Octavia

Octavia: Chapter Fourteen

*Third person for a brief minute*

When Alakey heard of the commotion in his Kingdom, he didn't know what to think. Naturally, he was annoyed. He didn't like when people acted out especially within the kingdom walls. If something had occurred in one of outlying packs- the Alpha within that pack would handle it unless he was needed. He didn't tolerate disobedience. So when he heard of the stunt his newest pack member pulled he felt betrayed. Betrayed because he had accepted her into his pack only a few days ago and she had already began to make a fool of herself in his Kingdom. He didn't need a jester in the kingdom.

While he was irritated he felt something else. Her actions were wrong but her intentions were nothing but pure and as much as he wanted to ignore it, he couldn't. She had seen the faces of hungry children and instead of passing by like her other pack-mates she chose to do something about it. Even though she knew it meant she would be punished herself. Alakey couldn't help but wonder why she had chosen to help instead of ignoring them like everyone else did.

He knew they were children but he also knew that the other beggars had chances to hold their place but they didn't. They were lucky that he hadn't severed their ties with his pack leaving them as rogues. Work was the thing that kept you living. As he thought about her he realized that her actions made him think about different things and he didn't like it. He didn't want to think about her. She had been the last thing on his mind even when she was inches from his lips the other morning as she took his measurements.

He could hear the thumps of her heart beating a thousand miles a minute. Smell every ounce of her intoxicating scent. See the look in her eyes as she analyzed his features. And he hated it. It was the dammed mate bond, he thought to himself. As he looked over the papers on his desk he realized he needed to do something fast before the bond was out of control.

*Octavia's point of view*

"I don't like disobedience. I also don't like disrespect." Alakey sat comfortably behind his desk, eyeing me intently as I stood across from him.

"Of course and I apologize but those children were hungry and I-" I hadn't got the chance to finish as he cut me off.

"I wasn't done speaking." Neither was I.

"You stole from my pack member which means you stole from me. Stealing from a King seems pretty stupid don't you think?"

"I told him that I would pay him back when Eveline gave me my check." I kept my voice soft as I spoke.

"I don't care what you told him. You broke a law of my kingdom. Stealing is wrong Max."

Pictures of that boy from two years ago flashed through my mind. Stealing was wrong. His face flooded my mind as I remembered ripping his fingers off one by one. If that was a punishment given by my monstrous dad, I couldn't help but wonder what the notorious Alpha King Alakey Blackbornn had in store for me.

Subconsciously, I had held out both of my hands. My eyes drifted over the imaginary blood falling from my fingerless hand. I had been so caught up burning holes into my hand with my eyes that I hadn't noticed that Alakey had left his desk. He was now standing in front of me with my untouched hands, in his death grip.

"Do you know what I do to people who steal in my kingdom?" His hands crushed mine beneath his grip and I realized we thought alike.

He waited a moment before speaking again. I knew that he wanted me to be scared. The girl had in his grip was scared. She was absolutely terrified of the beast in front of her, but the girl behind that innocent facade was already barring her teeth- ready to rip Alakey's throat out.

"I rip their hands from their bodies."
We both waited for him to pull his hand back taking mine with him.

Instead of leaving me bleeding uncontrollably on his floor he simply dropped my hands, "I will not do it. This time." He was clear with his words and I believed him.

I didn't say anything in the following minutes. Alakey watched and waited for me to move but we both knew that I wasn't going to. He had thought that I was coursing with fear. Waiting for me to cower back and beg for forgiveness. I wasn't going to. He had to believe that I was scared of him but also that I was strong and wasn't going to give up so easily.

"Say something." His words were hash as usual.

"I have nothing to offer but my apologies for breaking your laws when you have accepted me into your home."

"One night." Was all he said as his eyes broke away from mine.

"I beg your pardon?"

"That's your punishment."

I had no idea what he was getting at but by the sound of his voice it wasn't going to be fun. Choosing not to question him I nodded silently.

"Return to your room. Devayn will escort you to your punishment in three hours."

Three hours had passed and within the decreasing time I had tried to find Emerald but she seemed to be out of the castle. I figured that maybe she knew of my awaiting fate but without her guidance I found myself following Red down a dark hall. As we descended down steps my first thought was the cellars in the basement. Most packs had the same set up just different methods of following through.

The cells were usually very small to where you could not lie down without folding your body in extreme discomfort. The floor was hard dirt and sometimes puddled with blood or other bodily fluids. If your cell had a wall on one side inside of four bars on each side, the wall would be nailed with sharp rusted nails, waiting to pierce your skin. Diseases were common down here. It was hard not to catch something as you bathed in others blood and vomit.

A night in the cells didn't intimidate me. My father had locked me in them before. Sometimes for days at a time. The first time was when I was ten. I remember crying and hugging my knees to my chest as I sat next to the previous occupants blood. He said crying only added time. That if I was sent to the cellars by someone else they wouldn't care about my tears. He said that they would be starving and seeing me cry would not feed them. He didn't realize it but he was starving as well and he loved it when I cried.

I stopped crying after that night. I didn't cry for him or anyone else. And I wouldn't cry now for Alakey either. But she would. Max would lose her mind in that cell. She'd see the blood of the ones before her and she would sob, the blood turning her tears crimson. He would watch and he would feed on it but the mate bond would force him to feel guilty at least enough to cause him discomfort. I wanted to make his skin crawl as he realized he was losing his battle with the mate bond.

Devayn opened a door that led outside. The night air was cold as it hit our naturally heated skin. There seemed to be nothing around us by trees and the one door behind us. "I have to spend the night outside?" Like a true dog? I wanted to laugh at the ironic form of discipline. Sleeping outside was nothing compared to a night in the cells. Alakey had already been coerced by the bond.

"No," Red's body dropped into a squat as she pulled up on a single root that sprouted from the brown grass. She tugged up and the ground lifted in a square form, "Welcome to the pit, jester." I ignored the nickname and looked down into the dark hole. Without my heightened sight, I would have seen not even my hand in front of my face.

It was complete and utter darkness.

Red watched with the root still in her hand, "I'd stop wasting time and get down there so you can get it out of the way."

"Please don't make me go down there." I reached for her arm in desperation but she pulled back with a menacing smile.

"Don't touch me."

"Please I don't like the dark!"

In truth, I didn't know how I felt about the dark. It was lonely and empty. Darkness was inevitable like death and life. It was from the beginning and to the end, for eternity. Light could be smothered but darkness could only grow. It held everything in its hands. It saw everything. Monsters were said to live in the dark but in reality we all did. Life itself danced in darkness. To be afraid of the dark was to be afraid of closing your eyes. It was silly.

But even I had found myself weary in the darkness that kept me company tonight.