Shattered Soul

Chapter 3: The Alpha

Riley

I could feel myself waking up in levels. It was a slow process that started with just a basic awareness that I was currently sleeping. I felt warm and comfortable, so I just let myself drift. There was no rush to wake up. I was either safe and could sleep as long as I wanted, or Garrett had dragged my sorry ass out of the river and was waiting until I recovered to beat me within an inch of my life over, and over again until he found a buyer. Either way, no rush.

My senses started coming back next. I could feel something soft covering me, keeping the lower half of me warm while there was something mechanical beeping off to my right. I could hear a dripping of liquid to my right, and my steady breathing.

Last, was the pain. My ribs ached with each inhale on my left side, and I could feel the blood pulsing in my cheek which felt like it had a softball sitting just under the tender skin. Pain was good. Pain meant I was alive and none worse the wear. I’ve had worse.

I let my eyes flutter open, expecting either the bright blue sky and winter-bare trees, or the dark wood ceiling of The Hole. Instead, I got neither. I gazed up in confusion at a white tile drop ceiling with fluorescent lights that were currently off. I turned my head to find the source of the beeping, careful not to rest my cheek on the ground. I felt the ache of my bruised neck but ignored it to stare at a monitor that matched the rhythm to the beat of my heart.

A hospital? So, Garrett didn’t find me. I’m still safe, for now, but the longer I stay here the greater the chance he finds me.

“Well, sleeping beauty awakes.” I froze at the sound of a deep voice, my head remaining still though my eyes flickered to the corner of the room to find the source of the intruder. Sitting in an easy chair in front of a set of windows was a young man around my age. The stars outside did little to help me see his features but I could tell he had dark hair and eyes. His face was angular but still held some youthful roundness in his cheeks. His hair was a mess with spikes sticking up in every way and hanging across his forehead. He was dressed in jeans, dark-colored boots, and a grey hoodie as he watched me carefully.

He didn’t look like a cop and was definitely not a doctor. My nostrils flared, filling my nose with the scent of antiseptic, blood, and a musky woodsy scent. My wolf half may have abandoned me years ago to weakened, almost human scenes, but that smell I knew. This man was a wolf.

I slowly turned towards him while I searched the bed with my hidden hand for anything to use as a weapon. My fingers caught one of the many tubes I was hooked up to. I could use it as a garrote if needed. I locked eyes with him as he stood and stepped closer to me and into the small light from above my bed.

“I thought you’d be out for another few days at least.” Another few days? I was out for days. My eyes scanned over the man now that I could see him a little clearer. He was handsome with a strong jaw that still showed very little boyish roundedness. His lips were narrow but still had a fullness to them with a straight nose and defined cheeks. Sitting there and looking at his long legs stretched out I could tell he was tall. Possibly close to Garrett’s six-foot-two frame but nowhere near as large as Maverick's. Of course, no wolf was as large as a bear. The wolf wasn’t very wide, but I could tell he was much stronger than he looked as his shoulders tightened what was a slightly baggie hoodie for the rest of his body. His eyes also were hazel with chocolate brown at the core and slowly swirled into a mix of amber, gold, moss, emerald, and shamrock. His lips were slowly twisting up into a smile at the edges that put me on alert. Smiling wasn’t a good sign. Smiling meant plans. Smiling meant degrading. Smiling meant pain. Lots of pain.

“Okay, so not the chatty type.” He continued before pulling over one of the other chairs under the window and spinning it around, so he was straddling it backward with his arms crossed over the back.

“Can you tell me what your name is?” I kept my eyes on his face and hands, watching for any telltale sign that he was going to reach for me and tightened my grip on the cord in my left hand as I kept silent. His voice was kind, soft, as his eyes also seemed to be. I didn’t trust it. He raised an eyebrow at me before glancing up at the closed door on the opposite side of the room. I followed his gaze. My bed is between him and the door and there is a bluish-green curtain hanging between me and the door. It was the same color you would imagine hospital scrubs. I carefully moved my legs, slowly so he wouldn’t notice and made sure everything was working properly. The tops of my thighs burned, and my right hip was a little sore but nothing that meant I couldn’t haul ass out that door. I could grab the curtain and fling it at him, then wrap my IV cord around his neck trapping him as I turned to escape. That could buy me plenty of time as he struggles to remove it.

I looked back at him, and his eyes met mine and he smiled, flashing the perfect teeth all of our race has.

“Don’t bother sweetheart, I know you can smell what I am.” I kept my face carefully composed and tried my hardest not to lock my jaw in anger so it wouldn’t ache.

“Plus, I’m not the only wolf here. I have one of my pack just outside that door and another is your physician and there are at least five others currently in the building. You are safe here, I swear it.” My eyes narrowed on this man. Safe? Who the hell does he think he is to tell me if I’m safe? Safety was just a word when around wolves. It was a fairytale to ensure children would sleep at night, and it was meaningless around men, simply a challenge to tear that blanket of childhood down.

“And, who exactly am I safe from?” I croaked out. I cursed my bruised throat. That came out sounding pitiful compared to how I wanted it to, but that may be a good thing. Male wolves are cocky, full of themselves and their overinflated male dominance. Playing the weak, helpless, female is a great way to get them to let their guard down. It worked on Garrett and Bentley. Not so much on Maverick though, being a Werebear meant his temper was much scarier. I never figured out why he ever listened to Garrett. The wolf c****d his eyebrow again, a gesture that so might say was sexy, but all it did was send a cold chill down my spine.

“From whoever you were running from of course.” He said slowly as if there was something wrong with my head. Of course, with how much my head was throbbing, that was a fair assumption. I watched his face carefully as I tried to judge the distance from my bed to the door out of the corner of my eye. Okay, new plan, use my bed sheets to blind him, rip down the curtain between me and the door to toss on whoever was outside and knock them down. I keep the IV cord as a weapon as I find an exit…

I glanced at the window to see if I could judge what floor I was on. I could see lights from somewhere below in the darkness but not the light itself. Definitely not the first or second floor so I’d have to locate stairs.

“Who said I was running from anyone?” I asked to distract him as I carefully positioned my free hand to toss the covers off.

“Those bruises. Someone attacked you and I need to know who.”

“Why does it matter to you?”

“Because you’re not one of them I was looking for.” He said as he leaned closer to continue. I wanted to ask him what he meant. They were looking for others but found me instead, so what does that mean? I had no time to ask though, as he moved close enough to strike. I threw the covers off me, covering him in the process, and quickly tossed my legs out of bed. My eyes quickly scanned for my bag, but I knew I couldn’t waste any time searching for it even though it made my heart ache thinking about leaving my mother here.

I’ll think of a way to come back and get it. I ripped the IV from my arm at the same time I ripped it off the bag, spilling the contents over the floor and machinery. My ribs screamed at me for my sudden movement, but my sense of survival overrode any pain I might feel.

I was almost at the curtain, reaching for it to rip down when it was pushed away to reveal another man. He was tal, towering over me with bronze hair hanging in his blue eyes and a cocky grin as his eyes raked over my body. That sick grin. I knew that grin. It was the same one Maverick gave me every time he came to my room. Hungerly looking over my body…

I quickly changed tactics. I took a steadying step forward to bring me into a slight lung and reached for the man’s shoulders, to not only steady myself but to give me leverage. He wasn’t much taller than my five-foot-eight frame, possibly only about six more inches. I gripped his shoulders hard and brought my back leg up connecting my knee into his groin with as much force as I could muster.

I let go instantly and danced around him as his eyes bugged out of his head and he bowed forward to cup his tender parts. I reached for the door just as a hand clamped down on my arm yanking me back and sending a tingling warmth up my arm. Someone was saying something but the sound was drowned out by the blood pulsing in my ears.

Panic filled me as possibilities flew through my mind. If they get their arms around me I’m trapped, but if I catch them off guard I could still slip away. Aim for sensitive areas. Groin, nose, ears, eyes.

I glanced back to see the first guy there and catch his beautiful hazel eyes only inches from me. I let him yank me back and pushed off the ground into him to use his force against him and rammed my shoulder into his chest. I heard his huff as I forced the air from his chest and felt us starting to fall back. He wrapped his arms around me, pinning me to his hard chest as we toppled onto the floor which is the last place I want to be. I scrambled to get up but was quickly rolled under him. I thrashed and tried to wrap the cord around his neck but he was quick. His nimble hands moved faster than I could see as he had the cord wrapped around my wrists, his skin touching mine, sending an uncomfortable tingle through our point of contact. He straddled my hips and sat most of his weight on my thighs, stinging my wounds, as he clamped my hands down with one large hand and rested his weight on the floor with the other. He leaned in, so close that I could smell the mint on his breath as his body heat increased to uncomfortable temperatures. He was almost burning with a fever.

I felt the fear creeping up in the pit of my stomach as he smiled down at me with a look of calm while inside of me I was a mess of fear. This was the exact position I didn’t want to be in. I was alone, in a room with two wolves and one on top of me. I was in nothing but a simple hospital gown and was underneath a large man who had a good four inches on me and possibly eighty pounds. I tried to steady my breath as I searched for ways out.

“That was impressive,” He said. His tone was strange. After what I did, it should be angry, spiteful, or even sarcastic, but instead, he sounded genuinely impressed and almost proud. I gritted my teeth, baring them in defiance at him. I’m done being at the mercy of men like him.

“I’ve got a lot more than that.” I spat. He chuckled as he lifted slightly from my hips and loosened his grip on my wrists.

“I’m sure you do. Anyone who can take the beating you did, then drop one of my best and take me by surprise isn’t someone to be messed with.” His smile faded but his eyes still twinkled with humor.

“I’m gonna let you go now. Please um,” He glanced down as his legs straddling me. “Please be gentle.” He released my hands and quickly pulled them back and raised them next to his head in a sign of surrender. Then, keeping his hands raised, he stood up and backed off of me as quickly as he could, probably to make sure I didn’t kick the family jewels. I slipped the cord from my wrists and pushed myself up onto my elbows as the shock was unable to be hidden on my face. He let me go? After what I did? But, I should have gotten a beating from that.

He never took his eyes off me as he turned his head slightly toward his buddy.

“Wade, you okay?” Wade was taking deep breaths as he grabbed his privates and shot daggers at me.

“Just peachy.” He grumbled. The man laughed slightly, earning him that same death glare.

“Just go find Doc to get some ice and wait outside. She doesn’t need more than two of us in here to watch her.” I blinked. If Wade hadn’t been here, I would have been long gone. Did he want me to escape? Or was this a game? A trick to see how far I’ll go, and how severe the punishment would be. Bentley liked games. Especially the ones where I would lose…

“You sure?” Wade’s strained voice pulled me back to reality.

“Yep.” Wade shrugged and left after one more glare at me. I looked back up at the wolf as he carefully extended a hand.

“Look, I’m sorry if I made you feel threatened or unsafe. I’m just looking for answers and maybe a name? I’m Kade Varner, Alpha to the North Western pack.” I looked at his extended hand warily as my stomach turned. I’d never met an Alpha before, but I knew stories. They were stronger than average pack members, faster, and had unnatural healing even for our kind. There were even stories that some even had more. Abilities that allowed them to protect their packs that were closer to witch craft. They weren’t ones to mess with and made out to be the scary monsters in childhood tails, but this man before me, Kade, seemed nothing like that. He looked perfectly normal, well other than the tell-tale smell of a wolf, but even his size wasn’t all that threatening. As a matter of fact, he was probably about the same height as Garrett. Definitely shorter than Maverick, and the wolf who just left whom he had called Wade.

I ignored his hand and pushed myself off the ground, my ribs hurting badly, causing me to take slow and steady breaths. Pain shot up my wrist and through my arm as I put too much pressure on it but I refused his hand again when he offered to help. I stood up next to him and looked up into his eyes.

“Why is an Alpha Wolf here to see me?” I asked, carefully avoiding his question about my name. That didn’t slip past him but he shrugged and let it slide.

“We’ve had pack members go missing. One of the men working here his part of my pack and called when he smelled wolf on you. We were hoping you were one of our missing females or even one from the other packs but obviously not.” I took a careful step back to place some distance between myself and Kade.

“Sorry to disappoint you. I-I hope you find them.” I added truthfully with as sincere a voice as I could manage. He smiled.

“Thank you. But, since we found you instead, I was hoping you could help me.” I looked up at him.

“How?” I asked cautiously.

“Your injuries. The Doc says they are consistent with abuse and because you’re a wolf he can’t tell us exactly how long it’s been going on or even your age. I’m hoping, whoever did this to you is the guy I’m looking for so we can fix both our problems.” I thought back to Garrett. Could he be the one they were looking for? He did have others at the house at times. Other girls my age but they only stayed for a little just to be sold. I cared for them, told them not to run to make things easier…for me.

“Who is this guy you’re looking for?” I asked. Kade frowned and his eyes flashed a beautiful gold for a short instant that had me entranced. I’d never seen that before in a werewolf. I’ve only ever seen the crimson eyes of Garrett and his friends.

“We don’t have anything on him yet, but we believe it’s a team of werewolves. They’ve been hunting down women of all races, all up and down the west coast. We have over twenty missing wolves from various packs and over fifty total of humans, witches, and I believe some more powerful creatures too. Most are linked to murders of people they were last seen with. If you are one of his victims, I can help you find your pack, and protect you, and I’ll find all of them responsible for this.” It felt like ice water dripped down my spine and sank into the pit of my stomach. He had to be talking about Garrett. Some of the other women, they smelled strange. The only word I had for it was power but not like a wolf.

“What will you do when you find these wolves?” I asked, needing to know. My voice was frail and shook as it slipped between my lips. What would he do to me, if he found out I’m one of the wolves he’s seeking? If he knew I helped keep those women caged, told them not to run, if he knew how I helped dispose of that young wolf just a few weeks ago, how it was all my fault…

“When I find them, all of them, they will be tried before each of the packs and then fed to the wolves, pun intended.” He smiled. My heart picked up speed as I tried to keep my face composed.

“What if I don’t know anything?” I whispered. Kade’s eyes narrowed on me as he seemed to think for a moment.

“I’d think you were lying.” He admitted. I bit my lip as I wiped my sweaty palms on my gown. He stepped closer to me.

“Do you know something about the missing girls?” He asked in a stern but calm tone. I shook my head.

“No.” I lied as I took a step back. His eyes watched my face.

“Who were you running from?” He asked. I looked away, not wanting him to read the truth in my eyes. Garrett was always able to read the truth.

“I-I don’t remember.” I choked out. His lips turned down the slightest bit into a frown.

“Where did you run from?” That was actually easy and not a lie.

“I don’t know,” I told him. Garrett had moved us when I finished school and kept me drugged and asleep the entire way. “I don’t even know where I am now.” I told him.

“Canada.” He responded. My eyes widened. Seriously? I was assuming we were in the Colorado wilderness, or possibly Montana. “We aren’t far from the U.S. border.”

“I’m in Canada?” I whispered, still trying to process how far off I was. I had been in school in Georgia though my mother and I were from PA. I had never met my father. Kade simply watched me for a moment before asking another question.

“How long were you captured?” He was still assuming I was a victim. I won’t be able to keep up with the lies, so half-truths it’ll need to be.

“Years.” This time it was his turn for his eyes to widen.

“How old were you?” That was easy. My nightmare started the day my mother died.

“Seven.” His eyes turned somber, and I could see the pity in them. I looked away.

“How old are you now?”

“Twenty-three.” His jaw dropped.

“Seriously? Doc had you pegged at late teens. Were you starved?” I flinched at that. Yes, I was most nights. It was one of Garrett’s favorite punishments. I simply nodded. There was a low rumbling that emanated from Kade and it caused me to back peddle quickly away before he stopped and raised his hands again.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to frighten you. I swear I won’t hurt you.” I stayed away from him anyway.

“Listen, you have another day or so in the hospital and I’m having you transferred to the pack Ranch. You’ll stay with me to keep you safe and figure out where you came from-” Horror made the world tilt for a moment as my brain processed that I was now trading one prison for another. Instead of being Garrett’s capture, I was now Kade’s. At least with Garrett I knew his ways, I could predict bad days, knew how to butter him up and when to just take the punch. This man, this wolf was an unknown, and unknown things mean death.

“But I don’t remember!” I pleaded. He can’t keep me with him. If they find out who I am, what I did!

“And we will work on that, but you are not leaving my sight. So far you are the only piece of evidence I have at finding those missing girls and you are not leaving my sight.”

“You can’t do that!” I almost yelled. Kade raised an eyebrow at me.

“I think I just did sweetheart.” I let a growl slip between my teeth. I needed to do what I can now to get away. I can’t run at the moment, that idea has already been proven futile, so words and reason is all I have.

“You can’t lock me up like an animal.” I snapped.

“I’m not. You’ll have free reign over the ranch, but you will be restricted access to places off the property unless myself or one of my guards are there.” Furry built up inside me. I seriously did just trade one prison for another with my head still on a chopping block!

“I won’t let you! I’ll fight the entire way.” I warned him. Kade chuckled and walked casually up to me. I scurried back, trying to keep my distance but he refused to stay away until he had me trapped between the freezing window, and his warm body.

“You can’t shift, can you?” My eyes widened as he figured out my secret so easily. How did he know I can’t shift? That I never could? Is my smell off enough that I can’t detect it but he can?

“What are you talking about?” I hissed, trying to salvage my secret. He was silent for a moment.

“You were found as a human.”

“So what?” I snapped. “You’re human right now.” I jabbed.

“So, if you could shift, why didn’t you before going into the water?” My mouth gaped open before I could stop it, and I quickly sputtered out a lie.

“I-I was around too many humans to shift.”

“Okay then, when you woke up in the hospital and smelled all those wolves, why not shift then?” Again, I thought of a quick lie.

“The police were there, they were human.” Kade shrugged.

“Alright, but what about just now? It was only me and Wade, and a simple shift of your hands to get claws and you could have easily gotten past before either of us could have stopped you. I won’t tell anyone else sweetheart, but I know you just can’t and a wolf without claws isn’t going to put up a fight I can’t handle and won’t last long if those maniacs are out there looking for you. What other choice do you have?” I clenched my fists, wanting nothing more than to pound them into his handsome face as my stomach twisted and threatened to have me heave. He’s right though. What choice do I have?

Garrett is definitely out looking for me by now and he would have Maverick and Bentley doing the same. If I get caught out in the public eyes with them around they won’t care who witnesses that murder, and they won’t show me mercy by making it quick.

The fates play a cruel game. Freeing me from one hell, to lock me into another.