CHAPTER 11: Kill the Alpha

Hope's POV

A frigid substance drenched my entire frame, yanking me from the clutches of darkness. I gasped awake, my eyes fluttering open as my skin tightened due to the drastic shift in temperature. My eyes burned harshly as the light from the single bulb swaying carelessly above, invaded it.

I winced in pain as the water seeped into my eyes, causing me to blink rapidly to wad the feeling. A stinging feeling rode up my arm as I flexed my wrist to try and rid myself from the entrapment. I rocked back and forth but the stinging sensation ravished my torso and my feet.

When my eyes didn't hurt as much, I squinted through my eyelids, getting accustomed to the lighting: my hands were tethered with chaffing ropes to the arms of the chair, round my midsection and my feet. My heart raced in my constricting chest as the cold seeped into my skin. It felt almost impossible to breathe and the more I forced the air through my nose, the more I felt it clog.

My eyes focused on the room, but I couldn't see much beyond the reach of the single bulb. I whipped my head around frantically searching as far as my eyes could reach, but I met nothing. I sucked as much as my shivering lungs would allow…

“Hello!? Is anybody there!?” I screamed at the top of my lungs and I immediately felt lightheaded from how quickly I dispelled air. My voice echoed and I could tell that I was in an enclosed empty space.

That feeling of fear slowly creeped up my arms as the memories of the previous night invaded my head: I was kidnapped and Ivy had betrayed me. My eyes stung again and I knew that it wasn't water this time that poured from the rims.

“Hello!? Somebody help me!”

My voice bounced back to me and my stomach tightened with an awful feeling.

“You can scream all you want, no one will hear you.”

My blood ran cold and I froze on my damp seat; the deep baritone reverberated into my ears before a man slowly walked toward my line of vision. He flicked his lighter and chased the butt of his cigarette with the dancing flame.

The man had a mask worn over his face but a little opening in his mouth for the cigarette tucked into his lips. He walked into the shadows and pulled a chair from the corner, scraping the metal carelessly against the tarred floor.

The screeching sound of the metal chair drew out goosebumps from my skin before he slammed the seat in front of me and slummed on it. He took a deep whiff of the cigarette and blew the smoke out.

I followed every move of his muscles, afraid that he would make a quick move toward me. My heart hurried in my chest, the rhythm muffling my ears.

“Wh-Who are you?” I tried to stabilize my breath as I spoke. He took a long drag from the stick and puffed it out. He didn't respond, but continued to take drags from his cigarette. I couldn't see the colour of his eyes, only a dark hole in the mask where the eyes were supposed to be.

I could feel him staring directly at me, like he was peeking into my soul and I couldn't place what it was, but something about him felt so familiar, it was a strange feeling.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, masking the fear coursing through my veins. My question was once again met with total silence.

“Please, I don't know who you are or what you want, please let me go.” I just wanted to be out of here. The feeling of entrapment brought back horrible memories of the years of being imprisoned in the dungeon, underfed for years.

He flicked the cigarette to the corner and pulled his seat closer to me, I could smell it on his breath.

“Who I am is none of your business.”

“Then why are you doing this to me? Did Kaia put you up to this?” The thought had lingered in my head for a while, she was the only one with a vendetta to eliminate me.

“Who the fuck is Kaia? I have no business with her or you, Hope. I'm more interested in who you can bring to me.”

My breath hitched in my throat and my eyes widened in shock.

“How—how did you know my name?”

“I know more about you than you do: I know that you're the daughter of Alpha Kellan who was assassinated by his Beta on his way to the Alpha's meeting for plotting to kill another Alpha.”

I felt this spark of anger in me, no one knew the truth! There was no way my father could ever plan to do such, they were all liars!

“My father wouldn't do such a thing! He wasn't a traitor! He was a good man!”

The anger brewed over, I hated when people accused him falsely.

The man chuckled and that familiar feeling scurried across my belly, it sounded like someone I knew, but who?

“You don't know what humans are capable of.”

I breathed heavily, glaring at the man who remained masked.

“Like I said earlier, I'm interested in who you will attract.”

“What do you mean? Who will I attract? I'm a nobody! I fucking have no one!”

“Now that's where you're wrong, Hope. You're Orion's mate, aren't you?”

It felt like the cold water had been poured again, how did he know? How did he know all these things? Who is he? The questions floated in my mind like a halo. He didn't sound like he was asking a question, but telling me.

“And if his mate goes missing won't he come find her?” He continued but something snapped in me, like a funny story had been told. I laughed as his words reechoed in my mind, he definitely didn't know me as he claimed to.

“What's funny?” His voice was firmer now.

“You-you don't know shit.” I felt more confident now, he needed me to stay alive.

“Orion doesn't love me, he hates me! He will be fucking glad I left, so all your effort was in vain!” My voice faded off as sadness crept in, my mate hated me.

He chuckled softly, but it sounded so menacing and creepy that little goosebumps popped from my skin.

“Orion doesn't love you, but the Alpha will do everything in his power to get you back.”

I was confused, what is he talking about?

“I don't understand.”

“My job is simple, Hope, I will kill the Alpha.”