The Alpha’s not-so Human Mate

27. Imprisoned

“Esniessa...Esniessa...”

I opened my eyes, and her face came into view. Those same pair of brown eyes and auburn hair that I knew all too well.

I sat up. “Mother?”

“Get up, it is time.” She took the blanket off my body.

“Time for what?”

“For your wedding, Stupid.” She answered like it was the most obvious thing.

“Wedding?” I asked, looking around. This looked just like my old room in my parents' house. The blue wallpaper, the reading desk, and the old brown dresser that seemed like something used in the 18th century.

“Reginald is waiting for you at the church.” She explained.

Still confused as to how I got here in the first place, I shook my head. “No, I can’t marry that monster.” Just his name alone made my skin crawl.

Is this some type of dream? This happened three years ago, when I trusted my parents to protect me from the evils of the world—little did I know that they’d be the ones to expose me to that very evil.

Angry lines appeared on her face. gosh! She used to scare the hell outta me with that look. “You will marry him, for your father and me. You know we are drowning in debt. So, for once in your life, be helpful to us!”

She dragged me by the hand to the living room where a wedding dress was hanging by a nail on the wall. I remember this dress, it was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. This entire living room brought back old memories - those brown drapes and off-white walls. The box TV which showed only a few channels.

Mom forced me to take a shower and get dressed in that ugly gown. Despite my pleas, she did not listen. I could not fight back nor could I run away—I could only stand there and watch it all happen. I had no willpower to stop anything—I was only experiencing it all over again.

She drove me to the church where my dad was waiting for us. I screamed in protest. However, my screaming stopped when they threatened me with a knife. My mom being the most dramatic one, told me that she would kill herself if I didn’t get married. And like an i***t, I believed her. That selfish woman who would never do such a thing because she loved her life all too much.

My parents held me by the hand and walked me down the aisle. Everyone in our small town was in attendance, they watched as I was being led to the slaughter. Why didn’t any of them say something? Though, in our town, it wasn’t uncommon for sixteen to eighteen-year-old girls to marry older men.

Standing at the altar was him, Reg Meyers - the devil himself. His face sent chills down my spine; those wicked eyes watched me like a piece of meat. I wished I could just wake up from this nightmare.

And just like that, a familiar gust of wind hauled me away from the church.

***

I landed on the ground with a painful thump. I looked around and realized where I was: I was in the woods near our pack house! I got up and started running to the house, but I couldn’t make it that far.

A growl from behind me made me freeze in my spot. I slowly turned back and caught sight of a pair of glowing scarlet eyes—the wolf came into view. It took menacing steps towards me and I moved back. My feet were stuck to the ground. I could not run. The wolf pounced on me and I fell down. It struck me with its sharp claws.

“Jace, help me!!!” I cried out.

I looked to my right and saw Tai on the ground. There was a huge amount of blood seeping out of his neck. He was...dead.

My head became swelled with tears... looking up at the bloody red moon, I wailed. “Help me Selene! Please...”

The wolf struck me again with its claws and I bled nonstop. I tried to fight back, just like I did that night, but it felt as though something was restricting my movement.

“Selene!!!! Help me!!!!” I cried out again. “How much longer are you going to ignore me?!!!”

The wolf dealt me a final blow to me and I lost my voice. I stopped fighting, I stopped screaming. I was dying...

In that moment, the triumphant wolf stood on its feet and looked down on me. It transformed back to its human form and I saw who he really was.

Tremaine? How could that be?

I felt my breath slip away and I died.

***

I opened my eyes and inhaled harshly. My chest heaved up and down as I realized where I was. I was still trapped in the sea of darkness underneath Hades’ castle. It was all a terrible nightmare, except they weren’t just nightmares...they were memories.

The pain, the darkness... It's all I've known for what feels like forever. My soul, trapped by Hades' cunning hands. I'm lost in an eternal darkness, surrounded by the stench of decay and the weight of forgotten souls. Every breath feels like a struggle against the crushing gravity of this forsaken place. The whispers of the damned echo through my mind, a haunting reminder of the fate that awaits me.

Time has lost all meaning here. Days blend into nights, and the only constant is the ache of loneliness. I'm trapped, with no escape from the shadows that haunt me. Even the sea seems to flow with sorrow, a bitter reminder of the world above, now forever out of reach.

Memories haunt me —my life, my loved ones, my past trauma. Whispers torment my ears. All caused by Kaiah's treachery. He promised me Jace, but little did I know that he was using me to renew his vows to the keeper of the underworld.

Hades' realm is a maze of despair, and I'm just a prisoner, tormented by my own fears and regrets. Will I ever be free, or am I doomed to roam this world forever?

Just as the question echoed through my thoughts, tides began to rise in the dark sea, the tides slowly turned to a cyclone, thrusting the souls of those trapped alongside me -thrusting them into its depths.

A familiar gust came through the water and carried me to the far end of the sea. Next thing I knew, I was coughing out water from my lungs onto the dry floor. I was drenched from hair to toe. I was naked, except for white cloths that covered my chest and hips.

I looked up and noticed the golden bars surrounding me. I was in a cage in Hades’ throne room. He stood above me, gazing at me from the other side of the bars. Out of the blue, he spoke. “I knew you would summon Selene sooner or later, and I was right.”

“What?” I asked, confused as to when I did that.

He answered. “In your last memory, you called for her. I heard you.”

That was when it dawned on me. I understand now, I was mere bait. A pawn in his game of gods. Hades sought to lure Selene into his realm. And I, Esnie, was the perfect lure.

“I am sorry to burst your bubble, but I’m the wrong person to use as bait,” I said, still shivering from the cold water. “She hates me and will never come.”

He laughed, his gold trinkets shaking with him: "She will come for you, Esniessa. She will try to rescue her precious little Seer."

“How can you be so sure?”

His smile disappeared. “Because there is so much in you, more than you can imagine. Selene is not foolish enough to let you rot down here. She will not let me have you so freely.”

I closed my eyes as a heavy sigh left my mouth. All my life, I have been a bargaining chip for one person or the other; a tool to settle someone’s scores. My parents, Kaiah, and now, Hades. Jace was the only one who loved me enough to sacrifice himself for me and not the other way around. But If I don’t get back to him soon, he will die.

I opened my eyes and looked up at Hades—tears blurred my vision, but I ignored them. “You will never break me, Pluto. The fire in my spirit will never stop burning. And no matter how many bad memories you make me relive, I will never give up on Jace.”

He smirked, framing his feminine facial features. “I am counting on it. I want that fire to fuel the flames of hell. Let it burn.” He turned around and returned to his throne.

I sat in silence, holding onto hope. Hope that Selene will come, that she will shatter these chains and free me from Hades' grasp. But that is an impossible wish. Why would she care enough about me when she couldn’t save Jace?

Suddenly, a disrupting sound emerges from somewhere in the underworld.

Hades’s golden eyes turned jet black as he gazed up.

He smiled: “Here she comes."