The Alpha's Prize
Chapter 8: Strangers lurking

I began pacing the room, feeling anxious and useless. Whenever something happened back home, Ialways assisted. My family and pack members were proud of me for the skills and abilities I broughtto the pack; it made me feel included and appreciated.

Time had been slowly passing since Cain brought me to the dungeon, no one came, and I didn'thear anything outside the room. I walked to the balcony doors again, gazing around, when onceagain, I saw the dark figure lurking in the trees. But this time, they stepped out from the shadows,making themselves visible for me to see. It was a tall man; he didn't appear to be very built, seemeda bit older, with a hint of silver dusting his golden-brown locks.

He just stood there staring at me, and a grin spread across his face; I continued to stare back, notmoving. I wanted so badly to go out there, to ask him what he wanted and why he was watchingme.

I heard a noise come from outside the bedroom and turned towards the bedroom door, then backto the balcony doors. However, the mysterious man was now gone and out of my sight. Sneaky littlebastard!

The lock on the door clicked before it creaked open, and Cain walked in. I turned away from him,not wanting to look at him or engage in conversation.

“Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes, be ready,” Cain said as he walked into the closet.

I didn't reply or move from where I stood, just continued to stare into the trees, searching for themysterious man.

Once Cain returned from the closet, I finally turned to face him. “Why wouldn't you let me help?And don't give me some bullshit excuse saying it was for my safety.” I was annoyed with him andthe fact that he refused to let me help.

“Because I said no.” He said plainly.

I scoffed. “Because you said no? Wow, way to make me feel included. But, you know, if I am to beyour Luna, I am to appear as strong, not cowardly, and you locking me in here doesn't help.” Ibegan walking towards the closet, not wanting to be near him any longer.

He gripped my arm, stopping me in my tracks. “Look at me.” Cain said in a deep, commanding tone.I looked into his eyes with hesitation. “Yes, you are right. Of course, a Luna should not be cowardlyor appear weak, but it is also the Alpha's duty, my duty, to protect you as my Luna.”

“I understand that, but as Luna, I have to protect our people.” I stood my ground and wasn'tbacking off no matter what because we both knew I was right.

He glared at me with intensity, and the next thing I knew, he was captivating my lips with his. Cainpulled me against his chest, holding onto me for dear life, as he kissed me hard, deep, and with somuch passion, it sucked every ounce of breath from my lungs. Next, he pushed me against the wall,his hands snaking their way down to my waist and landing on my ass, before cupping each cheekand hoisting me off the floor. Then, Cain pressed himself harder against me, almost as if trying tomould us together. He continued to kiss me with such a fiery passion; it ignited a spark in my belly,a spark of desire and need.

Cain began kissing down my neck, sucking and biting my skin with each heated kiss as he continuedto ravish me. Finally, he carried me over to the bed and gently laid me onto the sheets; his handsreleased my ass and slowly began moving their way up my body. He then carefully lifted the seamof my shirt to reveal my sensitive skin; his lips hovered above my stomach before planting feather-light kisses, working his way upwards. I was in such a fevered haze that all the hatred I felt towardshim had dissipated at that moment, and all I wanted was him. Cain's hand slipped under my shirt,cupping my supple breast and pinching my erect nipple, while the other hand firmly held my hip,holding me in place. Finally, he stopped and looked up at me, I stared back at him, and that's whensomething clicked inside me, causing all the hatred to flood back.

"Stop, we can't do this,” I stated firmly as I attempted to remove his hands from my body and getout from under him.

His brows scrunched together. “What? Are you serious?” He asked, confused.

Cain removed his hands from my body and placed them on either side of my head beforenarrowing his eyes.

“Is this some kind of game to you? One minute you're hot for me, and the next your cold?” Theirritation in his voice was evident.

“No, this is not a game to me. I don't know what came over me, but whatever it was, is gone now,and I would like for you to get off me.” At that moment, I felt something I had never felt before, noteven with Erik, and it scared me that those feelings were towards Cain, a man I am supposed tohate.

His stare intensified. “Perhaps it was, oh I don't know, the mate bond? Because you know, you aremy fucking mate!” He boomed.

“You are not my mate, and I'd rather die than mate with a monster like you.” I sneered at him.

Cain's upper lip began to twitch, curling into a snarl, his eyes turned pitch black, and his chestheaved.

He leaned down, bringing his lips to my ear. “A monster? Like me? You have no idea who the realmonsters are, my love.” Cain whispered in my ear, causing a shiver of fear to run down my spine.He got off me and stood to his full height, towering above me. Cain glared down at me. “You maythink whatever you wish of me, but regardless I am your mate. You may not realize it now, but thereis no use in fighting it because I will never, ever let you go!” He said with certainty.

Cain turned away from me and headed towards the door, and I sat up, glaring at his back. “You maynot let me go, but I will replace a way to be free of you and this prison,” I yelled at him.

He stopped dead in his tracks, turning his head slightly in my direction. I expected him to tear intome, but to my surprise, he just walked out of the room.

I flopped backwards on the bed, sucking in a large breath of relief; that moment between us wasfucking intense, all of it. What came over me? It was like he was a drug, something I couldn't getenough of, a high that I wanted to last forever. I wanted Cain to devour me, dominate me, and somuch more. Maybe, just maybe, he is my mate?

I shook my head of my torturous thoughts, got up from the bed and walked over to the balcony.The door was no longer locked; I didn’t even see him unlock it. Opening the doors, a calmingsummer night breeze blew throughout the room. I was about to step out onto the balcony when Iheard a noise, like someone moving around below the balcony.

I stood there listening and looking around. I couldn't see anyone, but the sound was growingstronger. I kept looking around and listening; just as I was about to step outside to investigatefurther, suddenly, a large man stood before me.

He was much taller than I, not overly bulky, but appeared to be well built. He had golden-brownhair, near silver eyes, high cheekbones, and a sharp jawline. He was the man I had seen the othernight, standing within the trees, watching me.

I jumped back a bit. “Who the fuck are you? And what are you doing here?” I was on full alert, readyfor anything, and so was my wolf.

He chuckled deeply. “What a mouth on you; I can see why Cain likes you. Apologies for theintrusion; my name is Demetrius. And I stand here on your balcony, as I need to speak with you,without any interruptions or distractions.”

The man seemed genuine and honest, but something about him sounded every alarm off in myhead. There was also a faint smell coming from him, one I'd never smelt before, and it was a bitrotten.

"Why do you need to talk to me?” I asked him. Even though my entire being told me this man wasbad news, I needed to know why he wanted to speak with me.

The man raised a brow. “Well, you want to escape from here? From him, Right? What if I said I canhelp you with that?” He smiled menacingly.

"Why would you help me? You don't even know me, and what would be in it for you?” Somethingabout this whole situation was not right.

“Smart girl, your right. I don't know you, and I want to help you because Cain is a monster, and hedoesn't deserve a beautiful girl like you.” He smiled seductively while his eyes roamed up and downmy body before he continued, “In exchange, I need you to retrieve an item for me, something veryimportant.”

I snorted. “Very important, huh? What is this important item, and why can't you retrieve it yourself?”“I'll tell you that in due time, but for now, do we have an agreement?” He extended his hand out forme to shake.

I stood there thinking about all that he had said, about all of my options. Should I trust this strangeman? Trust him with my freedom? With my life? And what he is asking me to do?

My brows furrowed as I thought of something. “Wait, there's one thing. What are you?" I askedcautiously.

A grin spread across his face as he opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get a word out,the bedroom door flew open with a bang, and Cain came charging into the room. He bolted in mydirection and shoved me out of the way; Cain shoved me with so much force, I flew into the wall,smacking my head against the hard surface. I fell to the floor, clutching my head. I lowered my handto eye level and stared at the blood that now stained my palm. I looked back to Cain, and the lastthing I saw was him lunging at Demetrius before everything went dark.

I was running through the forest, the dark, silent forest covered in mud and blood. I ran as fast as Icould, yet for some reason, I couldn't shift into my wolf. I couldn't feel or hear her. Panic began torise from the depths of my belly, and my chest heaved with each stride. I could hear someoneclosing in on me, but who? Why did this feel so familiar? Why do I feel like I've been here before, inthis exact situation? I stopped, needing to catch my breath and inspected my body, noticing that Iwas covered in blood; there were also various scrapes, cuts, bruises and bite marks? Suddenly I wasknocked to the ground, hitting my head on a rock; everything became fuzzy and disoriented.

A prominent figure loomed over me, but I couldn't make out who it was; my head was pounding. Iwanted to scream, to fight, to do something, but I couldn't seem to replace it in me to do so. Then,finally, the person leaned down, closing the distance between my face and theirs. “Nice try, littleone, but you are mine, and there is no escaping from me.” They whispered.

Wait, was it Cain? No, the voice was different, a voice I hadn't heard before, raising more alarm bellswithin me.

Finally, a surge of strength blew through me, and I began trying to fight, throwing punches, but theman held my arms down and started to laugh. “So weak, so pathetic. I will enjoy sucking everyounce of fight left from your body until your heart ceases to beat.” His tone was promising andsinister.

Fear coursed through my body and consumed my thoughts, paralyzing me where I lay, unable tomove. Finally, the man lifted his head away from me and opened his mouth, displaying his deadlyfangs. Then, I felt his sharp teeth brush against my skin just before I jolted awake.

I woke in a panic, covered in sweat, my heart pounding and unable to catch my breath. I closed myeyes to calm myself, taking slow, deep breaths. After a moment, I began to feel calm and relaxed.

I opened my eyes and looked around, realizing I was in what looked like a hospital bed. Machinesand other medical equipment surrounded me. I could hear people talking just outside the room;one of the voices sounded like Cain, another sounded like Calyx and the third voice I didn'trecognize.

I attempted to sit up, but upon doing so, my head throbbed. I placed my hand to my head, cradlingit, and that's when I felt the large bandage wrapped around my head. The concern over the dressingquickly faded as my head throbbed painfully again. This headache was worse than a hangover. I satback down and listened to the voices nearby.

“She will be fine, Alpha. It's a nasty bump, but no real damage or anything serious. She will make afull recovery.” A woman's voice explained.

“Good, thank you for everything, Rose.”

"Of course, Alpha. Is there anything else?”

“No, that will be all.”

I could hear someone's retreating footsteps before the conversation continued.

“Man, you're a fucking idiot. What were you thinking?” Calyx voiced, a bit too loud.

I heard a low snarl. “I didn't mean to fucking hurt her, Calyx. I just wanted to get her away from thatfucking leech. Speaking of which, how the fuck did he get past the gates and the patrol guards,Calyx? You were supposed to be out there handling the situation, which you said you had handled?”Cain seemed agitated and quite pissed off with his brother over Demetrius’ intrusion.

“I don't know, Cain. A few of the guards were found unconscious on the Northside of the border.Somehow, he got the advantage on them. I thought I had it handled; everything was in the clear; I'msorry, Cain.” Calyx sounded to be feeling very guilty and overwhelmed with remorse.

"Yea, you think! And obviously, everything was not in the clear, nor did you have the situationhandled. So we are going to have to increase the number of guards around the border, and she isnot to be left alone; I won't let anything happen to her.” He shouted through gritted teeth.

Why did Cain sound so sincere and concerned? Wonder if he hit his head too. I laughed internally,or so I thought.

Things went quiet for a moment. “I think she is awake; I'll leave you two be.” Calyx said.

I could hear footsteps again retreating, then the door to my room opened, and Cain walked in. Irolled over and pretended to be asleep to avoid interacting with that man.

He sighed loudly. “I know you are awake, Freja. How are you feeling?”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine,” I said plainly.

"Are you in any pain?” He asked with worry.

“No, not really.” I lied; I didn’t want any sympathy or help from him.

Cain exhaled heavily. “Listen, I am sorry for what happened. In the spur of the moment, I justreacted without thinking, and it was not my intention to harm you in any way.”

He sounded like he was being genuine and sincere, but honestly, I didn’t care at that moment, andmy interaction with Demetrius was the only thing I could focus on right now. “It's fine, don't worryabout it.” But it wasn't ok; none of this was ok.

I continued to lay on my side, facing away from him. I didn't want to look at him right now. I knowhe had his reasons for his actions but still didn't make it right, and I didn’t have to be happy with iteither.

“Is there anything you need or want?” He asked softly.

I laid there, thinking for a moment. Then I sat up, looking straight at him. Cain stood there andexamined me with his green eyes, taking in my state. He looked taken aback, and regret spreadacross his features. The look of remorse on his face made me feel sorry for him.

"Yes, I want to know why you did that?” I didn't understand why he had attacked that man as he did.I mean, I understood that he attacked an intruder, but it was the way he did so and the look on hisface when he saw Demetrius standing there.

He looked away for a moment. “That man was not a man. He is a vampire.” Cain replied withdistaste.

My brows furrowed. “A vampire? But they don't exist anymore.”

Cain snorted, “They very much do exist and are very dangerous to our kind. Who told you theydon't exist anymore?” He asked with a brow raised.

“My father. He used to tell us tales, that the vampire race was wiped out years and years ago, thatwe didn't need to worry or live in fear of them.”

Cain shook his head. "Well, your father needs to check his facts. They are still alive and doing verywell for themselves. But, unfortunately, their numbers have been increasing tremendously lately, andthey aim to wipe our species out.”

“What did that man want with me?” I questioned, seeing if Cain knew of our conversation.

“I don't know; I've never seen him before. But whatever it was, I assure you, nothing good wouldcome of it.” Cain had a distant look on his face now as if remembering something terrible.

“I've seen him before. He was here the other night.” I shrugged.

His posture stiffened. “What? Where?” He asked angrily.

“He was standing within the tree lines outside our bedroom. The man just stood there staring at me,with a creepy grin on his face.” I reminisced on the encounter.

Cain didn't say a word, just left the room in a huff, leaving me to sit there confused. Why werevampires such a danger to us? Father said we used to be allied with them long ago, but he neverexplained what went wrong and why they were supposedly wiped out.

After a few moments, Cain returned with a livid expression on his face. “After you are released fromhere, you will no longer be left alone. You will at all times have a guard with you until we can takecare of the situation.” He informed me.

"What if I don't want someone following me around? Cause I'l tell you right now, I don't need one.”I said firmly.

Cain closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “I do not care if you think you need one or not; you willhave someone with you at all times, whether you like it or not. Do not argue with me on this, Freja,because you won't win.” He said with certainty.

“Yea, we shall see about that.” I scowled at him.

He growled and then stormed out of the room. I could've sworn I saw smoke coming out of his ears,making me giggle to myself.

I laid down on the bed and thought about the man who called himself Demetrius. What did he wantfrom me, and why me? Why is he willing to risk helping me escape from Cain? Especially when he isone of the most feared Alphas around, and so is his pack. I needed to figure this out, but I wasn'tsure how I would when Mr. Grumpy pants increased security. As much as I hate to say it, I hopeDemetrius returns.