Enslaved by the Alpha

Chapter Seven: Home

My heart beat loudly in my ears and my head throbbed, synchronized with every pound. The muscles in my body refused to cooperate with my movements. Or maybe they did, I just can't feel anything from the neck down.

I opened my eyes languidly, squinting at the darkening sky. The colors of sherbet partially lit the clouds and I forced my head to the side using every last ounce of what little strength I had. My gaze landed on the black lines in the grey rock swerving into the yellow lines, fading into nothing. In the distance was the machine pulled into the grass, two flashing yellow lights emitting from the sides.

Closing my eyes, I rolled onto my stomach, a loud cry of pain echoing in the air. Vile came shooting up my throat and I retched, throwing up strictly blood. Most of it came out as liquid, only a few clots.

Bright white lights in the distance caught my attention and I cursed, watching them speed my direction. Before they could land on me, I pulled myself to my feet and wobbled into the woods on the other side.

The machine passed with a whoosh a moment later and I averted my eyes from it to the trees across the way, a deep frown overtaking my lips.

"No s**t! Scarlett Callidora?"

I spun around, my line of sight landing on Magnus, the man engaged to my eldest sister eighty years ago. Relief flushed my veins seeing his face and I choked on tears, the mental walls I built over the decades crumbling down in mere seconds.

"Babe! Wait up! Goddess, you're so competitive!"

At the sound of my sister's voice, I froze.

"There you are. Good Goddess," she huffed, coming into view from behind a tree.

I lost my balance, crashing to the grass in a fit of sobs. Her eyes darted from him to me in panic after the sound hit her ears, her face turning much paler.

"Scarlett?" She gasped in disbelief, rushing over and collapsing to her knees to embrace me in a hug. I clung onto her, the both of us sobbing hysterically. Then she leaned back, a huge smile on her face. "You're alive! I can't believe it. I thought you were dead, we all thought you were—" her eyes took in my battered appearance, stopping on my neck.

I felt ashamed, looking between them. Magnus walked over, kneeling next to my sister with a frown. "By the looks, I got a feeling being dead would've been the better outcome."

"What did Alpha Zeek do?" She asked meekly. Their eyes lingered patiently on me, awaiting my answer.

"If that man was anything like the rumors... he found a way to torment her even after his passing," Magnus grimaced. My sister shot him a pained look, her teary eyes returning to mine filled with sorrow and guilt.

"We need to get you to Doctor Elkins to make sure you're really okay," she said, sharing another look with her lover.

A long, loud howl unexpectedly erupt into the evening air and others soon followed, coming from all different directions. I widened my eyes, scrambling to my feet and attempting to run in the direction I was headed. A horrible limp slowed me down and they were quick to my side.

"Stop, Scar. It's okay! King Valentino and Alpha Aston negotiated a territory arrangement awhile back. The colored rock line separates our borders. The humans own it. We stay on our side, the wolves stay on theirs," he reassured.

I slowed to a stop, furrowing my brows and frowning at them as their words swarmed my head, struggling to find a place to click in between all the things rummaging through my brain.

"How did you get away?" My sister interrupted my train of thought suddenly, her voice hesitant and fearful.

"I ran," I finally spoke, monotone, staring off into the trees with gentle tears running down my cheeks, mixing into the blood covering my face.

"If it were that easy you would've done so a long time ago and don't you dare say you wouldn't. Scarlett, please, tell me honestly. How did you get away?" She begged for an answer, cupping my face and forcing me to look at her. My tired eyes met her frantic, worried ones.

"He broke the bind I had to the pack," I replied. My body threatened to subdue to the blood-loss and pain now that I felt safe and my adrenaline was wearing off.

"Who?" Magnus questioned. I began coughing, hunching over and usung them as support to keep me upright.

"Hello? Ma'am? I saw you rush into the woods. Are you alright? You're a long way from town!" A man called out, then a small white light beamed around the trees in our direction. I inhaled, the first scent finding my nose was blood. Then I sniffled again, sensing it was a human male.

"Is that human who made a terrible screeching noise?" Magnus asked, knitting his brows and sharing a look with a confused Annette.

"I don't know. We need to go before he finds us," she answered, looking at me.

My eyes darted toward the road and scanned along it through the tree branches, spotting the large, familiar machine sitting off in the grass with two beaming white lights planted in the front and blinking yellow lights.

That man hurt me!

Hissing, I whipped around to face his light. My sister grabbed my arm, her face showing extreme concern. "Scar, no. No, it's against the law, King Valentino—"

Ripping out of their grasps, I ran after the little light and halted when my gaze landed on a man stumbling through the bushes, fear tattooed across his face as he searched his surroundings. "Ma'am? I can take you to a hospital! Just come out."

I charged at him from behind, sinking my teeth into his neck only to remember my fangs were missing.

He yelled, twisting around and shoving me away. I tore a chunk of flesh off and he held the gushing, peeled skin, the blood gushing between his fingers. Tears filled his eyes, horror consumed his face, and I lunged at him again, grabbing his wrist to move his hand then biting down on his exposed wound. He screamed.

Hands abruptly grabbed my body and pried me off, restraining me from attacking. My sister rushed to his aid, ripping his shirt to cover his wound.

Her eyes met his. "You need to take yourself to a hospital before you bleed out! Go, now!"

He nodded, throwing a frightened glance my way before getting up and running off. Annette approached me with an angered glare then grabbed the sides of my face.

"Drinking from a human is punishable with death, are you f*****g crazy?" She snapped. Magnus pulled back to slip me out of her hands.

"She's injured and starved, babe. Calm down," he said. I began coughing lightly again, a slight burn forming in my throat.

"So that really begs the question." Annette's gaze turned to me and narrowed. "How the hell did you get away?"

My coughing worsened and the burning never eased, concern slowly morphing on her features. Magnus let go of my arms to give me space. Fresh blood gurgled up my throat and spewed out of my mouth, trickling down my chin onto the shirt over my chest. I gasped for air between my choking.

What's happening to me?

"The Alpha's son let me go," I wheezed, black spots overtaking my vision and my body slipped out of my control.

𓃥

"Scar?"

My eyes fluttered open and connected with my sister's. She sat next to Magnus on the chairs next to the bed, leaning over my arm with her hand in mine while the other rested on my cheek.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked softly, tears glossed her eyes and a sad smile plastered her lips.

The door opened at that moment and our eyes directed toward the man, watching him stroll over to the opposite side of my bed and glance down at me.

"Good evening, Ms. Scarlett. I ran tests per request from Ms. Annette. Your vitals are dangerously low. There also appears to be slight levels of vervain in your system. Normally, a dose in such size would only stun us, but seeing you haven't had proper blood intake in a long time, it severely burned the lining in your stomach and throat. Do you know how or where you got the herb?" The doctor asked.

I would've known if I came in contact with vervain.

Was it... Draven?

"She was with a wolf pack for a long time, maybe they dosed her to suppress her strength," Annette interjected. The doctor looked at her with a spark of fear in his eyes that went as quick as it came, returning his attention to me with a forced smile.

Right away, I sensed something was off and grabbed his coat. He knocked me away and his smile fell, his once soft eyes darkened and his expression turned grim.

"Don't contaminate me. I'm sorry," he forced out.

"What? What did you do?" Annette frowned, retracting from me to stand. The doctor's eyes snapped to meet hers.

"He wanted to see her exactly the way she arrived," he frowned, taking steps back from my bedside. I sat up and shook my head frantically, a coldness consuming me.

Two guards stepped into the room and everyone's gazes darted to the doorway. Anxiousness of what's about to happen filled me and I choked on the abrupt, horrific change of atmosphere. The air became heavier and the tapping of his shoes neared the doorway, echoing in the hall.

Annette took her seat and shared a worried look with Magnus. He sent a look of pity my way and they lowered their heads. Tears rolled down my face and my eyes fixated on the empty doorway, the burning muscles in my throat tightening.

A shadow filled the doorway and my eyes lowered instinctively, a rush of chills coming through me. I shuddered, refusing to look up.

"Thank you, Doctor Elkins." His voice cut through the air and I withheld a tearful whimper.

His shoes clicked against the floor, closing in on my spot on the bed, and I saw his dress shoes come to a stop next to me. A hand tightly wrapped around my throat, forcing my gaze to raise as he lifted my head and brought my face closer to his.

He wore a blank expression, then a huge, skin-crawling grin sprawled across his face. "Isn't this a surprise? Who'd have thought you'd survive this long? Aren't you a little warrior?"

I grunted softly to retain any comments that'll enrage him, fighting the instinct to pry his cold, unsettling grip from my neck. His grin never wavered and I couldn't stop the scowl of distaste from finding my features, wishing for nothing more than to drive a stake through his dead heart.

His eyes analyzed my expression and his tongue clicked in disapproval behind his teeth. He leaned in, gliding the tip of his nose along the side of mine, moving over my cheek in the direction of my ear. His hold on my throat abruptly tightened and he halted, his smile vanishing.

I carefully watched his face, flinching when he ripped back and stared at me. His eyebrows downturned and his forehead creased, his dead eyes piercing into me, and his top lip curled, the muscle quivering. I tried to scoot away, confused-fear weaving in my bones.

He slammed my head into the pillow and a loud cry rippled up my throat. His hand moved to my jaw, pinning my head to the side and brushing the hair off of my neck, exposing the wolf's marking to everyone in the room.

"The lovers mark, used to sever the marking that bound her to the wolves in that pack which was created by an Alpha to contain any creature outside of their species. Only an Alpha can sever an Alpha's bind, if that were the case," he hissed.

I cried, seeing everyone raise their heads to look at my neck, and felt humiliated and ashamed for allowing myself to become

desperate enough to get imprinted on by a werewolf.

"What are you saying, your highness?" Annette asked, her voice laced with tears of her own. Her face was full of worry and fear for me.

"Her tie to that pack was never severed, it was transferred. She's bound to the werewolf who gave her this."

His hands left my face and I released a harsh, trembling breath, knowing better than to move without his permission after all I've already done. More humiliation overcame me feeling all of their stares and my line of sight was limited to Magnus and Annette. They stared at me with frowns, seemingly conflicted between helping and obeying.

The King reached out, gripped my jaw, and turned my head to face him, pressing me harder into the pillow.

"Tell me, darling, who marked you?"

"I'd rather die," I strained, wincing as he applied more pressure.

"As you wish." His expression darkened and my eyes widened as he pulled me upright, twisting my head until darkness quickly took over.

𓃥

Groaning, I opened my eyes and winced from the pain in my neck. There was a sharp, burning sensation in my wrists and I groggily analyzed my surroundings. The gravel-stone walls were chipped, cracked, and covered in blood stains. The room was dark, only lit by a dim torch outside next to the wide, arched doorway. My hands were shackled to the floor, chained to opposite ends of the room which prevented me from bringing them together.

While taking slow, steady breaths to avoid spazzing out, I looked down at myself. The brown t-shirt was replaced with duck tape over my breasts, crossing my areola's in the form of an X. All I wore on my hips was a stained white fabric woven together with thin string in the shape of underwear, leading my gaze over the dried blood cluttered across my body. Some areas looked like cuts, some looked like punctures, and some looked like splatters.

I yanked against the blood restricting shackles, grunting in pain. The noise echoed off of the walls throughout the dungeon and I released a frustrated scream. "I'll kill you!"

Screaming again, I fell forward on my knees and laid my forehead to the floor, sudden sobs shaking my body. Distant footsteps headed this way and I couldn't regain myself, listening to the familiar clicking of his expensive shoes and his collected, ambled pace. The King has always moved with such patience, like he wants everyone to know he has all the time in the world. I can't recall him ever using his vampire speed for anything.

As his footsteps drew near, I lifted my head off the floor and stared at the doorway, waiting anxiously for him to appear.

"It's been a week, darling. I was beginning to question your immortality."

He stepped into view, entering the room with a toothy grin that most would find friendly. But I knew better.

He squatted down in front of me, hooking a finger beneath my chin. "Don't take it personally, love. Your connection to a werewolf from that pack is exactly the key I need. Now that you've had your rest, I believe it's time you tell me who marked you."

"You broke my neck! The only thing you're getting from me is a promise to tear your heart from your chest. I was going to drill a stake through you, but that's too quick. I want you to suffer," I sneered, turning my head aggressively out of his hold with a sharp glare.

His smile faltered and he sighed calmly, intertwining his fingers, tapping his thumbs together. I watched his eyes jump between mine, unable to pluck a singular thought from behind his irises.

His intense gaze became unbearable to resist and I looked over at the wall, clenching my teeth. "Why does it matter who? It's just a f*****g dog bite, it holds no value to us."

His smile returned. "Oh, darling, it does. I haven't been able to make connection to that pack since border negotiation twenty years ago. I had assumed all those snide Alpha's simply killed everyone I sent over their border, apparently they all spared you. They won't give me a non-werewolf the time. However, you've been with the Sawyer Pack for decades, and as you know, they hold remarkable influence over every wolf pack in the country. Wearing a mark from one of them tells me you're important to someone there, which is all the leverage I need to hold their attention."

"That doesn't answer the question. Why does it matter who did it?" I asked, scowling.

"All I need is a name, Scarlett. I can't approach their Alpha making unbacked claims, he'd never grant me the time of day. If I knew the full name to one of his many pack mates, I'm sure he'd be more than willing." He tilted his head, a massive grin overtaking the already stretched smile on his lips.

"What makes you think I know?"

He chuckled, a devious twinkle in his eyes. "In a wolf's world, that mark isn't to be taken lightly. Those runts don't mark just anybody. If one wears the lovers mark, a strong connection is involved. The lovers mark relies on any deep, reciprocal emotion to bind two people, otherwise it won't work."

Reciprocal?

I shook my head in disbelief, feeling him grab my chin to face him dead on, his eyes drilling into mine. "Tell me who the wolf is," he demanded.

"Draven Sawyer," I answered without hesitation, breaking out of the trance he captured me in with several blinks once the words left my mouth.

"The newly transitioned Alpha?" He asked, surprise struck his features then a crooked grin made its way back onto his face. "Well, well... he's exactly the man I'm seeking a word with. That takes away a step, this shall go quite smoothly then."

Newly transitioned Alpha? Does that mean...

I moved backward to put distance between us, humorless laughs climbing their way up my throat. "If he wanted me, he'd never have taken away the only thing keeping us together. Even if he did, do you honestly believe threatening someone to be your friend is the way to go? The only thing you'll get out of that is an enemy, Cyprian."

Rage contorted on his features and he grabbed me by the hair on the side of my head, pulling me right into his other hand which plunged directly into my chest.

I gasped, my eyes wide, and he wrapped his cold hand around my rapidly beating heart. He squeezed, making each jump shoot an aching, dull pain throughout my chest. His fingers strummed the veins extending from it, forming a sharp, hot sensation.

"I am your King. You may not like me, but you will respect me," he spat, clenching my heart in his fist to stop it from pumping. I gasped, multiple kinds of excruciating pains sprouting from my chest.

"Rot in hell," I heaved.

He smiled. "Sleep well, darling."

His hand tightened and I screamed, instantly falling silent feeling it slow to a painful stop in his death grip.