Kiona slowly walked over to the chair Kayden was leaning on and sat down sitting at the edge. Although she was certain these warriors were not like those that Will told her about, she still had to be on her guard. They were practically strangers to her and Kiona definitely did want to live beyond her 11th birthday.
"Sit back properly," Kayden said, gently lifting her and seating her full onto the chair. "Relax, we don't bite."
"Well, not little girls," snickered Lee, and the others chuckled with him.
Kiona jumped slightly as Kayden held her and was about to kick him but he put her back down before she had a chance to respond.
"So, what's your story Kid?" Miles asked her again, Lee took a shot and there was clink as some of the balls spread out across the table.
Kiona just kept her gaze directed to the floor, her hands in her lap clasped. Kayden gently held her chin and pulled her face up towards him.
"Look at me," he said gently. Kiona's eyes flicked up and met his gaze. "We will not hurt you; I promise."
Kiona's eyes wandered to Antoine and then went back down again, her hands were clasped tightly, and she began to relive that moment all over again. The night Antoine held her down while the Alpha beat her. She had plenty of beatings since then but hearing Kayden's words filled her with mistrust. Nobody could protect her, and everyone was capable of hurting her.
"What's wrong with her?" Miles asked Kayden.
"I think she's scared of us," Kayden replied, with a sigh.
Lee and Antoine who were playing and just listening until this point, turned their attention.
"Why would she be afraid? We haven't hurt her. We won't hurt you," Lee explained, kneeling down in front of her. "You remind me of my baby sister."
"I think I know why she is afraid," sighed Antoine, shaking his head.
Kiona pulled her legs up onto the chair and held her knees to her chest and rest her head against them, shaking slightly.
"Why? What do you know?" Kayden asked.
"I don't think we should have this discussion here and now," Antoine urged.
It suddenly went silent between them and as Kiona looked up, she could see the four of them were engaged in a mind-link conversation. She didn't dare try to run away this time as she didn't want them to come after her again. Kiona stayed rooted to the chair and watched as their conversation played out.
Antoine POV:
''That night after the terrible rogue attack on the Wynchwood-Alverii pack, the Alpha brought this little girl home with him. I don't know why or what quite happened there. He wanted her for something, I don't know what. A pack doctor sedated her, and she was sleeping in his room. She was only 6 years old. She must have woken up and escaped and all hell broke loose," explained Antoine.
''So, we sensed her that night as we came back from the night out," Miles reasoned.
"Yes, and well, the Alpha found her the following day. He was the angriest I had ever seen him," continued Antoine. "He dragged her back to his room; she was screaming and fighting all the way back. I happened to be standing guard and he called me to the dungeons. He asked me to hold her down while he beat her with his belt. I know over the years the Alpha has kept her in that cell and still beats her there to discipline her."
There was silence at this point and although beyond all doubt, I regret doing what I did that night, I had to obey my Alpha. My life was forfeit otherwise. The mind-link was still open; the boys were thinking. I could sense their disappointment in me. I have never laid a hand on a woman or a child and wasn't about to start. I know I should have tried to fight for that little girl. It doesn't matter who she was or what she did, she didn't deserve that.
"You're telling me, you helped the Alpha beat a defenceless girl because she escaped from an Alpha and a pack that kidnapped her after destroying her home?" Kayden said, through the link.
"That's brutal," replied Lee. "Even for the Alpha."
"So, she is the little girl he is keeping as his mate," concluded Miles.
Third person POV:
As the mind-link closed, Kiona saw their glazed impressions return to normal and before she could react, Kayden grabbed Antoine by the neck and pinned him against the wall, his wolf had taken control. Miles and Lee were trying to pull him off. Antoine struggled and gasped for air. Some of the other warriors and wolves in the games room looked up and rushed over to see what had happened.
"As warriors, we are sworn to protect the weak and defenceless Antoine. I get it, I do, that the Alpha ordered you to do this, but you have a choice to do the right thing. It isn't always the easy choice," Kayden mind-linked the group and then released his grip on Antoine leaving him on the floor in a heap, coughing.
Kayden walked back over to Kiona who sat on the chair shaking like leaf. He noticed a lot of the others in the room were staring at them.
"Antoine lost a bet, he's sore a loser!" Kayden announced haughtily.
The crowd that gathered nodded and there were murmurs of understanding and everyone went back to what they were doing.
"I might be sore, but I'm not a loser," came a gruff growl from behind him.
The four of them stood together again and turned their attention to Kiona. She was still trembling and kept her head down. She didn't know what they had talked about, but they were stronger than her and she was in no position to challenge them. Antoine approached her and she looked up, his intense blue eyes which fixated on her brought back painful memories. She started crying and cowered as his shadow loomed over her. Kiona pulled her head down over her knees and whimpered, closing her eyes. There was a few moments silence and when she didn't hear anything, she looked up to see Antoine had knelt down in front of her chair.
"I'm sorry for hurting you," he said in a softened version of his usual gruff voice. "Like the rest of my friends here, I promise never to hurt you again."
Kiona looked into his deep blue eyes and could see the sadness and remorse in them. She had so many intense emotions flying through her. She felt scared, she felt sad, she felt pain, anger, hurt, fear and as her memories resurfaced, she began to hyperventilate, and her body did the only it could - she passed out. Kayden swooped in and gathered her into his arms before she fell off the chair.
"Good to see you still haven't lost your touch with the ladies," chuckled Lee and Miles, to which Antoine groaned.
"Where does she stay Antoine?" called Kayden, indicating they couldn't leave her in the living room.
"Follow me."
Antoine led the through the pack house past the Alpha's office and down a dimly lit staircase that ran beneath it.
"I have never been here," Miles said in wonder, and the others murmured in agreement, apart from Antoine.
At the bottom of the staircase, through the door beyond, lay the cells. As they entered the room, they were met with pitch-black darkness. Although they could use their werewolf sight, Antoine fumbled around for the light switch and eventually found it. The lights turned on revealing a room with similar looking cells; two were on the left and two on the right. They were all completely empty except for the nearest one on the right-hand side. As they opened it, their hearts sank at the sight that lay before them.
It was a small cell but even such small living space clearly looked, lived in. There was one box of books and stationery and one which had a little clothing in it. There was a rag that lay in the corner laid out on the floor and apart from the bucket and tap in the other corner by a drain, there was not much else there. Miles looked around in disbelief and checked the other cells, but they had nothing in them.
"Are you telling me this is where she sleeps?" Kayden asked, unsure of where to put her down.
Antoine nodded.
"She's been sleeping here for five years," he replied sadly.
Kayden wasn't comfortable with leaving her here, he held her tightly to his chest and walked out of the room without looking back. His friends followed him hastily.
"What are you doing Kayden?" Antoine asked him urgently. "We have to put her back in the cell. What if the Alpha looks for her?"
"It'll be fine, he won't notice for one night," Kayden replied nonchalantly.
"Where are you taking her?" Miles asked.
"I'll keep her in my quarters. Nobody will disturb us, and I have a late shift tomorrow."
Antoine continued to protest; he wasn't convinced that this was a safe thing to do. Kayden however, refused talk about it further. As they walked towards the warriors wing, they got a few strange looks at Kiona and at then at them, which they ignored. Kayden took Kiona into his room and lay her down on his bed, and the others retired for the night. Kayden looked at her sleeping soundly, he couldn't believe this little girl had gone through so much. He wanted to know more about her, about her family and what happened to her pack. He also wondered why the Alpha brought her to the pack. The Alpha doesn't usually take prisoners or new pack members. Kayden sat down on an armchair and whilst his head filled itself with unanswered questions, he became weary and slowly drifted off to sleep.
-----------
Kiona woke up the following morning feeling quite refreshed. She yawned and stretched herself out. As she did this, Kiona noticed she was lying in a warm, soft, and comfortable bed. Her eyes shot open and she took in her surroundings. She was in a comfortable, modestly furnished room, the light came streaming in through the windows and her eyes fell on Kayden who was sleeping in an armchair near the bed. She began to recollect the events of the previous night. She pulled off the quilt and breathed a sigh of relief, her clothes were still on her, intact. Then, as her eyes fell on the clock, suddenly in a blind panic she leapt off the bed and began to pull on her socks and shoes that lay on the floor. It was 6 o'clock in the morning and she was late! The little commotion she caused woke Kayden up and he blinked his eyes a few times as he saw the little girl rushing to leave.
"Thank you for looking after me," Kiona said softly.
"Where are you going?" he called.
"Work," she replied, running out of the room without a second thought. Kayden chuckled to himself and went back to sleep.
Kiona ran out of the warriors wing once she quickly worked out where she was, straightening out her clothes as she ran. She then untied her hair and clipped it back into a bun. She stopped at a washroom on the way and washed her face with cold water and then ran to the kitchen.
"Oh, look who decided to turn up for work finally," Rose called out, mockingly.
"Shut up Rose!" Mia shouted. "Focus on your work."
Rose's cheeks went a deep red, while Kiona began to apologise repeatedly to Mia who pulled her into a hug to calm her down.
"It's ok little one, calm down. Everyone has off days," Mia cooed. "Some have them more than others," she added glaring at Rose.
"What!" Rose exclaimed.
Kiona nodded and got straight to work, and soon she was back into her usual routine. the breakfast service finished with little to report apart from the usual disruptive behaviour from the younger children. Rose and Kiona were the usual casualties, but today Rose bore the brunt of it. Kiona felt bad for her and told her as much as when Rose entered the kitchen with milk and pieces of egg in her hair. Rose nodded in understanding and cleaned up so they could all eat together.
As they sat down and were about to eat breakfast, they were interrupted by a visitor.
"Good morning Alpha," Mia said with a bow and her team followed suit.
"Good morning. I trust you have selected your team leaders for the events we have coming up?"
"Yes Alpha."
"Good we will meet at this time tomorrow in my office to discuss further."
"Yes, Alpha."
Satisfied that the Alpha's business was done, the Omegas sat back down and were about eat when the Alpha stalked around them. As he stood behind Kiona, his eyes turned black. He grabbed Kiona and dragged her out of the kitchen. Kiona screamed as he pulled her arm, but, rather than resisting she was running to try and keep up with him.
Mia, Will, Cora and Rose were horrified and looked on, powerless to help her. The Alpha was not a person to contend with. He was pulling her by the arm at first, then fed up with dragging her, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She was not as short as she used to be; carrying her was far easier. Kiona had learnt from past experience that resistance was futile and kept her wriggling to a minimum.
They descended a familiar staircase and then into a familiar room. As the Alpha held her, smelling another wolf's scent on her made him even angrier. They entered the room and he threw her into the cell; Kiona cried out as she hit and rolled across the cold stone. She began to crawl backwards away from the shadow looming over her and cowered in the corner. This scene was unfortunately a familiar one.