Reject the Beast Alpha

Chapter 6: Captive

"You’re going to die here. We all are...."

Cresia turned her head toward the prisoner inside the cell next to her. The man was already skin and bones due to starvation and appeared to be just waiting for his death.

His words echoed through her head a thousand times, making her quiver as she sat on the cold metallic floor, taunting her soul. Hot tears fell down her cheeks, and yet she was quick to wipe them all away.

"It feels so wrong for my life to end this way," she whispered, gritting her teeth until her jaw ached.

She envisioned death as way more terrifying than what she had experienced with Colton, and so she could never allow it to happen. Even if it was the fate that the Moon Goddess prepared for her, Cresia wanted to dodge it with all her might.

Mustering all her courage, she stood up and went to the locked gate, trying to pull the lock off, but to no avail. She screamed in frustration, her chest going up and down.

"Dirt like us will never have a chance to escape this hell, young lady. You should have accepted Alpha’s offer. That would have spared your life."

"Why would I want to become his Luna? He’s a beast who killed so many lives!" she yelled, running her fingers through her hair.

Primordial wolves were never kind to regular werewolves. That was a motherfucking legend about them. It was said that they practiced cannibalism, performed attacks to their satisfaction, strengthened their powers, and conquered so many lands to expand their territories. Most of all, they were born monsters. Even if that beast was the last shifter in the world, Cresia would never consider marrying him. She couldn’t be mated to someone who showed no mercy to innocent and powerless people.

"If he finds you useless, you will die...."

Cresia shook her head. She must find a way to escape the fate that awaits her in this hellish pack. This was the kind of wrong she had to right, no matter what happened. She banged the cell and screamed for help, tried to pull the lock off, and even gathered her strength to kick the locked door, but it didn’t flinch a little.

"Only a key will make it open," said a man who emerged from the darkness.

She turned to him with a curious expression.

Compared to the beast she encountered a while ago, the shifter who just arrived seemed a bit more friendly, soft, and kind. But looks could be deceiving. Cresia gave him a deadly glare. The man adjusted his eyeglasses as he walked in her direction, swirling the key using his index finger and giving her the impression that she still had hope.

"Who are you?" she asked firmly.

He pushed his dark hair back before he sighed. "Someone who’s going to save you from your rotten cell."

Cresia sucked in a breath when the man started to unlock the door of her cell. Her heart rate picked up suddenly. This must be the chance she had to escape. Her hands formed a twist. As soon as the door opened, she pushed the man away and ran... no, sprinted as fast as she could.

Run faster, Cresia... Run for your life!

A loud whoosh of the air happened, and the man instantly blocked her way, snorting a laugh.

"It will be best if you try not to escape," he said with a genuine smile.

"Move!" she said firmly.

But the man shook his head. "I apologize. This is just an order."

Cresia was about to fight him, but his hand moved to strike her back, and the next thing she knew was falling into his arms... her sight slowly filled with darkness.

***

Klyde could only sigh as he scooped up the rogue and carried her into his arms. His forehead was creased as he looked down at her. Two things happen whenever a rogue trespassed their territory: death and slavery. He could not help but wonder why the Alpha would want her into his home and said that she could be useful.

But like what Silas had ordered him to, he went to the Alpha’s house and opened a guest room for the woman. He mind linked with the pack doctor, whose name was Mika, and was quick to arrive at the house to tend to the wounded and unconscious rogue.

"Aren’t you going to explain what exactly is happening here?" He asked Silas, who was standing at the door with crossed arms and watching Mika tend to the rogue’s wounds.

Silas ignored his question and asked Mika, "How is she?"

"It appears that her body got beaten up so badly, Alpha," Mika responded after putting gauze on the rogue’s arm. "I can’t feel her wolf. She might be a late bloomer. It will take a while for her bruises to heal."

"I need you to come over every day and take care of that girl," Silas ordered.

Mika nodded her head. "I will do so, Alpha."

"Shut your mouth and block anyone who will try to mind link you, Mika. No one should know that I’m keeping a rogue at home," Silas said wryly.

"I’ll obey your orders, Alpha. This will be a secret." The pack doctor assured him.

It did not take a while for the pack doctor to leave the room. Klyde took a deep breath and turned to Silas, still waiting for an answer. But the stubborn Alpha didn’t say a word and only shrugged.

"Who is this rogue?" Klyde asked, more determined than ever.

"A nuisance," Silas finally answered with a straight face.

"You said she would be useful. What do you mean by that?"

"Do I really have to tell you everything?" Silas asked in a dangerously low voice.

"I’m the Beta of the pack, Silas. I have the right to know," he urged. "You’re not going to treat a rogue this way as if she was your visitor. What’s the catch?"

Silas c****d his eyebrow. "You guess."

Klyde twisted her neck to look at the unconscious rogue. "She looks like trouble."

"Exactly."

"So why keep her?" Klyde looked totally confused.

"Ryker wants her...."

"What?"

"Apparently, she’s our second chance mate," Silas answered with a straight face before he walked near the bed.

He was shocked to hear it from Silas. He knew their kind were blessed to have a second chance mate. They were different from others. But a rogue as a second chance mate? He doubts the Elders would actually accept that.

"Yes, the Elders will find it hard to accept it," Silas said after reading his thoughts. "So keep your mouth shut in the meantime."

Klyde wondered why it felt off. Being the Beta and the closest friend of the Alpha, he knew how the man reacted in front of his mate. He’d seen that when Cattleya was still alive. Silas had the tendency to be very intimate, possessive, and smitten. The mate bond pull drove him crazy when he first met his mate, but Klyde couldn’t see the same reaction from Silas. Instead, the Alpha stared down at the rogue with repulse, as if he truly hated her.

"Are you sure that she is your second chance mate?" Klyde paused, glancing between Silas and the rogue. "You don’t look like someone who’s mated."

"That’s because I don’t feel connected with her. My wolf can feel the mate bond pull, but I don’t."

Klyde forced a laugh, trying to conceal his confusion. "It doesn’t make sense. Do you think it’s a mental glitch or something?"

Silas gritted his teeth. "I’m not sure exactly. But I will hold her captive for now. No one should see her. Even if I didn’t feel any connection with her, I needed her to be safe."

Klyde could only rub his head forcefully, totally confused and having a hard time processing the shocking news he learned. However, Silas was right. The rogue’s safety must be one of their top priorities. If someone within the pack found out about her being the second chance mate of the Alpha, she’d be in trouble.

She didn’t look fit in the role...even the former Alpha and Luna could easily break her just to fulfil the initial plan—to arrange Silas into someone powerful like Evelyn.

"Alright..." Klyde sighed and tapped Silas’ shoulder. "But you have to come up with a plan as soon as possible. We can’t hide her for too long, and you don't have much time to waste."

Silas’ jaw twitched. "Fine. You can leave, Klyde."

When Klyde left, Silas locked the door of the guest room to make sure that the rogue would not be able to escape once she woke up. He still hated the fact that he had to keep her in his home, but what choice did he have? Worse things could happen if he defied Ryker.

"I hope you're satisfied now," Silas grumbled as he walked into his bedroom and into his cellar to pour some whiskey into his glass.

‘Not yet. We have yet to mark her,’ Ryker groaned in his mind.

"Don’t make it sound so easy, wolf. First off, I’m not interested in her, and secondly, the Elders have planned something else for me."

‘We are the Alpha! You know that we can do anything we want. You’re just defying fate!’

Silas released the breath he was holding after sipping on his glass. There was no doubt his wolf was way more stubborn than him. It spoke as if it would only take a little effort to convince the Elders to allow him to marry a cheap rogue.

His wolf spirit didn’t know it would bring chaos in the pack.

‘There’s nothing wrong in marrying a rogue. You have to get everything in order as soon as possible, Silas. I can’t wait to claim her...’ Those were the stubborn wolf’s final words and then disappeared in his mind.