere. From our pack. Not one person from their pack had died. My dad. I saw him all bruised and bloody, yet he was still fighting. I tried to go help him but that made it even worse."
Tears stung the corners of my eyes but I didn't bother to force them away. I couldn't anyways because of the silver chains.
"He turned away from the werewolves around him and made eye contact with me, mentally telling me to leave," by now Ethan was full on crying, "that was enough time for one of the wolves from the enemy pack to latch their jaws on his neck and-"
"Stop," I demanded, tears flowing down my cheeks, "please stop."
"Right in front of my own eyes Anna," he continued on with his crying until we both eventually ran out of tears.
We stopped crying and just sat in silence. There was obviously nothing I could say to him that could ever forget what he had to witness.
"I need to go," Ethan suddenly says, jerking away from me. He had a closed off expression on his face that made me wonder what he was doing with these people who kidnapped me.
"Ethan," I beg just before he closes the door, "get me out of these."
He shuts the door without saying anything.
A shocked gasp erupted from me. This guy was like a brother to me and he was most likely planning my death.
I sighed as I awaited further punishment.
A little while later, the door opened and the face of Alpha Brayton was suddenly in my face.
My heart suddenly exploded into shock waves. Was I really seeing this or just hallucinating from the silver that was seeping into my skin. Yes, that's right. Not only was the silver chains burning my wrists but now it was seeping into my blood stream from all that broken skin.
I kept my eyes at a normal size and closed my mouth, so he could see I wasn't affect. I mean, that's what I hoped I did.
I was clearly shocked. My very first and past Alpha was standing in front of me. Smiling, as if he was just handed the best thing he ever wanted in life.
"Hello darling," he says taking a seat across from me, "you look surprised."
"How?" Was the only word I managed to get out. Alpha Brayton made a ticking sound of disapproval.
"You seem to forget I have some intelligence installed in this head of mine," he says patting the top of his head. That action put me off because Alpha Brayton was acting strange. Very strange.
"Is everything alright?" I ask slowly. Alpha Brayton continues to keep a very creepy smile on his face. He was scaring me, no doubt.
"It's just," he paused struggling for words, "word is going around that you are the mate of that filthy animal, Thaddeus? But I know it isn't true, you wouldn't betray your pack like that would you? Of course not."
By this point, I am one hundred percent sure he lost his mind. "It's fate, I can't control who I end up with."
His smile twitches but he regains his composure. I know then that somehow he would hurt me, physically, if it needed to be done to get whatever he wanted.
"What do you want?" My voice comes out slightly wavery but I keep my gaze on him.
He chuckles deep and menacing. "I want to know if that animal is really your mate."
"He is," I reply confidently, "and he will find me."
A slap across the face flings my head to the side. I bite my lip trying not to make any noise but a big grunt erupts when I feel the silver chains press in too deeply.
"You should know better than to lie," he says looking at my face, "know tell me the truth. Are you his mate?"
I weakly nod before a heavy foot lands on my ankles pressing the silver into my skin.
"Stop! Stop! Please stop!" I scream out in pain. The tears return and are now streaming down my face just like earlier. "Please STOP!"
"You know what?" He asks stepping off of my foot and coming closer. "I think you might be some help to us here."
I didn't face him at all. I couldn't. This was the man who I was born to trust and obey from such a young age. And now all that trust is gone.
"Being the only girl here," he says tapping his chin, "in a group full of unmated males. Who knows what could happen?"
He saunters out the room, leaving me screaming at the top of my lungs for help.
Of course no one comes.
A little while later, Ethan returns with a water bottle and an apple. He unscrews the lid for me and helps me drink the water. Unfortunately for him, he had the pleasure on being the first person I spit take on in a very long time.
The water left my mouth and hit his face perfectly, I had the urge to laugh but I couldn't do it with all the pain inside my body. He growled under his breath before shoving the apple to my mouth.
I took a few bites of it but after Ethan threw it onto my lap. "Have a nice stay here."
I shut my eyes afterwards because of sleep taking over.
Pain across my cheek had me jolting awake, which resulted in the continuation of the silver burning my wrists. Alpha Brayton stood above me grinning like a maniac.
"What do you want now?" I asked weakly. I tried to be strong but I couldn't.
"Just like to tell you," he says grabbing a lock of my hair and twirling it around his finger, "that I sent your mate a little present. If he doesn't oblige to the rules they'll be consequences."
"What consequences?" I asked nervously.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
Beta Jay
The next thing that happened was one of the worse things that the pack, mainly our Alpha, had ever seen.
I saw his furious eyes as they scanned across the paper that was attached to the dead girls body on the ground. She was human and not one of us thankfully, but as majority of our pack circled around the dead girl, the alpha and I, some growls here and there were very prominent.
What does it say?
Instead of replying he throws the paper at me which lands at my feet. I pick it up and begin to read it.
It read:
Dear members of the pack of animals, (I prefer that name don't you?), I have your precious little Luna here currently rotting away. I know most of you would want her back but you have something I want in return; My pack back. Don't bother to take your time seeing as your pathetic excuse of a Luna does not have much time, 24 hours? 48 the most? Time is ticking. If you do not do so I will declare war but this time I will succeed in having the pleasure in snapping your neck in half Mr, so-called - Alpha.
Sincerely, A.B
P.S, I hope Mr. so-called - Alpha, that you do not mind my men and I having a bit of fun with your mate, it has been a while since we've had any action.
P.P.S, I would apologize for the body but frankly, I do not care, and I know you do not care as well, as long as she wasn't part of your pack.
I threw the paper away in disgust. And he calls himself an Alpha? I glanced at the female body laying on the ground. I don't understand why he would do this to a normal human. Glancing at Alpha Thaddeus for any clues, he immediately blocks me out as I begin to telepathically speak to him.
"Take the body elsewhere and bury it," he finally speaks up, addressing to the four guards behind him.
"Everyone else, leave," he commands in a hard tone. I knew it must have been hard having to deal with an annoying Alpha who wanted nothing but his pack back. And knowing your mate is somewhere suffering in the hands of this sociopath with only a day or two to spare, that was some pretty messed up stuff. To top it all off, he and some other men were planning on engaging in some fun with her. I don't know how he is even controlling himself on the surface right now.
Alpha Thaddeus turned to me then. "We need to find out where he is hiding her now."
I nodded and followed him turning heading towards the buildings. I sighed. I had actually thought things might get better today, but no they go from worse to extremely worse.
The alprha and I, and many other people were now all gathered around trying to think of what we could do know.
"Alpha, how was that body found so close to the pack house?" Someone finally asked the question I want answered too. Others nodded in agreement.
"And why kill an innocent human?" Another one asks.
"He killed the human," Alpha Thaddeus began observing the map spread out on the table, "because he wants to send me a message. I sent our fighters to go destroy his pack and in the process many lives were taken. He killed that female because he wanted to show me that I murdered innocent lives."
Silence over took the room as we all stared at our Alpha. He was mad no doubt but if was obvious he held no remorse for those that died that night.
I thought over what he said too. It made sense, this all made sense. But it was still sick.
"As for the body being so far into the territory," he exhaled slowly, "we could have a mole in the pack... someone helping him."
A traitor? Now that was some new news. I don't know who in their right mind would turn against alphea Thaddeus but you would need some pretty big guts to do so.
"We will not worry about that yet, our first priority is getting my mate back," he says. "Ken, I want you to stay here and if any new information come up, contact me immediately. Jay, you gather ten trackers and scour the town in case he went there. I, along side some trackers, will go into the city and look around. For now, I want the pack on lock down. No one leaves their homes until we all get back. Understood?"
"Understood," we all repeat.
I go gather the ten trackers and head south to the town.
The town was situated on the opposite side of the pack village. So the city, town and the pack village were all in a sort of line. The city is north of the pack village, about an hour and a half to get to. The pack village was right in the middle of the Dark Moon territory. The town was south of everything and to get from the town to the city or vice versa, would take almost three hours.
I choose to run instead of using the vehicles. Those would just slow us down. Heading to the south side of the woods, I pulled off my shorts before shifting. I glanced at the ripped pieces of cloth, only remembering that the shirt was one of my favourites. Sigh.
I led the group of trackers. Once and a while we would stop to sniff out the area but there seemed to be no scent at all. Maybe they hadn't came here, yet.
We continued to run and eventually neared the town. Spotting the pile of clothes hidden inside a bush, I pulled out a pair of shorts and quickly put them on. The rest of the trackers went to other bushes with hidden clothes inside.
I flung on a shirt and gather the trackers.
"From here we split up," I announce looking at everyone carefully. "Just mind link the rest of us, if anyone finds anything."
They nod in agreement before we all split up. I start off by walking behind the trees and observing things from afar. After a while, I went in.
I kept my ears open just in case I hear something regarding the rogues. I walked around a bit before deciding to check with some people. Walking into a store I've always known of, I looked around for the human who might have some information.
"Aha, look what the cat dragged in," I raised an eyebrow at the man in front of me.
"Its been a while since you've been here, Jay," he spoke up. He turned towards the people in the store. "Alright guys, stores closed, come by some time later."
A few people groan and leave the store while others go silently. The man, Walter, takes a seat at one of the tables after shutting the doors.
Walter was one of the few humans who knew of our existence. He is like our human ally, who helps with situations like ours and even helps cover up our tracks. Only Alpha Thaddeus, Ken, some trackers with high status, and I know about our human allies.
"I was waiting for you to get here," he says, taking a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it up, "there's been some pretty weird shit happening."
I sit across from him, feeling curious. "Like what?"
Walter inhales deeply before exhaling all the smoke. "A few men came by a few days before."
I attempt to stay calm but I need to get answers. "What happened? And describe how they looked."
"Well, for starters, they were pretty damn dirty," he begins scrunching up his nose as if he had just ate a full lemon, "you wolves need to make hygiene your number one goal in life."
A low growl escapes but all Walter does is grin.
"Anyways, they didn't do much but stay at Martins Motel for a few hours and then leave," he inhales and exhales again, making me annoyed, "once and a while some of them would still head to the motel and then suddenly leave."
I nodded registering the new information. "Approximately, how many did you first see?"
"About ten, maybe less, maybe more."
I begin to stand up. "Is that all?"
Walter nods before getting up as well. "If I find anything else, I'll ring you up, if someone answers the damn thing."
"Yeah," I begin finding it slightly amusing, "we've been busy these past few days but I will try to answer the phone."
I head out noticing the same people Walter kicked out standing outside.
"Finally," one of them says shooting me a glare.
I instantly glare back furiously, making the humans flinch back in fear. Cowards.
My next stop is Martins Motel. It was a minute walk to get there and it was located much closer to the woods than the other small buildings.
Beta, I think I found something.
Where?
Martins Motel.
I roll my eyes before rushing towards the motel. I slam the door open and the scent of a rogue catches my attention. I instantly begin growling and notice that some of my men have arrived also. We all head forwards keeping a good eye out for a trap.
I head up the stairs first before I spot the rogue. He was being held by one of my trackers. Keeping my guard up, I approach the two before halting.
"What is this?" I ask confused.
"Rogue," the tracker replies before letting go of the rogue.
"He's a child?" One of the others say out loud asking the same thing I had in mind.
The rogue was just a child. No older than ten. He was shaking on the spot as we all stared him down. Not for intimidation, because it was obvious he was already intimidated by my one tracker, but out of curiosity.
The child was very filthy. He had scrapes and dirt all over his young hands. He continued shaking. He was scared of us all no doubt. Something that shook me off though about him, was the sense of power around him, which I instantly realised as the power of a Beta. This must be a Beta son. From the way my trackers shifted, they realised it too.
"What is your name?"
The child stayed silent for a few moments before looking me in the eyes and answering:
"Blake."
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~MissieA out!
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