The cell was ghost-quiet.
No one spoke after she cut her story half away. Anna couldn't bear the guilt that came every time she retold what happened. The thickness of the silence was even worse and the heaviness of their eyes judged her in more ways than one."You interfered with the humans," was all they had to say."You had no right. You should've whisked the Alpha away once the mission was over-"She shook her head like it would fall. They were missing the point and she wondered if they were missing it on purpose. Their mission had been to scan the vicinity for the rogues and where they hid themselves.The fact that she had seen one of them that night next to the house, that was all the signs that Anna needed.It was a trap laid out for them and they had fallen right into it.Why was no one talking about the fact that the fire was started by a werewolf? Rogue or not, the werewolf government was to take responsibility for it and make it their mission to find whoever was responsible.But then why was she still in a cell? Why was the chain of a prisoner on her left foot and why did they torture her each day?Yes, she knew why. She had let him die. It was all her fault."Nonsense!" The words were followed by a hard smack across her face.She tasted blood in her mouth. The only thing she had tasted over and over again."You expect us to believe that Alpha Weston gave his life for you?" Elder Maureen, scoffed with anger in her eyes. She stared at the shape of her claws that were fresh on Anna's face, wishing they wouldn't heal so fast. She would give anything to take away Anna's abilities- If only there was a way."But that's… that's what happened," Anna defended weakly. "I," she sniffed and squeezed her fist. "I-""Enough!" Commander Gael said in a loud voice. This man who once wooed and begged her to be by his side now condemned her with everyone else. Why did she feel like he knew she was telling the truth?Everyone knew and saw how much Alpha Weston treated her so carefully and with so much care. Why were they acting like he wouldn’t give his life for her?"Time and time again, you've said the exact same thing. Anastasia, it's time you give it up. For yourself and the little dignity you have left, just confess and admit to your crime. You planned this all along, you drew the Alpha to that fire on purpose!"Every one of their words was breaking my heart."How can I admit to something that's a lie?" she asked them, daring to lift her head and more tears rolled down her cheek. "How do you want me to lie and say I killed him just to please you-""Don't play smart with us, you manipulative woman!" Pascal, a representative from the werewolf government growled at me.How could she possibly gain a listening ear when the three that were present before her were the same ones who hated her guts and her mere presence next to Alpha Weston?"Save us the strength and the time, Anna," Maureen spoke this time, trying to sound reasonable. After a slap like that, it was clear she was pouring her anger and annoyance for all these years that Weston didn't look at her daughter. In her defence, Anna had been the one standing in the way."This trial will not go on for long. The new Alpha will resume today and his first assignment is to pass judgement on you. If you tell us the truth and not try to paint Weston as your saviour in shining armour then we can give you a minimal sentence-""Rule one," Anna panted. "…of the 'Beta Binding' handbook," she stared them in the eye. "Protect the Alpha with all your strength, your might and your very life." she gulped as she continued, "Rule two and the punishment for being found guilty is death in three lifetimes. So tell me how you'll reduce that sentence."They clenched their fists and gritted their teeth at her."I don't know about you two but I just want to rip her head apart!" Maureen screamed. The hurt in her voice was evident this time. So she was hurting too.They stormed out of the cell, leaving her alone with the aftermath of her thoughts.A new Alpha could only mean a relative of Weston. There was only one relative she knew of and that was because Weston seldom talked about him and his wife. He was Weston's older brother by two years and he lived abroad in another Pack.The guards barged into the cell and grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her away and towards the courtroom. It was evening and the sky was dark. They bound her arms and pulled her chains, forcing her to kneel before the judges in the big empty room.The room was filled with scorns and scoffs as they kept their gaze on her but she wasn't in the least concerned about that. She was more worried about the judgement of the new Alpha.If the ones who were here didn’t listen, she wondered why he should.She was still in her thoughts when a sweet scent caught her attention. It was alluring enough to rouse her wolf that had retreated ever since the unfortunate incident.Her heart began to pound in her chest as she sat upright, turning her head to the entrance and waiting for the stranger to come in.Why was she feeling this way? She clutched her chest that was starting to itch for no specific reason.This feeling- she had read it in books-"She's over here," the guard said."Thank you, I'll take it from here."The voice resonated in her heart that she had troubles breathing.Finally the doors opened and he stepped in, fixing his suit jacket and scanning the room with a deep furrow on his brows. When his eyes landed on her, she felt the connection deep in her wolf and the knowing came."M-Ma-""Alpha Levi," one of the judges called. "We've been waiting for you. I hope you didn’t have any trouble finding it here."He tore his eyes from her immediately and threw a smile at the judge, "Not at all. The guards were a big help." he glanced at her again but he didn't linger for too long- as if afraid he'd be caught staring- before walking towards the judges where he was supposed to sit too.Anna was too stunned to even react. She just kept her face in that direction, with her jaw almost hanging loose but a tear rolling down her left eye.Was this some kind of a joke? A carbon copy of Alpha Weston but an older version standing before her and-She clenched hard on her jaw and balled her hands into fists by her side. The moon goddess sure was having a blast over there.First she took away Weston and made her life a living hell. Next she brought him back in the form of his older brother. As if that wasn't enough, her wolf was flipping and going crazy at his mere presence, wanting to sink her teeth into him and deliver her mark.A mate she had finally found and amidst her chaos, this mate was already married."Alpha Levi?""Hmm?" He turned his head sharply with confusion written all over him. "Right!" He tapped the side of his head before scratching it.Surely his wolf was giving him as much a hard time as Anna's.She wondered if anyone else could smell the rich scent of his pheromones that smelt like french caffeine.The rich overpowering scent was driving her crazy."Sorry, I uhm," he started to apologise to the judges. "I still don't understand how these work. Sorry," he smiled a bit but those eyes were lost in confusion and in thoughts.He had a lot going on with his wolf right now, he could barely concentrate.Maureen placed her hand on his shoulders and cracked a reassuring smile at him, "It's okay, Alpha Levi. It must be hard for you. If you want, we can postpone this trial for another day."The offer seemed appealing to him because his shoulders slumped in relief and he gave a simple nod.As if planned, the guards outside stepped in and they tugged at her chain, helping her to her
Her routine was simple; Dungeon by morning, trials at noon and bedroom by night. She went to bed every night in his arms to his sweet loving and his kisses every morning before he snuck her back in the dungeon. She felt like a teenage girl again even though she didn't frolic around at that time."You look dreamy for a prisoner," she snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Ariel's voice.The former Gamma strode into her cell one evening, eyeing Anastasia suspiciously but she soon smiled and rushed to hug her. Anna met her halfway, throwing her arms around her body as she inhaled her scent. All these weeks, she felt she had been abandoned but the moon goddess had sent a mate her way."I've missed you," Anna confessed."Me too. We don't have much time. The guards only gave me twenty minutes. I'm not supposed to be near you," Ariel rubbed her eyes under her glasses.After Weston's death, the women in his organisation all lost their positions and they had Anna to blame for that."I'm s
TWO WEEKS LATERAnastasia slammed her back against a car, gasping for air as she took a closer look at the gunshot wound on her left arm. Shit! She needed to take out the bullet before the wound could even begin to heal but the damn silver must've already dissolved in her blood. It was a special kind of bullet that if not taken out in the next thirty minutes would only dissolve faster and weaken her werewolf core.The sky was dark and her senses were all over the place. She needed to get out of here-"Find her quickly!"She went silent at that order and she knew she couldn't stay here any longer. This has been going on for two weeks now. Ever since she escaped from Noble Hunters Pack, the news had spread like wildfire.She had been labelled as a rogue who was to be brought back dead or alive.She saw her poster everywhere on the walls, the newspaper stand and even on the billboards. The werewolf government was serious in her case- if only they had taken Weston's investigation serious
Anna jerked and sat upright. Looking around the bright room and panting hard. Her eyes scanned the white room and after a while, she managed to calm down only a little. The beeping sound by her side was a monitor that read her heart and her condition in general.This wasn’t heaven. Given all the bad things she had done in her life, she knew very well that she didn't qualify for heaven.She was in the hospital. But how? The last thing she remembered was that she was going to die and that assassin aimed a gun at her then the scent and-Sai, her wolf was suddenly getting all excited and all Anna had to do was pat her head and she felt her wolf ears were out. She squeezed the sheets under her fist as her scent filled the room without her permission.Sai was only reacting this way because of him.That man with the silver hair.Ignoring how handsome and well built he was, Anna lowered her head to think. How was it possible that she felt the mate connection to him?Yes, she had heard of seco
In his dimly lit room, he poured himself a drink and walked with the drink in his hand, moving around with a file in his hands. The smell of whiskey hit his nose before he swallowed the drink in one gulp. It burned his throat and at the image of red flames, her beautiful red hair waltzed in his thoughts. He gripped the cup too tight. Oh how badly he had stopped himself from holding her longer.She felt so soft, so small and so right in his arms. She was simply perfection.But the way she stared at him. Her eyes were cautious and she acted as though he were a threat.Did she not feel the mate bond? Surely she did. Why was she trying to deny him and pretend she didn’t feel it? How long would she keep this up?He had never considered himself a patient man. He didn’t want to wait for her to relax around him. His hands itched to claim her. His teeth wanted to bury themselves in her neck. He wanted to inhale her sweet sweet scent.She smelled like wild fucking roses. How was that even poss
LeRoy hummed as he moved the pencil on his notepad. He paused to stare at the artwork, looking at the features and the shape before he compared his work. He was doing pretty good. He continued humming and he continued his sketch with his legs crossed as he bounced his feet, tapping it impatiently.When would she wake up? It was more than twenty minutes now. He wanted her eyes on him even if they glared daggers. He smiled happily. He liked it either way.She was lying on the bed with an IV connected to her arm. The metre beeped softly to show she was stable. She may have lost a huge chunk of blood but the nurse assured him that she wasn't in any form of danger.That was all he needed to hear.LeRoy paused when his ears picked up footsteps. He didn't expect to be back so soon. He got up and walked to her bedside table and he placed the notepad there. She would love a picture of herself even if it looked nothing like her.He stared at her and the way her hair sprawled on the bed, he could
Her wound was attended to the next morning and the female servant offered to help her shower. She shooed her away. What were they implying? She had an injured arm which didn't mean she was handicapped but after trying to avoid water spilling on her bandage, no one told her to open the door and invite the servant in.She did so groggily and she sat in the bathtub while the young woman helped her shower. It was an inconvenience especially when the bath didn't have the usual smell she was used to. But who was she to complain? During the two weeks she escaped, having her bath was a luxury that she couldn't afford.Anna was offered clothes and when she checked herself in the mirror, she was tempted to ask who had picked her outfit. This was just like what she used to wear; a black mini skirt with black net leggings, blue jock jacket and a bra top inside. To top it all, small heeled ankle boots.She almost felt like her old self again.Her hair was combed and her curls had straightened out.
His eating manners were too perfect to be normal. How could someone like him exist? As if it wasn't enough that he had a perfect face, body, hair and height, he had to be well mannered too. His tone was polite and his words were carefully spoken.Anna couldn't help but notice all these things. He must've been a very good child growing up. The type that caused little to no troubles at all. The way he ate, he was careful not to spill a thing and how his lips circled around the fork, he would close his eyes as if to savour the taste-Really, she had to stop staring. He was too much of a gentleman and a perfectionist. But people like him were sure to be psychopaths.Anna didn't want to draw attention to herself so she kept eating. The family of three seemed peaceful and very kind but in this part of the world, 'kind' could get them killed.Of course the government wouldn’t just come after them. BlackCrown Pack had a reputation. Back in the day, they were worshipped like gods and that was