Escaping Alpha Riggs

CHAPTER TWO

I get up from my bed and go straight to my drawer to pick out a marker, then make my way to the door. I do not bother putting on my slippers, and even though my feet are pressing against the cold floor, it's not really worth my attention at this moment. I have better things on my mind to take care of. . .

I look out through the window next to the stairs, which shows part of our garden. I look intently through the glass and see Riggs' watchwolves standing like pillars in our garden. They are always there, from morning to night, as if they were trained to keep an eye on a 20-year-old girl and prevent her from running away from her wedding.

There are also some outside the front door. There are at least 4 wolves total, all betas. Riggs has 7 betas, and I must mean a lot to him that four of them are constantly watching me to make sure I do not escape or try to before our wedding, which is to be on my birthday.

He knew he had to expose them here because I made my intentions clear to him. He knows how much I fear and hate him, and he knows I would give anything to be free of what binds us.

Since I was 10 years old he has guarded my parents with Omegas, including the house, but he has exchanged them for Betas since I have grown up, just to make things even tighter and more difficult for me. . .

Betas are stronger than Omegas, so I understand why he had the Omegas replaced with them. The day is approaching, and he can not afford to have me slip out of his hand.

I can't believe I'm getting married on the 20th of this month. A girl must be happy when she sees her husband for it to be right, and she must dream of being taken into her husband's arms, but I desire none of these things, since I realized who I was going to marry, the term marriage in my dictionary is now a synonym for s*****y.

I walk carefully down the stairs, careful enough not to wake my parents. Neither of them knows that the basement is still in use for me. I find myself in the middle of the living room and go straight to the basement, where we keep our things that aren't in use at the moment. It's the last place my parents would ever go, because they're just too busy with work, and when they're home, they get comfortable on the couch and watch movies.

I, on the other hand, find this place more useful than the living room. Especially because I haven't been to school since this month. My head is too busy for books. The only thing I do every day is dread the day the monster officially takes me home as his wife, because that and schoolwork don't mix. I do attend high school, but Riggs has made sure his watchwolves follow me from afar so I don't find a way to escape.

I close the door behind me and stand in front of 10 sheets of white cardboard taped to the wall. I let out a sigh of depression when I see that I've checked off all the days on 9 cardboards, and only one is left that still has 8 blank spaces. I got these ten cardboards to make a calendar for myself, with each cardboard representing each year from my 10th birthday.

I look at the old wall clock hanging on the wall to my right and notice that it's just 10 minutes past 1:00. Seeing that a new day has already dawned, I mark day 13 on the last cardboard sheet, and a sigh of worry escapes my mouth.

I hear footsteps behind me and freeze. My parents are both asleep, and I've made sure to close the door behind me. Whoever is behind me has somehow entered the basement before me. I was always the only person with the key, so how could anyone else be in here with me?

My heart pounds as I try to turn around, and I wince when I see the shadowy male figure standing in front of me, unable to reach the light through the boxes of junk.

"It's all right, Kim," I hear Dad's voice call out from the darkness as he steps out of the darkness into the light, and I run to hug him.

He wraps his arms around me, and I sob in his arms. I was not expecting anyone, I thought they would both be asleep. He kisses me on the forehead and strokes my back. As he holds me tightly in his arms, I feel his pain, and I know he knows my sorrows.

"I saw everything, that's what you do every morning at 1:00," he says to me, shocked but not completely curious, because he already knows the answer. That means he's not just finding out now, he's known about it for some time, even though I thought no one knew.

"How long have you known?" I ask, feeling bad for making him feel guilty. I know he and Mom blame themselves for me being in this mess, but they had no choice, what else could they do? They agreed to the alpha's wish to get me engaged to him, but there was no way to object or refuse.

"A week ago," he says, and I break away from the embrace. Seven days is a lot. It means he's known for 7 days.

"Does Mom know?" I ask, and he's silent for a while. He knows how bad I would feel if I found out Mom knew too. Mom can not know I am having sleepless nights because of it, she would deny herself sleep too. She has only ever wanted the best for me, but Riggs is not close to the best.

"I'll answer that myself," I hear Mom's voice behind me and turn around, startled. She's been here all along. She steps out from behind the shelf to my left, and my mouth drops open in amazement.

"How did you get in here?" I ask, and she spreads her arms and we put our hands around each other. I sink deep into her arms and she strokes my back.

"Oh, my beautiful Kimberly," she says to me and is about to burst into tears. She's hurt, I feel it, I know it, and there's nothing I can do about it.

"There's always a spare key, just like there's always a plan B," Dad says from behind me, while I'm still caught between Mom's arms in a hug. He moves closer to us as he speaks.

"What're you saying?" I ask, breaking free from Mom's embrace.

I know they're up to something, I just can't tell for sure what they're up to, but I just have to listen to what Dad has to say. . .

"You don't deserve this beast of a husband, no one does. A life with a man like Riggs isn't the life a girl deserves or wants. We understand that our mistakes have put you in this position, and we're completely helpless in this situation, but that's why we made arrangements," he says, and I turn to Mom to see if they agree, and Mom nods with a smile on her face. They're in the same boat, and they seem happy with what they're proposing.

"What kind of arrangements?" I ask, and he comes closer and puts both hands on my shoulders, one hand on each. He places his hands lovingly on my cheeks and holds them tightly as he speaks.

"Arrangements for you to leave this town before Riggs comes for you," he says to me, and my eyes widen in shock.

"No! No way, you know we can't do anything without being watched, we can't go anywhere without being followed by Riggs' Betas, then how are you going to carry out this plan?" I say to them both and he takes his hands off my cheeks.

"Listen to me Kim, I talked to your Uncle Matt, he's more than willing to take you in. Matt will give you double of everything we've ever given you. I've never told you this before, but I've been working on a transfer, and when you get to Matt's you'll continue to go to school there, it'll be easier because it's your last year of high school," Dad says and I turn my back to them.

The last time I saw Uncle Matt was when I was 7, I don't even have a special relationship with him. How am I supposed to get along with someone I just can't bond with? I know how much he loves my dad, who's his younger brother, but would he love me because of that? Maybe he'll, but that doesn't mean I'll love him the same. This city is the only place I've spent my whole life, and I've fallen in love with it over the years, even though I feel like a slave, but home is always home, I love both of my parents so much that I often wonder how I'd get along at university, where I'll spend months sleeping with a bunch of strange girls in the women's dorm before coming back home. All these are the reasons I can't accept their proposal.

"Kim, honey, please listen to your father. You can't be seen in this house or anywhere near the city on your birthday. With Riggs' guards around, we can't afford to waste any more time. We've found a way to get you out of town without Riggs or his betas finding out," Mother says to me and I fold my hands on my chest. . .

“What happens to you then? What happens to you two when I leave? You know Riggs won't let it slide. You know he'll have you punished, that's if he chooses to have mercy,” I say to them and dad sighs.

“We’ll handle everything while you're gone. You deserve a better life than the one we've given to you, Kim. Let us try to make things right, please. At Matt's place, you'll get to be happy, make new friends, meet new people, have fun, just like a normal girl of your age should,” dad says and I sigh, beginning to consider things from their side.

I get that they feel bad and guilty for all these, and the only way I can lift that guilt from their hearts is to agree to leave this town, in that way they'll know my safety and happiness is guaranteed.

I look into their eyes and I ask, “when do I leave?”