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~Aria

I felt a little guilty coming here.

Hugging my jacket closer to myself, I tilt my head away from the onslaught of sleet hitting me sideways. It had to be this kind of weather for what I am committing to. At least the piece of paper I brought with me was tucked under the faux fur of my coat. Not that it mattered.

Really, I wasn't trying to protect it. In fact, it was my lame attempt at trying to hide it from Alexa. Now I'm about to make trash out of Alexa's idea.

Pulling the slip of paper out, I assess it through the thick weather, hitting the side of the rubbish bin with a tin slap. The face of my very own Alpha glared at me, his blue eyes, melting slightly from the icy rain, staring deep at my soul.

Maybe if I could see past the blurry pixels from botched printing, I might have thought he was attractive.

Sure, I've seen him on television, but I never took much notice of Malik. Something about him makes me uneasy, which I scold myself for thinking, since I don't know him personally. At least he protects our Pack, and gives us all we need. Who cares if he's too beautiful to look at for too long.

Alexa's words not mine.

"Sorry Malik, Alpha's aren't my type," I mutter, before crumpling the submission slip up in my fist, and tossing it straight into the communal rubbish dump.

The moment Alexa had given me the slip, I had agreed to keep her quiet. She doesn't need to know I didn't actually sign up, like I promised. I felt bad for sneaking about, and lying to her, but it wasn't like I was about to be chosen anyway...

But clearly I'm somewhat afraid of Alexa, since I had to throw it in the dump, rather than my own home bin. She might have spotted it that was, and I wasn't ready for the verbal beating my friend can be good at.

It was just the idea of competing for his love that I didn't like...

Glad it was a success, I turn around and walk back toward my car. The old thing is probably battered by this weather, that hasn't let off all day. The snow may be something to marvel, but the moment sleet threatens, everyone's mood plummets.

My hands shiver as I fiddle with my keys in my pocket. Someone else has pulled up in their small truck, nosing into a park a few spaces from mine.

As I slide the metal into my car, I cast them a glance. At first, I think it is someone here to drop off their rubbish, which clearly is common. Stopping myself from being too nosy, I look down to where I had finally forced my clammy hands to unlock the car door. It wouldn't have been the first time I've gotten a key stuck in the damn thing.

"Excuse me ma'am."

I flinch, dramatically tossing my keys up, before they landed with a metal ding on my car roof. My heart sporadically beats, as I turn to see who's warm voice had interrupted me.

It's an average looking man, the hood of a dark jacket pulled over his head. He looks bothered by the weather, and quite frankly, I don't blame him. But he looks friendly enough, as he cracks an approachable smile.

However, he looks a little foreign, which catches my interest. He's definitely not originally from this Pack, that's for sure.

"Sorry," I mutter, snatching my keys off the roof. "You startled me."

"I apologise. I was simply wondering if you would assist me in unloading my car of a few things. My family are getting rid of some old furniture."

It was a strange request, but I could imagine what it would be like to do it on his own, especially in this weather. So deciding to be a Good Samaritan, I agreed, letting him lead me toward his car, which wasn't too far away from my own.

"You from here?" He asks, as we near his car. The windows are tinted, so I can't see too much inside.

I nod. "Born and raised."

He looked thoughtful.

"Why didn't your mate bring your rubbish down?" He questions, a little more forcefully. Frowning, I stop at the door of his car, as he stares at me expectantly.

"I don't have one...Where's the furniture?"

The way he stared, eyes dark and hooded, made me slightly uncomfortable. Here I was, thinking I was going to assist someone, doing a good deed, but now I'm feeling wary. What's with the questions?

"I suppose you're young...Early twenties?" He says, finally unlocking the car door.

Swallowing, I shift from foot to foot. "Yeah."

Then he swings the door open, and I'm faced with the inside of the car. Bare, normal. But I wasn't looking for that; I was looking for old furniture, ready to be thrown into the dump.

"Perfect," he purred, and I didn't have the chance to say another word, before he grabbed the back of my head, and shoved me into the car.

My head smacks unceremoniously against the edge of the car door, and unconsciousness captures me. And I'm gone.

***

Things like this don't happen to girls like me. Things like this don't happen to girls like me.

I have been awake for hours now.

My hands are bound by cable ties, and I'm stuck fast to a chair. There is no light in the room I'm in, but I'm partially grateful, since my head throbs with a possible concussion. He hit me pretty hard, and my mind spins like my vision, not letting my mind grasp onto reality long enough to assess the situation.

The lights eventually flicker on. And my eyes eventually adjust, letting me see a complete stranger and a room I've never seen before.

The man in front of me's face twists and morphs in my vision, still blurry from unconsciousness. I can tell he is just staring at me, probably waiting till I can actually look him in the eye.

"Aren't you pretty. Brother chose well."

That accent was the exact same as the bastard who got me here in the first place. It dawns on me, with a sinking heart, that I know who they are. Rogues. The tip off was their displaced features and accent that didn't suit any Pack.

People spit on Rogues. With good reason.

"What do you want with me?" I question, my voice hoarse and unused. It was the only coherent phrase that was prominent in my mind. Why? I was just me.

The man bends down, crouching so he was more my height on the chair. At least my mind is starting to get a hold of the situation, and I'm not seeing two of him anymore. Now I have to concentrate on getting out of here.

"You are going to listen. You will not ask questions until I say so," he tells me sternly, the ferocity in his voice keeping my mouth closed obediently.

For a second, I contemplate trying to actually escape myself. The cable ties around my wrist slip slightly from sweat; the temperature of this small room being almost unbearable. But if I escape my binds, I doubt the door is unlocked for me to get out, and by the looks of it, we are in a basement of some kind.

I've read of these situations. The moment you retaliate, you either get beaten, or killed, and right now, I'm not up to either. If I obey, maybe I can get out of this alive...

"I am apart of a small rogue organisation that have selected you to be apart of, due to your current mateless status and age," he tells me. I force my gaze down, cringing slightly. That man had asked all those questions to see if I would be eligible for whatever this is.

This is what I get for talking to strangers...

"Not me," I plead desperately. "I'm useless."

"You're hardly useless...In fact, you're perfect. I have one job for you, and if you refuse to accept, then I will have to kill you," he tells me. "And your entire family."

My family and I don't have much to do with each other these days. They made me move out and refuse to talk to me in a way to keep me independant. But I would never wish death on them. I still love them...

"Please, not my family" I continue breathlessly.

The man leans forward, grabbing my chin in his harsh grasp. "I have my hand in a lot of places. Shall I give you an example?"

I didn't have room to even talk, with the painful way his fingers dig relentlessly into my chin. I want to shake my head, but even that is impossible. Instead, I'm stuck staring into the darkness of his eyes, wondering what spurred people to do such cruel things like kidnap an innocent girl.

"Alpha Malik's competition for love is one I would typically ridicule. And right now, I have the ability to alter the results of the ballot," he says, a sinister tone in his voice increasing with every word.

But I was more frightened by what he was saying.

"Have you entered yet? I really hope you have," he continues, a smile slowly growing on his face. My jaw clenches, knowing exactly what he was insinuating.

"Why?" I question, my voice a breathless murmur.

He finally lets me go, and I couldn't be more grateful. He steps backward, the sound of his shoes hitting the concrete floor echoing across the walls. This stranger is tall, and threatening, but I try my best to keep composed.

"Malik has something I need. His family stole it from mine many years ago, and I want it back," he informs me.

Is it money? How in the world am I supposed to steal money from the Alpha of Love? He may be an extremely wealthy man, but even getting to it would be a mission in itself. Sneaking it out, a different story...

I watch as he reaches behind himself, pulling something out from his pocket. In the dim light, I can just make out that it's a photo. He brings it closer for me to examine.

A necklace. It's a simple silver chain, with no jewels on it...Nothing.

I stare it blankly. "This is what they stole from you?"

For some reason, I couldn't imagine a wealthy line of Alpha's wanting a necklace this simple, and mundane. You could buy this at a cheap store, for hardly any money.

"Indeed, and I need you to retrieve it for me. If you do so, you walk free."

The fear and desperation to escape was masked momentarily by utter confusion. I couldn't fathom the importance of this, and the reason for the extent of this mission. If I was caught stealing from an Alpha...I would surely be executed for such an offense.

"I can't..." I say quickly. "There's no way I would be able to pull that off."

He chuckles. "This family heirloom is extremely valuable. Once you are selected for this competition, you will have full access to his home."

I was about to refuse again, but his next words made me pause.

"If you don't do this, then I won't hesitate to kill you," he murmurs. "And find someone else more willing to do it."

It was those words that made my heart sink. It was those that made me realise that I have no choice.