Fated To The Exiled Alphas

Chapter 2

Caramel's Pov

My eyes darted wildly around the room, searching. This house held everything. Every scream I'd swallowed, every lash I'd endured, every violation that had chipped away at my soul.

The thought to burn it all, to erase every trace, slammed into me with a terrifying clarity amidst the chaos. Burn it. Burn everything and erase him. Erase me from this place, from this nightmare.

My hands, still shaking violently, dropped the knife as I stumbled towards the dresser. What did I need? Nothing and everything. I took my worn backpack and a few clothes, then the tarnished locket my mother supposedly wore, the one Aunt Benny had allowed me to keep only because she deemed it worthless.

Gasoline. Uncle Debriel always kept a can in the shed for the lawnmower, I pushed the shed door open, the acrid smell of fuel stinging my nostrils. I took it back inside and poured it everywhere. On the rug, on the bed, on his lifeless body...especially on his body. Let him burn. Let him burn for everything he had done.

My hands fumbled for a match, striking it against the box and dropping it onto the soaked floor. The fire licked, then roared, consuming the darkness.

My breath caught in my throat as I watched everything go ablaze, then I ran out the back door, my backpack bouncing against my shoulders, feeling the heat on my skin. I told myself not to look back, but I couldn't help it and just for a second...the flames were already devouring the roof as smoke billowed, carrying away the screams that had never been heard, the pain that had never been acknowledged.

And all I could do was run. My only instinct was to flee, to put as much distance as possible between myself and this nightmare. My lungs were heavy with fear with each gasp or breath I took. My legs ached so bad, muscles screaming in protest, but I pushed harder into the forest. It was dark, I felt branches whipping at my face, roots snagged my feet, threatening to trip me. Every snap of a twig, every rustle of leaves, sounded like a hunter closing in because they were coming. They had to be. They would smell the smoke. They would smell him.

I ran until my vision blurred until my foot caught on something and I pitched face forward. Pain exploded in my ankle as I cried out.

Then, through the pain and the darkness that threatened to consume me, I saw them.

Three pinpricks of yellow lights glowing in the dark. Before a low growl vibrated through the very ground beneath me. Wolves...beta wolves.

My breath hitched, catching painfully in my throat. My heart hammered against my ribs, as I struggled to get back up on my feet. They were closer now, I could feel their presence surrounding me.

I scrambled, ignoring the screaming pain, limping and stumbling. But moving. I had to move, they kept up to the chase as if knowing they could catch me if they wanted to.

The trees thinned abruptly...then I saw rays of lights, blurry and distant, but lights. The city. I burst out of the forest, gasping, into the harsh glare of streetlights.

I veered into the first dark alley I saw, reeking of garbage and humanity stark contrast to the forest life. Pressing myself against the cold wall, I took a deep breath trying to steady myself and quiet the thumping of my heart. There was silence.

I thought I'd lost em, bringing myself down to the ground, relieved when suddenly I saw a shadow detach itself from the deeper gloom at the alley’s mouth. Before I could even scream, a heavy weight slammed into me, pinning me against the wall, clamping a hand over my mouth.

"Look what we have here," a voice snarled. "Little human stray. Thought you could run, did you?"

Then another figure emerged, then a third.

"She's got a bounty on her head, boys," the first one chuckled, his grip tightening. "A pretty little thing like this. Gonna be fun."

A fist connected with my stomach, knocking the air out of me. Then another, and another. Insults rained down, a torrent of venom, just like Uncle Debriel. My head hit the brick wall with a sickening thud as I felt the darkness threatening to consume me again.

My vision blurred with tears mixing with the grime on my face as they laughed. This was it. This was how it ended. Alone, beaten, in a filthy alley. The universe, it seemed, had decided I deserved nothing more than this.

Darkness was closing in, for real this time but then I heard a roar ripping through the alley that shook my bones and made the thugs just… stop. The air changed, thick with some smell I didn't know...but it was weirdly familiar.

Then two huge shadows came out of the dark. So fast. Not just shadows, though. Big...like towers. I saw the power just rolling off them, making the thugs look tiny, like nothing. One, with eyes like gold, he was a blur. Dark hair, all muscle. He just grabbed the guy on top of me, lifted him like he weighed nothing, and slammed him into the brick wall. The other one moved like a hunter. The other two? Gone in seconds.

They just stood there, over the thugs, breathing hard. The gold-eyed one turned and looked right at me. Like he was seeing everything. I flinched, pressing myself to the wall like I could disappear, my whole body shaking.

These weren't normal wolves, these were… different, bigger and even scarier.

"You hurt?" One of them asked, his voice was deep, a rumble that went right through me but I couldn't talk so I just shook my head, barely.

The green-eyed one, he'd been watching the alley, now he looked at me like he hated me already. "She's trouble, Orion," he snapped. "Human stray. Out here. They'll be looking for her." Orion. That was his name. He didn't even look at the other guy. Just kept his eyes on me.

"Name?"

"C-Caramel," I whispered.

"Caramel," he said it back, weird. He took a step and I flinched, "Why alone?"

That question just broke everything. The terror, the despair, it all just burst. "Please," I choked. "Please, don't let them find me. They'll kill me. My uncle… he… I killed him because he hurt me...n-now they're hunting me. Please, you have to save me." The words just spilled out.

The green-eyed one, scoffed. "Killer, Orion and a weak Omega. We don't need this. We're already exiled. She's just more trouble."

Orion's eyes went hard but not at me. "She's alone, Leandre. She's terrified. We don't leave innocent people to the wolves." Then his eyes softened, just a little, when he looked back at me. "Come with us. But you follow our rules. Understand?"

I nodded, fast, tears just running down my face. "Yes. Anything. Please."

"Fine," Leandre grumbled. He was pissed, I could tell, but he didn't say anything else. "But she brings trouble, she's gone."

Orion held out a hand, I hesitated, then put my shaking hand in his.

I felt a jolt but not of pain, nor fear. Something else. Like… recognition. Mate?