Captured in the Shadows

Tiana's POV

I lay down in my room sobbing and broken hearted. It had been nearly a month since Lewis announced Melissa as his mate and Luna. I couldn't wrap my mind around what had happened even after a month.

“ Why?!!!” I screamed throwing my pillow at the door in a feat of anger. I hated everything and the slightest thing irritated me. Whenever I went out, the people around would look at me in pity - everyone pitied me and I hated it.

Melissa was probably living her dream life as it stands, their wedding was at the corner and all I could do was cry myself to sleep every night. I was tired of living like this. I heard a knock on my door.

“ Come in,” I said lazily from under the pillow.

“ Melissa, it's me,” I heard Oliver's voice. I kept quiet. “ I know you're sad and it's expected, heart break hurts but you can't keep living like this when both Alpha Lewis and Melissa are living their lives to their fullest,” he sat beside me on my bed.

“ I want to move on but it's so hard,” I cried under my pillow. “ I really did love him, dad,” I said in tears.

“ I know you did, honey,” he patted my head. “ That's why I talked to your mom about it. I'm going on a trip, why don't you follow me?” He suggested.

“ Is it going to be a long trip?” I finally removed the pillow from my face.

“ Long enough for you to forget about your past,” he smiled.

“ I'll go with you,” I affirmed. I didn't like trips but I was more than happy to go, if I didn't I wasn't sure I would remain sane.

*** A week later***

I walked cautiously over the twigs and the stomps that stood in my path, our lantern barely lighting up the path. It was a cold and lonely night with the frequent hooting of the owls interrupting the quiet and giving off an eerie feeling.

I was beginning to wonder why we had left late at night. The woods were creepy enough in the day but at night, it was unrecognizable - everything about it spooked me out. I had never gone this deep into the forest before. This part was icy cold and the trees were partially covered in snow.

“ Dad, where are we headed? We've been walking for hours now,” my feet were sore from trekking a long distance.

“ We're nearly there, Tiana. Just keep you lantern straight and keep moving forward,” Oliver instructed. He walked closely behind me, I felt a sense of security like that.

“ This location we're dealing with, why does it feel like a fairytale? We've been walking for ages!” I exclaimed, complaining further.

“ And I'm not exactly sure how complaining will change the situation,” he snapped.

“ Are we lost?” I turned around to look at him. Maybe he didn't want to admit that he had forgotten the road to where he was going. After all, everywhere was covered in snow.

“ Why do you think so?” He answered my question with a question, raising his brows.

“ I don't know, maybe because there hasn't been a single sighting of civilization,” I frowned.

“ Are you the one leading or am I the one leading?” He folded his arms.

As we continued our bizarre journey through the woods, the screeching noises of buzzards from a distance, I flinched in fear, though I tried my best to keep my cool not wanting to have another lecture session with dad.

A shrub by the corner of the path we walked through, shook making it's leaves rustle. My ears twitched as it stood erect, trying to pinpoint what was behind the shrub. I wasn't going to pass by the shrub - that I had determined.

“ Can you not stop so suddenly?” Dad grumbled as he nearly bumped into me, he was still unaware of the situation at hand. “ What's going on? Why did you stop?” He puzzled.

“ Something is hiding in there. Maybe it's... ” I pointed at the innocent shrub.

“ There's nothing there,” he reassured, cutting in. Just then a cute squirrel jumped from behind the shrub. It was the supposed monster I feared and anticipated to see, I felt a bit embarrassed.

“ Sorry,” I mumbled.

I had determined in my heart to keep quiet and let this journey continue in silence. My talking was becoming a bit too much, even I couldn't deny it.

The sudden sharp pain that I felt behind my head didn't give me room to shout for help or shriek in pain. With a small thud, I landed onto the snowy ground unconscious. Everything faded into black.

__________________________________

Opening my eyes slowly, I found myself lying on a large bed in a dark room. At least, that's what it seemed like. I slowly sat up wondering what had happened then I felt a sharp throbbing pain behind my head accompanied with the sound of a tuning fork ringing in my ears. I was hit in the forest - I remembered.

“ Dad!!!” I looked around thinking about where exactly dad could be. I squinted my eyes in the dark trying to make out the objects in the dark but I couldn't.

I heard the door I was yet to locate with my eyes creak open, my heart pounded within the walls of my chest. Everything about where I was creeped me out and without dad here, fear became a normalcy for me.

“ W-who is there?” I asked in a shaky voice. “ Dad?” I went on to question the presence.

“ You're awake?” A cold voice came from the figure in a rhetorical question as some others walked into the room and approached my bed.

“ Don't you come close to me! I-I’m warning you,” I knelt down on the bed attempting to threaten them.

“ Your attempt to protect yourself is rather weak,” he wasn't in the least way intimidated by me. “ You should eat what they are serving you, ” he said still standing in the door way.

“ I don't want to eat. I want to know where my dad is, ” I had began to cry already - I was scared. “ Since you're the one who ambushed me in the forest, you should know where my dad is. Where did you keep him? ” I interrogated. I hoped he couldn't hear how rapidly my heart was beating.

“ And what makes you so sure that I was the one who ambushed you? ” I couldn't see his face but I knew he had a smirk on his face right now.

“ You captured me and took me hostage, of course you ambushed me and took my dad too. Or did you leave him to die out in the cold? ” My eyes widened in fear. He wouldn't.

“ It seems your father didn't explain everything to you, ” he sighed. Did he know dad somehow? No way, he probably was just lying to get me to let my guards down. “ Dress her up,” he commanded the servants that had surrounded me.

“ What do you think you're doing?”

“ Don't you want to see your father?” He asked and I nodded.

“ I do,”

        “ Then get dressed and come downstairs, your unending questions would be answered,” his voice thundered as he walked away, leaving me to his servants. Who in the world was he?