The Alphas Prize

Chapter 17: Escape - Part 2/2

Freja POV:

The smell of flowers, bark and grass, flooded my nose. The birds were singing beautifully, and the sun was shining brightly. I opened my eyes, and I was lying beneath an old willow tree. Its leaves swayed in the wind and brushed against my skin; I felt so at peace.

Wait! Am I dead? I quickly sat up and looked around, not recognizing any of my surroundings. I tried to remember how I got here, but the last thing I remembered was Lazarus fighting with a large black wolf. Shit, maybe I am dead? I stood to my feet and walked closer to the tree; it was so beautiful and magnificent that I couldn't help but admire it.

Suddenly, a figure appeared from behind the tree, a familiar person, Mikael? But, wait, he's dead, so that means......I am too.

My chest began to heave. "Mikael." Tears welled in my eyes as I rushed to him and hugged him tightly.

He pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me. "My dear little Freja." He pulled back and smiled at me.

I looked him in the eyes. "Am I dead?" That was the first question I asked, not wanting to beat around the bush.

Mikael shook his head. "Not quite; you're in the in-between." He gestured around us.

I raised an eyebrow, confusion rising within me. "Oh, so does that mean I'm almost dead?"

He chuckled lightly. "No, my dear. It's not your time. You are here because I have a message for you." His facial expression became grave.

My brows furrowed. "What?"

Mikael held my hands in his. "There is a great danger in yours and Cain's future. You need to accept him as your mate in order to fight the impending battle. If you don't fight as one, you both will die." His tone was one he had never used speaking with me before, a tone that made my blood run cold.

A million thoughts were going through my head now. "What battle? What danger?" I needed to know more, to understand what we were up against.

He looked off into the distance, and his eyes widened. "You have to go now."

I shook my head rapidly. "No! Please. I have more questions." I bellowed out, but he was gone before I could protest any further.

Everything became black, and the sound of beeping flooded my ears. Once again, it hurt to open my eyes, and my body felt like it had been rung out to dry.

I slowly opened my eyes and realized I was back in the hospital, on Cain's territory. Cain was sleeping in a chair in the far corner of the room. I tried to sit up, but it caused a great deal of pain to do so, and I let out a groan of discomfort.

Cain, hearing this, quickly shot up from his chair and came to my side. Although he bent down, giving me a better view of his face, he looked distraught and exhausted.

As I looked at him, the resentment and anger I previously felt weren't as strong anymore. At that moment, I felt relieved to have him by my side and that I was still alive because of him.

His features softened as he stared into my eyes. "Are you ok? Do you need anything?" He asked in a soft tone.

"Yea, I'm glad to be alive as well. I honestly thought for a moment that I was a goner." I chuckled. "And no, I'm ok, just uncomfortable."

"Do you want to sit up?"

I nodded. "Yes, please."

Cain slipped his hand behind my back and helped prop me up, which eased the pain. Suddenly, I felt whole and heard a moan of pleasure rumble from within my mind.

My eyes lit up. "My wolf! She's back." I felt so relieved, knowing she was still with me and not completely gone.

Cain picked up the collar that had been around my neck, causing my wolf to growl and snarl.

"This was the cause of her disappearance. It blocks out any supernatural abilities, and if worn too long, it kills those abilities." He dropped the collar onto the bed, and the memories of my ordeal all came flooding back.

"I know you just woke up, but will you tell me what happened? What was their reason for taking you?" Cain's face was covered in stubble; he had bags under his eyes and looked like he hadn't slept in days.

I sucked in a sharp breath. "Because of my father and you. I met two men, Demetrius, who you already met, and Lazarus, their leader. They told me that my father had betrayed Lazarus not so long ago, causing war, and you had killed their sister during that war. So, they took me as revenge. They planned to kill me in front of you, then kill you. But they never told me their plan for my father, though, which was odd, especially seeing as, from what I understood, he had started all of this." My brows furrowed as I thought of everything, trying to remember if I had missed something.

Cain's eyes went pitch black, and his upper lip pulled up into a snarl "Lazarus, are you sure?" He questioned.

I pursed my lips. "Yup, I'm pretty sure, and I can tell you, he doesn't like me so much." I snorted. "I didn't make things easy for him."

Cain smiled and kissed my forehead. "That's my girl."

As he said that, my heart skipped a beat, and my wolf purred with happiness upon knowing that Cain was pleased with us. But then, the night of the party and the events that led to my kidnapping flooded my thoughts. I pushed that aside for a moment, as I had an important question.

I looked into his eyes. "Was that you that found me? And did you kill him?" I hoped he had, but also hoped that Lazarus was still alive, as I would like to kill him myself.

Cain's features hardened. "Yes, I was the one who found you." He looked away for a beat and sighed heavily. "And no, he got away, but I'm sure he will be back and this time, with reinforcements."

I thought back to the room I had found. "Yea, I imagine so. He is pretty focused on getting his revenge."

Silence passed between us for a few moments. Neither of us said a word. I wanted to ask him about Eve, but this wasn't the right place.

I pursed my lips. "Can you get the doctor, please? I want to get out of here."

He nodded. "Yea, of course. I'll be right back." He stared at me for a moment, as if he was afraid that I would disappear, then left the room.