The stranger wasn't a stranger anymore. He was the Alpha from the visiting pack. The man, Stella was supposed to be mated to form the alliance, but now the Alpha was standing in his adjoining bathroom with Talia sitting on the sink as he carefully removed porcelain shards from the palm of her hands. "This isn't the first time this has happened, is it little wolf?" Alpha Jackson looked at Talia, seeing the pain in her eyes. Talia shakes her head. "N...no Alpha. But I...I'm used to it." Her eyes drop again, and she nervously starts biting her bottom lip. Jackson look at her with fury in his eyes, directed at those who would treat a girl this way.
He finishes removing the shards and Talia thank him. "You are coming back to my pack with me. You will get your own room with a bathroom, warm food and enough food to make you full at every meal. You will get new clothes and help take the matted hair away." His words are final, but Talia's eyes widen. Not because she is offered a bed and a shower, but because of her hair. "P...please, I will do a...anything, just don't cut m...my hair off." Tears start falling from her eyes, and she starts sobbing. Jackson doesn't hesitate. He wrapped his arms around the fragile girl and held her close. "No one is cutting your hair off, sweetheart. They will help brush it out so you don't have the large, matted areas, but we're not cutting it off." Talia sobs into his chest, not daring to believe him. Strangers are seldom kind, and she has been tricked before.
When her tears subside, she wipes her face and thanks the Alpha. She excuses herself to her room and slinks down on the cardboard box, knowing it will be her last day in freedom.
The next morning, Talia wakes up to ice-cold water being thrown at her. She gasps and sits up abruptly, shaking from head to toe. Stella stands over her, her perfectly painted lips grinning as she sets the bucket down. "Time for your punishment, brat!" Two guards surround Talia and drag her to her feet, pulling her out to the hallway and towards the dungeons. Talia pleads and begs for them not to toss her in there, but no one listens as always.
She's stripped and thrown naked into the cold, moldy cell when someone yells behind them. The guards and Talia looks up as Alpha Jackson comes running towards her. "Get her out, now! And give her some clothes!" Talia cowers at his tone, wrapping her arms around her scarred body, not wanting to be seen.
The guards look at each other before hesitantly looking back at the very pissed off Alpha. "A..Alpha Jackson, the Luna has d..decided that she w..will be thrown in the cells..." They can't finish before they both hit the wall. Alpha Jackson stalks towards Talia, and tears of fear slide down her face as she presses her naked body against the wall, terrified of the man standing in front of him. His deep blue eyes are pitch black, his brows are furrowed, and his canines are protruded, making him look dangerous. No, scratch that: he is dangerous, and only a fool would say otherwise. Talia is on the verge of a panic attack as her silent tears become loud sobs as he steps closer. Her entire body is shaking in fear, her teeth clattering from both fear and cold, and she has blood trickling from her scraped knees.
"Don't be scared, little wolf. Look at me. I won't hurt you. No one will hurt you again." He reaches out a hand for her, and she flinches like he had just stuck her. Alpha Jackson presses his lips into a thin line. The poor girl is traumatized, and he has no idea how to get her to come with him without scaring her further. He slowly began shrugging his jacket off, trying not to scare her further. Once it's off, he sighs. "I'm going to step closer now, and put the jacket over your shoulders. I mean you no harm, little wolf." Talia heard his words, but she don't believe them. He isn't the first one to promise not to hurt her. Not the first man to tell her he would help her, to get her away from Shadow Moon.
Talia flinches when Jackson drapes his warm leather jacket around her. It covers her from her shoulders to her knees, making her at least look a little modest and leave a bit more to the imagination. Talia's teary eyes meet his, and there is no more fury in them, only concern. "Please, little wolf. Take my hand and let me take you away from here. I don't want to grab you and frighten you more, but I will unless you take it and get up." His hand reaches out again, and Talia hesitates for a little, letting his words sink in. She doesn't want to be carried out of there, so she hesitantly lifts one bandaged hand and places it in his large, warm one.
Jackson sighed in relief when his hand was wrapped around hers, and he could pull her up to him. "Good. Now, just take one step at a time. We walk out of here, and never look back. From this day forward, you are a member of my pack." Talia doesn't answer. She just follows him, allowing him to pull her with him. She still trembles, and her mind is filled with flashbacks from the last time a man promised to take her away from there. He had taken her to the Omega quarters and had laughed as he tied her hands above her head, her face down in the mattress and the man behind her, positioning himself and thrusting in, hard and brutal, not caring that she was a virgin and screamed her lungs out in pain.
When he had finally finished, he had just grinned and used a hand between her legs, making her whimper in pleasure despite not wanting it. When he had made her c*m, he had her tossed naked into her room again, confused and aching in pain. Talia stops dead in her tracks and try pulling her hand free. "Please, d..don't. I don't w..want that again. Y..you will force yourself on me like all the o..others." Alpha Jackson turns abruptly, his eyes wide and his mouth open. "My dear, I would never force myself on you. It's disgusting that someone would ever do that, and that's a bigger reason to get you out of here." He began walking faster, making her run behind him. They enter the entrance hall where Luna Elanor, Alpha Travis and Stella stand, not letting them out. "Alpha Jackson, Stella are ready to leave now. She will have her things ready to go tomorrow." Alpha Travis' words are laced with fake kindness as his eyes land on Talia. A flash of anger emerges in his eyes, but he doesn't do anything.
"I will not take your daughter as my Luna. She treated this Omega like she was garbage after she tripped her so the plates were shattered on the floor. I will not tolerate such disgusting behavior. I am taking the girl with me, and if you try to stop me, I will take your entire pack and banish the three of you." The three obstacles hurried out of the way, mumbling apologies as Jackson pulled Talia out the door and to freedom. Talia squints at the bright light of the sun and covers her eyes with her hand. Jackson doesn't stop yet. He opened the door on the passenger side of his car and helped her inside before buckling her up, ignoring that she tensed up, and closed the door behind her. He moved to the driver's side and jumped in before starting the engine. Talia flinches at the loud sound, but soon they are speeding through pack land, several cars following behind them; his pack members. "Five more minutes, little wolf, and you are free." Jackson steals glances from time to time, but Talia just look straight ahead, her fingers fumbling with the too long sleeves of his jacket, and the minute they cross the border, it feels like a heavy weight has lifted from Talia's shoulders.