The Royal Triumvirate

Chapter Forty-Eight: Reina

Lei came to visit maybe once a week to clean up Alex's wounds. It was the only way for them to be able to tell time in that cell. According to Lei, Alex had been imprisoned for several months. Almost every day torture occurred. Markus raving madly about how she needed to repent her awful ways of being a rogue.

"Hello, Alex," Lei greeted softly as she entered the small cell. Visits from the older girl were the only thinking keeping Alex sane. The imprisoned omega had revealed that she was two years older than Alex, being eighteen. She had not yet found her mate nor had hope of doing so. In her hands was her usual tray of bread and water as well as a bucket full of medical alcohol. Alex just grunted softly. Lei knelt behind the girl and began cleaning Markus's latest work.

"Damnit," Alex hissed softly as Lei passed over a particularly deep wound.

"Sorry," Lei whispered.

"Not your fault," Alex grunted softly. Lei hesitated slightly before whispering into the younger girl's ear.

"Listen, Alex. I overheard the Alpha. He's planning on killing you. He's finished with you."

Alex sighed softly, "of course. Thank you for all of your help."

Lei frowned, "are you just going to give up?"

"There's a difference between giving up and dying with dignity."

Lei scowled in irritation but before she could yell, a door slammed in the distance. A moment later Markus Storm entered the cell.

"Leave Omega," he snarled at Lei, who quickly scrambled away. Alex straightened herself and glared at the false Alpha.

"What do you want?" she demanded angrily.

"I am going to give you one more chance rogue. Repent and join my pack."

"Pass," Alex sneered.

Markus growled and pulled on pair of thick gloves. Unhooking the chains, he began pulling Alex out of the cell. Up the stairs and through a dingy hallway until they made their way outside. He pushed the imprisoned girl on her knees onto the unkept grass in front of the house. Ghosting along after them, Reina looked around the space. Scrawny and hungry looking rogues circled around the pair. Glancing behind her, Reina saw that over the door of the dilapidated house was a small circular sign with a silver wolf claw in the center. The paint chips were flaking off the faded sign.

Markus looked around the gathered crowd in which Lei stood hesitantly near the front. Spreading his arms wide, Markus began to speak.

"Fellow members of the Royal Blood Pack. This rogue has consistently resisted my generous offer to join our glorious pack. Refusing to repent its corrupted ways. It is also abomination again nature. It is a hermaphrodite. A creature that holds reproductive system of both genders. As your glorious leader, I sentence this monstrous rogue to death." He pulled a pistol and placed it against the back of Alex's head.

"Wait," Lei cried out. "Please Alpha. She doesn't deserve to die. I'm sure she will repent eventually."

Markus glared at her and snarled. "Shut up! You stupid omega."

He had pulled back slightly and loosened his grip on Alex's chains. Seeing her chance, Alex managed to twist around to grab the gun wrestling it from Markus. She pulled away holding the gun awkwardly between were handcuffed to each other.

Alex pointed the gun at Markus. Her face was blank and stoic. Reina could see her finger tense on the trigger but before she could pull it. Lei quickly rushed forward and grabbed the keys to the handcuffs, before pulling Alex away.

"We have to go," Lei shouted. The stunned crowd moved out of the way as they raced away.

"Grab..." Markus started to shout but was cut off by Alex shooting him the knee with the gun. The crowd moved around their injured leader ignoring the fleeing girls.

After several minutes Alex slowed to a stop breathing heavily, leaning against a tree.

"We have to keep going," Lei said nervously glancing back the way they came. Then fiddled with the keys trying to unlock Alex's chains.

"Why...why did you do that?" Alex panted.

"I-I don't know," Lei admitted. "You always stood up to him. I realized that even if he killed you. You would somehow win. I just couldn't let him kill you... but now I don't know where to go."

Alex sighed rubbing her raw wrists as the chains dropped away. "I have a place we could go to. But I'm too weak to shift right now." She closed her light grey eyes and when she reopened them, they were the electric blue of Xandara's.

"I am her wolf. Come we must get going," she said, leaning heavily on Lei. They began to walk slowly. A few hours later, found them stumbling into Daisy's clearing. Xandara/Alex began losing consciousness as soon as they crossed the threshold of the clearing, but she did distantly hear Lei mutter.

"Mate."

...................................................................

Reina and Dana found themselves back in the garden alcove. This time with Alex, who didn't seem to notice them. The wolves were nowhere to be seen; however, they could feel that their wolves had returned to their own consciousnesses.

Alex seemed to be blankly moving toward the portal. Reina could just barely make out the riverside where her mate had been kidnapped.

"Alex!" Dana shouted running up to her mate and to both of their surprises wrapped her arms around her.

"Dana," Alex muttered blinking in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to rescue you," Reina said approaching her mates.

"Rescue me?" Alex repeated blankly.

"Yes. Daisy trapped you in your worst memory," Reina explained.

"You need to wake up," Dana pleaded tearfully. Alex blinked several times.

"This is just a dream?" She muttered looking between the memory portal and her mates. "Which part?"

"We're real," Dana said placing Alex's hand on her chest. "Please come home to us." Alex looked at Reina, who stepped forward and gently pressed her lips against the confused girl.

"It's ok," she whispered. Everything began to fade away into blankness.