‘Astrid, you need to eat,’ James says. I keep my eyes on the stone floor, completely ignoring him. I’m about to spend my second night in the cell; I refuse any food; I don’t even acknowledge his presence when he comes down to the cell.
He punches the cell door, angrily. I flinch in fright, and my eyes well up.
‘Damn it, Astrid! Why can’t you just be a good little mate and do what you’re told?’ He yells.
Hearing the sound of keys, the cell door unlocks and noisily creaks open. James picks me up and sits down on the bench holding me tightly on his lap. I try to fight him off; I manage to scratch his cheek. He slaps me hard across the face, and wraps his arms tightly around me so I can’t move. His nose nuzzles my hair, and sniffs the back of my neck.
‘Astrid, I could make you so happy if you let me,’ he says.
‘You would never think of Alpha Ryker again after I have had my way with you,’ he whispers. I wriggle and squirm. ‘After your first shift I plan on marking you straight away,’ he says. I stiffen at his words. ‘I can promise you now. I will have you moaning by the end of the night,’ he says, nibbling my ear.
Disgusted, I shake my head to free my ear. I shudder, repulsed by his advances.
‘You may not like the thought of it now, but you will learn to love me,’ he says.
‘I will never love you, James! So, you better start getting that into your thick head!’ I yell.
‘Finally! You speak,’ he says, with a chuckle. ‘Two more nights and your wolf will be here. Perhaps I’ll watch your first shift. Hmm?’ he says.
‘I’d rather you go jump off a cliff!’ I say.
‘Now, now,’ he says, moving my hair away from my shoulder; he plants kisses along my shoulder.
‘Stop!’ I yell and squirm. James lets out a sigh and places me on the bench.
‘I will be back tomorrow to spend some more bonding time with you,’ he smiles.
Looking away, I cross my arms in disapproval as he leaves the cell, and locks the door.
‘Goodnight Astrid,’ he says, walking away. I lie down with my back facing the cell door, cradling myself; tears form and roll down my cheeks.
A few hours later Amelia tiptoes softly downstairs. She lets out a sigh of relief when she sees James hasn’t marked me yet.
‘Alpha Zenith is going back into the city tomorrow for business. I’m assuming James and John will also be going. I’ll look for the cell keys. I’ll get you out of here,’ she says with a smile.
Nodding, I’m hopeful her plan works. Through the gaps of the bars, I take her hand.
‘Come with me!’ I offer. Amelia looks taken back.
‘I can’t leave. John and Zenith will hunt me down,’ she says sadly, looking away.
‘Let them! Alpha Ryker and my pack will protect you,’ I assure her.
‘I don’t know if I could leave all the other pack members. I’d never be able to return. I’d never be able to see them again,’ she cries.
‘At least think about it until you find the key,’ I suggest. Amelia nods and gives me a small smile, leaves the cell, and retreats upstairs.
Tired, I curl up on the cold bench and hug myself to keep warm. I’m playing hide and seek in the woods with mum. She has long brown hair and green eyes. I watch her run through the trees, ‘Come on, Astrid, darling. It’s your turn to find me,’ she says. Closing my eyes, I count to thirty. My mum is very quick on her feet and can run twice as fast as anyone I know. She is strong and she is kind; strengths I greatly admire; she is the most loving mother I could ask for. She always tells me how special I am. I never believe her; I just figure she is biased because I’m her daughter. ‘When you’re eighteen you’ll believe me,’ she says, smiling at me.
Slowly, I wander through the trees searching for her. I see rustling in the distance up ahead, ‘Found you!’ I shout. I run toward the rustling, only to hear a growl. I freeze in place, slowing stepping backwards in fear. Looking around, panic fills my body; I see movement in my peripheral vision. Mum has her index finger over her lips, motioning for me to keep quiet. I’m shaking with fear at this point. Mum points behind me.
Turning around, I tiptoe quietly into the shrubbery she has pointed at, I lie very still; I’m flat on my tummy, with both hands over my mouth to conceal sounds of my breathing. A huge grey wolf wanders around, sniffing; it lets out a loud growl.
I close my eyes in fear for a moment, I can hear the wolf walking toward me. I open my eyes; my mother has a look of fear on her face. She slowly shakes her head and holds her eye contact with me, motioning for me not to move. The huge grey wolf slowly walks past me. He is ragged and worn, and is even missing one of his ears. I’ve never seen such a ferocious animal. I tremble where I lay.
The wolf sniffs around before emitting a vicious, blood-curdling growl. I scream in fear. The wolf turns, spotting me. I quickly stand and start running; the wolf gives chase until I hear my mother yell, ‘It’s me you want!’ The wolf stops chasing me and runs toward my mother. ‘Astrid! Run!’ She screams. I don’t want to leave her. I run a small distance and climb a tree. I hear my mother’s cries of pain. High up in the tree, I see my mother; her body lies limp. I can see blood pooling beside her. ‘Mum!’ I scream, at the top of my lungs, crying. The wolf circles her, his face is covered in the blood from her wounds.
My Dad is yelling in the distance, ‘Astrid!’
‘Daddy!’ I scream; the wolf looks right at me. I’m terrified. He walks toward me like I’m his prey, until the sound of a gunshot rings out. Bang! The wolf starts retreating.
‘Astrid?’ My Dad calls out again, this time much closer. Another shot rings out. Bang!
‘Dad! Over here!’ I scream. The wolf turns and runs, knowing Dad is approaching. When the wolf is gone, I climb down the tree.
‘Astrid! What’s wrong? I heard your screams. Where is your mother?’ he asks, in a panic.
‘W-wolf … wolf … wolf,’ I cry, shaking in fear and sobbing.
‘A wolf?’ Dad asks. I point toward mum’s direction.
‘The wolf got her Dad,’ I say, bursting into tears.
My Dad’s face pales, he grabs my hand and we wander cautiously toward my mother’s body. My Dad drops to his knees, lifts her head to his chest and cries. ‘My love! My sweet beautiful love!’ He cries. I crawl over to my mother. I pick up her hand and hold it up to my face. I cry into her hand. We stay like this for a while, until Dad is able to say something.
‘Astrid, you need to tell me exactly what happened,’ he says firmly.
‘We were playing hide and seek; it was my turn to find her. I thought I found her but it wasn’t her; it was a wolf. He growled and came out from behind the trees. Mum told me to hide in the shrubs. I lay over there as still as I could. I was so scared. I tried not to move, but the wolf came so close and scared me again with an angry, loud growl. I didn’t mean to scream Daddy. I was just so scared. The wolf chased me and I ran. Mum yelled for the wolf; she said it was her it was after. She screamed for me to keep running. When I turned, the wolf was hurting her. I ran to that tree and climbed it. Then I screamed, and you came here,’ I say, crying. Dad strikes my face and I fall backwards. I look up at
him, horrified. I’ve never seen him look at me that way before. It’s a look of pure hatred. My face stings; his fist is still shaking.
‘Daddy, you hurt me,’ I say, crying; placing my hand on my swollen cheek. Dad grabs me by the hair and drags me back toward our house.
‘Daddy, Daddy. What are you doing? Why are you hurting me?’ I yell.
‘It’s your fault she is dead! It’s your fault the wolf killed her! If you listened to her, obeyed her and stayed still, she would still be alive,’ he says, screaming in my face. ‘Daddy, please! I didn’t mean to kill her! Please! I didn’t mean to!’ I’m dragged upstairs to my room and thrown against the wall. My Dad slams my door closed and for the first time I hear the sound of a key locking the door.
‘Mum!’ I scream, sitting up; I’m drenched in sweat. I look around the cell and let my eyes adjust. My breathing is heavy and my heart races with panic. It was just a dream; the same dream I always have. Huddled in the corner of the dirty cell, I cry into my knees. I jerk my head up when I feel a presence. My eyes are red and puffy from crying, and dark underneath with fatigue.
‘Who’s there?’ I ask, sniffling. Footsteps come closer; Alpha Zenith has a grin on his face. I glare at him.
‘What do you want?’ I yell.
‘You know very well what I want,’ he snaps back.
‘I’m not letting James mark me. I sure as hell won’t be his mate!’ I yell. His grin changes into a glare.
‘Do you know, you were screaming out for your mother before you woke up?’ He says. I look at the ground.
‘What happened to her?’ He asks.
‘None of your damn business!’ I yell.
‘What if I told you, I already know?’ He says, grinning again. I look at him confused.
‘What would you say if I said I knew your mother?’ He asks.
‘I don’t believe you,’ I say, looking away again.
