ENSLAVED BY THE ALPHA

Fourteen

Edwin

I watched as the healer came out of her room looking so sad and it made me wonder if something bad had happened to the girl. Something worse than what I had done to her. Was she dead?

No, she was still alive and breathing which meant whatever had happened hadn’t been that fatal…Right?

“How is she?” I asked him immediately - I commanded him.

He knew how serious my question was. “She looks awful… not awake yet but she will be fine,” he said sympathetically and his expression reminded me of weakness and it made sense now why I hated some of them sometimes because their faces were so expressive they looked like they had hearts. I didn't have a heart, it died a long time ago.

I was about to leave him and return to my room, knowing fully well that I would ask the servants take care of the rest.

“Your highness” the healer called out

suddenly.

I turned around. He was frowning at me and didn’t look too happy. He seemed nervous.

“Yes?” I snapped impatiently - I wasn’t really in the mood for anything right now but he was making a big deal out of nothing.

“Have you been hitting her?” he blurted out. His face was red, almost as if he had caught himself doing something he shouldn’t have or was trying to do something wrong and wanted to correct it.

“What do you mean by that?” I growled.

“You know… slapping, kicking, punching…, he clarified slowly but trailed off and I could see the anxiety on his face. It was like all the blood had drained from it, leaving it an alarming shade of grey and pale. He was scared and I didn’t even feel guilty.

“Hell no!” I shouted at him. “Why would I hit her? That’s f*****g ridiculous” I snarled at him, furious he should think such a thing. I didn’t give a single f**k about the rules but I would never hit a female.

Never.

“Someone has been hitting her,” he mumbled.

Of course, someone had been hitting her.

“Let me show you” he told me and I followed him.

I followed him back to her room like I didn't know the abuse had suffered from that mundane. The bed seemed to swallow her small fragile body and her skin was paler than ever before. She was still unconscious.

It didn’t make sense.

My beast screamed at me to touch her, to caress her cheeks, to hold her hands, hold her tight and warm and safe. But I ignored it, I refused to acknowledge it.

It was all guilt, it had to be.

When the doctor pulled the blankets off her, and like he was waiting for permission, he pulled up her shirt to display creamy flesh that was covered in angry purple, black and red bruises. Her stomach, her thighs… there were other marks on her body that were too painful for me to see. Again, my beast howled in frustration and sadness. We shared the same emotions but different emotions.

My fists clenched involuntarily and my head began to ache again.

“Thank You” I muttered . He nodded in acknowledgement, gave us both a weak smile and went away.

I stayed behind after he left, just in case she woke up, or if she got worse. I didn’t know what I could do. The only thing I knew was that I hated that bastard. She looked like a child, those helpless children who were hurt and I felt like tearing him apart piece by piece until he begged me to stop and we would talk about his mistakes, and mine.

Why was he hurting her? I had called her a slut but was she protesting against him?

I didn't allow myself to think too much about it, that didn't get me anywhere, it only created room for weakness . And weakness could be dangerous. I was supposed to work towards becoming king and that meant I wouldn't go down easily.

But my beast wanted to go down now. It wanted to tear into that man, rip his heart out and eat it while I was there watching with a victorious smirk.

“No. No, not today boy” I calmed it down.

“Ask Clare to take charge” I commanded one of servants before leaving her room but not before sending one more glance her way.

She was still on the bed and the maid had covered her whole body with the blanket again. She looked fragile and vulnerable and I felt sick for what I had done.

Later in the day a guard came to me, a junior healer who was supposed to take over the afternoon shift had arrived. She was of African American with deep caramel skin and green eyes.

“Your highness” she bowed and her eyes lingered more on me than they should have.

She was interested in me. I was sure of it, I could read it in her mind but I wasn’t going to give her any encouragement.

I led her to Lizzy’s room and stood far away, watching her do her thing as she took out a lot of weird objects from the large brown bag she was carrying.

There was a book with feathers, a jar that was filled with herbs and flowers, a few strange containers, a mirror, a knife, a vial of what I could only assume to be blood, a transparent bottle with a dark purple liquid, chalks, and candles.

She drew a circle on the ground around Lizzy’s bed with the chalks. She placed a candle in the middle then picked up a bowl with dried herbs and herbs, mixing things together in a bowl that seemed oddly familiar for a second. Then she added the liquids and finally poured the mixture through an odd glass tube with a hole.

She started chanting and an unfamiliar glow took over the room and the door slammed open.

The last person I expected stood there.