Chapter 2- Ari

The sound of keys on the door jolted my attention to it. My senses are dull from the silver and wolfsbane, but I can hear keys and voices. Sure enough, the doors open, and Alpha Liam, Sage, the warlock, and the guard who locked me up enter the room. The area surrounding the four cells is open. We are in the basement of the packhouse, which is basically our city hall. 

“Here’s the prisoner.” The guard states proudly as if he’s why I didn’t escape. I inwardly roll my eyes at his lame attempt to impress the Alpha. 

“Oh, goddess! You chained her! Open the door now!” Sage demands, her eyes searing into the guard's face like she could murder him where he stood. 

Sage is tiny for a werewolf, but she is a fierce bitch to reckon with. She is in shape as she was training to be a warrior before Liam snatched her up as his mate. Sage his short dusty blonde hair that comes to her shoulders. Her bangs frame her face. Her light green eyes are the color of sage which is why her parents named her Sage. She has a nice body, but I know I’m the fuller female body of both of us. Overall, Sage is cute and sexy, and she pulls it off with the utmost confidence. 

“Yes, Luna.” The guard tries not to stutter. 

He’s clearly confused as to why his Luna is pissed the hell off at him. Here he thought he was doing a fine job of keeping the traitor locked up till the Alpha could get here. The idiot doesn’t know I'm best friends with his precious Luna. No one in this pack barely recognizes me. I’m an omega and a low-ranking one at that. I just got lucky and happened to become best friends with a Beta, not just any Beta, but the daughter of the head warrior. Sage’s family is well respected among the pack, so it was no surprise that Liam picked her to be his mate. I think they were secretly hooking up beforehand during training, but Sage won’t admit it to me. 

The guard barely gets the cell door open before Sage barrels past him to me. I’m now standing leaning on the concrete wall with my hands in silver chains on the floor. Sage goes to hug me, but I step back so the silver doesn’t burn her. 

“Don’t touch the chains. They are silver.” My voice cracks as I speak. 

Sage turns on her heels and stomps towards the guard. “You put her in silver chains! Why would you do that?” The guard goes to open his mouth to explain, but Sage cuts him off with her hand. “Nevermind, I don’t care why you did it, just undo it now!” She demands. 

“Sorry, Luna. It’s standard protocol to help counter the wolfsbane we injected into her.” The guard defends himself as he walks past Sage and towards me. Sage turns perfectly on her heels once more and lunges at the guard pinning him to the wall. 

“You injected wolfsbane in my best friend, and then you chained her with silver? I will have your fucking job. Next time pay attention to who your prisoner is, or did you not care because she’s an Omega? Maybe you thought she deserved it because her parents are traitors, but that doesn’t mean she is one. She is like my sister, and you hurt her. You will pay for it with your job. Your lack of due diligence makes you unqualified for this job. Give me the keys and get the fuck out. You are done being a guard.” Sage is fierce with her elbow against the guard's throat. There is no doubt in my mind that she couldn't kill him right here and right now. She lets the guard down, and he gives her the keys. He then runs out of the prison. 

Sage unlocks the chains and then hugs me. “I’m sorry, Ari,” Sage says as she rubs my back. 

“It’s okay. Just please tell me I’m not going to die.” I try to hide the tears threatening to spill over. I’m overwhelmed, the wolfsbane is causing me to lose control of my emotions, and soon it will fuck with my head, and I’m scared. I don't think I’ve ever been so afraid for my life before. 

Sage steps back as Liam walks in. Sage backs up, so she stands slightly in front of Liam, who stands slightly to her side. His hand goes to her shoulder in a comforting manner. I swallow the lump in my throat as dread overtakes me. I don’t like the way Sage looks at me; she’s not even looking at me. 

“Ari, I need to know if you were involved with your parents.” Alpha Liam questions. 

Fuck I want to snap at him, but I don’t want to. Damn, the wolfsbane is making me aggressive, and I want to lash out. I’m trying to hold back. I take the biggest breath I can and breathe out. “No. I didn’t know what they were planning. I don’t know why they would do something like this.” I tell the truth. 

I didn't know, and I certainly wasn’t involved. If my parents had tried to include me, I would have told them no and told Liam right away. My parents probably knew that; that’s why they didn’t involve me. They knew I was loyal to the pack and our alpha. Sage sighs in relief. I knew she never questioned if I was involved or not. She knows I wasn't, but Liam doesn't know me like she does. He had to ask, and he’s also the Alpha. He has no choice but to ask even if he thought I wasn’t. 

“She’s telling the truth.” The warlock says from behind Liam. How the hell did he know I was telling the truth? He must have cast a spell. 

“Good. In that case, Ari, you don’t have to worry about dying because I’m not going to kill you. You are innocent. However, I can’t let you stay in the pack. You might be innocent, but you know as well as I that the pack won’t care. They will associate you with your parents, and I can’t protect you from them. You have two options. Option one, I banish you, and you become a rogue, or option two. You go with Zane and become his familiar.” He points to the warlock. So his name is Zane. 

Magic was not something werewolves trusted. Magic wasn’t natural to us, so some of us fear it, others avoid it, and some think it’s unnatural. I fall into the I try to avoid magic category. I don’t trust it because of how dangerous it is and how easily one can wield it as a weapon.

I look over to Zane. The handsome, sexy, brooding, and very dangerous warlock. He has ash brown hair that is styled with a short fade haircut on the sides and back with long side-swept hair on the top, a light beard, and dark gray eyes. He seems physically fit, but I can’t fully tell with the black trench coat he is wearing. Zane is attractive. It’s as if he is calling to my soul. Strange to feel that connection with someone I just met, and I’m not sure you could even say we’ve officially met. 

“I’ve heard of warlocks and witches making werewolves and other shifters their familiars. Some consider it a form of slavery. So my options are to become a rogue or a slave to a warlock?” I ask in disbelief. Well, that’s not the good news I was hoping for. 

Alpha Liam is right. I can't stay in the pack as much as I want to. I know I can’t because it won’t be safe here. No one will respect me, I’ll be bullied, hated, shunned, and some might even try to kill me. I’m guilty by association. It doesn’t matter if I’m innocent. I guess my parents either didn’t give two shits about me. Or they were overconfident. Either way, they screwed me hard. 

“I’m sorry, Ari. I don’t have any better options to offer you. We don’t have much time either. You know the pack will call for blood if you stay too long. You need to choose soon. If you’re smart, you’ll go with Zane. Leave right from this cell with him.” 

“What does being your familiar entail?” I ask as I question if this is the better option. 

Zane steps forward. “You’ll be bound to me. I will own your soul. I will be able to control your werewolf abilities. In return, you’ll be able to tap into my magic to strengthen you. It’s a type of partnership. You will fight with me when needed, you will be mine to control, and I will protect you in return. I will take care of you, Ari. You will have a safe place to live with me. You will have food, clothes, anything you want or need, you can have it. You know you won’t have those options as a rogue.” 

He’s right. Being a rogue is slow suicide. If another rogue doesn’t kill me, then a pack wolf will. Pack wolves kill rogues every chance they get. They see them as threats to pack life. They are eliminated and often without question either. It’s not much of a life. I’d probably be better off dead. So that makes Zane the only option to have a life. Well, a facade of a life. I’ll be his. I don’t know him. I’m trusting him with my life, my soul, and who the hell only knows what else. 

“Fine. I’ll go with Zane, but I get to stay in contact with Sage.” I need at least something that is to my benefit. I can face whatever might come of going with Zane if I have Sage in my corner. If I can turn to her for advice or to vent, I’ll have a better chance of surviving. I don't even like the thought of being away from her. We’ve never been apart. We’ve been friends since we were six. Sage saved me from being bullied by some Beta kids. I started following her around. I felt like I owed her for saving me. We became best friends. She’s the only thing I have left. 

“I’m fine with you staying in touch with Sage if Liam is,” Zane says, looking at Liam, nodding his head. 

“I’m fine with it. It’s bad enough they have to be forced apart and that Ari can’t be here for Sage’s Luna ceremony. The least we can give them is contact with one another. Maybe we can arrange for them to meet up. After all, I don’t mind hanging out with an old friend.” Liam suggests. 

Liam friends with a warlock? Well, that’s news to me. Also, was that a little bit of compassion I saw in Liam, but I doubt it was for my benefit. I’m sure he’s only doing this for Sage. At least she means something to him. It helps to leave her if I know she has someone. I know Sage doesn't lack friends, but it’s still comforting to know she has Liam. 

“Works for me. Once Ari and I have completed the bond and adjusted to each other, we can get together. In the meantime, they can call and text. Ari, take this before we leave.” Zane commands as he waves his hands in the air. A clump of black mist swirls around in the palm of his right hand. The mist disappears. In Zane’s hand sits a round vile with shimmering pale blue liquid. It almost looks too beautiful to drink. 

“What is it?” asking as I take the vile. 

“Purifying potion. It will cleanse the wolfsbane from your system. You don’t want it in your system when we teleport.” He answers. 

Nodding my head, I open the vile. Then I swallow the pretty blue liquid. It’s minty but too minty, like I drank too many breath mints. An overpowering tingling session travels through my body. It lasts for several minutes before I begin to feel normal. My wrists are slowly healing from the silver. I need some food and rest to recover from the wolfsbane and the silver entirely. 

Sage hugs me goodbye, and I can’t let the gravity of what is happening hit me yet. No, when I’m alone, that’s when I will let the tears out. My life is changing. I’m trusting someone I don’t know, and it’s scary. Warlocks and witches are not a race I want to be around. I don’t know what coven life is like. I only know pack life, and that’s probably not going to help me much. I push the fear away because I don't like how much I will have to rely on Zane. I have to give him all my trust and hope that he doesn’t make me regret this. 

“Just remember, Ari, you always wanted an adventure,” Sage says with a wink as she breaks our hug. 

“Yeah, well, we were kids and didn’t want to stay in the confines of the pack territory. We were in a rebellious stage then. This isn’t how I pictured my adventure.” I reply harshly. 

“I know, but maybe it’s the adventure you need,” Sage replies with a smile. Curse Sage and her impossibly positive attitude. Easy for her to be positive; her world isn’t about to get turned upside down. 

I stop myself from rolling my eyes at her very cliche statement. She’s not wrong. I did want adventure as a kid, but we were rebellious at that point in time. We were in our pre-teens, and the pack territory didn’t seem big enough for our adventurous spirits. We wanted to explore and go on a grand adventure. I think I wanted it more than Sage because I was an omega. I’ve always felt I didn’t have a purpose, so I wanted more. Sage was a beta and the daughter of a highly respected member of the pack. Her life was always going somewhere. She was going somewhere before she became Luna, and I was lucky enough to tag along. In some ways, I’ve been living in Sage’s shadow. Not that I ever minded. Being in her shadow was better than any life I’d live on my own. 

When Sage accepted Liam as her mate, it made me want more. I know my chances of finding a good mate are slim and now made even slimmer by my parents. It’s like they wanted me to fail in life. I never really got along with my parents. They were always so bitter against the pack. I never understood why. My parents always wanted to be above their station. I guess they finally decided to do something about it. Too bad they failed, and now I’m paying for it. Now, I’m trusting a stranger with my life and my soul. Well, this is not how I saw my day going. 

Sage and Liam walk out of the cell as Zane walks entirely into the cell. He offers me his hand. I accept it as I look into his swirling gray eyes. Shit, he’s even sexier up close. What is it about him that makes me want to rub up against him and get him to claim me? This is how I’d imagine I’d feel if I met my mate. 

Mates are strange for werewolves. Some believe we have soulmates and that when you find them, they are meant to be your mate. Others believe you choose your mat,e, and no one controls who you decide to make your mate. Sage and I always wanted to believe in the fated mate crap. It was a pretty fairytale for two girls who had wild imaginations. Sage swears up and down that she and Liam had a connection, and that’s why he picked her. Maybe she and Liam are soulmates. I hope they are, but I know I’m not that lucky.