Accepting the Accepted (Book Two) (Discontinued)

Accepting the Accepted: Chapter three

Well, I promised it would be soon! Enjoy

Chapter 3

My mouth was dry, and my head was aching almost as much as my legs. The man’s words lingered in my mind, playing over and over like a broken record.

“I welcome you as the newest prisoner of the Nightingale Pack.”

I have heard of the Nightingale pack. They were known as the second most ruthless pack of wolves, besides the Shadows of course.

I remember my mother talking about them with her group of advisors from time to time. She would state in her posh yet demanding tone that the Shadows were superior, and the Nightingales will never be above us.

For a long time, yes, but when my mother disappeared, leaving me as her only known relative, it was easy for the Nightingales to take over the now nonexistent Shadow territory for themselves.

The men had left some time ago, letting me bask in self-pity and fear for the second time in my life. Tears refused to fall past my eyelids, which I was very grateful for.

My stomach was clenching with hunger, but even if I had my favorite meal in front of me, I don’t think I would have the heart to eat it.

Minutes seemed like hours in the small confined room, and all I could think was, Am I really that bad? Was my mother right when she told me how terrible I was on a daily basis?

Somehow I ended up drifting to a restless sleep with the bright light beating down on my eyelids demanding for them to open.

When I awoke once more, I was surprised to see a young woman sitting beside my bed. I jumped back, only to be restrained and pulled straight back down. I winced as it rubbed over the already forming bruises from yesterday.

She seemed surprised at my outburst, but she recovered quickly and smiled a genuine smile. It had been so long since I had seen one of those, and when she smiled at me, I felt an unfamiliar feeling of safe with her. For some reason, I wanted to trust her.

“Well aren’t you just a cute little thing.” The woman giggled lightly. Her brown eyes lit up with happiness.

I couldn’t help the slight blush that crept up my neck which made her giggle even more. “When Brandy told me about how we had a new rogue and that it was a girl, I had to see for myself.”

My blush quickly faded and my face paled. I was a rogue. I didn’t belong anywhere, anywhere but a lonely prison like this one.

She seemed to see my sudden mood change and frowned. “I’m sorry, Brandy always tells me about my big mouth, but I just can’t seem to shut it.” She rambled on.

I gave her a light smile, but my stomach had other ideas. It grumbled rather loudly, echoing off the walls of the small room.

A look of panic rose on the woman’s face. “Oh, you poor thing! I forgot you were out for a few days. You must be starving!”

Days? If she noticed the confusion on my face she hid it well because she quickly unstrapped the two restraints and helped me out of the bed.

As soon as my feet hit the floor, I nearly collapsed, but the woman caught me and hoisted me up by wrapping an arm around my waist. I tensed up at the action, afraid from my past experiences, but as she leaded me out of the room I started to last.

Maybe I was being too trusting, maybe I was putting myself just a little too out there, but I couldn’t just sit in a bed any longer staring at the cement.

She led me through the doorway and down a dark hallway and up a set of stairs. We passed through another doorway, which opened up into a very large kitchen. It was a modern looking kitchen with small counter tops and a medium sized island in the middle, but I was already in love with it.

When I was younger, I would always sneak into the kitchen and cook. I loved to cook anything and everything, and most of the time my food was no good, but nonetheless I still loved cooking. When my mother found out, she locked me in my room for a week, nearly starving me to death. Lucy, one of the many maids who worked for my mom, had brought me small amounts of food every now and then throughout that terrible week. She was the closest thing I ever had to a friend. 

I never once stepped foot in that kitchen again, only getting my meals delivered to my room.

The lady helped me onto a stool set in front of the island. She saw my look of awe and smiled. “It is a really nice kitchen isn’t it?”

I nodded still dazed by the amazing sight before me.

“Goodness me! Where are my manners? My name is Leila.” She smiled and extended her hand forward. I looked down at her hand cautiously for a moment until I decided that this lady couldn’t do any harm.

“Ki-Kayla Branch.” I stuttered out. I nearly gave up my identity right then and there! I really needed to be more careful, or else they might find out who I really am.

She didn’t seem to notice my stuttering and nodded. “Nice to meet you Kayla. Let me go get the chef to cook us up something. I will be right back.” With that she walked off into another room leaving me sitting alone in the kitchen.

Did she really just leave me alone? I was a rogue, the enemy. Either she isn’t as smart as I thought, or maybe she trusted me.

I sat as rigid as a pole, not moving an inch. I was afraid at any minute someone would come out and attack me.  

Minutes started ticking by, and I was getting more worried by the second. Where is she? What happened? What is taking her so long?

A sudden set of footsteps indicated someone was coming. I sighed and relaxed. I hope that she had the food with her because I was starving.

The footsteps suddenly stopped, and I turned my head towards the direction I heard them. I stared horrified as I saw not Leila, but the Alpha of the Nightingale Pack.

A look of fury passed over his features, and before I could even move a muscle, he had me pinned up against the wall, his hands crushing my windpipe.

“How dare you try and escape! You are nothing but scum, and you will pay dearly for this!” His eyes were turning red indicating his wolf was surfacing. His grip on my neck became tighter, making it impossible to breathe.

Black dots invaded my vision, and I couldn’t even pick up my hands to stop him, I was too weak.

“Well, Pier didn’t have waffles but-“ Leila trotted into the kitchen with a big tray and her hand, but it dropped as soon as she saw what was happening.  

She screamed and rushed over to us. “Daddy! Let go of her! I let her out, she didn’t escape!” Tears were falling down her cheeks as she frantically tried to explain.

I suddenly fell to the floor in a heap, fresh air rushing back into my nearly empty lungs. The black dots of my vision started to fade as I set my head against the cool wall.

Wait, daughter? Leila was the alpha’s daughter?

“You let her out? How stupid are you? She is a threat to our pack!” The alpha roared at her.

She gave him a hard look, the tears still falling from her watery eyes. “No she is not! She can’t even shift, much less kill someone!”

Her words stung me, but they were also very true. How did she know I couldn’t shift?

The alpha was about to open his mouth again when a loud voice interrupted him.

“What is going on here?” The sweet husky voice sent shivers down my spine. The air suddenly felt almost electric, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. 

“Your sister here let out a dangerous rogue, that’s what!” The alpha sidestepped towards the alluring voice, letting me see the stranger.

He was gorgeous, the most handsome man I have ever seen. He stood larger than the alpha, and I could see that he was definitely in shape from the tight black t-shirt and jeans that hung loosely from his hips. He wasn’t very tan, but he wasn’t pale either.

And as soon as I looked into his rare silver eyes, I knew one very important thing.

This man, was my mate.