Choleric

Chapter III

        The room was deadly silent. The two Alpha's glare at each other in pure hatred while Celia's feelings were a turmoil of conflict. She had heard the rumours, seen the damage this man had done to others with her own eyes. Yet, she felt so content, so safe within the arms that crushed her into a warm chest. The sound of his heart beating soothed her and she couldn't help but feel relaxed in his presence.

        "Celia. Come here now," Alpha Lennon's voice sounded like gravel against her ears. She looked over to his kind brown eyes and felt the compulsion grip her by the shoulders. Every nerve – every cell – in her body screamed at her to move. But something held her back. Steal arms caged her in, forcing her to disobey.

        Her head began to feel as light as air while the command pounded through her skull. She drew in a quick breath, wheezing when the air seemed to cut through her head like a knife. Every breath, every slight movement painfully tore through her body. It hurt so much all she wanted to do was run to Alpha Lennon. She had to obey his command.

        "Don't you dare tell my mate what to do," Alpha Cassius snapped. His warm embrace did nothing to sooth the turmoil of pain that rolled down every nerve. She whimpered as her body tried to subconsciously rip itself out of his grasp without any luck.

        Alpha Lennon looked down at the slender girl he had thought of as his own daughter. It tore his heart to see her body tremble with pain as Alpha Cassius held her to his broad chest. 

        "Let her go now!" Alpha Lennon flinched as the words tore through the tent. Cobalt eyes pierced his own as the two Alpha's stared each other down.

        Sighing in defeat, Alpha Lennon looked away. "Fine," staring at the girl he saw her relax as the command was broken.

        "You know the laws Lennon. She belongs to my pack now," Alpha Cassius stated in a challenging tone.

        "I know how it works," he replied tersely. His gaze never left the piercing glare of the young male before him. 

        Outside the tent was deadly quiet, as if everything had frozen, no one dared to move a muscle. The tension in the air could be cut open with a knife as the members from numerous packs shared wary glances.

       •§•

        Jane looked around anxiously. Too far away from the scene to understand what was happening, she stepped outside of her packs small stall to see what had caused the hairs on the back of her hair to rise. Something was wrong.

        Looking down the isle of tents huddling within the paperbark trees and dry scrub bushes that crossed over to form an impossible tangled net covering the floor of Australia's bushlands.

        All gases were turned curiously towards an elegantly decorated stall and Jane felt her stomach drop as a much younger version of herself was dragged out of the tent by an alpha. 

        "Celia!" SHe creamed in terror as adrenaline tore through her body. Her hiking boots slammed against the sun-dried and leaf covered dirt as she sprinted towards her daughter. "Celia honey, what's happening?" she wheezed as she reached them, blanching as she entered the males aura of power. She had never seen him before but his age and piercing blue eyes could only mean he was Alpha Cassius.

        "Mum, it's okay," she smiled nervously her honey coloured eyes were slightly wider than normal, her jaw tight and muscles rigid. Fear was evident in every cells of her body and all Jane wanted to do was hold her.

        Jane smiled sadly, drawing her daughter into her body as she buried her face into her thick, jet black hair. No one needed to spell it out for her, she knew this would be the last time she would see Celia for a while. "Everything will be fine and I will see you when the packs get together for the gathering, okay?" Jane felt her nod as she pulled away, wiping the tears from her daughters face.

        "You will be fine, you trained for this position your whole life," Jane let go and stood back. All girls born in upper class families trained to be high ladies and Jane knew her daughter was ready. She just didn't want to let her go.

        "We must leave. I'm late already," Alpha Cassius mumbled, grabbing Celias hand and disappearing through the thick curtain of tall grass and trees. The sun beat down on their backs and Celia turned and looked towards the markets that faded with each step she took.

        The only person she got to say goodbye to was her mother. Only hours ago the most important thing was finding the most beautiful fabrics and now, she couldn't imagine what or who was lying ahead.

        Staring at the floor she did her best to not trip on any loose roots or uneven ground. The large figure ahead tore through the bush, creating a track for her to follow. Nothing could be heard except the heavy footsteps they made and the rustling of leaves and branches and they brushed by in haste.

•••

So when I began writing this book I called Cassius's pack the east pack, but his pack is actually going to be set in Baroon Pocket Dam which I'm pretty sure is west of Glass House Mountains but let's all pretend I can geography and say it is east... 

Thank you all for reading. Don't forget to comment your thoughts! Xxx