RANK

Chapter 7

A grumbling in Nya's tummy wakes her up from the best sleep she has ever had. She stretches out her rejuvenated muscles and snaps out of the moment of ignorance when the memories of current events come flooding back. "Shit." She mumbles, pops up, and realizes that she didn't feel any pain. She folds her legs and examines her foot. No bandages, no wound. She glances at her knee and touches her lips. Everything was healed. She should feel grateful, or better, she did feel better on the outside, but on the inside, the feeling of being an inconvenience was lingering. She wasn't sure if it was the words of Alpha Vince, but more than ever she felt like she was hurting those around her more than she was helping.

She scans around the room. The door and blinds were open and there was a high-speed fan buzzing near her ear as it blew on her. She then notices her phone beside her on the nightstand.
She picks it up and looks at the time. 6:51 pm. She could have sworn that the sun was rising not setting. She hops off the bed and calls "Lee..." She descends to the first floor. She turns and sees a room under the stairs. The door was open and the light was on. "Lee..." she slowly enters. It was like a library, well from what she has heard a library is supposed to look like. She has never actually been in one. Her eyes widened at the sight of so many books.

She shifted her attention when out of the corner of her eyes she spotted what was a large poster.
She recognized it immediately as a map of Dark territory and its surrounding areas. It was exactly what she needed. She gets a closer look, inspecting the drawing before using her phone to capture the image.

"Mmm-mmm" Her insides tremble as the rumbling in what she knew was Alpha Vince clearing his throat behind her vibrates through her spin. Why does he make her feel so unsettled? Her breaths deepen.
She slowly turns to face him. He was watching her with his arms crossed and a glare of suspicion that could make the innocent admit guilt. She swallows down a huge lump in her dry throat. If he reached around her neck right now and used all his strength to strangle her to death she would close her eyes and embrace it, so fear of him wasn't it. Did his gaze land on everyone so intensely? Or is that hatred for her rank? Unexpectedly his eyes begin to trail down to her legs. Her breath hitched as he dragged his gaze back up. It was silent but she knew he still heard it.

He rolls his eyes. "What are you doing in here?

"Sorry... I mean, I was looking for my sister. Do you know where she is?"

"Is there a sign on that door-" He nods subtly to the entrance? "That says all welcome?"

Her eyes plummet to the ground.

He uses a low growling tone to command her. "Look at me."

Hesitantly she lifts her lashes and connects eyes with him. "No Alpha Vince sir."

He rolls his eyes again and looks away as if he was disgusted. "Get out. Go get something to eat in the kitchen before you break in front of me again."

Ouch... the reminder of how he found her stung. She was ashamed at the mess she was and the help she needed. She nods and when she turns away she hears one last order from him. "And gets some proper clothes on." That's when it dawned on her that she had been changed into a tank top and short shorts.

She hurries back upstairs to find her clothes and sees that they were washed, folded, and neatly placed on a chair near the window. She puts them on and wonders again where Malina was.

Down in the kitchen... "Lee.." she scans around quickly and turns to leave when she finds the room empty. Instead of meeting a clear path, she bumps right onto Alpha Vince, feeling the hard rigid muscles beneath his shirt unintentionally. She also unintentionally noticed the heat radiating from him. Was it normal to be that hot?
"Sorry..." she mumbles and tries to get around without looking up at him.

He steps in her way again, and again her body barges into his. This time she inhales his scent lathered with heavy cologne. It momentarily dazed her.
Hesitantly she takes a step back and meets his heavy gaze. "Excuse me, sir."

"Eat something... Your body has been in overdrive. It's going to shut down on you."

"I will, I just need to find my sister first."

"Malina is not here." He crosses his arms behind his back.

"Where is she then?"

He shrugs. "You've been sleeping for thirty-six hours. She couldn't wait by your side the entire time. She probably has things to do other than babysit you." He gestures his brows to the table directing her once again to eat.

Thirty-six hours? She looks at the date on her phone and sees that two days have gone by.

He rolls his eyes impatiently. You want to be treated like a child don't you?"

Before she could respond he lifted her by her hips making her squeal out before setting her down on a chair. "I see why Malina feels she needs to watch over you. You like the attention don't you?"

She shakes her head. She planned to leave as soon as she could. It was one thing to live in a pack amongst wolves who accepted her and viewed her as the Alpha's youngest daughter, it was another being a burden on all others around her. Coming here made her realize that she had been a burden all along.

"I didn't hear you." He states like a drill sergeant.

"No sir."

"So what are you waiting for, me to serve you? Get yourself something... now... and stop looking so pathetic." He stalks out of view.

She didn't move. Her eyes settle on a fruit bowl in the middle of the table. She peels a banana and takes a bite. It was delicious. She finishes it and grabs a pear. She didn't know it could be so satisfying eating a fruit. She takes a juicy bite savoring the sweet taste when her phone chimes. A calendar reminder. Full moon. It read.

"Shit..." She curses and looks out the window. The sun was setting. She needed to get the hell out of there fast. She dropped her half-eaten pear in the trash and rushed out of the mansion. How could she forget? She ran as fast as she could to the neighborhood of the lower ranks where Watson's cabin was. "Eleven eleven eleven." She looked at each door number in search, and finally, she found it. As she knocks on the door a lightheaded feeling comes over her. "Watson..." She shakes it off and knocks louder when there is no answer. "Watson!"

"Go away." He yells.

"It's me... let me in."

"Nya?"

"Yeah, open the door."

She hears the locks unlatching and the door cracks half-open. The sight of him was horrible. He was nearly blood red, dripping sweat, and was hunched over in obvious pain. His eyes held so much torment but still, they managed to light up at the sight of her. "You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous."

Watson was an abomination according to all. He was a rank three that only changed during the full moon. That was normal for all in his rank except, when he changed, he had no control over himself. He turned into a savage beast. It didn't matter who you were, or what you were, he wanted to rip your body into pieces. Every full moon since she was twelve before it got dark, she would wait outside the doors of the chambers as he locked himself up. She would spend all night long listening as he howled and tried to break his chains.

"I know where to go." She holds up her phone and shows him the picture she took earlier. "It's a map. There is a chamber on the east side not far away. If we hurry we can get there before it gets completely dark." She pushes open the door forcing herself inside.

He shakes his head. "It's... too late, I can hurt you."

"If you change here, they will kill you." She warns as she takes his hand and puts it around her neck. She wasn't taking no for an answer. "Let's go."
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