The Alpha’s Prisoner
1025 Words
Neriah POV
“Okay, so what does this mean for me?” I ask.
She looks almost sad for me before she speaks.
“I’m not really sure. My mate is working on that. He is trying to get him to see that you aren’t a spy,” she says.
“A spy?” I snort. “For my father, who kept me hidden my entire life?”
“Yeah, well according to him, a she-wolf who has been hidden her entire life wouldn’t be able to take on eight shifted wolves unless she was a spy,” she says.
He is ridiculous.
“He can’t be serious. He had me trained so that I could defend myself,” I say, laughing at my current situation.
Skye raises a brow.
“Laughing is one way to deal with this,” she says.
“Well, I rejected my chosen mate because he found his fated mate and expected me to train her to be Luna,” I say, covering my face with my hands.
“I had spent three years helping rebuild that pack, and he wanted me to stay behind as some kind of background Luna while she took over everything I worked for.”
I let out a dry laugh.
“Then I get attacked by rogues, rescued by my actual mate’s pack, and find out my mate hates my father and thinks I’m a spy.”
I lower my hands and look at Skye.
“So yes, I think all of this is quite hilarious.”
The laugh that slips out sounds thin even to me. Skye is quiet beside the bed, and I can feel her trying to decide whether I am joking or whether I have finally reached my limit.
She gasps.
“Wait, you were mated?” she asks.
I snort again.
“If you want to call what I had with Kieran mated,” I say.
“Wait, you’re the one responsible for Silverstone? That pack was done for,” she says.
Her surprise almost makes me smile. At least someone outside of Silverstone knows that pack did not become stable on its own.
“He came to my father for help, and his help came with agreeing to stay mated to me for three years,” I say.
Confusion crosses her face.
“Why?” she asks.
“A bet,” I say.
“I wanted freedom to find my mate and live, and he was scared my mate would reject me because of the scar.”
“So I bet him I could find someone to love me for me, not see the scar, and then Kieran appeared,” I say.
“So he agreed, and on top of financial support from my father, he got me.”
“I made his pack thrive in three years, and I thought he finally saw me.”
“He marked me and promised me the Luna position officially, but he came back with his fated mate instead,” I say.
“I’m sorry that happened to you, Neriah,” she says.
“Oh, it’s fine. I had my moments. I just wanted to go home and lick my wounds,” I say.
My eyes go wide.
“Oh my goddess, I need to call my father.”
“For what? So you can give him information to attack me?” Kaiden says, stepping into the room.
The moment he appears in the doorway, the warmth in the room disappears. Skye straightens beside the bed.
“What? No. To tell him that I’m okay or something. I’m expected home tomorrow,” I say.
He crosses his arms over his chest.
“What were you doing out here by yourself?” he asks.
“I already told you. I didn’t even know where I was. I was literally driving when I was run off the road,” I spit.
His lips twitch as if he wants to smirk.
He studies my face.
“I know you are hiding something, and I will find out what it is,” he says firmly.
His eyes stay on me like he expects the truth to suddenly appear if he stares long enough. The more he looks at me, the more irritated I become. He does not know me well enough to decide I am lying just because he hates my father.
I roll my eyes at him.
“I’m not hiding anything,” I snap.
“Am I a prisoner?” I ask.
“I haven’t decided yet, but until I do, you will have a shadow everywhere you go,” he states.
“Or you can just let me go home. I’m not a threat. I haven’t seen anything,” I insist.
He leans against the door, studying me.
“Nope. I think keeping you works out for me. What are the chances my biggest enemy’s daughter finds herself in my pack?” he replies.
“You should have just left me to the rogues then,” I mutter.
The words leave my mouth before I can think better of them. I do not mean that I wanted to die. I am just tired of him acting like saving me gives him the right to decide what happens to me now.
Hurt flashes across his face, and it’s gone just as fast as it appears.
“I’m much worse. Put her in a cell,” he declares before turning and striding out.
“Alpha,” Garrett says outside.
He growls.
“In a cell, Beta,” he snarls bef
ore disappearing down the hall.
A cell?
My mate just told them to put me in a cell.
I look toward Skye, waiting for her to say something, but the room stays quiet. Garrett’s silence tells me Kaiden meant every word.
I pull the blanket tighter around myself, refusing to let anyone in this pack see how badly his order shook me. If Kaiden thinks a cell is going to make me confess to secrets I don't have, then he is about to learn I am not as easy to break as he thinks.
- Writer
