Alpha Loren novel Chapter 141

Connor stayed for a bit. We tried to talk about anything but the planned uprising and Leo, however, it was hard to avoid it. Like ignoring a herd of elephants in the room.

Eventually, he had some kind of duty thing and I was left all alone. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't glad. The past thirteen years of my life had just been regurgitated in front of me and the father I thought to be dead was now planning to kill my mate and destroy my pack. I had to have some time to make sense of it all if that was even possible.

There was also the grief, shock and utter terror of the Halimede attack to deal with. And the fact that Connor has a son. And the fact that I was effectively being held prisoner in a castle ran by exiled rebels.

It must have been three hours and a lot of tears later before I finally got myself together and began hatching a plan to escape. I loved Dad and Connor and would like to stay with them but I couldn't risk being used to get to my mate. For the benefit of my pack and my family, I had to leave. The window, although large enough to climb through, was three tall stories up and situated on a face of stone with a sheer gripless drop. Connor had locked the door on the way out but that's nothing I couldn't pick...however the two guards I could hear on the other side of the wall...maybe not. 

There was one other option. Naturally, I had looked under the rugs for any sign of an escape route C and to my surprise, I had hit gold. The darkness meant that I couldn't tell where the passage led but the minimal way sounds echoed suggested it was not particularly deep and the air wasn't cold implying it didn't lead outside to where snow was continually falling. I had been stripped of my personal belongings, including my phone, so I ventured into the abyss empty-handed. 

In hindsight, the candle on the ledge above the fireplace would have been a helpful item to bring.

I fumbled my way through until I felt what seemed to be a wooden door. It was stiff but nothing that wouldn't open with a hard kick. I squinted at the brightness of the light in comparison to the tunnel but I could just about make out a corridor with stone walls, a stone floor and the occasional vase of flowers. Still in the castle but we can work with this.

Tiptoeing down the corridor, I constantly looked behind me and brought my ears to attention.

It wasn't until I reached a corner that I sensed any sign of anyone. Two deep voices in a whisper and I could just about make up three heartbeats. If I could hear theirs, the chances are they could hear my very fast beating one.

I looked around me, trying to find some form of cover. There was the passage I had come out of but that was far away now and surely they'd hear my footsteps. There was a vase but what is this, a cartoon?

Instead, I just pressed myself against the wall and hoped they'd turn back the other way before I died from holding my breath.

I guess I'm not that lucky.

"Do you hear that?" one said to another. "A heartbeat from over there."

Fuck.

"I can smell someone too," the other replied. "Smells like...Loren..."

Double fuck.

With nothing to lose, I turned to run down the hallway to the passage. What's that saying?...You can run but you can't hide.

Turns out, that saying isn't always true. Sometimes you can't do either.

"Guard, get her," one ordered and I immediately heard a set of heavy footsteps come my way.

I had a head start and I was a fast runner but unlike the guard, I didn't know this castle. I was in his sight; going down the passageway would be futile and only ruin my chances of using it again so I passed it and turned a corner. And just like that, I found my self-trapped. Guard to the right of me, guard to the left. Here I am stuck in the middle with...myself? (Stealer's wheel reference sorry not sorry).

"Do you have permission to be here, Miss?" the guard I had come face to face with around the corner asked.

"...yes?" I answered although it came out more like a question. 

The one that had been chasing me soon caught up and seized my arm. The two other men that had been talking also joined the party and unlike the guards, they wore smarter, more important looking clothing.

"My guess would be that she doesn't," one of them said. I'd put him at about 35 give or take a few years and he was clearly from Stella. I could tell by the blue shade of his eyes and fair hair. "You're Alpha Loren's Luna aren't you? Jones's little girl?"

"And you are?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

The two 'not-guards' smiled in an amused smile.

"Definitely Nicolos's daughter," the other replied. "Take her back to her chambers," he ordered and the guards nodded.

"Wait, why?" I questioned as the two guards took an arm each.

"Prisoners don't get to walk around here alone, sweetie," he replied with a smile as I was dragged away. "And you are far too important to risk losing," he added.

I scowled and let the two guards lead me down the hallway.

I waited until we had turned a corner before effortlessly freeing myself from them. I hadn't had to fight in years but it was something I'd never forget. One let out a loud groan as I elbowed him in the stomach and he stumbled back, the other fell to the floor with a thud. 

"Could you at least be quiet?" I whispered before hearing the heavy footsteps of the other men. "Now look what you have done!"

Before I had the chance to get far, I felt myself being thrown against the wall- quite literally. I groaned at the impact before the man that had thrown me grabbed my wrists and held me there.

"Find some more guards. I can handle her here," he said to the other man who nodded and the ran down the hallway.

"From what your father has told me, I was under the impression that you are intelligent. Obviously, I was wrong," he sneered. "You're here because we want Loren and he'll come whether you are dead or alive. The reason you are still alive is that the King took mercy on your father and brother. So tell me why you are showing us that you are more bother than you are worth?"

"What have I ever done to deserve to die?" I asked trying to push him off me. He must have had a position of power in the pack because he was far stronger than me and I couldn't fight him off- something I wouldn't expect from an ordinary man.

"It is what your mate has done," he spat. "Nine years ago, I was a commander in his army and got involved in a small uprising. He responded by taking everything from me. My parents, my mate, my pups. He killed them all. The only reason he kept me alive was to watch me suffer. There are hundreds here with similar stories so why shouldn't we do what he did to us?"

"Because that would make you just as bad as him," I replied. "I know that he can be an evil man. I'm not an idiot. But what do you think I can do about it? You have every right to want him dead, for a second there I did too. I could only imagine the pain my mate has put him through. But killing me will bring you no peace because you know I can't be held responsible for what he did before I even met him."

He glared at me for a few moments, filled with anger but deep down he knew I was speaking reason. 

The other man soon returned with three guards.

"Take her to the throne room. Let the King decide what to do with her," the man said quietly as he let go of me. He then marched down the hallway without looking back.

I watched him and pacifically allowed the guards to grab my arms and drag me in the opposite direction.

Fun fact: I wrote this with my dog on my knee. He's not exactly a lap dog but he thinks he is and he rather annoyingly kept pulling my hand away from the keyboard because he apparently needs 100% of my attention. He's twelve, he's beautiful and he finally fell asleep so that I could get on with my writing with only his gentle snores to disrupt me.