The Autistic Alpha

Chapter 9: escape gone wrong (3)

In the periphery of the jungle, Imogen jumped to her feet, her whole body trembling from the shock. Blood oozed from her palm, which she had used to hit the trunk a few minutes ago.

She couldn't help but wince in pain. Her mind went blank as she turned around in the dark forest. There was no one around her at all. The night had grown quiet; the beast that had made her run had stopped chasing her. And now, she had wandered deeper into the forest.

She bit her lip, retrieving her phone from her pocket. Her eyes flashed with pain as she dialed Moira's number. No matter how hard she tried, there was no reception.

"What now?" she murmured, shaking the phone continuously as she hoped for a miracle to happen.

She paused, staring at the blank distance. The whole place was foggy. The moon was covered; she couldn't see what was up ahead.

With all hope lost, she dropped her phone. Her knees gave way. Tears burned in her lids. Her whole body trembled in pain. Tilting her head to the side, she reminded herself about the times she had spent in life without her mother.

Without the love of her father. With pain. With so many things that she didn't deserve. Or maybe she had deserved it, but she knew better than anyone that she had deserved more.

"Finally, I will be stranded and will walk out of here alive like a princess," she said, her voice low.

She knew whatever she had spat from her mouth was nonsense. She knew it didn't make any sense. And who was she kidding? Was it when she was lost in this thick forest she would get home like a princess?

She swallowed hard—her stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten anything since morning; she had only been complaining about the dishes and nothing else.

"Why do I just have to hate not having the right over my own life?" She smiled.

Finally, the tears escaped her lids, rolling down her cheeks. A weight of something that cut deeper than a knife. She closed her eyes, her teeth clenched tightly as she struggled to keep the sound of her cries inside.

"Ah!!!" She screamed, her voice cutting through the night, rough at the edges. She clutched the hem of her shirt tightly as the cold water soaked her.

As she went silent for a while, her phone came to life again. A small smile spread across her face. Her red eyes lit up as she realized it was Moira calling.

Quickly, she picked up the call. "Hello, hello, hel—"

"I'm here, slow down."

"Thank heavens, I've been trying to reach out to you, but there was no reception."

"Oh, sorry." Moira paused. "I wanted to inform you that I already left the border... Father called."

Almost instantly, the phone slipped out of her hands. It dropped into the mud. Tears slowly rolled out of her eyes as she pushed herself to her feet. Everything was over. She knew it.

Her powers were gone. The remaining strength she had had diminished. Her clothes were stained, torn from branches.

"f**k!" she cursed loudly as she kept making her way towards the route that she had taken while she came here.

It was getting darker. Her stomach was growling. Her skin shrieked from the frigid air.

She had gotten to the same spot again—the spot where she had run from the invisible growling creature. It was invisible. She hadn't seen it; she had run from it out of fear. And now she regretted deeply—she didn't even recognize the route she had taken when coming here anymore.

Turning slowly, her hands ran through her golden blonde hair. She pressed her hands on her pocket, wanting to retrieve her phone, but that was when it hit her…

"Where did I even drop it?" She lowered her gaze.

Her legs scattered the dried leaves across the floor. She scratched her hair as she tried to remember where she had dropped it.

"It's all because of Father," she said. "Father, this is all because of you. If I die here today, it's all because of you, Father. Ah!!" She screamed.

Thump. Thump. Thump—her ears perked up as she listened to the subtle heartbeat. It was a low beat that made her legs shake. It wasn't the normal one that would belong to any weak creature. It was calm. Dangerous. Loud. Different. And… there were many of them.

Imogen turned around, her eyes scanning the forest. The whole place had become calm in seconds. There wasn't any noise. No one at all. If only her father hadn't seized her powers, she would burn down the whole forest before anything happened.

From every corner, a pair of dark crimson glows appeared—red eyes. All from each corner. It made her heart leap out of her chest. At first, she thought of someone—Alpha. The guy she was about to be betrothed to. But there was something strange. He was just one person. That meant a pair of two glowing eyes, which had disappeared before she left.

But this time? There was more than one. Many. She counted each one, only to find out there were ten of them. Her heart rammed hard against her ribs.

"Who are you guys?" she asked. "What do you want from me?" Her voice was cold.

At first, the forest appreciated her boldness with silence. The next second, a voice boomed through the whole forest.

"She is a bold one." He laughed out loud, his voice echoing through the forest.

Stepping out of the wood behind her was a strong, muscle-built guy. He was n***d—the shamelessness that burned through the veins of all wolves.

"Nice to meet you, Fae princess." He smirked.

She swallowed. A deep sigh. 'It wouldn't be that hard for me to take him down,' she thought to herself. This wasn't some kind of monster. It was a kind of man she had fought countless times and killed.

"How do you know me?" she asked, her voice low.

"Wow, she became brave," he said. "That's soon, Imogen."

"Oh, you even know my name." She rolled her eyes, shaking her hands. The fear she once had seeped out, replaced with a subtle boldness.

"You would wonder how I got to know you're lost?"

"That's none of your business." She flew into character. "You know I don't like petty fights without introduction."

"Very well. But it isn't time to know who I am yet," he said.

"Oh, nice." She smirked, one leg in front—a symbol of power.

"Guys. It's her. Confirmed. Let's party." He swiped off the saliva at the corner of his lips.