Chapter 03

I remembered screaming for a minute before my world blacked out and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, the first thing that struck me was the thick scent of death and blood. I didn't want to imagine where I was or who had taken me but there was an idea in my head.

Just an hour before I was blacked out, I recalled a man warning me that they were coming for me. I ignored all the flags waving in front of me and continued with my life.

The Alpha of the city.

Thomas.

He had me.

I placed my hand underneath and pressed my palm against the cold, unknown ground. My eyes opened wide, but I couldn't see anything. It was pitch-black and silent as a graveyard.

And my hands were tied.

The ropes were digging into my wrists as I tried to break free. My hands were tied behind my back therefore every time I stood up, I fell back on the ground without any hope.

A few seconds later, when I began feeling my sore legs, I quickly realized that my feet were tied together. My shoes were taken, clothes were stripped off and the only thing that was left on my body was the little pieces of cloth that covered my privates.

"Good morning." A voice boomed across the room.

My heart thudded hard. I twisted my head at the direction of the sound. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" I questioned, my shoulders pushed back, and no fear lingered in my voice.

I wasn't afraid. I never was afraid of getting caught by anyone. Fear was a weakness, a weakness that I got rid of a long time ago.

A few seconds passed by, I heard nothing, not even the breathing of the unknown stranger inside the room or whatever the place was. I rubbed my wrists together once more, hoping to squeeze my hands out of the ropes and set myself free. It would be a lot easier to run away when my hands and feet weren't tied.

I raised my head at the snap that came from the left. A light switch. The white lights immediately brightened the room. I squeezed my eyes tightly as the sudden waves of lights nearly blinded me.

A small hiss escaped my throat, and I slowly lifted my gaze to find myself kidnapped and thrown inside an unknown warehouse. The place was certainly made from wood. A hundred boxes were placed on one side of the warehouse while the other three ends were empty.

My eyes fell upon myself and my naked legs that began shivering at the crisp cold. My gaze followed the stream of sticky and gooey liquid surrounding me and before I knew, I gagged and slammed my mouth shut. Another breath didn't dare to escape my throat.

It was blood.

All blood.

Blood was smeared on the grounds of the warehouse, some fresh and some old. There were a lot more stains I could count and even some unrecognizable items all scattered on the same ground I was being kept on.

Where was I? In hell? My time hadn't come yet. I was too young and too wild to be dead so quick.

I avoided spilling the contents in my stomach and turned my head to the left where I last heard the voice of the old man. Just as I assumed, I found the Alpha, Thomas, standing still with his group of men behind him. His hands were folded across his chest, and he had a smug grin on his face and the expression didn't seem to wear off anytime soon.

A ferocious growl slipped past my lips. "What do you want from me?" I questioned him, now no longer struggling with the restraints.

"I'm sure you're aware of who I am," The Alpha moved away from his men and neared me. "And you know exactly what you're doing here, omega." He took a quick sniff of my scent and said.

"I'm not omega."

"Says the omega." His grin just curled a bit wider.

I gritted my teeth together. My canines ached to tear through the man that had called me an omega. It had been a long time since I had associated myself with an omega. I no longer thought of myself as one even when deep down, I was. But omega's were weak and I was nowhere near weak anymore.

"What do you want from me?" I pushed my anger back and asked him.

"I don't want to kill you," He said, standing and circling around me while his large belly hung over me.

I lined my lips together and waited for him to continue. As I belonged to another pack, I wasn't a rogue, and he couldn't kill me without creating issues with the Nightstalkes Pack.

"But you have taken this far by killing my people—"

I shrugged, "Whoever I killed deserved it. You have no idea about your own people and what they do. They are filled with disgust and greed. Someone must put them down. I'm doing you a favor, cleaning up your city." I gave him a proud smile and it ticked him off.

"You don't need to clean my city," He growled, yanking my hair, and pulling my head back. My scalp throbbed in pain, and I let out another hiss. "This is my city. I don't want anyone cleaning it up for me, especially you. Find your way out and return to whichever worthless pack you fled from." He said, a warning in his voice.

"I'm not going to leave." I stated.

I had been living here for more than a few months and it was the only place I was comfortable in. I had friends here, my next-door neighbor and many other people I knew. I had grudges to keep up with, people to kill and people to save. I couldn't leave and start fresh again.

It was exhausting.

"Then you'll leave me no choice but to kill you," He held my hair in his fist tighter, strength in his hand and no kindness in his eyes. It took me a second to understand this man was the problem in the city—the Alpha himself.

He leaned closer, eyes on something else. I turned my head aside, hoping it would reject his advances, but he wasn't looking to kiss me, instead his eyes were prying on the mark, the mate's mark.

I shuffled back, and hesitated.

"You belong to someone." He said, the smile returning on his face, wider and more mischievous. A laugh slipped out of his throat, and he took a step backward. "Oh, this makes it all just better."

I swallowed the bite in my throat. I couldn't say anything even when I wanted to. I couldn't reject the truth nor accept it.

I was marked.

Once.

And it was a very long time ago.

"Let me guess," Thomas moved back and forth with his fingers pressed underneath his chin. He thought hard and well before returning his eyes on me. "An Alpha, isn't it?" He asked and I found my world getting smaller and smaller. "No one would have as much courage as you do to come into my city and kill my men unless you were mated with an Alpha who could swoop in anytime and protect you."

I breathed sharp. I didn't need protection. A tightness formed in my throat. For months, I had hidden my identity and avoided my own past. Seeing all my hard work crush down in seconds was terrifying.

I dreaded the day he would be informed about my whereabouts and my doings. I never wanted him to know where I was or what I was doing with my life. I didn't want him to come seek for me. I wanted space, time, and energy to heal and for the most part, I healed but not in the way he wanted me to heal.

Thomas grabbed my face again, his bony fingers resting under my chin as he raised my head and got a closer look. I pressed my eyes shut and my lips lined straight.

"You are from the north, aren't you?" He asked.

I didn't answer. My heart thudded harder in a beat of fear. Sweat dripped from my neck and onto my back.

I didn't want to be found. I didn't want to go back.

I wasn't ready.

I peeled my eyes open, tears within them, "Please, I don't want to go anywhere. I give you my word, I'll not harm another soul in your city for as long as I get to stay here without any concerns." I said, a plead in my voice, a weakness.

Thomas shook his head and his crooked smile deepened, "Oh, you're going back straight into the garbage you came out from."

He moved his hand away from and turned his back on me. My heart dropped low at the thought. A year of hiding and this couldn't be the way I could go back to him. He would be more than disappointed in me, and I didn't want to see that.

"Ring up Wayne from the Nightstalker's Pack. Tell him we have his mate and let's bargain a deal." Thomas said, reaching his men.

Panic set inside me. I fought against the ropes tying my hands together while shaking my head, "No, no, no!" I yelled, my eyes watering slightly and fear growing inside my heart.

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