Rejecting the Alpha

Kylie

I followed my mate downstairs and to the main part of the house. I worked hard to memorize the layout as we went forward.

He led me outside of the ridiculous mansion sized building he and presumably other pack members lived in. I only saw a few other people in the halls and they stayed out of our way as I was lead down and outside. After a few minutes of walking, the prison came into sight.

The prison did not look much like what I had imagined. There were only a couple guards on duty. I had thought it would be dark and filthy, but instead the halls were neat and clean. They had a sort of modern severity, and a notable absence of anything that resembled stone or gothic architecture. If anything, it appeared sterile and clinical, but I could not escape the wrongness of the situation. It was like him, physically present, but wrong.

We passed few guards as we walked down the stairs to where they kept the prisoners.

The cells were on either side of a long hallway, solid walls with barred windows and doors. Looking inside, I could see familiar faces. People I knew were trapped in every cage, but I saw no one I was really close to and it didn't help me feel less isolated now that our bond seemed to have been entirely severed. I was not even sure if I was allowed to talk to them, but I forgot all about that when I spotted Andrea.

I rushed forward and grasped her hands through the bars in the window of the door of her cell. "Are you okay?" I asked her breathlessly.

"I'm trying to be, Kylie," she said, her words tremulous. "Are you okay?" Her eyes flickered to the new, still enflamed mark on my neck.

His gaze was burning into me and I was sure that he was listening in to our conversation. "I'll be fine," I said, not sure if I was lying or not.

I glanced at my captor. I wanted to ask him to let her out, but the void of the bond made me feel reluctant. I didn't think he would understand what I wanted.

He looked back at me blankly. "Come on," he said, and I obediently followed him along down the hall, leaving Andrea and the rest of the remnant of my pack behind me. While there had been a few older pack members, both my parents along with my older brothers were notably absent from the cells, removing that last, final hope.

He really had destroyed my entire family along with my pack. Tears streamed down my cheeks and my heart stung at the realization. The fact that his touch on my back helped soothe the pain felt terrible.

I bit my lip as we returned up to his room, afraid that he was going to try more, but he simply left me there with a final, confused look.

I cried over my family and everyone else who had not been down in the cells for hours. Finally, there was a knock at the door, which let me know that it was not my mate, because he would hardly knock before entering his own room. I called permission to enter and a woman with black hair and just the first few sprinklings of grey pushed into the room, carrying a pile of folded cloth in her arms. I watched her as she came to stand before me.

"Luna," she said, dipping her head in a show of respect. I forced a smile in response.

"The alpha sent me to bring you some clothing," she said, indicating the pile. On a closer look, I saw that was what she carried. "Then you must be Marie?"

"I am." She smiled, but the expression did not quite overshadow the wariness in her eyes. I could sympathize, for how many years had she lived under this monster of an alpha?

She continued, "I'll get you more later, but we'll see if we can't find something that will work for you out of this." She handed me the clothes and I went to the washroom and tried them on. I did not want her to get into trouble if I did not cooperate.

Out of everything, I found a couple pairs of suitable pants and tops along with two dresses. She smiled. "Now that I know your size, I'll get you more. We can't be expecting you to be in the alpha's clothing every day."

I nodded.

"Alpha Larson expects you to be ready to join him for supper tonight," Marie told me with a note of sympathy in her tone.

"Okay," I agreed. I had no real desire to join him anywhere, but I did not think I had any real choice.

"Do you need help?" she asked.

"I think I can handle it," I said. She seemed nice, but I was still glad when she left the room. I re-entered the washroom and locked the door behind me. A number of products that were clearly intended for my use had been brought in at some point, so I got in the shower and took a few minutes to try to let the feeling of the water streaming over my skin soothe me. I leaned into the stream and searched for a way to ground myself for the task ahead.

I needed to get him to release my pack so that I could stop worrying about them and start worrying only about myself. My only leverage was me and I was not sure how much he really even wanted that. I knew that the bond made him want me, but I could not sense anything beyond that, and his concern about my willingness seemed shaky at best.

Drying myself off, I began to get ready. I would try to look my best, not to entice him so much as to put my best foot forward. It was a dangerous game I was playing, but I at least had to try.

I put on a blue dress and looked in the mirror. I looked good, if I ignored the lingering puffiness in my face and the hollow look in my slightly bloodshot green eyes, but surely with the bond influencing him he would appreciate my appearance anyway.

What was the worst that could happen to me? I was already trapped in a mate bond with a monster.