The Alpha's Eden

Helpless little wolf

Eden PoV

The last 24 hours had been so intensely emotional that I had already begun to lull into a deep slumber before my head had even hit the pillow. Cole had given me his word that by midday Sawyer would be back with us and as absurd as that sounded I knew it was the truth. Something deep in my gut had assured me that I could place my every faith in my eldest brother and that he would not let me down.

That sense of assurance had allowed me to relax and fall into what I expected to be a long and fulfilling sleep as every muscle in my body softened and the tension that had coiled in every cell of my body evaporated. I was weightless and my mind was free of the hurricane of thoughts and fears that had threatened to drown me only hours earlier.

Yet I barely shut my eyes when I sat bolt upright, my eyes opened as wide as possible,  a trickle of sweat dripped down my back and my heart pounded so hard I was scared it would break free of my chest. I clutched the thin ragged blankets in one hand and held it under my chin as I pulled my knees up and lent onto them.

My body was a ball of nervousness, of fear and trepidation at what had woken me so suddenly.

Then I heard it again.

The anguished cries of a young boy.

His sobs echoed through the darkness and I put my thumb to my mouth and chewed on it as I tried to understand what had happened. It was only a minute or two but it felt like hours as I sat paralysed in the corner of the room. A few blankets were laid beneath me as well as over me but it did very little to block out the sheer coldness of the linoleum floor.

Self preservation told me to ignore those pained cries and stay where I was. To put myself first and not do anything to interfere.

But my heart told me otherwise.

It told me to get to that poor child as fast as I possibly could without placing myself in danger. Because then we'd both pay the price.

I uncurled my death grip on the blankets and let them fall beneath me as I began to crawl in the darkness using nothing but my hearing to seek out the young boy. But strangely my body seemed to know exactly where to go.

I nudged the heavy door open just enough to slip through before I made my way down the wide corridor, pressing my body to the wall like I'd been taught. Then I slipped into the next door into the room beside where I'd woken up. The moment I edged the door open the most acruid charred smell hit me and made me wrench. I slowed my breath and focused on the task ahead. I reached out and felt the cold metal table in front of me which gave me a memory map of where I was because for some reason  it was still pitch black despite my enhanced vision.

"I'm here now" I whispered in a supportive tone before I shuffled to my right then made my way forwards until my fingertips hit a thick wooden leg. I pulled myself up by the top of the desk and reached out as far as my arms would stretch until I hit soft, velvety like petals and a warmth coursed through my veins from the tips of my fingers to my toes and made my nose tickle. I clasped the petals tightly in my palm but not enough to damage them in any way. They were far too precious to be harmed. Next I  said a silent thank you before I rushed back to the metal table.

"Eden, it hurts. It hurts so bad" the young boy uttered, the pain so intense that he barely had the strength to make his voice even a whisper. He couldn't have been more than 12 or 13 years old. His voice had a slight depth to it but his tone was still that of a child, not quite a teenager. There was something that didn't make sense to me though, he wasn't that old and yet he sounded so exhausted by such a hard  life that it didn't match his youthfulness.

"It's okay I can fix it" it was only then I realised that my voice wasn't mine. I sounded like a child myself. A kid even younger than the boy that laid in agony before me. But I was certain that I was me. I was just my younger self. My petrified, horrified 8 year old self.

"They'll know and they'll punish us even worse" he thrashed his head from side to side in a futile protest. He knew me too well to think I'd ever walk away and leave him in that state. We didn't do that. We weren't like them.

"Shhh I'll just take your pain away, just act like it still hurts. Just like RoRo and Lizzy told us okay?" As scared as I was about the situation we were in I wasn't fearful that I couldn't help him.

I could feel the energy flowing freely through every cell in my body just waiting for me to call upon it. "Just lie still Cole I'll take the pain" I assured him as I placed two soft,fragrant petals upon the centre of his forehead and the others I kept in my hand. 

"Roses?" Cole coughed out as the injuries to his body made it hard to talk. But there was a twinge of humour in his voice.

He knew I always loved roses. Once he'd even planted me a rose bush near the cabin we played in deep in the forest where nobody ever bothered to go. It had bloomed into a marvellous array of pastel pink flowers that seemed to shimmer when the sun shone down on them through the dense trees. It was beyond beautiful and provided me with something that gave me a tiny sliver of light, some hope despite the darkness that loomed all around us.

"Lizzy cut it from the bloom in the forest and put it in a pot " I chuckled lightly as I recalled the kind action that Lizzy, one of the only good people we knew had done despite the fact she'd had to pretend it was hers.

Strange yet fluent words rolled off my tongue and the energy within me began to build, until it gathered into one intangible ball and the petals on his head tightly puckered to his skin then lifted slightly.  Within seconds he groaned out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you sis. But you have to listen to me, remember what we've told you? No matter how scared you are, whatever or wherever you are, what are you?" Cole asked with  more strength noticeable in his voice.

"I'm just a scared little wolf. Just a little helpless wolf" I answered him as if I'd had those words drummed into me a thousand times before.

Something inside me protested that sentiment. I wasn't a helpless little wolf, I was far more than that. But I tampered that feeling down knowing that my brother knew best.

"That's good, just always remember that okay? No matter what, you are just a helpless little wolf. Sawyer and I will always be there to save you. Always" he assured me and reached out a weak hand and lightly squeezed mine.

"Where's Sawyer?" My eyes darted around the dark room despite knowing he wasn't here.

"He escaped. The men are all out searching for him. But he will be okay. You have to trust me Eden. You're our baby sister and we would never let anyone hurt you. Whatever happens next, trust in that. Trust me, you are just a helpless little wolf. Say it!" He demanded firmly as he squeezed my hand a bit tighter to emphasise the urgency in his tone.

"I'm just a helpless little wolf!" I replied convincingly, just as I had been taught.

"You have to go now. I'll see you soon. I love you little sis, always, and thank you" Cole dropped my hand and a grimace fell over his face. I could tell something was worrying him no matter how much he tried to hide it.

"I love you Cole, a..al.. always" My words faded into a gasp and the last thing I felt was two large hands grasping my waist and Cole's eyes widened in horror before a darkness weighed heavy on my eyes and I tumbled into it.