Capture

They needed Khan. This could not go on any longer, Jana was becoming volatile in her restlessness. Caillum was becoming withdrawn and Jana was half the child she was before. She could not sit in silence any longer, she had to swallow her pride for the sake of her siblings.

Thumping on the adjoining door and pushing it open before she received and answer, Neema made her way into the room to the sight of a half naked and slumberous Khan. His heavy lidded eyes watched her with curiosity as the hazel of his eyes flittered to amber and back again.

Grabbing his discarded shirt, he placed it over his body and sat up facing Neema giving her his undivided attention.

“I need your help, can’t do this anymore” she sniffled in defeat, rubbing at her raw and red eyes.

Jana had begun to start her night rituals as soon as they had approached the bed for bed time. Though she had not started her crying and clawing, the signs were all there showing Neema that tonight would be no different but she could not take another night like this. Neither of them could. So she swallowed her pride and forced it to remain hidden as she asked Khan Manasseh for help. The great alpha and he was a great alpha.

Though she had never seen him interact with any of his wolves, the way in which he accepted her problem as if it was his own was a very good start to his willingness to sacrifice. She only hoped there was no price she would have to pay for his help.

The second and most profound inkling she got that he was a good alpha or had the potential to become one was the way he commandeered the room and her sibling’s attention.

From the moment he entered the room she hared with them their attention had been on him and not the fact that he was sitting on the evil bed that meant sleep. Nor was it on the fact that he was clearly here to force them to sleep, no their attention was all on him and he definitely used it to his advantage.

“I would like to sleep and so would Neema and Caillum, so please ladybug get in the bed and sleep”

his deep baritone soothed the restless Jana for five minutes, enough time for Caillum to make a grab for Jana and place her on the bed before all hell set loose.

Her small hand swiped out in her fear and scratched along Caillum’s soft cheek drawing blood from his shocked face. His arms quickly released her as he fell of the bed and began sobbing and rocking erratically, clutching at his bleeding face.

In all the years Neema had been his older sister she had never heard Caillum cry, the boy was the silent sort in everything he did. so to hear his gut wrenching cry caused anger that she had never felt towards any family member. She wanted to throttle Jana for hurting Caillum who had only ever been a good big brother to her and Jana knew it, which was what caused her to start hiccupping as she cried hard in to her skin.

Her tears were drowned out by Caillum’s wails, his bloody cheek laying along the chest of his older sister.

“That is enough Jana! You do not hit your brother! Now you get up and apologise now and then you will stop crying and you will go to sleep.” His voice ricocheted of the walls and drowned out the crying of both siblings, his dark red eyes glared down at the young girl who continued to shake her head with the tears still dripping down her face.

“I said that is ENOUGH!”

His shout easily beat his first and caused the room to descend into absolute quietness, Neema’s eyes pooping open as she bore witness how he spoke to her frightened and guilty sister. Of course she was angry with Jana but that was no way to speak to her when can was part of the reason she could not sleep. She had made a mistake asking him to help and she was prepared to tell him so until he shushed her.

“Jana, Here, now” his hand pointing to the edge of the bed before him as his eyes kept eye contact with the surly child.

The little hiccupping girl slowly crawled her way to edge of the bed as she peered up at the angry khan whose standing form loomed over her.

“What is the problem ladybug, huh?” his voice had quietened down but it was still obvious that he was not impressed by her behaviour.

“Munstaa” came her muffled voice as she attempted to speak around her thumb and her sniffles, her pale blonde eyelashes searching his cool hazel eyes.

Heaving out a sigh Khan bent down on his Knees and pulled her further down the bed until her little feet rested on his large Knees.

“There is no monster” he cut her off as she removed her thumb from her mouth and attempted to rebuke him. “Uh… Uh, there is no monster that can get you Jana because I am the biggest and scariest monster and I will protect you. They are all too scared to hurt you.”

His voice was soothing as he looked the two-year-old dead in the eye and spoke one of his first ever truths. Khan was the biggest monster of them all but whether he would protect them was yet to be seen, he would never protect Neema, how could he when he was the only monster that featured in her nightmares.

“You Munstaa?” Jana questioned quizzically, her blonde eyebrows knitting together as her head tilted to the side in her perusal of him.

“Yes Ladybug, I am a monster but I am yours. Now get to bed.”

That was all it took, a few harsh words, a truth and a deeply veiled lie and bam, Jana was fast a sleep and Neema was left behind to console a bleeding Caillum.

Khan was clearly a convincing monster, though his loyalty to protect her family was something Neema failed to believe.

The next morning Neema was in a much better temperament than she had been in since she had first entered the compound, Jana had gained a full nights sleep which meant Neema and Caillum had been able to sleep as well. Though it irked Neema that Khan was able to get Jana to sleep she was grateful that he had helped.

Emmaline had been right and Neema needed to apologise, she would not rest easy until she did. The children’s schooling could wait a while, they deserved the break and Neema knew she would not be much good to them if her mind was plagued by this. She needed to apologise and she needed to do it now.

So that was what she did, leaving her siblings in bed a little longer with Sahina watching over them she exited the room, popping her head back in to make sure they had not been disturbed by the soft sound of the door clicking shut.

She found Emmaline waving to her children by the glass doors that separated the playground from the nursery, her long blonde hair way tied back in a messy bun as she continued waving until they were out of sight.

“I’m sorry. Emmaline, I was wrong for speaking to you like that. You were right” apologised Neema, brown eyes seeking the acceptance from green.

Emmaline heaved a sigh as she motioned Neema over to a chair as the room became empty with the leaving parents.

“I understand that you are distrustful of wolves Neema, Khan especially but I was just trying to give you advice. I do not appreciate you swearing at me nor do I like you using the word mutts when referring to wolves. My mate and children are wolves and I will not let you use that derogatory term when speaking about their kind.”

Emmaline knew that Neema had not meant to insult her or her children, her heart was so loving. In the short time she had met her kids she had treated them as if they were a human child and not mixture of races that they truly were. Her precious boys were everything that Neema had grown to hate, they would grow into strong wolves yet Neema had treated them as if they were not. There was no discrimination when she gave them their turns on their swing and there was no hatred when she told them to be careful when the ran. It was more than Emmaline could say about everyone else who had met her children.

So Emmaline tried to guard her tongue, but Neema had struck her too deep and Emmaline was livid. The small ball of annoyance she had felt yesterday had rolled into this feeling of flat out fury and rage that she struggled to contain.

“I know you feel as if you have received the short end of the stick but wolves are not all evil and humans are not all good. There is no black and white in this world and you are naïve if you believe that is how it really is.”

Neema was a part of wolf society now and there would be no escaping it. If she tried to escape and was found to be missing the punishment would be unbearable, they would definitely take siblings away from her. Though the ultimate choice would be her mates, he would be influenced by his father and the Wolfen Brethren to employ the maximum penalty. Neema would suffer if she did not accept this world.

Even if she managed to escape, if she was found by humans they would turn against her for she bore the mark of a wolf. She did not understand it yet but this was the only place she could ever belong now. No matter how cruel her mate was she would only find salvation within these walls. As bleak as it seemed Emmaline believed Neema would prevail, she was a determined woman when she fought for something she believed.

Neema abruptly stood from her perch on the chair, pacing around in her frustration. She felt the frustration growing in pit of her stomach, she had come her to make amends and instead all she was receiving was insults and Emmaline bitter anger. Perhaps it was warranted but Neema could not help but feel that Emmaline was subjective in her opinions on wolf society. What could a human who had been raised amongst wolves really know about the human struggles. Nothing, Emmaline was more wolf then she would ever be human.

“I tried to apologise but you clearly don’t Wanna hear it. I Know that there is no black and white but at least humans accept the word no. If I don’t wanna then they wont.” Growled Neema. Frustration coating every word that slipped from her mouth.

“Maybe you’re okay being treated like an animal but I have more hope for my sibling’s future. For my future. I will not submit.”

Even though Khan had helped with Jana and had not hurt her family in anyway, Neema could not help but feel as if this was the calm before the storm. Khan had showed her within the first 48 hours of their mating that he was a volatile monster who would use all forms of violence to force her submission. He was not a trustworthy male and this was no place she could call home. At least within the dank walls of her most recent underground village there had been a small modicum of trust that they would listen to Neema’s demands.

“What world are you living in? humans do not respect no, they slither right under that word!” screeched Emmaline as her face turned a blotchy red, her eyes flashing with her fire.

“What would you Know, you wolf lover.” Spat Neema her words dripping with her disgust and ire of the woman before her. She was a traitor to her own kind, she supposed that Emmaline’s mind the wolves were her kind.

Her hands clenched in fists as she restrained herself from striking her friend in the nose.

“YESSS! Yes, I am a wolf lover and will not be condemned for it nor will I be made guilty for telling you that your fucking precious humans rape women too!!”

Her voice risen as it reached a knew octave that Neema had ever heard before, it penetrated her eardrums and left them ringing.

“Yes! They rape too and they would have tried to rape me if it was not for MY mate! So yes I do love wolves and I will not feel bad about it.” She finalised as her arms crossed over her chest, defiant in her love.

“Pftt, you think I’m stupid? I know what humans do but at least it is condemned. Which precious wolf of yours condemns rape, huh. Does your beloved mate? No, I’m sure he felt that Khan had every right to plunder my body in front of all those wolves.”

Neema’s voice was no longer loud and angry, it was calm and eyrie, it was packed with a few home truths that she knew would hurt Emmaline as much as they hurt Neema to dwell on.

“I bet the amount of people raped by humans is less than half the amount, no, no quarter the amount of females raped by wolves on the day I was forced to mate with Khan!!”

Her words echoed off the quiet walls and echoed through Emmaline’s mind, reverberating through her chest and constricting around her heart.

“It’s not the same” she whispered in despair as she thought of the love she now felt for her mate, perhaps at first she had thought of it as rape but now she had grown to love him. She chose to be with him, it was her choice. She could not believe that their union was tainted with a beginning of rape. She did not want to believe it, but there was a ring of truth in Neema’s words.

“Rape is rape. You’ve just been taught to accept it but I never will” finalised Neema as she looked into the eyes of a defeated Emmaline.

“Its not what I came here for, I wanted to apologise but I guess I’ve done more harm than good” and she had, she had affected the way Emmaline looked at her mating and had soiled the love she felt for her mate.

Neema could see it in the way her eyes had glazed over as if she was recounting a memory she had buried so deep within the vestiges of her mind. She almost felt bad, but what true love could ever be formed if parts of you and your memory was sacrificed for it.

Love had to be whole, it was how she always knew it to be. Her mother loved her father despite of every bad he had ever done to her because his wrongdoings was what made him the man she loved and vice versa.

Love was not forgetful and it was not blind. The truest love was open and aware, it was forgiving.