Blood Type R

Chapter 4

"I brought you some bread with butter and strawberry jam. I cut it up thinly like the humans in Kalfa like. I am sure we can figure out routine food for you," Gally said, her newly assigned caregiver.

Cora nodded her head and said, "You're a natural at pretending to care."

Gally gave a funny look. "I'd appreciate it if you showed some gratitude. You are being treated quite well here, Cora."

Cora was being an ungrateful guest, and she knew that. To her defense, she didn't know how an abducted guest was supposed to behave. She also simply didn't care.

"Well, wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable," Cora said with a snarl, momentarily looking at Gally, only to roll her eyes to look back out the window. She tucked her dark brown hair behind her ear. It was grimy at this point, from all the dirt that the horses kicked up as they rode. The inside of her thighs and ass hurt, although no more thank her heart did with leaving her family behind. She found the less she thought of them, the easier it was to grip the last remaining strand of her sanity.

Cora was living in the furnished attic of Roman's household and was sitting at a giant window with a built in seat, clothed in the same garments from the night before.

She had already checked her area for escape. The bottom of the stairs always had a guard. Even if she got out, these lycans could smell her for a mile, so climbing out the window wasn't an option. She was too hungry and tired to attempt running through a forest she had never been in before. She thought about caking herself in mud, although based on her window view, it was mostly pristine grass. She'd need to find a river for that to work.

Gally's chest rose and then exhaled, bringing the tray of food over to Cora and placing it in her lap. Cora smelled bread immediately. There was a pitcher of water that made her discard her desire for bread. She grabbed it before tray was even in her lap and poured a glass, consuming it all in one drink.

"Did they not give you water?" Gally asked and took a step back.

Cora glanced up at Gally to see that she was dressed in a white cloth dress with a black pelt shoulder cover, her eyes smoky from makeup, and her hair was partially braided with the free strands revealing beautiful curls.

Such a refined, wild look.

"Not much, no. Roman said that you don't need it as often," Cora said and grabbed some of the already buttered toast with jam. "You have an interesting outfit."

"So do you," Gally said. Cora never considered that her clothes may look funny to a paranormal.

"Do I have to dress like you people?" Cora asked and shoved the bread in her mouth. Her eyes rolled into her head and she chewed slowly.

"Eventually."

"It looks nice," she said genuinely with her mouth full of food. She usually wasn't so rude, but she also wasn't usually this hungry. "But it's not my taste, so no thanks."

"You will get used to it."

"Oh, well, thank god for that," she said and laughed at her own joke, her cheeks puffed out with buttered and jammed bread.

"Roman did warn me that you had no manners...I don't say I blame you. I can't imagine being taken and given to a rival pack or given to the vampires. I would have probably have killed someone by now," Gally said with a forced understanding.

"Like you could fathom any of this. I lack claws, teeth and the ability to turn into something powerful. Roman didn't even need help," Cora said and shook her head with a smirk, disappointed in herself.

Gally remained silent, and hard to read.

"So do you condone of all of this?" Cora pried, pouring some more water.

Gally took in a deep breath and looked off before back to Cora. "I condone my pack doing what it must to survive. We cannot save everyone, and if we have to sacrifice humans for our survival, so be it. Being given the 'birther' card can sometimes be quite difficult, but it is a job us women must take pride in."

Ah, yes, Gally, being a birther is so awful for you, surrounded by pack and family.

"So, if I go on a killing spree you won't be mad?" Cora asked with derision.

Gally growled and changed her entire posture, her lips tightening, the thin steel chains with opal decorations clinking together, "This is my pack. We don't even joke about that."

"So when do I meet mister alpha," Cora went on, her perplexity for her entire circumstance removing her from usual human decency and conversation.

"Tomorrow morning, after he spends the night under the full moon." Gally was clearly trying to contain her lack of patience.

"So like..." Cora began, swallowing her mouthful, finally starting to feel full. "Is anyone going to at least help me out here? Or do I just waltz in and growl, or something? I don't think I can bark. Do wolves even bark? I really have no f*****g idea what I am doing, you do realize?"

Gally laughed. "Wow, you got a lot of work to do. I guess it doesn't matter for now. He doesn't speak English." Gally was brassy with her delivery.

"What," Cora said, her mouth open as a piece of buttered bread was held in her hand.

"We primarily speak Swedish," Gally said smugly.

"What."

"Lycans first entered this world in Sweden, our first encounters with the Vikings. We have claimed all sorts of cultures over the years, but Swedish has remained the primary language, a lot of our culture based on Norse traditions. You'll find only mostly broken English here."

"Just. Great," Cora said hotly and stuffed her mouth.

"Oren will go over it all," she said, and Cora picked up on the dark tone at the mention of 'Oren'.

Cora chewed. "Who is Oren?"

"The leader of Ashmore clan, and Roman and I's brother. He's the one that commanded Roman to fetch you," Gally said. She was mostly neutral in her speech.

"I thought Roman was doing this for himself?" Cora asked, wanting to understand this picture better.

"He is doing it for Oren, which in turn helps Roman."

Well that didn't really answer anything. Cora took a small drink of water. She finally asked, "Am I in danger?"

"Not yet."

Cora didn't respond and continued to look out the window, enjoying the simplicity of the leaves blowing in the wind, the silver underneath contrasting the green on top.

"Anyway, finish eating up. Take some time to relax. You meet Oren after this. Then we prepare you for tomorrow."

Cora was about to take another bite of food, stopping with crossed eyes as she stared at the delicious jam on the bread. This food suddenly meant nothing to her.

"Prepare me for tomorrow?"

"When you are presented to Ludovic. You will show off your body to ensure that he likes it, and he will smell you, touch you, and whatever else he wants," Gally said casually.

They're not joking about presenting me to him like I am the ripest cucumber in the garden...

Something flipped in Cora, and the emotion took her like when one was stuck in a wave. She started to breath heavily, her eyes darting all over the food in her lap. What was the point in eating? To keep her alive and healthy for their alpha? She was trying to behave, trying to keep calm.

She did the opposite. A sudden rush of defiance flooded her and she lifted the tray of food and tossed it in the air. It crashed to the ground with a shattering of glass and a loud banging of the metal tray on the wood.

We prepare you for tomorrow...

She seethed, breathing out of her mouth as her throat burned and the tears started to form. "I am not a w***e, and I am not a doll to dress and prepare. I am a human named Cora and I demand some respect. I am tired, I am angry, I am alone, and...and I am scared," she declared through a shaky voice, eyes glued to the floor. She had no idea why she said what she did, and she knew Gally didn't care. But she felt like she had to say it to someone, as if it validated herself.

She didn't want to have to admit it. She had been avoiding it, in truth. To admit that she was scared was to acknowledge that she was knee deep in s**t as permanent as cement.

Gally was restrained but Cora refused to look up.

Finally, Gally turned around in silence and heavily shut the door to the attic, leaving Cora alone with broken glass, ruined food and her thoughts.

The emotions hit Cora like they did when she was a teenager and couldn't find the pickle jar. She crumbled.

Although, this time, it was not hormones. It was being abducted, taken from her perfectly good home, to be presented to an alpha to become his mate. What the f**k is this shit....

She started to sob and pulled her dirty shirt to her mouth to cover the sound of the gasps of air that she was taking as the tears not only fell, but formed a stream that pooled underneath her chin. Saliva was all over her shirt and her nose was leaking, groaning when her silence was impossible to keep. She cried further, trying to be silent, not wanting to rouse anyone.

She wanted to be alone. As soon as they had arrived here, she had passed out to sleep. It was only when she awoke to the sound of foreign people talking in the floor below that she had fully realized that this was her reality.

"There is a time and place for mourning. The battlefield is never it." It was a mantra from the witches back in Kamas.

She had decided that this was, indeed, the moment to mourn, and that she was off of the battlefield when in this attic. It got to the point where she was crying just to cry. She wasn't even thinking of anything, but the gripping emotion of utter despair never left her.

She felt utterly alone and out of control.

It wasn't like she could go to her room to feel better, or play with one of her siblings. She couldn't sit on the porch she grew up on. She couldn't ask her father what to do. She was surrounded by strangers, foreign smells, and was probably hundreds of miles from home, if not more. Even if she escaped, where would she go? She didn't know how to hunt, let alone navigate foreign soil.

On top of that, she was essentially being sold to the leader of a group of lycans. No, I am not even being sold. I'm just being given! That's worse!

She didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually she slid onto the ground and sat against the wall and stared at her feet, careful not to touch any broken glass. She couldn't smell anything at the moment, her eyes were puffy like she had rubbed them with pollen, and she could taste the salt from her tears and snot running down the back of her throat.

She hadn't been this despondent since her mother died when she was fifteen.

The door opened with a low of the heavy wood, but she didn't look up, twirling her left toes and focusing on how dirty they were. She had no socks or shoes on.

"Oh dear," she heard Gally say. Cora didn't hear pity, but rather a person who was put in charge of dealing with a current basket case.

"Mhmm," Cora grumbled.

Gally came over and began to sweep up the glass, Cora quickly glancing to see Gally had brought a broom and dust pan. "Is there anything to make this better?" Gally asked a miserable tone.

"What? Why would you care?" Cora asked, not looking at Gally. She didn't understand. Gally sounded annoyed, as if she were forced to care for Cora.

Gally sighed and it was silent for a moment, save for the sound of broom bristle on wood and the shuffling of glass. "My family's role has always been to assist in human relations, which is why Oren was tasked to secure an R. Why have I not slapped you yet and taught you a lesson? Because Oren commands that I treat you nicely for the time being."

"Time being?"

"Oh he won't put up with this s**t you're pulling for much longer," Gally said, twirling the broom in her hand and gesturing toward Cora with condemnation.

"You mean the fact that I am struggling to adapt? As a hostage? Who will be turned into a lycan? You're mad if you think I'd happy about this."

Gally fidgeted a few times, in what Cora guessed was an attempt to control herself. She finally seemed to settle on an emotion as she looked at Cora with a corrupt pleasure. "Well, then you won't like this next part. We need to also give you a crash course on how to please our alpha."

Cora moved her entire head to face Gally. They stared for a few seconds, Gally's dark brown eyes ever hard to read. "I don't have to f**k him do I?"

"Not yet...if it helps, he is good looking." Gally shrugged her shoulder.

Cora thought about it briefly, "Barely."

Gally said nothing and continued to sweep. Cora was mentally numb andstared ahead after leaning her head on the wooden wall. Gally was eventually done sweeping.

"Alright, the pity show is over," Gally began, and looked to Cora. Gally's cheek stuck out as she pushed it with her tongue in an awkward pause. "You have to meet Oren now."

Cora didn't move a muscle, not even to blink. "You're not even giving me time to adjust to this," she said with a flat tone and quiet voice.

"There's no time. Tomorrow is the official ceremony and we cannot move it back for you."

"What if I just refuse?" Cora asked, barely lifting her left brow.

"That's for Oren to dictate. Either we go down or he comes to you."

"Make him come to me," Cora said dismally and looked ahead, her lip stuck in a sneer.

Gally sighed with impatience. She quickly put the dustpan of broken glass onto the metal tray, along with the rest of the food, and hotly walked out. Cora could hear her go down the stairs with steam, her feet pounding on each step as she heard people talking.

Cora hummed the song that her mother hummed to every one of her children, including Ben, who she died giving birth to.

If her mother could die with a hum in her voice, then Cora could withstand whatever they were about to throw at her.