The Cruelest Alpha Is My Mate

8

Accalia POV

I walked into the woods and tried to remind myself that I was safe even if it didn't look like it.

I could hear the sound of animals nearby even if they didn't seem like wild animals, still, their sounds were disturbing and creeping me out.

I walked slowly as my feet were already hurt from trampling on twigs and thorns.

I was determined to reach the village before taking a rest but my body said otherwise.

As I ventured deeper into the woods, I became increasingly lost and weak. My stomach growled with hunger.

I looked around and there was absolutely no source of food anywhere.

Even the sounds of animals I had been hearing earlier had died down as if they knew I would think of making them my late dinner.

There was also no stream, river, or pond in sight and I was terribly thirsty.

I kept going further, there was no turning back now. ‘Soon I will get to the village and there will be food and water.’ I thought to myself.

My legs gave away and I fell to the ground. I was exhausted at this point but kept crawling to reach my destination.

I winced in pain as my soft kin came in contact with rough grasses on the way. My eyes were beginning to give away too but I wasn't about to let it.

I began to hear the sounds of footsteps coming towards me. I tried to crawl faster but my knees were also slowly giving away.

My eyes were no better as it was shutting and opening as if in its injury stage.

The sound grew more and more louder and I struggled to see who was behind me but my eyes finally shut and I could feel myself falling to the ground.

I opened my eyes to find myself in an unfamiliar room. Everywhere was bright indicating that it was day already.

I was so happy I was able to pass through last night alive even if I didn't know where I was or what the future held.

I took in the features of this room I found myself in. It looked like a structure of a dungeon with weapons hanging around.

I automatically set into panic mode. “Help! Help! Help!” I screamed out my lungs hoping someone was going to rescue me.

‘Had Alpha Ulfred already caught me?’ I couldn't help but wonder.

This place didn't seem like a Lethal Stone dungeon but I cannot be so sure as they might have several other dungeons.

Worse still, it might be a rogue that came to hide me here so that it could feed on me later.

Or another ock member has arrested me for trespassing in their pack. All of these thoughts kept running through my mind as I kept screaming.

I shouted until my voice was hoarse, reminding me of my thirst since last night. My hunger pangs also revisited, crippling me with pain.

“Help!” I shouted one last time as I began to hear footsteps approaching.

The door opened to reveal a young girl that looked like my age and a man and woman. They looked so much alike so I guessed they were family.

I wondered if they were the ones who tied me up and locked me here or if they were just maids or guards.

“Please help me,” I told them tiredly, unsure of what to say.

“And why should we?” The elderly woman spoke.

“I'm helpless,” I answered weakly.

“Hungry, weak, and thirsty,” I added.

“So we should feed you and treat you so that you would be strong enough to harm us?” the young girl asked.

“No, no, please. I promise I am harmless. I have no intentions of hurting anyone.” I pleaded.

“And why should we believe you?” The man asked me, his voice low and dangerous.

“Look at me, do I look like a threat?” I asked him.

The trio stared at me as if analyzing all the features of my body before nodding their head.

“Fine. I know what to do.” The older man said and started to walk out. The others followed behind her.

“Dear, what are you trying to do?” I heard one of them ask in a whisper.

I figured they were together and the younger lady was their child.

“Feed her so she can tell us why she is here. She looks frail.” The father responded.

“What if she harms us?” The child asked, her voice laced with concern.

“Felicia, she will still be chained while we feed her. When she is strong enough we can ask her questions, run a background check on her, and maybe let her go.” He answered.

I noted the first name down. The child's name was Felicia. I could sense the fear in her voice, they didn't want to kill me, they were just afraid I could hurt them. I sighed in relief at the realization.

“I think we should just take her to the alpha.” I heard another voice say. ‘It must be the mother.’ I thought.

“He will ask us why we didn't kill her immediately when we sensed she was a threat instead of bringing her to the pack house.” The father answered.

The both of them sighed and walked out of the room, the door closed with a loud bang behind them startling me.

A few minutes later, the father walked in with the child. He signaled for her to feed me while he proceeded to interrogate me.

I pointed to water first as my throat was already parched and might not be able to swallow any solid food.

She brought the cup to my mouth and I downed all of the liquid into my mouth as soon as I confirmed it was water.

The water was cold and fresh, it helped to cool my insides and granted me a little bit of satisfaction.

After ensuring I was okay with the water, she started to feed me. I stared at the spoon in surprise, I had not seen food like that before.

“I asked her to prepare you some vegetables instead of meat. As much as we want to feed you, we have to make sure you do not have the power to hurt us back.” The father explained to me when he caught me staring at the food.

I nodded, trying to process what he had just said.

“Those are potatoes and mint leaves. It is supposed to refresh you and give you some amount of energy.” He added.

I opened my mouth and started to eat. I was too famished to savor each bite, I just proceeded to chew and swallow to satisfy my hunger.

“So what is your name and where are you from?” He asked me.

“I'm Adele,” I answered, covering my real name to hide my identity.

I tried to come up with a name for a pack but nothing came to mind. “I am from Dark Pack,” I added as soon as I got the inspiration.

He looked at me suspiciously. “Why were you lurking around the woods at such a late hour?” He asked me.

I contemplated telling him the truth about Alpha Ulfred but immediately disregarded that thought.

“I am running away from my stepmother,” I answered.

“Why?” He asked, looking at me impatiently for better answers.

I took a big gulp of my food, using the time to formulate a good lie in my head before responding.

“She wanted to sell me off to a man I didn't like,” I answered.

“Funny thing with step-parents. Just come into people's lives and think they know what's good for them.” He muttered.

“Yes” I took that opportunity to start a conversation since he was already believing me.

“I believe in love, I believe in being mated by the Luna Queen herself. I don't want to spend the rest of my life with a man I don't love.” I added.

He laughed wickedly for a minute, I was so confused.

“You thought I bought your stupid lie?” He asked me.

“I know who you are.” He added.

“I promise, I haven't lied to you.” I pleaded with him.

“You're a witch and you're here to survey our land.” He stated.

I almost heaved a sigh of relief.

“I am a werewolf,” I answered.

“You don't look like one.” He stated.

I shapeshifted to reveal my claws, that was the only evidence I had as I was not a powerful werewolf.

Both of them looked shocked.

“you're powerless?” The father asked me.

“No, not really. I just cannot do much in these chains. Moreover, I'm still weak from fighting a lot of rogues.” I answered, trying not to show my disability.

He looked at me suspiciously for a while.

“You were covered in compost when you were caught. Can you explain that?” He asked me.

“Like I said, I fight with a lot of rogues. One of the locations of the fight was a compost heap.” I answered.

He didn't look satisfied but decided not to probe me any further till I finished eating my food.