His Guardian (MxM)

Chapter 4

Luca

"Agh, fuck," I groaned as I began to stir. I had a dull pain radiating throughout my entire body. I slowly opened my eyes to survey my surroundings. A small room. It was dimly lit, and the surface I was lying on was far from comfortable. 

"Where am I?" I whispered to myself. That's when I noticed the three walls made of dark, exposed brick, and the fourth was iron bars.

Shit.

"No, no, no, no, no, no..." I whispered as I quickly got up, despite my body's protest, and placed my hands on these bars. I tugged, to no avail.

The fuck have I gotten myself into now?

I glanced around once more, looking for any window, hole, crevice, anything that could possibly aid in my escape.

Nothing.

I was stuck in this cell. Imprisoned.

I sighed and slid down to the freezing stone floor. I knew it was a bad idea to run.

I began hearing footsteps approaching. I quickly moved toward the back of the cell, readying myself for whatever was to come.

A man appeared on the other side of the bars. He was breathtaking. He had a tall, chiseled figure. His eyes were a beautiful sky blue that held concern when they looked at me. He had lightly colored freckles sprinkled across his nose and cheekbones, with a messy mop of short, dirty blonde hair on his head. 

Jun was telling me who this man is to me in the back of my mind, but I couldn't believe it. No. If he is on the other side, he is the one who put me here.

Right?

I couldn't trust him.

His gaze burned into my soul as he continued to watch me.

"You're awake," he spoke, "Here. I brought you something to eat." He was holding something wrapped in brown kraft paper in his right hand, with a water bottle in his left. He stuck them through the bars. "You must be starving."

I scoffed and looked away. 

My stomach immediately ruined my tough guy facade with it's loud rumbling. I looked back at him.

"I'll just leave it here," he lowered his hands through the bars, and set the items on the floor inside my cell. He then took a few steps back, and sat on the floor outside of my cell.

"My name is Liam," he introduced himself, "I'm sorry about this, it was the Alpha who ordered it," he gestured to the cell with sympathy in his voice. 

I ignored him.

He sighed. "Alright, well... I'll be back later," he mumbled as he stood up, and walked away.

Once I was sure he was gone for good, I stood and walked toward the items he left for me. I picked up the wrapped item, and slowly unwrapped it. A sandwich. Hmm. I picked up the drink. A bottle of water. Seems innocent enough.

I sat on the bed and took a small bite of the sandwich.

It was heavenly.

It was also the first bite of food I'd had in days.

As I ate, I thought of Liam. He seemed... sad. Like he wanted to free me, but couldn't. Maybe I shouldn't have been so harsh with him. He did bring me food, after all. And if Jun was correct about him being our mate, maybe I really could trust him. Just maybe.

I finished my food, and laid down to rest. My body was begging for it, to have more time to heal.

I thought of my circumstances. How I ended up here.

"Umma! Appa! No!" I screamed as I was grabbed by large, rough hands.

A raid. Rogues had raided the pack grounds, taking anything valuable, and... me.

I let out a guttural scream as my small body was ripped from my parents. 

"Luca!!" my mother screamed my name. But it was no use. The rogues outnumbered our small pack, making them much more powerful.

"This one will be one hell of a pickpocket for us," the man laughed with another as he slung me over his shoulder.

I awoke with a loud gasp.

Breathing heavily, covered in a thin sheen of sweat, I realized I had fallen asleep and dreamt of my early childhood.

I've spent years of my life being trained as a professional pickpocket by the rogues that took me when I was young. They saw my innocent features and nimble fingers as perfect attributes to a thief.

I didn't want to do it. But if I refused, I would end up backed into a corner with a knife to my throat.

So, at 18 years old, I escaped. And I ran. And ran. And ran. I don't even know how many days it's been. Two? Three? Until I ended up here. Once I realized I had crossed a pack's border, it was too late, and I was caught. I don't remember much after that. Probably due to my body's high amount of stress in the moment.

I sighed, sat up, and rubbed at my bare feet. They had been scratched up from rocks, twigs, I don't even know what all while I was on the run. I couldn't risk being caught by my captors again. I wouldn't have lived through the punishment for my escape.

Regardless, I am still being punished for my escape, it seems. I didn't choose to be a fucking rogue. I was forced into it. If I had ever been given the choice, I never would have left my pack. I didn't want to.

My thoughts wandered to my pack. My family. Were they still alive? Do they miss me? Do they look for me?

I leaned my head into my hands and rubbed my face while breathing deeply. 

How am I going to get out of this?