Chapter 2
1385 Words
Tabitha
“Face me.” His rough breath grazed my neck, and I shuddered. Yet my feet were glued to the ground like a statue, refusing to turn as his shadow effortlessly towered over mine.
He rumbled at my defiance, and I knew better that this was my last chance to obey him or else he would do things his way: The kind that makes my bones snap and my shriek scaring the owls of the woods.
And with wobbly knees, I slowly turned to him. My jaw dropped as our eyes bonded. They were glowing, the dark shade of red that perfectly suited his haunting aura. If I had any picture of what the mad Alpha looks like, this one completely wiped it. How can a monster be blessed with such a flawless, chiseled face and build?
“So you’re the little wolf that played those fine tunes,” he held my chin, tilting my face upwards. Then he wore a tiny smile, one that boldly expressed his amusement. He had found a muse, me.
I swallowed the lump that terrorized my throat, restraining every nerve in my eyes from twitching. Yet it wasn’t fear that rippled through me; it was tingles spiralling across my body in ways I’ve never felt before.
“Who are you?”
My ears wiggled at his deep baritone, my lips trembled, but the word raspingly eased out of my chords anyway.
“Tabitha.”
“Tabitha…” My name sweetly rolled off his tongue as his eyes lost their feral attribute. “Play me a song, little wolf.”
Why did that name, little wolf, leave a relishing flavor on my tongue?
“Or you won’t?” his tone hardened, another threat I knew not to take lightly. I briskly set my violin under my chin. My bow vibrated as it met the string; he noticed and freed another rough breath.
“I won’t hurt you as long as you play.”
Only a fool would trust his words; unfortunately, this was the only option I had. To trust his words and play my best. My chest heaved up as I forced a sharp breath in and drew my bow along the strings. Melody danced between us, and his smile deepened. It wasn’t amusement, it was joy in its untainted form, and it made the knot in my chest ease up.
A few minutes in, his claws retracted, the glow in his eyes reverted to the most beautiful shade of hazel I have ever seen in my life. I gained better control over my bow, playing till I reached the last note.
His eyes swelled with tears that glittered like pearls. Did my music move him, or did I spark a painful memory? I couldn’t tell, but every atom of my body yearned for his validation.
“Where did you learn this song?” He asked, his voice soft and devoid of its previous threat.
“I-i wrote it myself. D-o you like it?”
“I do, but I don’t believe you.” Anger agitated in his voice, sending all the relief I had garnered down the drain. Why won’t he believe me?
“My daughter never lies, Alpha Mathias,” my father butted in. “My daughter has been playing the violin ever since she was a kid. Every song she plays, she wrote it herself.”
His gaze returned to me, perplexed. I swallowed another lump, wondering what thought he was battling behind those conflicted eyes. He did promise not to hurt me as long as I play, but that promise doesn’t extend to when I’m done.
“I intended to take over this Pack, but…” A crooked smile lifted the corner of his lips, sending another chilling ripple as he held my chin. “I found something priceless instead.”
My teeth seethed. Why did I get the feeling I was going to dread the next statement that would slip out of his mouth?
“As long as it is within our reach, we will give you anything you desire, Alpha Mathias,” My father butted in. “We’re nothing but a small Pack. You won’t get any benefit annexing us to your already great Pack.”
“What I desire…” delight gleamed in his eyes for me, “Is right in front of me.”
“What?!” I pulled away from his touch. He frowned, irritated by my impulse.
“Never!” I blurted without thinking. I would rather die than let this monster share the same space with me.
“Did you just say no?” he huffed, and my eyes immediately followed his palms curling into fists.
“Alpha Mathias…Tabitha is my only daughter,” My father said, standing up, challenging him with a rather soft tone. “She’s our pride. Anything but her, please.”
“She’s all that we have…” My mother cried, standing up too, “S-sh-she can’t serve any purpose to you in your Pack.”
“I’m not taking no for an answer,” the Alpha fired back.
“If you want to take her!” Camden’s ferocious voice filled the air. I turned back at him, his eyes were sparkling golden yellow with his claws out, ready to draw blood. “You will have to go through me first!”
“Camden…” tears ripped through my eyes. If anyone had told me he would choose to protect me in the face of death, I would have called it a lie. Not like I doubted him, but I’m a burden he could easily dispel. Why would he go this extra mile?
“That’s right!” another Pack member arose.
“We are one!” Said another.
“We fight together!” another defended.
“We rejoice together!”
“And we always stick together, no matter what!”
“If you want to take Tabitha, you must go through us all!”
Tears streamed endlessly from my eyes, touring my cheeks and down to the floor like droplets. My father walked up to me and wiped off the trail on my cheeks.
“Dad…”
“I won’t let you go, my little one.”
Alpha Mathias burst into a wild laugh, as if we were all fools who had just delivered a climactic show for his amusement. My grip tightened on my bow so that it almost broke. Never have I despised my weakness this much. If we weren’t such a small Pack, this monster wouldn’t even dare to set foot here in the first place.
He suddenly tilted his neck to the side, “Whether by crook…or hook…”
His eyes grew dark, stripped of reason, “I must have you, Tabitha!”
My eyes widened to their very limits as his cold aura mercilessly preyed on my skin, wiping my thoughts but one chilling memory: My dream where my Pack members were wailing from imminent destruction, screaming my name to save them.
Was this the moment my dream had been hinting at?
My father pulled me to his back, shielding me from the Alpha’s gaze. But the damage had already been done, my mind had fragmented into torturous pieces.
“The choice is yours, little wolf!” He bellowed while his wolves resumed their growls. I gripped my father’s clothes; his presence was the only thin line I could hold on to before I fracture into insanity.
“We can do this the hard way, but remember…the blood of your Pack will be on your hands, little wolf.”
I freed my father’s shirt as my lungs squeezed the life out of me.
“Tabitha?” my father tried to hold me, but I stumbled backward while warm salt itched my eyes. What kind of daughter would I be if I let my parents and members die because of me?
I peered at Alpha Mathias; his dark smile was all I needed to make me embrace the ugly truth. He will kill everyone here and make me watch. If following him will deter him from ending my Pack, then I’m willing to be the sacrifice.
And so, with clenched fists that bled from my nails, my lips parted,
“I–I will…I will follow you…Alpha Mathias.”
- Writer
