Chapter Twelve

Ellie

I was baffled. One moment, I was being thrown into a dungeon, the next, I was being given my own room.

Maybe it was just a different kind of prison, but at least this one seemed more comfortable.

I had been bracing myself for some sort of punishment. After all, I had heard the girl’s nose crack when I hit her. Then there was the way Alpha Clayton had gripped the back of my neck.

It was the same thing Dante used to do when he would push me to the floor and beat me. His method of making me submit, and it always worked.

But this Alpha was different. It didn’t mean I trusted him, but if he had wanted to beat me, he would have done it by now.

I let out a sigh. Maybe he was just messing with my head. I needed to find a way out of here before he decided to toss me back into the dungeon or have his Beta punish me.

That’s what Alphas did. They had someone else do the punishing. Like when Murdoch made Sammy run, that would have been Gabriel’s doing. Just like when he handed him over to Zagan.

My heart began to race at the thought of this Alpha handing me back to Zagan and Dante. Any punishment I had endured before would be nothing compared to what I would face if I had to go back.

I walked over to the window. I was too high up to escape that way. I’d have to try and sneak out when everyone was asleep. That seemed like the best plan.

In the meantime, I would just try to avoid punishment. Be submissive, avoid eye contact. Not use their names. I wished Sammy was here, he would have told me how to behave.

I was pretty sure he would have advised against smashing that girl’s face in.

I walked over to the other door, which he’d said led to the bathroom. It was simple but functional. Anything was better than what I was used to.

A bucket of cold water thrown over you once a week to wash off the mud hardly counted as a bath. The girl was probably right. Despite being washed in the river, I probably did stink.

Sammy wouldn’t have noticed because we both smelled the same.

I examined the controls on the shower. It looked similar to the one in Gabriel’s house. The bathtub was similar too. I turned on the water and waited for the steam to rise.

Stepping under the hot water felt like heaven. I found some soap and shampoo. Feeling the knots in my hair, I realized I would need to cut it. I didn’t mind having it cut now.

Actually, I wanted it short. I remembered how much Zagan had complained about it. About letting Gabriel cut it. Anything he disliked, I suddenly liked. Except for people.

Sammy was the only one I trusted, and now he was gone.

Sammy and Nix. I reached out for her in my mind, but she was still asleep. Probably recovering from healing me.

I stepped out of the shower, not bothering to grab a towel right away. I looked at myself in the mirror. The first time in two years.

I had grown a lot. I knew this from finally fitting into the clothes that Zagan had given me. When he first threw them at me, they had been way too big.

I took a deep breath and saw my ribs sticking out. I’d looked this way before, once. A distant memory of not having enough to eat on the other side of the border, where werewolves didn’t exist.

Didn’t exist except for me.

I twisted in front of the mirror to look at my back. The old scars had faded a bit, but they were still there. I could still hear Dante’s laughter, ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. Did it?

Had everything that had happened made me stronger? More cautious perhaps, but stronger... I doubted it.

The newer wounds were almost gone. A slightly different shade than my normal skin. Lighter. They would disappear eventually, when my wolf woke up again, she would finish healing me. I looked at my hand.

The cut that I had made when Sammy and I had tried to bond was gone. Not even a scar. Had his wolf hated him so much, that he wouldn’t heal him?

Or had the Alpha command I gave him stopped him from healing?

I grabbed a towel, pushing the thought to the back of my mind as I dried off. I tried to dry the bandage on my hand, so much for not getting it wet.

I wondered if I would be punished for that. I just hoped I wouldn’t have to see the doctor again. I had developed a dislike for doctors and hospitals after my experience with Melissa and Erik.

It was like I was making a mental list of everyone I had met who had either abandoned me or done something horrible to me. There were only a few names on that list that I would ever trust.

Sammy had been one, the other was ’lijah. He would be fourteen now. He’d probably had his first shift. I wondered what his wolf would be like. I pushed that thought away as well.

I would never see him again either. Besides, the last time I saw him he barely spoke to me, blaming me for Sammy being taken away. Now he would blame me for Sammy’s death, so why torture myself?

I walked back into the bedroom. I looked at the clothes on the bed. Clothes that would actually fit me. I would take them all with me when I left.

For now, I just grabbed a pair of pants, a pair of jeans, and a tee shirt. There were shoes as well, but I didn’t put them on. I had gotten used to not having shoes.

After dressing, I walked to the door. Grasping the door handle, I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the Alpha’s little chat.

I knew what an Alpha’s little chat usually involved: pain and submission.

I turned the handle and pulled open the door. It was a novelty to not be locked in.

There was a short hallway that led to the main sitting area. I could hear Alpha Clayton and Seth talking.

As soon as they realized I was in the room, they stopped talking.

Alpha Clayton smiled at me.

“Come over here, sit down, Ellie.”

I was surprised that it was a suggestion rather than a command.

I began to walk over to where they were sitting.

“You’ve already met my Beta, Seth, haven’t you?” he continued.

I froze as I stared at the two men. I felt my heart pound wildly against my chest as my head started to spin. I tried to gulp in some air, but I couldn’t.

I began to retreat, retracing my steps. They were going to harm me, just like Zagan and Dante had. Because I was different, because I wasn’t enough.

A lump formed in my throat as I watched Seth, the Beta, rise and approach me. His lips were moving, but I couldn’t decipher his words.

I shook my head, hugging myself. Suddenly, I was freezing and shaking. I needed to escape.

I glanced at the door I had entered through. Then, I bolted.

I didn’t make it far before his strong arms enveloped me. He carried me to the couch where Alpha Clayton was seated.

I recoiled as a hand touched my face, but it was gentle. It was Alpha Clayton. He was speaking, but my mind was a whirlwind until I heard one word.

“Breathe.”

Beta Seth had released me. I hadn’t even noticed until I felt the Alpha’s other hand soothing my back. I tried to concentrate on his words.

“Breathe, Ellie, in...out, just like that.”

I began to gulp in air.

“Slowly,” he encouraged.

Then Beta Seth returned, draping a blanket over my shoulders.

I stared at Alpha Clayton, my gaze darting to Beta Seth occasionally.

Then one of them gently laid me down on the couch.

“It’s okay, Ellie, just rest. Everything is going to be okay,” Alpha Clayton murmured.

Despite being swaddled in a blanket, I could still feel myself trembling. I felt a hand on my head, a thumb gently caressing my forehead.

I opened my eyes. It was Alpha Clayton.

“Close your eyes, sweetheart,” he whispered, “you’ve had a shock.”

I obeyed, but their conversation still reached my ears.

“What the hell was that?” Beta Seth questioned.

“Quiet, Seth. I don’t want her stressed. She’s had a panic attack. Seeing us both here must have triggered something,” Alpha Clayton responded.

I heard Beta Seth sigh.

“She was fine with me earlier. I gave her food. It’s like she didn’t recognize me?”

“Did you tell her you were my beta?” Alpha Clayton inquired.

“No...she didn’t know.”

I heard footsteps fading. I assumed it was Beta Seth.

“Ellie, open your eyes.”

I opened them and looked up at Alpha Clayton. He looked worried.

I glanced around.

“Is...is Beta gone?” I asked, hopefully.

Alpha Clayton smiled,

“His name is Seth, and mine is Clayton, but you know that already. You only need to use our titles at official functions, and then it’s Beta Seth, or Alpha Clayton.”

I shook my head.

“It...it’s not allowed to use names, not until I earn the privilege.”

Alpha Clayton rolled his eyes.

“We don’t operate like that here, Ellie. Just call me by my name, I promise you nothing bad will happen.”

I shook my head vehemently. It was a trick. He would make me say it, then he would punish me.”

He sighed.

“You don’t trust me, do you?” he paused, “Do you trust anyone?”

I pondered for a moment. The truth was, I didn’t.

I shook my head, causing Alpha Clayton to frown.

“What about your parents, where are they? You must trust them?”

I thought again. My parents had given me away. They claimed they were dying, but were they? Did they just abandon me because I was too much trouble?

I was a half-werewolf living on the human side of the border. Then there was Jackson, he didn’t try to find me after I crossed the border.

And Gabriel, he didn’t even try to find me after I was taken. He abandoned me too. Now he had a mate. He had no use for a half-breed pup.

Why would I trust these people, or anyone, for that matter?

“No, they gave me away. Everyone abandons me, I’m too much trouble.”

Alpha Clayton narrowed his eyes.

“Your parents gave you to Zagan,” he hissed.

I shook my head, “no, he kidnapped me from Alpha Gabriel. But he didn’t really want me. He gave Sammy to Alpha Zagan too.”

Alpha Clayton frowned.

“Alpha Gabriel of the crescent moon pack?”

I nodded.

“Are you going to send me back to Alpha Zagan and his Beta?”

Alpha Clayton stared at me in shock.

“Is that what you think?”

He shook his head.

“I would never send you back to that monster, Ellie. I swear on my life and the life of my pack.”

“And I swear the same, little pup.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see Beta Seth returning with a glass of juice.

“Here, drink this,” he added.

Alpha Clayton helped me sit up and unwrapped me from the blanket.

Seth handed me the glass, and as I reached out for it, I thanked him, making sure not to meet his gaze.

“Thank you, Beta,” I mumbled.

He didn’t release the glass though.

“Look at me, Ellie,” he commanded.

I raised my eyes, my body tensing in case he decided to strike me.

“My name is Seth, not Beta,” he corrected, gently.

His hand still held the glass.

“Thank you...” I hesitated, his hand still firmly gripping the glass, “Seth...” I whispered.

His hand released the glass, and gently stroked the top of my head.

“Good girl, Ellie. Do you believe us now?”

I took a sip of the orange juice. It was good.

I glanced between the two men. Both of them were waiting for an answer.

I nodded. I supposed it meant I believed that they wouldn’t hurt me for calling them by their names, but it would take a lot more than that for me to fully trust them.