6: Hope In Darkness

Maria

“I asked what is going on here” his thunderous voice shook us to the core. 

 Suddenly, the guards stopped and bowed. I was confused, I didn’t know what to do so I stood still, watching the drama unfold before me.

"Alpha," the guards said in unison.

Alpha? 

Alpha?

He is the alpha? He was the one who just conquered the pack those slaves came from, fear engulfed me immediately and I quickly bowed my head. 

My heart raced as I could feel the alpha's gaze remained fixed on me. I refused to meet his eyes, so I kept on bowing.

"What's happening here?" the alpha asked, his voice deep and commanding. “Don’t make me repeat myself again!”

"It’s all her fault. We caught her causing a commotion, Alpha," one of the guards said. "She refused to submit to our authority and kept on fighting with us.”

"That's not true!" I protested, lifting my head to face the alpha. "I was just trying to find a way out of here. I don't belong in this place."

"Silence!" the alpha growled, his eyes flashing with anger. "You're a slave. You'll do as you're told."

"I'm not a slave," I said, my voice shaking, "I don’t know what is going on, I don’t know anyone here, I was on my own. They took me with them by mistake, I fainted and I woke up being dragged."I tried to explain myself. “Please believe me and let me go, I don’t know anyone and I don’t know what’s happening, I just find myself being dragged with the others”

The alpha's eyes narrowed. "Which pack are you from?" he asked, his voice firm.

I hesitated, unsure of what to say. I didn't want to reveal my pack's identity, fearing the alpha would return me to Leo, I could hardly imagine what Leo was going to do to me if I was dragged back to him and that alone sent shivers down my spine so I concluded it was better my identity remain unknown.

The alpha’s expression darkened when I refused to speak, he had waited for some minutes but my lips were shut tightly. "Speak!" he thundered, his eyes blazing with anger. "If you know you are not part of them then tell me the pack you come from, I will make inquiries and if it’s the truth, I will let you go. You are lucky I am in a good mood and I have decided to help you.” 

I whimpered, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes, more reasons to keep my mouth shut, I can’t go back to Leo, there’s no way I was going to survive if I went back to him. "I-I am from, uhm … erm..," I stuttered.

The alpha's face twisted in disgust. "Since you have refused to speak that means you are lying” he took a step closer to me, his nose crunched up in disgust. “Drag her to the pack house and lock her up," he ordered the guards. "We'll deal with her later."

Tears streamed down my face as the guards dragged me away. I struggled and kicked, but they were too strong. I was trapped, with no escape. “Let me go! I have nothing to do with what is happening. Why am I being punished for something I do not know about!” I didn’t keep shut, I kept on shouting while I was being dragged away. 

As we approached the pack house, my heart sank. I knew I was walking into a nightmare, I had thought I was finally a step closer to freedom but it was doom, I wondered what this alpha was going to do to me and then I thought about my unborn child, how are we going to survive? 

I was barely able to stay conscious as they stopped in front of doors I looked up and the door was pushed open, the guards threw me into a dark room, slamming the door shut behind me. I collapsed onto the floor, my body shaking with fear.

"What am I going to do?" I whispered to myself, my mind racing with thoughts of escape. But for now, I was trapped, at the mercy of the alpha and his pack.

There was no way I was going to escape from here so easily. 

*

As the hours passed, I sat there in complete silence and a pitch-dark room, the only sound I could hear was my breathing and the sound of my beating heart.

I curled up into a ball, my mind racing with thoughts of escape. I needed to leave here, I wanted to save myself and my child, I was confused, I didn’t know what to do and all I could do was let the silent tears fall from my eyes. 

I stood up from the floor, I was restless. I paced back and forth in the small room, my mind racing with thoughts of escape. But every door I tried led to a dead end, every window refused to budge. I was trapped, with no way out. Exhaustion finally caught up with me, and I slumped to the floor, tears streaming down my face.

"I can't take this anymore," I whispered to myself, my body shaking with sobs. "I just want to stay far away, from everyone."

But then, the door creaked open, and I sprang to my feet, my heart racing. “Who is it?”I questioned fearfully, I could hardly make out the face of the person walking towards me. 

“It’s alpha Felix,” I learned his name. Alpha Felix stood in the doorway, his eyes fixed on me. I braced myself for the worst, but instead of attacking me, he spoke in a calm, measured tone.

"I've asked the maids to prepare a bath for you, what’s your name!” he questioned and for a moment I thought I was hearing things. “I don’t like it when I ask questions and you don’t reply.”

I gulped down and lowered my gaze immediately. “Maria… my name is Maria.”

“Good Maria, they'll bring you new clothes to change into."

I stared at him, unsure of what to say. This wasn't the behavior I expected from a ruthless alpha like Felix. “Thank you,” my voice was barely above a whisper, I needed the bath badly and also I needed something to fill my stomach with, I was beyond famished. 

"But don't try to escape," he warned, his eyes glinting with a hint of steel. "If you do, I won't hesitate to kill you."

I swallowed hard, my mind racing with questions. What did he plan to do with me? Why was he being so... kind?

"Alpha Felix," I called out as he turned to leave. "What's going to happen to me? I am not in the dungeon like the rest of the slaves, leaving me secluded and confined in this room, I would love to know my fate,” I was shocked my voice didn’t stutter. 

He stopped, his back still to me. "I haven't decided yet," he said, his voice neutral. "But don't do anything stupid, Maria. Don't make me take drastic measures.”

"But what do you want from me?" I asked, my voice shaking. "Why am I still alive?"

Alpha Felix turned to face me, his eyes narrowing. "You're alive because I want you to be," he said. "And as for what I want from you... let's just say I have plans for you, Maria. Plans that don't involve you leaving this pack alive. So if you don’t want to die anytime soon then don’t do things that might trigger a death penalty from me.”

I felt a chill run down my spine as he turned and walked away, leaving me with more questions than answers. I was scared, scared of what he might do to me, scared of what the future held, and then I yelled at him. “So what’s the essence of keeping me alive if you are going to kill me, you might as well do that now!” he stopped walking and turned, his evil smirk almost knocking out my breath.

“Don’t anger me! Don’t question me, this will be my last warning to you,” With that, he turned and walked away from me. 

I suddenly felt exhausted, it seemed I had used all my energy to speak to him so I slumped on the floor, breathing heavily, my eyes stung with tears as I exhilarated 

But then, the door opened again and I craned my neck to look at the door, two ladies dressed in a maid's attire entered, their faces kind and gentle.

"We're here on Alpha Felix's request," one of them said, smiling at me. "We'll help you get cleaned up and changed into some new clothes."

I hesitated, unsure of what to do. But something about their warm smiles put me at ease. Maybe, just maybe, I had a chance to survive this after all, I will be able to leave this pack unscathed but for now, I had to gain my energy back and search for a way to escape. 

"Thank you," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.