Slave of the Alpha's Heart

Chapter 4

Gwen swerved to her right as she saw the group of seven advancing hastily to her direction. She noted with alarm as she saw that she was several yards away from the market gates. The fruit stall she wanted to pilfer from was heavily guarded with kenders who were nimble on foot. The market was boisterous and noisy as she spied her attackers getting more in numbers. She ran from one section, overturning tables, closing down awnings and upsetting china wares and chickens. She scaled a low fence as the hunger pangs bit her stomach hard. She fell hard, head first, on a cage full of clucking hens, foraging for food to eat.

They cackled louder, spearing her an angry look as they began to peck at her furiously. She groveled and searched the ground for the prize, where it had fallen from her grip. She seized it from a corner and turned.

She crashed hard on to the gigantic brick wall. The agony of the pain was less than the willingness to escape being mauled alive. The agony of facing a dead end was the greatest pain of all. She sat down hard on the cobblestones and nursed the bump on her head as she thought of what she was to do next.

“It seems you’ve run out of spark hey?” The man in the forefront said. He was flanked by the ogre who was wielding the club. The assailant spaced themselves out, trying to attack her at one. She clutched the oily meat with both hands. She held the stolen bounty to her chest with all her strength.

The ogre swung his tick and it missed her by a hair-breath. The other joined in unison to fall on her. She received a punch in the face that made her nearly blackout. The force of the punch sent her sprawling to the ground, She spat the blood from her mouth and gathered her wits together.

The club was raised again, this time aimed straight for her head. She closed her eyes, knowing she was too slow to react or even stand up.

She shook her voice vigorously. Her head and brain were pulsating by the second

The masculine voice was loud and fierce. She saw a blur of hairs and red eyes. Blade tore through the group, felling the ogre with a well-placed kick before the dumb brute could realized it. The alpha snatched the club and crashed it on the head of one of the tradesmen.

Blade yelled bloody murder and fought with tooth and claws. His mane ripped into the midsection of one of the men and his blows were fast and dangerous. His legwork was faster than the kender kin could muster and his anger were ferocious. The whole marketplace was his instrument. Soon, the whole lot was on the floor, cowering before him as he stood breathless and triumphant. He stared down at the beaten mass writhing on the floor and gave a resounding howl that reverberated down the valley that housed the wolfs sleeping quarters.

Blade helped gwen up and scrutinized her over. Tearing open his shirt and using it to cover the blood flow that has stained the omega’s dress.

“Yes we meet again. Blade said grinning from tooth to tooth. He was full of strength that Gwen couldn’t help wandering how much reserve he would have in his bows. Few alpha could stand taking on a ferocious horde without breaking into a sweat. The man was like a big infallible tree.” “Are you hurt?" He asked

“A little, But I’ll be fine, thanks. She tried to smile a little, hoping he’ll just quit his questions. He held her still and try mopping her injured mouth.

“You are always found in place of great distress….or great trouble. I wonder why you don’t want to avoid accidents” He probed her, looking at the now dirty meat she was hugging so closely.

He gently pried the item away and threw it to the mangy dogs on the street. I cant believe you were going to get yourself killed for this piffle. He admonished her almost looking angry. The sight of the damsel always in distress seemed to take away the fun from the triumph.

“I cant keep protecting you from every mishap you find yourself. Try stay out of trouble for once”. Blade muttered darkly

“I don’t need protecting. No one asked you to do so”. Gwen countered, feeling the other half of her sister’s vile mouth in her.

Like begot like.

“From what I saw of you today, sounds like if I didn’t come to your rescue, you’ll get really messy, you’re my mate”.

“Thanks but I'm okay now.”. She made to pick the hunk of pork but Blade blocked her way.

“Lay off please, I’ve not had something to eat for a while now. I have no strength left to banter words with you, Blade” She said quite surprised that she could speak to him in such manner. In Shadow creek clan, an omega dared not speak to a beta that way, how much more…

“I’m glad I’ve taken the fight off you for a change. I wonder how you can see yourself stand up to a fast kender and a grumpy ogre.

“I needed food for myself and my sister Blade”. She screamed in frustration. She didn’t like him speaking at her from his ivory towers like he was the judge of character. “I need food for my sister she’s sick and about to die. Lila’s the only family I’ve got."

The more reason you should steer clear of trouble. You sister would want you to be nice and cool.

“She needs to be taken care of Blade and im doing my best for her. For two moons now, we’ve had no one to call us friends”.

Blade scrunched up his face like a disobedient child. The worry of the weak omega who he’d just met yesterday was contagious.

“So what do you need from to me” Blade asked with a serious face. His big and mournful eyes came back in full force. His brooding looks helped him convey his concern as best as he wanted the slave girl to perceive it.

“Let’s walk to the infirmary. You’re really hurt.” The fresh blood had started to pour from Gwen’s mouth.

“I’ll rather walk home, I’ve got to take care of my sister, Blade.”

“No problem." He asked quite surprised.

They walked side by side, enjoying each other’s company with Blade stopping to mop the dirt from her wounds. From the marketplace, Several eyes watched them as they left the rowdy area and began the lonely path to her house.

“I need you to help my sister, she’s dying, please. Her beautiful eyes did the pleading more than her words could ever do.

“You need more help than your sister , looking at you quite frankly speaking”.

They stood now at the door of her tent. Blade squatted and held the feeble woman’s hand. His brooding mood took all her possessions in one gulp. He shook his head slowly and straightened up.

“I have to leave. Take care of yourself and stay away from trouble”

“What… where are you going?

“Home, where I belong, Gwen. I need to get ready for a drink now I’ve known your name”. He smirked mischievously.

“Aren’t you going to help me”. There was no response from him.

“Blade? Blaaaaade!”

●●●

The farms that belonged to Kael had all of its farmhands working in droves. They sung among themselves as the overhead sung became hotter even though there were few winter’s snow to melt. The rains of the previous weeks had ensured that the sun was twice as worse. The song the omegas and the Davka sang was meant to lighten the effect of the hard work and lighten their burden.

Gwen did not sing with them as her heart was heavy because of her ailing sister. She had told Blade to look after her sister and he had left afterwards like he didn’t care about her. She wondered what she would do next especially as she’d thought that the man who truly cared about her was another cold blooded alpha. She berated herself for entrusting the well-being of her family to a stranger after meeting his acquaintance of a few hours. She knew better than to trust the alphas again. In her mind, they were all the same.

Salome, a Davka whose tent was just opposite hers in the slave quarters , ran to her , worry etched on her face as she struggled to breathe after the long race she’d run from her house to the farms

“Lila’s being taken by wild men with masks”. She cried out as she gripped Gwen, the fear in the former’s eyes was undeniably heartbreaking.

“Where, where?” Gwen froze still as panic spread over her. What happened to Lila? Tell me”. She ordered Salome. “Do you have any idea who took her away?” she shook the skinny girl sore that she whimpered.

The small girl was breathless as she told her some riders had ravaged their camp and made off with her sick sister .

“Why Lila? Why didn’t her attackers just leave her alone. She asked herself as the soul almost went out her, remembering the fight at the marketplace. It was possible that the traders wanted their pound of flesh as much as possible. She had told a few kind Omegas to help her watch her sister , for her to scrape something for herself and Lila. The hunger gnawed at her now that she had nothing to sustain the shock of losing the only family she had.

By now people had started to gather to hear the story. They had begun to sympathize with her . The tears cascaded from her eyes as the feeling and helplessness made her feeble. She stared about her through the melee as the omegas crowded about her offering words or advice and sympathy.

Wiping her nose and eyes with one hand, she made away from the farm with determined steps.