Enslaved by the Alpha

Chapter Fourteen: Confessions

I pulled myself to my feet and stared off in the direction the howls emitted from, contemplating whether to do the smart thing and turn-tail... or the heartfelt thing and go back. After all he's done for me, it'd be cruel of me to abandon him. But going back would mean dying. Now the consistent question is being asked and the answer I always dodged is being forced from me. Am I truly willing to give my life for him? Does he mean that much to me?

"f**k," I exhaled in frustration.

My gaze darted in the direction of the wolf pack then forward into the human town, feeling conflicted on what choice to make—the most important choice I've ever had to make.

Scrunching my face, I turned toward the town and took a step only to be halted by the loudest, deepest howl I've ever heard. Everything in me clenched and goosebumps covered my skin, making me inhale sharply as if my body knew exactly who it belonged it.

I dropped my eyes to the ground in instant shame, tightness piercing my chest with tears flooding my eyes, blurring my vision.

Was it frustration? Pent up anger? I couldn't say for sure what it was that caused me to feel like death had its hooks embedded deep into me, but I knew what it wasn't. I've experienced anger, frustration, and all the in between on every level, from clenching fists to seeing red. I've felt every form they came in. This feeling is different—it's foreign to me.

The same howl filled the air and I whipped my head in that direction, exhaling shakily as the tears fell freely. It felt like he was calling for me and I wanted to be the one to save him this time. I also wanted to save myself for once.

My body remained planted in this spot while the internal conflict continued and it killed me inside. Doing nothing because of emotion is far worse than making a choice based on emotion.

The scent of blood suddenly filled my senses, then something in me snapped back into place and I bolted to find the origin. The scent led me toward the war and the closer I got, the stronger it became, and the quicker I pushed myself to go, reaching speeds I never had before.

My feet halted when I came up on the m******e playing out before me, my panicked eyes jumping from dead body to dead animal while the live ones proceeded to fight. Wolves and people dropped like flies, tearing into each other like the beasts we always claim not to be.

My gaze moved along everyone, and I didn't have the slightest clue as to what I was searching for, but my eyes did. They settled on a massive wolf wearing a coat of thick, wavy black fur covered in patches of blood. I caught a glimpse of its bright green eyes that seemed to glow and recognized him on the spot. Foam and saliva dripped from his lips as his jaws snapped at the three vampires circling him.

Tension left my body seeing him and I couldn't help but stay beside the tree, watching him dodge every strike they made and successfully land every shot back.

Furrowing my brows, I began to frown in suspicion. They're no match for an Alpha. It was clear these vampires are amateurs. They looked very young, like they haven't even hit the age they'll be forever. Then my gaze snapped over at the movement a few meters behind him to see Valentino and it all made perfect sense.

They're decoys.

No.

He approached Draven from behind while he was distracted and a surge of adrenaline showered over me, filling me with a feeling I haven't felt in decades. My feet kicked off and I charged straight into the fight, my focus set on Cyprian. He neared an oblivious Draven and the sensation constricted my muscles, tearing their every last fibre, sending an excruciating amount of pain through me that brought tears to my eyes.

My breathing harshened in fear and I jumped over the pile of bodies separating us. The empty sensation exploded within me and I clenched my eyelids closed until a numbness took over, forcing my eyes back open. The world around me appeared more detailed, yet grayscale, and my feet never landed back on the ground.

I shifted.

Swooping down, I bit and clawed at Valentino, flapping my large wings rapidly to disorient him, a rage I never experienced before consuming me. Ear-piercing squeaks and squeals exited my mouth, replacing every curse I tried to scream at him.

He put an abrupt end to my attacks by snatching my leg and forcing me into the ground, pressing his shoe into my left wing before I could take off. I squealed in pain, thrashing wildly. He glared down at me.

"Callidora," he hissed. My presence put a kink in his ambush when everyone involved was now staring at me, mesmerized.

Stories say our bat form resembles our humans, like the werewolves, which would also explain the stares. Nobody's ever seen a bat with a wingspan of over five feet. And to be able to transform is a rare occurrence, one wolves have never seen and only a few vampires have ever seen. It's much more common to transform than to see another transform.

"Still in death, you let it consume you," he snapped, showing the most anger I've ever seen, and the memory of my death came crashing back into me hearing the words he uttered all those decades ago.

He twisted his foot mercilessly and stretched out my wing, earning himself a shrill squeal of pain.

Draven's wolf released a deep, deadly growl and lunged. Cyprian grabbed him by the throat and threw him off his path, slamming his body into the ground a few feet away with a c***k.

"You are nothing against me," he sneered, narrowing his eyes at the few victorious wolves who stepped forward in alarm at the attack on their Alpha, while the rest continued their fight. Cyprian began scanning over them and I vaguely saw Draven move to his paws with a newly found glint in his eyes, baring his teeth with zero trace of humanity left behind his gaze.

The sensation in my body tingled and before I knew it, a wave of heat came over me and I gasped. My sight returned to normal and I felt like myself again, only my arm was pinned under Cyprian's shoe and the slightest movement sent excruciating pain through me. As the heat exited my body, I felt the cold sweat send ice through my veins and shivers tightened my every muscle.

"D-Don't touch him!" My teeth chattered and I trembled, curling up to cover my nude figure the best I could given my positioning.

He retracted his foot just to drive it into my stomach, sending me rolling onto my other side with a heave.

"You are in no place to give demands, darling," he mused, driving his foot into my back and making me cry out.

Through the corner of my eye, Draven was frozen staring at me, a look I wasn't familiar with written over his face. Him being a wolf only made it harder to decipher.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled airily, watching something in his eyes change.

He moved toward Cyprian and snarled, taking a huge bite into his calf without a second to waste, then he yanked him on his ass and went for his neck. Except Cyprian was faster. He grabbed Draven by the snout and held it shut, slamming him onto the ground next to him with a flare of fury in his eyes.

"You are nothing, pup," he hissed. Draven slipped free from his hold and attempted another attack.

Weakened by my shift, my blurred vision searched our surroundings for anything to help and stopped on a broken branch a few feet away. I reached for it, fighting against everything telling me to rest and regain my strength.

I came back to save Draven, that's what I intend to do.

My hand finally wrapped around it after what felt like years of struggle then I turned to face them. Cyprian was trying to get back on his feet, but Draven refused to let him by biting his legs and dragging him back down on the ground.

I used what was left of my strength and threw myself at Valentino, using my bodyweight to be able to plunge the branch through his back and out the front of his chest—straight through his heart.

"I told you I was going to kill you," I whispered in his ear, releasing the branch and moving aside to let his dying body fall back.

He laid on the ground, gurgling and twitching. I didn't have the time to relish in it because instantly following, the effects of my shift managed to dominate me and I, too, fell to the ground as darkness took over.

𓃥

"Dammit, Scarlett, open your eyes. I know I asked more than I should've from you, but this is it." His voice filled my ears and I felt a gentle, yet rough, hand cup the side of my face, caressing my cheekbone.

A prolonged silence swallowed the air between us and I forced my eyes open wearily, completely drained of all energy. He was already staring down at me which connected our gazes within the second and he froze, almost as if he wasn't expecting me to wake despite his hopeful plea.

I took in our surroundings and realized we were in his room. I laid naked in his bed wrapped in the sheets and he sat next to me, leaning over my body with his giant frame.

Relief flooded his face and he dropped his head down, resting his forehead against mine with an unsteady exhale. "Goddess, I've never seen a shift tire someone to the brink of death."

"I told you, we don't shift unless it's the only way to survive. The intensity of the adrenaline that's released triggers it, and it's only released when you feel like death is certain," I explained.

"Then how did you?" He questioned, raising a valid point the more the events from earlier soaked in and I realized I wasn't anywhere near death until after my shift.

"I—" my mouth shut, completely at a loss for words.

How did I shift when I was nowhere near death?

My brows furrowed and I lowered my confused gaze to our connected hands, merely then realizing I had my hand wrapped around his as though it was subconscious. The way they fit together so perfect, like we really were made for each other, brought many different feelings out, some of which I couldn't quite decipher. Then I realized.

"It wasn't my life I was afraid for," I muttered, lifting my eyes to meet his, hesitancy and fear clenching my throat under his intimidating gaze. The words I wanted to say got lodged in my throat just as they always had, but this time I overcame my anxiety.

"It was yours," I admitted, a fire blazing in my cheeks at the verbal revelation. The odd feelings within me twisted in my gut and made me feel uneasy acknowledging them.

"What?" He asked.

"Valentino was about to strike you from behind and the possibility of it killing you just brought out that adrenaline in me. I feared for your life like mine depended on it and I just..." My gaze finally met his after refusing for so long and heat flooded me again, only this time much stronger. His eyes searched mine and I was entranced by his stare, deeply embarrassed by the extremely personal words flowing off my tongue. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

He faltered slightly and I felt ashamed for suppressing the full truth, but I just couldn't force myself to say it. I'm too afraid. I'm afraid to trust again. I'm afraid to love again. Everything was ripped from me once already, what's saying it won't happen again?

"I know." He smiled sadly, reaching in the pocket of his jeans and pulling out a familiar silver necklace. "And if what just happened showed me anything, it's that I never want to see you in harms way again." He slipped the necklace into my hand and held it there, allowing me to feel the effects of the silver against his palm. Despite his unfazed reaction to it, I felt his skin beginning to disintegrate under the heat. If it weren't for the silver being cold between our hands, I would've been convinced it was held in a fire.

"Please, keep it. I won't feel right if you went back out there without something to help keep you safe," he explained, his features scrunching and his gaze remained fixated on our hands. I stared at his face and sensed something else was bothering him, questioning if it was the silver eating away at his palm until he met my gaze.

"I'm so sorry."

My frown lessened and shock consumed me. He stared into my eyes with sincerity, rendering me even more speechless, and tightened his hold on my hand with the silver resting between as if to intentionally inflict pain on himself. "I never should've spoke to you like that, you deserve the utmost respect even when you're upset and I just didn't give it to you. What I said was low and stupid, as an Alpha I'm ashamed."

Appalled, I merely stared at him and the look in his eyes had me believing every single word he uttered without regard to whether they were truly genuine or just manipulation. Those words are all I ever wanted to hear since my life fell apart, they were a belief I was beginning to doubt was true. Now hearing them, I can't convince myself otherwise.

Unable to reply, a small smile found my lips. I let out a breathy laugh before interlocking our fingers and throwing myself into his lap, pressing my lips to his. The blankets followed, barely keeping me covered, and they only slid further off as I followed him down onto the mattress. He cupped my face and kissed me with the same desire, loosening his grip on my hand when I pulled at the necklace and set it aside, returning my hand to his, interlacing our fingers once again.

"I want you," I whispered. He flipped us over and the sheets flew off of me, completely exposing my healed, cold, pale naked body.

He lowered over me and kissed along my neck, holding himself up just enough to torture me with the heat of his body radiating through his clothes. Small moans and gasps escaped me while his warm lips explored my collar, trailing lower toward my breast. He nibbled on my n****e and groped my body, warming me up with his wet, steamy kisses.

I moaned, feeling a bit clammy from being beneath him. My senses magnified as each kiss he planted sent electric waves to my core and my eyes fluttered close. I tugged at his hair slightly and my skin grew more sensitive to his touch the more aroused I became.

My hands pulled him back up and our lips met again, smacking together in hunger. I deepened the kiss, nipping at his lip and moaning softly. He slipped his hands under me and effortlessly guided me higher on the bed without breaking apart. My hands roamed his shirtless torso where I found the button of his jeans, incapable of refraining any longer.

He took over and undressed himself, hovering his nude body between my parted legs while we made out, running our hands through each other's hair and caressing each other's body.

I brushed my lips over his jaw and ran my hands down his back, lightly clawing down to his hips. My right hand moved between us and wrapped around his thick, hardened erection, feeling the blood rushing through it as I guided him over my slick cunt and rubbed his tip over my c**t.

He moaned in my mouth and I pushed him toward my opening, feeling my lips part around his glans. We continued to share slow, steamy wet kisses while he lowered himself, grazing his hot, tight muscles across my body when entering me. I turned my head and pushed it into the pillow, closing my eyes with an inhale. He held me close and buried his face into the dip in my neck, finding his pace using his hips to drive deep steady strokes into me.

I ran my hands down his back, feeling all the muscles in it flex with every thrust. He grunted and whimpered, seemingly losing it being buried inside my tight walls like it was his first time all over again.

"Kiss me," I moaned.

He pushed himself up with his hand in mine, abiding by my wish with a flaming passion fueling him. The way his lips pressed into mine conveyed feelings of desire without uttering a single word. I felt everything he wanted to say by mere bodywork.

Groaning into his mouth, I wrapped my hand around his neck and ran my fingers up into his hair. He pushed his full length in and I flinched when his c**k hit my cervix, clenching my soaking cunt around his girth. He kept his pelvis on mine and started rocking his hips, plowing his c**k over my g-spot with just the right pressure that had me balling my fists and pulling at his hair.

I used his body to lift my upper-back off of the bed, however, the adjustment only intensified the stimulation. I pulled back the tiniest bit and hovered my lips over his, panting heavily feeling a discomforting sensation grow in my core—one that I couldn't help but enjoy.

Then, as if he knew what would happen, he pulled out and I trembled, all the build up in me releasing in a short burst of liquid. The sheets under us soaked in warmth and there was a pleasuring heat tingling in me, causing my body to shake violently.

Draven slid back into my creamy hole, moaning from the tightness of my quivering body around his c**k. He leaned down, engulfing my tingling figure with more heat before planting his lips on mine, whispering in my mouth. "That's so hot."

I purred, wrapping my legs around his hips to grant him deeper penetration. He plunged into me, filling my hollow insides. I whimpered in pleasure as he squished into me, groaning.

Soon following, his pace quickened and his breathing harshened, then he slowed to a stop and covered my walls in his c*m. The hot liquid shot from his pulsating member, making him shudder in enjoyment. After a moment, he pulled out and stared down at me, our gazes lingering yet nothing but our heavy breaths filled the air between us.

I turned my head with a blush and he moved away, leaving me alone, cold, and exposed on the bed. Embarrassed, I rolled on my side and closed my eyes, curled up and frustrated by the burn in my eyes and throat.

I give myself constantly, but I never get a thing back.

Suddenly, the blanket was taken from over my feet and I felt the mattress dip behind me. My eyes shot opened feeling his muscular arm drape over my waist and pull me into his bare chest. My legs brushed against his and I concluded he was now in sweatpants. However, rather than leaving me the only one uncovered, he placed a dry blanket over my body.

My features softened and he held me protectively, making me feel the very things I never did before, and it occurred to me quite quickly that I had serious feelings for him.

Swallowing roughly, I twisted around in his arms to face him. He allowed me to do so before retightening his hold, furrowing his brows while he stared at me, expecting words to come out, and my throat immediately closed up. I just can't say it.

The silence around us lingered and I laid my forehead against his chest, my eyelids fluttering close as I began to relax in his secure, warm embrace. His hand placed on my cheek, caressing it delicately which soothed me toward the edge of sleep.

"I'm so in love with you," he whispered, and a small smile tugged at my lips.

I'm in love with you, too.