Chapter Three

Adeline

The Alpha announced his judgement, which was my execution and for a moment, I felt horrified, but then, I realised death was not a bad thing; it was going to be my passage away from the torment I had faced on this earth, and I would finally get to see my parents.

I smile at the Alpha, for to him, it was the greatest punishment, but to me, he was saving me. I willingly gave the guards my hands, which they bound before they led me back to the cell.

I awoke to voices I recognised as Caleb and Ella's. They were pleading with the guard at the entrance so they could see me. I am surprised he agreed, as the door creaks and opens, letting in a little light.

The guard led them to my cell, “You have twenty minutes," he said in a gruff voice before he opened the iron door to my cell.

Ella rushed in and fell at my side, enveloping me in a hug while she began to cry. I tried to comfort her, but she cried louder; feeling embarrassed, I looked up at Caleb, who was standing awkwardly for help.

“Ella, you should be the one comforting Adeline and not the other way around,” Caleb said, reprimanding her as he pried her off me.

“You are right,” she said, cleaning her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Adeline, I just feel sad; it’s just not fair,” she said, as another bout of tears welled in her eyes.

“Ella!!” Caleb called “Don't,” he warned, a stern look on his face. Ella hiccupped as she tried her best not to cry.

I looked at the siblings and couldn’t help but smile, Caleb and Ella Whitlock had been the only reason I had survived this world for this long. These two contrasting siblings, with Ella being the very emotional and clingy baby sister and Caleb, the protective big brother, had been my rock since I could remember.

“What happened, Adeline?” Caleb asked in that protective manner that made me want to curl up into his shirt and just let him hold me.

“Sarah and her minions kept skipping me during meals, throughout the week,” I replied

“That little bitch,” Caleb said, his nostrils flared in anger and his fists curled up.

I smiled a little before I continued “I had gotten so hungry, I decided to get food from the kitchen, like we used to do.”

“Why didn’t you come to us?” Ella questioned, her grey eyes still shining with unshed tears. “I had leftovers; I could have given them to you.”

The food for slaves was barely enough for one person; it was impossible to have leftovers, but Ella was such a nice person; she would give her food out and pretend to be satisfied.

“You could have told me about your plan and I would have followed you to keep you safe,” Caleb said calmly.

“And put you in this position as well?” I said placing my hands over his.

I knew Caleb always felt he should protect me, but I needed him to understand that I could take care of myself well enough. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if he were in this situation because of me.

“What's going to happen now?” Ella asked “We can just let them exe.. exec... execute you like that” she stuttered as the tears came back in full force.

I reached out my thumb to her cheek and brushed the tears away. “I’ll be fine, Ella.”

“How?” She asked as she hugged me again.

Caleb was boiling in anger; he was a man, so he felt he couldn’t express his emotions; I reached out and held his hands. I nodded my head in his direction and he brought up a hand and wiped his eyes.

“We have to beg, Adeline, they can’t do this just because of bread,” Caleb insisted.

“it doesn’t matter; I don’t want to beg or fight this; I have accepted it,”, I said resolutely.

“Your little bonding time is over; time to go,” the guard from before returned, ushering them away.

“I will be fine from now, I promise,” I said to Caleb when he turned to look at me one last time.

The entrance door closed and the little light it ushered in disappeared. I laid down on the cold dirty flow and cried bitterly. I cried till there was nothing left to cry out.

The Whitlocks had adopted me into their family after my mum had given me to them before their death. They had done their best but it never took the fact that I was lonely away.

As a child, I had always hoped my real mother would one day come and take me home, but each day had passed and I never saw her. The other slave kids made fun of me and parents prevented their children from playing with me because they believed my father was the cause of the war.

The were-hunters had warned my father against killing the late Alpha but my father had insisted and chased after the Alpha.

Caleb had protected me from bullies and Ella had remained by my side even when her friends had left her because of me.

As I grew older and accepted the harsh reality of my life, I learned to protect myself as well. I grew a thick skin from all the hate and insults hurled at me and became impenetrable.

I hated the werewolves and all they stood for most especially their Alpha. As a child, I had always envisioned him as a monster with two heads, four horns and six eyes.

Two Years ago, after I turned sixteen, I was recruited as a servant in the Palace. One day, I caught sight of the dreaded Alpha and was surprised at how handsome he was; his skin was fair and smooth, with no scar in sight, which was impressive for someone who was always fighting in battles.

Since the first day I had seen him, he had always tormented my dreams, I knew he hated me because my parents had killed his wife and father, but he too had killed my parents and left me an orphan in this cruel world. For me that made him my worst enemy.

That night while I slept, I dreamed of my parents, my beautiful mother brushing my hair and whispering how beautiful I was.

The next morning, the guards woke me up with the rattling of keys; they came behind me and led me out of the cell. It was time.