Alpha Caius

Loraine: Then And Now

I sense him arriving in the dungeon before I see him. The delta or gamma stands eclipsing the alpha from my view, but I manage to get a glimpse of him. When I fought him that day, beating his ass almost, I doubt he knew that I, of all people, was his mate. Not that I was expecting this turn of events either.

The shackles don’t hurt as much as the stoic face of the goddamn alpha, who looks like he would kill his mate on false assumptions rather than give them a chance to clarify themselves. I feel anger and stupidity at the cruelty of the Goddess. Why did she think it was a good idea to create a bond between me and this dubious-looking alpha?

On second thoughts, has the Goddess ever been kind to me? Absolutely not.

The beta calls the man and I feel myself relaxing when I no longer feel his heavy gaze upon me.

I try to make myself appear indifferent. I stare at the mark on my ankle, a glaring symbol of my ‘supposed’ betrayal. It is a small mark of a waning moon and a knife passing through it, which symbolizes betrayal. I know his burning gaze had been on this mark, and as usual, he must be thinking, ‘Let me kill this woman and get over with.’

This is what everybody thinks, and this is what I have been trying to run away from.

“Keep an eye on her. I will return in the evening.” I hear the alpha say. I want to laugh at his show of mercy. Is it a show of mercy though? To keep me alive and alone with my thoughts?

The man who had been keeping an eye on me until now says, “Sure, alpha.”

I don’t raise my head to look at him. After all, who wants to look at their mate and think, ah this will be the one who will end my life? f**k, no one. Also, who knew true mates still existed and mine would just turn out to be a shitty one?

I shift in my seat which is a wooden chair, highly uncomfortable. My back aches, and the ribs that I managed to break somehow a couple of days ago, pain dully. I grit my teeth.

I hear the metal door of the cell close and peer at the Delta who once again stands guard. I hear the alpha’s retreating footsteps and the beta’s hasty retreat as he trails behind the alpha.

At these moments when I feel at my lowest when I feel that my death is near, I go to my happy place. I close my eyes and deep dive into the happy memories that I have tried to remember no matter what.

~~~~

[9 years ago….]

“For a 15-year-old, you can fight well,” Darryl, a senior in my high school and a beta in training says as he pants on the ground, nursing his bruised jaw.

“For a 17-year-old, you should know that everyone wants to crawl into your bed,” I say haughtily, not at all moved by his bloodied nose like my best friend, Ricky.

“What’s the problem?” I freeze on the spot when I hear my brother’s voice. My gaze swivels back to Darryl, whose eyes have widened in panic. Evan steps in front of me, shielding me from the boy I had just punched. I refrain from rolling my eyes.

“Nothing happened. I’ve dealt with it,” I mutter, tugging his sleeve. He doesn’t budge. Darryl, in the meantime, has bowed his head and bared his neck. I suppress a sigh. Brothers.

“Let’s go. He has learned his lesson.” I eye Darryl, who nods vigorously and scrambles back. Even if Evan lets go now. He will definitely kick his ass during the training sessions, so why bother creating a scene?

Evan gives me a glare over his shoulder before gazing back at Darryl.

“Meet me at 4 for training.” Darryl, honest to god, whimpers, and I have to suppress a chuckle. Evan is a nightmare to train with and I am partly thankful for that because it’s with him that I’ve improved so much.

“Are you hurt?” Evan asks when we have left the school grounds and got into the car that dad sent every day to pick us up. Soon I would be the only one riding the car while Evan would be getting his own.

I look at his somber blue eyes and nod. “I am fine. I may have broken a few teeth of his.” Evan chuckles and looks away. I turn away and fixate my gaze on the view outside. I purse my lips as I think of what Darryl said, which provoked me to react that way.

“Don’t act as if you belong to that family. We all know your origin.”

~~~

“Oi, stop daydreaming and finish off this food before I take the plate away.” The Delta’s gruff voice yanks me back to the present. I eye the food, which consists of a bun and some soup. Who gives this kind of food to their prisoners, I have been caught more than once and I have gotten better things to eat. I avert my gaze and close my eyes once again, tilting up my head and getting as comfy as I could.

“Did you not hear me,” the delta says warningly.

I hum. Then all of a sudden I feel my hair being yanked backward. The pain shoots down to my injured ribs as they are jostled. But I don’t flinch. Be indifferent. Behave as if this does not affect you.

I gaze at him blankly, while he stares back in hatred. What have I done to warrant his hatred.

“Didn’t your mommy teach you to be grateful to those who give you food and shelter?” the Delta sneers. This… this question makes me flinch. The words somehow graze old wounds that I had managed to bury deep in my mind.

“Nah, I don’t have one, to begin with,” the lie comes out of my lips smoothly, having been uttered for many years now. Even I have started believing this fact.

The delta doesn’t speak, just tightens his grip on my hair, yanking it backward. The chair tilts a little, but I manage to anchor it by planting my feet firmly on the ground. I am not toppling over, even if they have tied my hands and feet.

But the delta has other plans as he kicks my right shin. I lose balance and effectively topple backward with a loud crash. Pain,, white-hot pain lances through my body. I bite my tongue to keep from making any sound, from giving them any indication that I am hurt. My eyes burn with unshed tears, but I defiantly glare at the delta.

The man leers before walking away, leaving me to my disposition. I hear the cell door creak close. I curse under my breath as I try to move, but immediately I realise my mistake as the throbbing pain sharpens. Reminding me of my injury, which for some reason, hasn’t healed.

‘It’s because you were greedy enough to drink the beer that guy offered,’ Kayla, my wolf sneers. I sigh. I can’t say I am proud of that moment. But that day was tough for me, the day that always reminded me of the horrific incident and what followed.

How was I supposed to know that someone would literally trick me like that?

‘You should have been more alert, like you always are,’ Kayla snaps.

The wolfsbane in the drink was so well mixed, that I was unable to detect it, and that is how I found myself in this place in the first place.

I stare at the moldy ceiling because I have nothing else to do. I cannot risk moving. Hopefully, tomorrow, if I live, I can move and maybe escape. My throat tightens as I think of what my parents had envisioned me to be and look at where I am now.

My attention is grabbed by the cell door. I raise my head to find the alpha entering. He stares at me impassively.

“Going to help me up or should we do the interrogation like this?” I ask sardonically.

He moves to sit on his haunches instead, a few inches away from me. Wow, his eyes are—

I blink to make myself focus.

“We will see when I deem fit.”