THE FATED ALPHA'S CAPTIVE

CHAPTER FIVE

LYRA

I woke up to the sight of a wall made of stone,rough and ancient looking. I was surprised because my room has no such design. Where were the soft, painted walls of my room?

Did my stepmother redecorate while I was asleep? No, that didn’t make sense. She was extravagant, yes, but she would never go for something so… primitive.

I let out a loud yawn as I stretched ready to bask in the pleasure of viewing the outside of my window when my eyes caught the sight of strange symbols etched into walls glowing faintly in the dimly lit room

No,this can't be it.

My eyes flew open and I sat up quickly,my pulse racing as I scanned my surroundings. This wasn't home.

I squinted at the dim light in the unfamiliar room. It took a moment for my mind to catch up with where I was… or rather, where I wasn’t.

This wasn’t home. A shiver ran down my spine. Where was I?

My blood roared with panic as the bits and pieces of what happened earlier came to me.

Anya falling sick, sneaking out of the house, checking out the outside world, finding my back home and then that man, the one with the dangerous aura. I hadn’t seen his face clearly, just his eyes. Green. Piercing. And then… nothing.

He kidnapped me,he took me here.

I needed to stay calm. Panicking wouldn’t help. But no matter how hard I tried, my mind kept circling back to the fear creeping up my throat. I was trapped somewhere I didn’t know, with no idea how I got here or who took me.

I stood up, my legs shaking slightly, but I forced myself to move. I walked toward the door at the far end of the room, pushing it gently. It didn’t budge. Locked. Of course. A wave of frustration hit me, but I swallowed it down.

My mind raced with the thoughts of what could happen. I've read in my books about kidnap, about what happens to the captive. They can seek ransom from my step parents,I can become a slave here,worst still,I can be trafficked to another country and be used for all sorts of things.

Fear crawled at my chest by the thought. But the man looked different, strangely different. Was he the beast Rose had warned me about? No, that was silly. Rose’s stories were just that—stories. But still, there was something about him that felt… wrong. Inhuman, almost.

Before I could make sense of my thoughts, I heard the faintest creak behind me. My heart leapt into my throat as I spun around.

A middle aged woman stepped in. Her hair was tied in buns with a scowl plastered on her face.

“I am Elera. I'm the handmaiden here”

Her voice was sharp, cutting through the heavy silence in the room. There was no warmth in her gaze as her eyes swept over me.

I didn’t respond, preoccupied with the perpetually locked door that finally lay open before me.

My mind scrambled to make sense of her words.

"The handmaiden... here?" I repeated slowly, my voice barely more than a whisper. "Where... where is here? Why am I here?"

Elera raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed with my confusion. "You’ll find out soon enough," she said curtly. "But right now, you need to get cleaned up.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to appear defiant even though panic was bubbling up inside me.

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where I am,” I said, my voice slowly rising. “I have a right to know!”

Elera’s eyes narrowed slightly, she seemed obviously pissed, but she kept her composure.

“You can be as stubborn as you want, girl, but you’ll get nowhere with that attitude.” She stepped closer. “Now stop wasting time and get cleaned up. You're a mess.”

I glared at her, refusing to move. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I don’t know who you are, and I sure as hell am not just going to do whatever you say.”

Her jaw tightened, and before I could react, she grabbed me by the wrist with surprising strength, yanking me toward her.

“You think you can defy me? We’ll see about that.”

“Let go of me!” I shouted, trying to pull my arm free, but her grip was like iron.

Without another word, Elera yanked me forward, her movements quick. She pulled me into the adjoining bathroom, and before I could protest further, she began stripping my clothes off with so much force.

I don't know much about relation with people but this sure as hell wasn't the right way to relate with someone you trap in here.

“What are you doing?!” I cried, struggling against her. I tried to push her away, but she was relentless, her hands moving with precision as she peeled off my dirt-stained clothes.

“Stop! Let go of me!” I yelled, but she didn’t respond.

I stumbled back as she pushed me towards the bath. How the hell can a woman be this strong?

"I can do it myself" I yelled, trying to gain some semblance of control but Elera's patience had clearly worn out. She shoved me towards the tub. "Don't challenge me"

The icy water splashed against my skin as she forced me into the tub. The cold shock pulled a gasp from my throat. I struggled to stand but she pushed me back down with ease.

"Stop fighting me" She snapped. "You'll only make this harder on yourself"

My chest heaved as I glared up at her,my fear and exhaustion were starting to wear in. I bit down my lips to keep from crying out as she scrubbed away the dirt from my skin. There was no point in resisting anymore.

I wished I had just listened to Rose. I wished I had just stayed back. This wouldn't have happened,I would have been saved. I missed Arya,I missed my room and for some weird reasons,my stepparents. As much as I resented them, I realized now that all they had done was protect me. Maybe they were right to keep me hidden away. Maybe the world outside really was dangerous, just like they’d warned me

Once Elera was satisfied,she pulled me roughly from the bath, wrapping a thin scratchy towel around me. She grabbed me by the arm and led me back into the room.

“Get dressed. You've been summoned. You already made him waited enough”

Him.

That one word sent a chill through me, dredging up the memory of those piercing green eyes. The man from before. The one who found me. The one who’d somehow brought me here. A shudder ran down my spine, and I instinctively took another step back, bumping into the cold stone wall behind me.

"I... I don’t understand," I stammered, my voice small. "What does he want with me?"

Elera turned sharply, her lips pressed into a thin line. "You'll understand soon enough, girl," she said. "Now stop wasting time and get dressed”

Maybe he wanted to kill me. No, maybe he’d pass me around to all of his men first then kill or make me his slave.

My chest squeezed tight as Elera set a silky piece of fabric on the bed.

I stared at it. It was a simple tunic and pants. It was white and clean.

Why would he make the effort to send me this dress if he was only going to rip it off?

Maybe it'd just be death. The image of me lying in my grave dressed in a tunic and pants sent a chill to my chest. This wasn't the way I had intended to die.

"I don't wear white. Black suits me better," I muttered

That was a lie, but if I was going to die today, I might as well do it in style.