Captured by the Cruel Alpha

Foiled

*Fiona*

My wrists are chained together, which makes it difficult to run, but I’m doing my best to put some distance between myself and Beta Ronan. All I know is that the stairs are this way. I have to get up them and past the guards before he catches me.

“What the f**k?”

I hear Ronan before he grabs me. He’s not gentle. His massive hand reaches out and latches on to my arm, yanking me backward. I slam into his chest, the air knocked out of me. I guess I can’t blame him, but f**k if that didn’t hurt.

Gasping for air, I lean back against him, having no other choice.

I didn’t even make it to the first step.

“Seriously, Fiona?” he barks, keeping his massive arm around my middle. “The one thing I warned you not to do, and you do it within two seconds of me unlocking the cell door. Did you honestly think you were going to be able to outrun me when you haven’t eaten in Goddess knows how long, you’re freezing cold, and your wrists are chained together? You must think I’m the most incompetent person in the world.”

“What I think is, I want to go home,” I grit out, slamming my heel into his toes. He winces and pulls his foot away, but the grip on my waist doesn’t slacken.

“Do you want to go back into that f*****g prison cell, Princess? I am doing you a favor. I should march you right back over there, toss you in on your ass, and then forget you exist. I’m the one that argued with Alpha Varek to let you move, and here you are making me look like a royal dumbass.”

I don’t know what to say to that. He has a point. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t treat someone who was trying to help me so poorly, but I’m like a cornered animal right now, lashing out, not caring who gets hurt. My only thought is escape.

Fully expecting to be moved back to the dungeon, I brace myself to be dragged across the floor, but that’s not what Ronan does. Instead, he lifts me off the ground and starts carrying me toward the stairs. I latch onto his hand with mine, and he whispers in my ear, “This is your last chance. Fight me, claw me, bite me, and you’re going right back in there. You need an ally in this castle. I am completely loyal to Varek, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help you out. But if you make an enemy out of me, well, this situation will not be pleasant for you.”

Exhaustion washes over me, and all the fight drifts out of my bones, at least for now. I let him carry me to the top of the stairs. Then, when I see how many guards there are placed all over the hallways, I see how pointless it is to fight. He sets me on the ground, takes my arm above the chain, and tugs me behind him as he keeps a steady pace.

It’s difficult to keep up. Every fiber of my being is weary beyond comprehension. I do my best to keep him from dragging me, but by the time we reach the fifth flight of stairs, I can barely breathe.

We reach a landing, and he pauses, giving me a chance to catch my breath. My side aches, and drawing in a deep breath is impossible.

“Don’t worry, Princess,” Ronan says with a wry smile. “We’re halfway there.”

My eyes bulge as I stare at him, wondering if he’s joking. I can’t tell. After a few minutes, we start walking again.

He wasn’t joking.

When we reach my cell, I don’t even care if the bed is stuffed with straw, which it isn’t. I collapse onto it, panting.

“Here we are, then,” Ronan says behind me. “I hope you’ll find the accommodations to your liking. We are on the highest level of the castle. Once you get a chance to look around, you’ll see that there’s only one exit. There will always be two guards stationed outside of your room, and the narrow staircase we just climbed to get you here will also have two guards at the bottom. So there’s absolutely no way you’re getting out of here. Don’t even try.”

I say nothing, but when he walks over to unchain my wrists, I let him.

Ronan stares at me for a moment. His mouth is turned down at the corners, and he shakes his head slightly. I know that look. It’s pity.

I don’t want or need his pity.

After an awkward moment of silence, he says, “Take care of yourself, Princess. I’ll see you later.”

With that, the Beta walks out of my cell, slamming the door closed behind him with a deafening thud. I hear the key turn in the lock and his retreating footsteps.

The guards weren’t there when we entered, but I expect to hear them take their place any minute now. I sit up just enough to glance around the room and then collapse in defeat. There’s absolutely no way out of here, other than the door he just locked.

At least, it’s warmer in here. I’m not sure where the heat is coming from since there’s no fireplace, but I’m beginning to warm up. The exertion from getting here probably helped. The bed is soft, with a thick blue blanket on it. Across the room, there’s a wardrobe and a writing table. There’s also a curtain that I guess is hiding a privy.

No food, no water that I can see.

It’s a fairly big space, though. I could… twirl around in circles with my arms spread out and not hit anything. Not that I have any reason to want to do that.

What I want to do, besides eat something and drink an entire bucket of water, is go sleep. Since I have no way of doing the first two, I settle for the third.

Pulling myself up off the bed, I yank the covers loose, wrap them around me, and then fall back onto the mattress. It doesn’t take long at all for sleep to claim me.

When I finally open my eyes again, the sun is setting outside the three windows spread across my circular room, and I hear a voice outside the door–a familiar voice.

A voice I hoped I’d never hear again.