IN FULL COLOUR - Dark Fantasy
Chapter 9

Axel

Pretty damn awkward; the most suitable words I could use to describe breakfast with the Alpha and his Luna. It dragged on, agonisingly slow as they discussed pack matters and plans for the future, which mainly centred around new buildings and training programs. Cassius sounded very self-assured as he actively partook in the conversation, while I dreaded every second of it.

It didn’t take a specialist to detect the underlining tones of disapproval in the Alpha’s voice every time he spoke to me, but what else could I expect? I had embarrassed his only daughter in front of every Alpha in the province. To be honest, I was surprised he even let me into his territory at all. Any other Alpha would have had my head planted on a stake by now.

How did he manage to reel in his disgust like that?

What was his secret, his plan? What did he want with me? He knew I had no intention of courting his daughter.

“Alpha, how long are you intending to stay, if I may ask?” Luna Enola peered at Cassius as she picked up her crisp glass to take another sip of the sparkling liquid.

“Actually, I was planning on leaving right after breakfast,” he replied casually while forking another piece of scrambled egg into his mouth.

Luna Enola’s eyes grew large and Alpha Blake coughed immediately as something got caught in his throat. Both of them snapping their eyes towards me. I kept my icy gaze frozen on my brother, waiting, daring him to look at me.

He, of course, knew better and kept on eating as if nothing in the world could have bothered him.

“Sure, just dump me and get on with it, why don’t you?” I spoke into his mind via our mind-link.

“Well,” Luna Enola said, as she placed her glass onto the marble tabletop, “I guess a short and sweet visit is better than nothing.” A forced smile played on her face as she eyed her husband wearily.

When Cassius finally looked up, it wasn’t at me. His smile, warm and genuine was directed at the Alpha and Luna, “it was a pleasure, thank you for your hospitality.”

Luna Enola nodded kindly and got up, placing her folded fabric napkin onto the glossy table, “please excuse me,” she said, giving us a brief curtsy and making her way over the courtyard towards the main building.

As she left, I could feel the atmosphere shifting.

Cassius spoke first the moment she disappeared into the large glass doors, “you may speak freely, Alpha,” he simply said, while wiping his mouth with his own napkin and laying back into his seat. Voice low and serious.

Gone was the image he had held up in front of Luna Enola.

As Alpha Blake sat back into his own chair and slowly turned to face me, it became clear that I was now left open to their onslaught. Defenceless and abandoned.

I kept my blazing eyes fixed on my brother’s, who sat at the opposite end of the table toying with a tiny silver spoon. The brother who had thrown me into the lion’s den with such ease and grace, it almost seemed unreal.

“Son,” the Alpha spoke in a low and deadly tone, “I am going to say this once, so make sure you listen carefully.”

My eyes moved to the Alpha, although my face was still turned to my brother. I clenched my jaw as I waited for his undiluted threats.

“What happened in the past was unfortunate, but it is done. You are considered a guest in MY territory for the duration of your stay, and I will treat you as such.”

The Alpha’s face was serious and fierce as he spoke. I didn’t know much about him, but from stories, rumours, I had learned that he was a powerful Alpha not to be taken lightly and not to be underestimated.

“But,” he stated, sounding like he was slipping on the restrains he held on himself, “if you ever dare pull a stunt like that again,” he breathed an angered, deep breath as a vein protruded from the side of his neck, “if you EVER humiliate my daughter like that again,” his fingers curled into tight fists, “I will make sure you return back home to Hollow Stone the very same day. In bits and pieces.”

I kept his stare.

He meant every word. I felt it as it rumbled through my bones, running down my spine. The Alpha command. Powerful. Unsettling.

“You are expected to aid with training Alpha Blake’s warriors and spend at least an hour every day with his daughter, Gabrielle, to make up for the disrespect you have brought upon her name.”

My eyes flicked back to Cassius as he spoke, his voice void of any emotion and a tight mask pulled over his face. Gone was the brother I had once known. This was Alpha Cassius Scott, the short-tempered Alpha from Hollow Stone.

When he had finished, the two Alpha males stared at me in silence, burning their eyes into me as they waited for my retaliation. There would be none.

They had me on a short leash and they knew it. I knew it.

Turning rogue wasn’t an option and running wouldn’t do me any good either. I would have to face HER. The training I didn’t mind, I loved training. It kept my mind off HER, the sole person they were forcing me to face.

My skin started crawling again.

Three months, I had to survive three months of torture to regain my freedom. At least that much, Cassius had promised.

With a deep breath, I stabbed the last piece of sausage on my plate and plopped it in my mouth, chewing slowly and looking at nothing in particular.

The thickness in the air around us lifted and the two powerful males visibly relaxed as realization set in. I was going to be their puppet for the time being, dancing lifelessly to the strings they had attached to my already dead limbs.