Rejected, Rebirth, and Revenge

Chapter Three: The Rebirth

I shouted, "Help me!"

Ricardo placed a hand over my mouth to silence me. Even so, I still continued to shout. The sounds coming out of my mouth were muffled and couldn't be comprehended, but that didn't matter because Lawrence had already seen me.

"I asked you what you were looking at," Ricardo asked roughly. "Go on. Walk away. You didn't see anything here tonight, not unless you want to end up like her. Go on, get out of here!"

Lawrence hesitated and my heart soared with hope. I didn't actually believe that he would be scared enough to walk away and leave me here at their mercy. What they were doing to me was a crime, according to our laws.

I tried to fight him off but he was too strong and I was still hurt from the kicks I got earlier and the snapping of the bond. I stared into Lawrence's eyes and within them I saw a fear even greater than mine. He took a step back and my heart shattered. He was going to walk away. He was actually going to leave me here.

"Enough of this. Leave!" Caspian barked impatiently. "I command you!"

Lawrence shook his head lightly in fear before running away.

Ricardo laughed. They all did. I couldn't understand what was fun about all this. He then looked down at me and said menacingly, "Now, you're all ours. Nobody is going to help you."

I was carried back to the area we were in against my will. It didn't matter how hard I kicked him or how loudly I screamed. Nobody came to the rescue and he didn't put me down. He would actually see this through. By the Moon, I didn't even know what 'this' was.

Were they going to kill me?

Ricardo threw me down on the ground once we had reached our destination before stepping back. Caspian stepped forward, fully in control now. The other three just stood by and didn't say anything. I wasn't concerned about them. I was worried about his wicked intentions. This was a nightmare and I prayed and hoped that I would wake up from it, but it never happened and it wouldn't.

This was real life.

"Now that we have you all to ourselves, what are we going to do with you?" Caspian glanced at his friends for clues but they didn't offer anything.

"Leave me alone!" I said to them. "I won't...I won't tell anyone!"

Ricardo laughed at this. "Really? You won't?"

I nodded solemnly, realizing that this was all I could do. I couldn't fight him so I had to use the only weapon I currently had, which was my mouth. Maybe all I could do was talk myself out of this situation. "I swear it. I won't tell. Just let me go. I want to go home."

Caspian lowered himself next to me. His expression changed and he looked contemplative. I stared at him with hope. Right now, that was all I wanted: the opportunity to go home. I didn't care about anything else. Then, he said, "Beg."

My eyes filled with tears. "Please."

"Please, what?"

"Please, let me go home." Tears spilled down my cheeks.

"That's not good enough, Vivian," he said, tilting his head. "It won't do."

I knew what was expected of me. At this point, all stubborness left my body. I got on my knees in front of him and lowered my forehead to the ground. They laughed and Caspian said, "Much better, Vivian. See? You do know how to be an obedient Omega mutt."

I closed my eyes, willing it all to pass.

"Okay," he said. "Fine."

He stood up to his full height and looked down at me with what I realized was false mercy on his face. "I'll let you go home. But you'll be a good girl and you'll run straight home. I don't even want to see your face in the Hunt. Understood?"

I stood up on weak legs. I didn't take my eyes off their faces for fear that they'd lunge at me again. My heart was hammering against my chest. I feared that they would change their minds and wouldn't let me go. I started walking backward. Junior glanced at the others, relieved now. Edmund and Ricardo looked like they were about to burst into laughter.

Caspian's face was a blanket of snow. I couldn't see anything but disdain in his eyes. In his eyes, I saw no sympathy. I saw only a desert.

I turned on my heel and started running, my heart soaring in my chest. My head was spinning, and this began after Ricardo tackled me back there. I couldn't explain what happened even if I tried. My foot got caught in an overgrown root and I went crashing down. I hit my head on the ground hard. There was a loud c***k. It hurt at first, and then it didn't.

"s**t!" one of them said. "Did you hear that?"

They rushed toward me. I heard them but couldn't move or do anything physically, though I was aware of all my surroundings.

"Is she dead?" Caspian asked. His voice sounded different. He didn't sound like the man who told me to run home like a 'good girl'. He didn't sound like the man who was cruel to me just now and called me a mutt. "Is she dead!?"

Someone got closer to me. I heard a gasp. "That's a lot of blood."

"By the Moon."

There was a heavy silence followed by rapid breathing.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Caspian said under his breath. "How did this happen?"

"Maybe we should take her to the hospital," Junior suggested.

"No," Ed said. "She's gone. There's nothing we can do."

"What if—"

Caspian got even closer to me and touched my neck. He waited a beat before saying, "Nothing."

"We have to go. If we're caught here, things will get ugly. Caspian. Caspian!" I sensed him nearing me as well. "Staring at her body isn't going to make her come back. What's done is done.We messed up and have no way of cleaning up. It's over."

"I never..." he began before trailing off.

"Let's go," Ed said in a rush. "Now, before we're seen!"

I heard nothing else after he uttered those words. Above me, there was a bright white light. I could only squint as I stared up at it. It was too bright. I felt like I was rising more and more until the point where I was almost at the top of the trees, where the light became even brighter. I felt light and heavy at the same time. I was at peace.

Right through the leaves, there was a figure and I realized that the light was coming off it. I tried to raise a hand to shield my eyes but couldn't. My body wouldn't obey me.

It didn't belong to me anymore.

"Vivian," I heard a voice say. "Vivian."

I opened my eyes and saw the face of a woman. It was delicate and luminescent. She was the goddess. I knew it was Her even though I had never seen Her face before in all my life. Her face was like the moon's; that was the only way that I could describe it.

"Vivian," She said, "your time has not come yet. I cannot have you."

What do I do, I wanted to ask. Where do I go? I have no place to return to. I have been damaged beyond repair and all that is left of me is a vessel. I can't return to that body. It isn't mine anymore.

There was no reply from Her. I was getting desperate. I didn't want to go back.

There was nothing left of me down there.

And then, the light moved and flickered, and a hand touched my forehead. I felt that light move inside of me and spread through me. It was the strangest sensation I would ever experience and the only time I ever would. I closed my eyes and felt life bounce around inside of me. It was an energy that was hard to ignore—it flowed through every part of me.

I was...being born again.

"You will go back," She told me. "You will rule my children."

I don't know how to, I wanted to say. How can I?

"Forget your old wounds," the goddess continued. "They lie dead with your body. But bring justice. Change the world and make of it what you know is right. The power to do so had been given to your father and his father before him, and now it lies in you."

I was compelled to nod.

"You will be proof of my justice," were Her words. "Of my mercy."

And then, I was falling. It was like I was falling in slow motion but not. The closer I got to the ground, the more the light dimmed. When I hit the ground, I didn't see it anymore. It was gone and I was alone in the dark.

But not for long.

I saw a flashlight from a distance. My heart leaped from my throat and I knew I had to move. It wasn't safe for me to be here—they would see me. I had to avoid that at all costs.

I got up easily and started moving. I was light on my feet and faster than I remembered being, but then again, adrenaline was rushing through me so everything was possible. I hid behind the closest tree, not wanting to get caught. I also wanted to get a sight of who was coming toward me.

I didn't see Caspian and his cronies—thankfully. I saw instead a group of men wearing leather jackets. They were all holding flashlights and were laughing loudly. The sound of their laughter made me wince, but I refused to think about it. I wouldn't; not now.

I had to focus.

I watched them for the longest time. I couldn't hear the conversation they were having, nor could I figure out what they were going. One thing I was sure of was that they weren't a part of our pack. I would have recognized them if they were.

So, who were they?

"Here," a voice said. "Here is where the fucker is going to be."

"How can you be so sure, Dixon?"

"I just am."

The name didn't ring a bell. Still, I kept listening.

The man named Dixon said, "I've been watching him for the past six moons. I know he comes here after the ritual to rail that secretary of his. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."

"So, if he's coming our way, shouldn't we stay hidden?"

"It's still early," he answered. "I'll tell you when to hide."

"And once we spot him, we shoot, right?"

"Yes."

"What if he isn't alone? What if he has a guard with him? They'll trace our scents and we'll be killed for killing an Alpha. I don't think this is a good idea, man."

My eyes widened. They were planning on killing the Alpha? That was Caspian's father. That was who they were talking about. But why? Why did they want him dead? Who were they?

What had I walked into?

"Whoever wants to leave can leave," Dixon answered. "I'm not asking any of you to stay."

"I'm just saying—"

I'd heard enough to understand that this wasn't a place I wanted to be. Bad things were going to happen here and anyway, I wanted to go home. I had to go and figure out what I was going to do. My mother was probably worried about me.

I stepped back and stepped on a branch. It hurt my foot and made the loudest sound possible.

Their heads all snapped in my direction.

I started running as fast as I could but it was darker where I was going. They had flashlights and they were faster. Way faster. I was tackled from behind and a flashlight was shone on my face. I could only close my eyes.

"Who the hell are you!?" I was asked.

"Goddess above," someone muttered breathlessly. "Why the hell is her hair so red?"

"Who sent you?" the man above me asked. "Here, hold this."

He handed someone behind him this flashlight and I finally opened my eyes and looked at him. He was young—about eighteen—and his hair was thick and curly. His eyes were a mixture of green and yellow when the light of the flashlight hit them and his face was currently contorted into a mask of utter rage.

"You have about thirty minutes to answer me before you find yourself in a really sticky situation," he threatened. "Now, tell me exactly who you are, Fox, before I decide that you're an inconvenience."