Raised Among Alphas

59 - Chains

Alora POV

"Alora... Alora... wake up" I heard the distant voice of my wolf reaching out to me from somewhere deep in my head.

"Thana?! You are back!" I couldn't hide my excitement.

This was the first time since I met my wolf that we had been uncommunicated. And I didn't enjoy it one bit.

"The Silver is weakening me, I am here but it takes me a lot of effort to reach you Alora." I could tell from her voice that she was having a tough time. There was barely any of her innate fire in her voice.

"Ithax, where is he? Can you feel him?" I decided to jump straight into the important matters before I would lose her again.

"He is far. I can't reach our mind-link, but he is safe. Desperate but safe." Her voice was fainting now.

"I'll get us out of here Thana, rest and save your energy. We'll need it to get out." I said as a promise. This time there was no reply.

Goddess, I needed that conversation so much. It wasn't long but I got the answers that I needed. My mate is alive. My wolf is still with me in a way. All I have to do now is survive this and find a way out.

Plan. Plan. Plan. I need a plan.

First step. I need to make sure that rotten Alpha won't get his hands on me again without regretting it. What I have in mind is going to hurt like a motherfucker but it's better than feeling his touch again. So, let's get down to business before he returns.

My arms didn't have much room to move, but my legs did.

I stared at the long chains attached to my ankles, fully aware that I was in for a nasty ride. Might as well get started now, before the Alpha Rogue comes back to pay me a visit.

I grabbed the burning metal with the help of my left foot and began twisting it all over my right leg, all the way up to my groin. To say that the ache was worse than the one I felt from my broken ribs that refused to heal properly is an understatement. The silver on a werewolf's skin is a torturous treatment. It bites and burns every layer of our skin with its touch, leaving a corrosive imprint on us. It is going to take me a while to heal back from those.

I remember the night Ithax found me in Beta Thierot's room when I was in heat. His whole body was covered in these exact same burn marks. It took him about four full days to heal from them, leaving only faint scars decorating his arms and chest to this day.

At least the thought of his skin helped me re-focus my pain. Pictures of my fingertips trailing every single one of his multiple scars eased the pain, in a way.

I repeated the same procedure now on my left leg. This time it took me longer since I was using my injured and sore right leg to wrap the chains around my skin.

Good luck to that fucker if he tries to touch me again.

By the time I was done adjusting the dreadful silver on me, I had tears that I couldn't hold back, pilling up over my chest and dripping down into the corset. It was a surprisingly pleasant sensation. They helped soothe the burned skin trapped inside the medieval instrument, even if it was only for a second.

I waited on the floor for what felt like at least a couple of hours. Simply contemplating the drops of water sliding down the rocks. Forcing myself to find a distraction in the little things instead of my own body.

The light of the cave slowly faded away. I am assuming the sun had set by now. That meant I had been here for at least ten hours, painful and lonely hours. After that one visit of the Alpha Rogue, I haven't seen or heard anyone else close by. Hopefully, Ithax found him and he is dead in a ditch somewhere.

I guess his ears were buzzing as I was just thinking of him because the star of the show finally decided to make an appearance. The bloody Rogue had a candlelight in his hand as he walked towards me from the cave opening.

"Well... well... well... what do we have here?" He chuckled in my direction after noticing the chains around my legs.

"I told you I am a resourceful woman," I said with wit and a half smile, pretending a strength I didn't feel in me.

"You sure make honor to your battle name, Terror." He said bringing his free hand to the side of my face and stroking my cheek.

There it was again. The nasty feeling of his touch on my skin. It was repulsive.

"What do you want from us?" I asked burying my emotions so he wouldn't be able to notice the way his touch affected me.

"I want to own the Desert and I want Jathred dead. I'll start by claiming the Grasslands and setting my army there. Then, I'll be building a wall with the help of some witches to close off the Desert from the rest of the continent. With Jathred out of the picture and his loyal warriors in exile, I'll eventually take over the Desert and crown myself King." His voice was cold and methodical, he truly believed he was going to accomplish his goal.

"Delusional," I called him out. There's no way Jathred would give up the Desert, and if he thinks capturing me was the key, he truly is delusional. Psycothic even.

"Now, now, don't be so skeptical. If your mate is smart and he ever wants to see you again he will bring me Jathred's head. Your former pack is already crumbling down from the inside, it only needed a slight push to tip it over the edge." The rogue had in his voice a sense of superiority that's only yielded by fools.

"You couldn't be more wrong, even if you wanted. My pack is strong as it has always been. If you think they'll be turning against each other for me then you are indeed delusional. All you have given them is an excuse to trust and rely on each other to find me, and to kill you. If you want to live another day let me go and run away while you still can, because you just pissed off the most dangerous wolves in the world. Your plan is fucked up." I snapped back at him but he didn't even consider my words.

"We'll see..." He tapped my cheek and then left, again.

Now darkness surrounded me again.

Come on. I need to find a way to get out of here. If I could somehow let Thana rest enough to shift she could break through these chains and release us. All I need is to give her more time.

"Hey, Thana... if you can hear me don't reply, just listen. I need you to gather as much strength as you can and break us out of here." I said to my inner wolf.

In the meantime, I should do the same too. Hunger, thirst, and ache were too overwhelming now. If I wanted to leave this place, I would have to let my brain rest for at least a couple of hours. So, I let myself drift to sleep with the smell of burned skin and humidity all around me.