The Alpha's Prize
Chapter 7: The tree

The bright morning light invaded the room, waking me from my deep slumber and that horriblenightmare. I lay there, thinking about the dream that I had encountered. I had never seen a face, justteeth, but why was I covered in blood? Who was attacking me? I reminded myself that it was just adream and cleared my mind of it.

I sat up and stretched. As I looked around the room, I realized that I was alone and the bed wasempty; Cain must have left at some point. I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful I didn't have to facehim yet. I got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to do my morning business.

After finishing up in the bathroom, I walked over to the bedroom door and pressed my ear againstthe cold wood, listening carefully for any voices on the other side. However, there was nothing;everything was silent. I tried to open the door, but it was locked, “What the fuck!” I banged on thedoor and hollered, but no one came. I truly am a fucking prisoner, I thought to myself.

I walked over to the balcony and turned the door handle; to my surprise, it was unlocked. Really?You lock the bedroom door but not the balcony door? What a moron. I walked out onto thebalcony, took a deep breath of the fresh air and glanced around at my surroundings. It wasgorgeous here; I'll admit that. I could see a willow tree in the far corner of the yard, along with apond and some benches surrounding the beautiful tree. I definitely have to check that out once Iam released from my cell. I peered off into the distance, gazing out at the dense forest, at the spotwhere I thought I had seen someone standing last night, and as I expected, there was nothing andno one there now; maybe I was hallucinating or imagining things. I looked down at the ground,which was only about 10 feet or so from the balcony. “Hmm! Perhaps I could jump down and runfor it.” Just as I was considering doing it, the bedroom door opened and in walked some woman.She appeared to be in her mid-60s, with greyish, silver hair that reached her back. She had bright,light blue eyes. She was stunning, even considering her age. I went back into the bedroom andclosed the balcony doors behind me.

"Good morning miss, my name is Violet. I am your personal maid.” She said with a bright and fakesmile.

"Good morning Violet, I am Freja.” I gave her a small smile.

She chuckled softly. “Yes, I know, dear. I've come to get you for breakfast.”

“So, I need an escort to go to breakfast?” I asked, irritated. First, he locks me in here, and now I needan escort to leave the room; I fucking hate him.

She gave me a remorseful expression. “Unfortunately, the Alpha doesn't trust you not to run away.So, he has requested that you be accompanied whenever leaving your room.” She sympatheticallyexplained.

I snorted. “Wow, requested? Really? More like demanded.” I corrected her.

Violet opened the door, allowing me to exit first before closing it and stepping in front of me.“Please, follow me.”

We began walking down the hall and towards the staircase. Violet was quite spry for her age, ormaybe I'm just getting weak? Because this woman sure could walk fast!

We approached a large, white door with gold handles. Violet opened the door and gestured for meto enter first.

“This is the grand dining hall,” Violet said.

It was another beautiful room. There was a minibar, with stools, occupying one wall. A leather studychair next to a large stone fireplace. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and in the middle ofthe room was a massive wooden table littered with all kinds of delicious-looking foods. Violet pulledout a chair for me to sit in, and as I looked at all the delicious food, I realized just how hungry I was.As I sat there drooling over the display, Violet brought me out of my catatonic state when sheappeared beside me. “What would you like to eat, miss?”

I brushed her off. “Oh, I can get it,” I said, as I didn’t want her waiting on me, hand and foot.

I sat up from my chair and was about to reach for some bacon when I noticed that Violet wasstaring at me like I was insane. I ignored her reaction, as my need for food was more significant thanmy need to ask about her problem.

As I finished gathering my food, I looked at Violet, noticing that she was still just standing there."Aren“t you going to sit and eat with us?”

She shook her head. “No, miss, I cannot. We aren't allowed to eat with the higher ranks.” Sheregretfully informed me.

I snorted. “That's ridiculous; please sit and eat with me.” I pleaded with her as I had been enjoyingher company.

Just as she was about to sit, in walked Cain and Calyx. Great!

I looked at Violet. “And here I thought it was going to be a peaceful morning,” I said distastefullywhile glaring at Cain.

Her eyes widened with horror at my remark, and she looked to Cain, who let out a low growl,causing poor Violet to scurry out of the room. I sighed with frustration.

Cain and Calyx took a seat at the table, and a moment later, Violet reentered the dining hall. Shegathered two plates, placed a variety of food onto each one and served both men. Once she wasfinished, Violet once again bolted out of the room

I continued to eat my food in silence, not even sparing a glance towards Cain or Calyx. Finally, afterfinishing, I gathered my plate and began to leave the room when a large hand gripped my elbow.“Where do you think you are going?” Cain asked

I raised a brow at the hand that was clutching my elbow. “Umm, well, your majesty, I am going totake my plate into the kitchen, and then I'm going to go for a walk around the grounds,” I saidsassily.

I attempted to yank my elbow from his grip, but he just tightened his hold. “I don't think so, Violetwill clean everything up, and you are not to go outside without an escort.”

I scoffed, “Where I come from, we don't depend on others to wipe our ass; we tend to do itourselves. Second, I don't need Violet to clean my mess, and lastly, I do not need an escort; I amonly going down to the pond that I spotted from my dungeon; sorry, I mean your bedroom.” Igrinned widely at him.

Suddenly, his chair flung across the room as he stood angrily. I didn't move or blink, just stared athim with hatred. His nostrils were flared, eyes pitch black, and Cain's chest heaved with each deepbreath he took.

He pulled me against him harshly. “You will watch how you speak to me, and it is not a request; it'san order. You will not go anywhere outside the house without an escort. Do I make myself clear?”

I started to laugh uncontrollably, causing Cain's brows to scrunch together in confusion. “I'm sorry,am I supposed to be scared of you or something? Cause that's fucking funny.”

Cain growled lowly, and just when I thought he was going to pummel me, Calyx stood from his seat.“I can escort her brother.” He offered quickly and politely.

Cain looked to his brother and then back to me. “Fine, but if she causes any problems, you comeback immediately.” Calyx nodded in response.

He turned back to me and narrowed his eyes. “Be a good girl and behave yourself, or else you won'tleave the house ever again. Is that understood?”

I raised my hand to my head in a salute “Aye Aye, captain.”

Then, I yanked my arm from his hold and began walking away, with Calyx hot on my heels.

“You know, you have some big balls. No one here would even dare to speak to Cain like that.” Calyxpointed out.

“That's nice.” I simply said.

He just shook his head at me and smirked. We continued to walk towards the rear of the housewhen that woman from last night approached us. “Couldnt be happy with just one brother, huh?Had to try out the other as well.” She said, smiling.

I snarled and stepped towards her when Calyx came between us. “I am taking her on a tour of thegrounds, Eve, and it will do you good to remember that she is your future Luna; you will watch yourtongue.”

She laughed. “Future Luna? She is no future Luna of mine.” She spat.

It took everything in me not to lose my shit and rip her face-off, but I remained silent and just senther a death glare, to which she smirked at and then walked away.

I took in a deep breath and continued walking towards the back door. Calyx rushed to my side.“Sorry about that, and don’t worry about Eve; she is just a petty, jealous bitch.”

I grunted, “Yea, I caught that.”

We stepped out the back door and into the yard. As I stood there taking everything in, I noticed asmall labyrinth in the center of the yard. There were also beautiful, lush gardens filled with variousflowers, fruits, and vegetables within the yard. Finally, to my left, was the small pond and thetowering willow tree.

I began walking towards the tree; it was so breathtaking. The tree had a swing hanging from it and asmall bench next to it. As I approached the tree, I could feel Calyx watching me intently, as ifburning a hole in the back of my head. But I ignored it and continued to my destination; the treewas even more magnificent up close; it was so large and beautiful, the leaves were bright andvibrant.

I walked up to the pond and peered in; it was filled with numerous colourful Koi fish. I leanedagainst the edge and gazed at the fish swimming around carelessly when Calyx came to my side.“Are you ok? You seem a little lost?” He said gently.

“I'm fine, and even if I told you I wasn't fine, it doesn't change anything,” I said as I walked over tothe swing and sat down.

“Talk to me; you might feel better,” He said with a smile as he sat down on the bench.

“I don't like to talk about my feelings, especially with someone I dont know.” Did he think I wasstupid or something? I wasn't going to tell him anything, especially when he would go and tell Caineverything.

Calyx pursed his lips. “Fair enough; what do you want to know?” He asked me.

I pursed my lips and thought for a moment of what I wanted to ask. “I want to know why yourbrother chose me? He is an Alpha; he's not bad on the eyes; Cain could have anyone he wants, evenlittle miss Barbie in there.” Everything about this situation didn't make sense, especially why Cainwould want someone like me as his Luna.

He started laughing and clapped his hands together. “Wow, I love it. I can't explain why he choseyou. He is dead set on the fact that you're his mate, and maybe he sees something in you. I know heis difficult and stubborn, but years of being an Alpha will do that to you, and he wasn't always likethis; Cain used to be...different. So maybe you'll bring the old him back.” Calyx said hopefully whileshrugging his shoulders.

I rolled my eyes. “I doubt that, and as soon as I get the chance, I'm gone. I don't plan on stickingaround.” I stated.

His facial features turned severe. “That would not be wise; Cain has many enemies who would loveto get their hands on his mate, and if they don't get to you, Cain will replace you, and it won't bepleasant.”

I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward a bit. “Well, he has to catch me first.”

I started to swing back and forth. I leaned back on the swing and stared up at the tree, losing myselfin its beauty and attempting to clear my mind of everything, even just for a moment. The sun shinedthrough the small spaces of the tree, making it look even more magnificent. As I continuedswinging, I noticed that Calyx rose from the bench out of the corner of my eye.

"We should head inside now. It's going to be lunchtime soon, and I have some work that I need tofinish.”

I sighed. “You can go in; I'll be fine out here on my own. I am a big girl who is more than capable oftaking care of herself.” I said assuredly.

He pursed his lips. “I don't doubt that you can, Freja. However, I have orders. So, I can't leave youout here on your own.” His tone was stern and severe now.

I shook my head. “You truly know how to make a girl feel like a prisoner.” I smiled sarcastically athim.

Calyx turned his gaze away from me and just stood there silently. I jumped off the swing. “You areno fun; you know that? Fine, let's go back into the dungeon.” I huffed.

He chuckled. “You are something else.”

We began heading towards the house when a chill ran down my spine, and I got the feeling thatsomeone was watching me. I stopped in my tracks and looked behind me. I scanned the treescarefully and sniffed the air; my wolf was growling, her hackles raised, telling me she could feel ittoo.

Calyx noticed I stopped and came to my side; he placed a hand on my shoulder, causing me toflinch. “Hey, what's wrong? Are you alright?” He questioned with concern.

I continued to scan the trees and smell the air around me, but there was nothing. I didn't pick up onany strange smells, and I couldn't see anything alarming, not that my wolf or I could see.

I turned to Calyx. “I'm fine; everything's ok,” I reassured him.

His brows scrunched together. “Are you sure?”

“Yea, I'm sure,” I replied with a smile, but calyx wasn't buying it, I could tell, as he had a questionablelook on his face. So I turned around and continued towards the house.

The door swung open before we entered the house, and Cain stood there, his body tense. “Aboutfucking time. Calyx, there has been a breach. I need you to go to the border with the others; youknow what to do.” Cain turned to me. “As for you, I want you back in the house and to go to ourroom immediately.” He demanded.

I fucking knew there was someone there! “Let me help, please.”

“Not a fucking chance!” Cain grabbed my arm and began dragging me inside the house.

I struggled and tried to free myself from his grip as he dragged me through the house and towardsmy dungeon. “Let me go; I am not a fucking child; let me help. I won't wander off or try anything. Iam a good hunter and fighter.” I attempted to plead with him; I wanted to know who was there andwhat they wanted, mostly why they had been watching me.

He spun around and looked deep into my eyes

“Not happening, and that's final!” Cain boomed.

We reached the bedroom, and he tossed me inside like I was a rag doll, quickly slamming the doorclosed and locking it.

I rushed towards the door, banging on it and screaming for him to let me out, but it was useless. Iran over to the balcony doors, but they were also locked. I looked outside, trying to get a glimpse ofanything, but I could only see the garden and the spot where Calyx and I had just come from, andthere was no one around.