ENSLAVED BY THE ALPHA

Sixteen

(More Awkwardness)

Lizzy

“Edwin!” An older man I had not met before intervened, calling his name.

I burst into tear , covering my face with my hands, shaking uncontrollably. This man...this monster...had done something terrible to me! He didn't deserve anything but to be in the fiery pits of Hades.

“Why are you crying now?” Edwin asked, clearly displeased. “Why are you acting so hysterical? You know exactly why! Look at me!”

“Your highness, you are scaring her, she's only a child” the older man came to my rescue again.“Let the girl be” He spoke to Edwin but his gaze stayed trained on me.

I could feel the tension in the air but it wasn't from anything that happened in this room, it seemed like there was more going on.

“No.” Edwin replied harshly. “I don't have time to waste with her” With that he stormed out of the room causing me to cry even more loudly. I was completely confused and I wished I knew what was going on.

I was scared and confused, why didn't anyone help me? Why was no one helping me? No one except this...man?

“Shhhhh…it’s alright my dear” the man whispered as he crouched down on his knees, bringing himself closer to me, but still keeping his distance enough to give me some space. “Please, look at me.. Please just calm down, you're safe here okay? He won't hurt you. He just has a bit of a temper”. His voice was gentle but stern, it made me feel calmer.

I

After my teary session, I calmed down and laid awake on the bed, tirely contemplating everything that has happened today. The fact that I have been crying made it seem even more surreal. The last few days were too weird for me to think about and now that I have, it is hard to process. Everything was too fast, so I had no time to adjust to what had just occurred.

A servant came into my room holding a tray, here lips pursed, looking uncomfortably before she dropped the tray and left.

I stood up to have a bath but as I stood naked in front of the vanity mirror, my reflection surprised me. Gone were the scars Sam left on my body, the last ones that still hurt. It was as if they magically disappeared and all I had left were the old scars that were already healed.

What had happened to me when I was unconscious? How did I go from a scar wreck, to completely fine in less than a few days?

I shook my head and decided not to dwell in these thoughts. Instead, I went on with my business.

I didn't see Edwin until later the next evening.

I was trying to fall asleep when he came knocking.

“I am awake” I thought it was a servant.

He came in looking less angry and more awkward than I could ever imagine

His jet black hair was not tied so it fell freely on his face and his eyes seemed slightly unfocused like they normally did when he was trying to solve a problem. When he saw that I was awake, he said: “You are still awake?”

I nodded, I could not bring myself to talk to him.

He rubbed his neck awkwardly and if he wasn't the evil man who had me locked up, I would have thought he was good looking.

Scratch that, he was beautiful. There was no other word to describe him. His skin looked smooth and silky like satin, his mouth looked gentle and soft, like warm velvet, his nose perfectly straight, his teeth very white and almost perfect… wait, how did I know that he was perfect? right, that wasn't me, that was my wolf.

It couldn't be me.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, coming close to me. I could smell the wood smoke that clung to his clothes. I took in another deep breath and let it out slowly. There was something comforting about that.

He smelled like a forest. I could not explain why, but it gave me an urge to run through the woods and explore. It was soothing. I could feel the cool breeze running through my fur, my muscles stretching themselves.

“Good” I managed to say as quietly as possible “I'm doing better now” That's when I realized that I sounded like a child. My wolf snarled at my tone.

“Good” he repeated, giving me a strange look. “Do you want some water?”

I nodded. He brought over the cup and I gratefully downed its contents. My stomach had settled after a while and I wasn't nauseous anymore. I still had a headache though. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. But still, I felt better than earlier.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you or locked you up. But we wouldn’t be here if you didn’t try to run” he sighed.

Even though his words sounded so rehearsed, he still surprised me. I opened my mouth to answer, but the words stuck in my throat, choking me as they refused to come out.

“I should let you sleep,” he said after several seconds of silence, standing up. “We will continue this conversation tomorrow”

When he closed the door behind himself, I lay back down in my bed, trying to ignore the feeling of dread and emptiness inside of me that made me restless and agitated. Even worse, I could feel the pain in my chest as if it were physical and it burned so much that I could hardly breathe. The phantom pain didn't stop.

I felt exhausted, so I decided to get some rest. Tomorrow I'll face this whole mess alone. That's what I had always done anyway. It might take awhile, but eventually I was bound to break free.

Maybe this was my destiny.

That night I could barely sleep. Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw the dungeon and its darkness, I heard the squeaking of those rats that had tormented me, I tasted the blood dripping from their wounds.

I woke up and something outside was calling me, I followed it before I could give my body permission.