Chapter Two - Andrea

The sweet smell of sugar and baking hit Andreas heightened senses causing her to propel herself from the large lush bed she had been happily snuggled inside. An enormous looking tray of food positioned on the white marble flooring in front of the large oak door. The smell had her stomach growling, for a second before she was sitting crossed legged on the floor of the room, stuffing different breakfast foods into her mouth: eggs, pancakes, bacon and an array of fruits to follow. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten so well, during her time in the dungeon, it was necessary to not think about food as you were fed enough to keep you alive. A blissful sigh escaped her bulging lips and she headed into the adjacent bathroom, bacon still in hand.

She had the shower running in seconds, enjoying the feel of warm water running over her rigid frame.

“Do you believe him”, Nyx voiced after she had set in on shampooing her filthy hair.

Andrea thought about the encounter in the Alphas office, how he had remained calm and even disinterested in the whole situation.

“I think he will deliver us to Blue blood pack, but I don’t trust him”, she felt Nyx steady agreement through their mind link and she set on shampooing her hair a second and third time before her wolf projected one word at her.

“Mate”

Andrea understood a werewolf’s purpose in life was to find their mate. Your soul mate was supposed to complete you in so many ways and the connection was instant upon meeting them. Andrea knew being unmated at twenty-seven years old was late for a werewolf and considering the neighbouring three packs had gone to war – it was possible her mate had been killed in the battle. The thought brought her discomfort and left her feeling empty, nevertheless it remained a possibility.

“I think we have to focus on Nadia now”, Andrea let her thought reach Nyx, only this time there was no mental agreement.

Andrea scrubbed her skin red, determined to remove the cell stink and dirt ingrained into her skin, before finding her way back into the room. The dresser had been stocked with work out leggings, top and Pj’s. the intention behind the clothes was clear. She would eat, train and sleep only in the next two months. She opted for a pale pink matching gym set, she fiddled with the spaghetti straps in the mirror – tracing the paint pink scars that littered every inch of her body, disappearing under her clothes. The vest reached under her ribs, exposing an inch of her mid-section. Her eyes lingered on her frame before reluctantly landing on her face. The shower and food had an impact on improving her appearance, she looked less starved and the hot food had brought some colour to her cheeks. her eyes remained the vibrant blue, she had once loved and her honey-coloured hair no longer looked black under the layers of dirt, except for that one piece. Andrea reached up lacing the get black section of hair under her neck. It stood out against the blonde and hid nicely from sight unless she decided to pin her hair up. She decided to leave it down today.

She knocked on the inside of her temporary bedroom door and the guard opened it immediately. She had heard his breathing from the other side and true to the Alphas word, four werewolves greeted her as she stepped into the dark hallway.

They escorted her through the pack house and out into the training yard, she pretended not to notice the glares and hushed voices at her presence. One wolf even took the opportunity to try and intersect her guards and attack her, however the Beta was watching from the steps of the house and gave a threatening growl towards the burly man. Reluctantly he backed off and Andrea made her way to the machines and weights. Her focus would be gaining back the muscle she lost, and not on proving she could win in a pointless dual with lesser skilled wolves.

Her time passed quickly in the training grounds, something she was grateful for. Her constant fuel being her sister and getting her back. After five weeks of vigorous training and eating, Andrea was happy to look in the mirror or her confined bedroom and see how her old form was returning to her. There were no longer ribs and bones peaking behind her translucent skin. Muscles protruded every inch of her body and the days outside training had turned her skin a golden shade of bronze. The constant insults shouted at her had also stopped and become a distant whisper, now people within the stark pack whispered their hatred of her or shared it in less vocal manners. She had spoken to no one during her stay there, not even her four guards who chatted amongst themselves daily.

“Andrea”, a voice shouted from the Alphas office, during out daily walk to the compound.

“What does he want”, Nyx growled in her mind.

The guards were already heading in that direction and huffing at her slow speed. Just like the first time they had met he was seated behind his large desk only this time looked busier than before.

“Yes”, Andrea raised an eyebrow ushering him to speak.

“It’s Alpha to you”, the Beta sneered from the leather seats occupying the other end of the room. He always looked angry to see her, more so than anyone else here.

“He isn’t my alpha”, She corrected him, fighting the smile threatening to break across her face and instead maintained her gaze upon his Alpha. The growl he let loose was entirely expected and so Andrea laughed at his anger, knowing it would anger him more.

“Give me a shot at the asshole”, Nyx challenged me over the laughing.

“Let your wolf out murderer and you won’t be laughing”, His eyes shifted a dark black as he fought for control over his inner wolf. A wolf could take over from their human vessel given they lost control and right now it seemed the Beta was barely winning.

“Please, I have to keep reminding her you’re just a pup and killing you would almost be meaningless”, The Beta fumed at her insult and was about to advance on her as she stood there smiling.

“Enough!”, the Alpha roared. His alpha command had Andrew almost on his knees and he just sneered at the sight of the she-wolf standing their untouched.

“I asked you here for a reason. The blueprints of the Blue Blood lands came today, there will be copies in your room. Along with a list of names of their pack member, people you should know if you were a part of a pack”, The Alpha informed her casually as she exited his office, before adding. “Oh Andrea, you will be training with pack members today”

Alpha Mathew joined the training grounds after lunch where Andrea had been patiently awaiting her first opponent and watched as he descended the pack house steps and heading straight her way. Others moved out of his way easily and made no attempt to hide their astonishment that she was being singled out by an alpha. For a moment she contemplated the idea that he would be her fighting partner today, however the notion would not serve him any purpose and so she was not shocked to hear his next words.

“You will be fighting my Beta first”, his voice betrayed no emotions at his words. Andrea knew Andrew the Alphas Beta more than likely had eagerly volunteered to fight her, unwilling to give anyone else that opportunity.

“Of course,”, she smiled at the cheerful mood her wolf was in after knowing she would get the chance to take down yet another beta and a cocky one at that.

“You should have been fighting from the start”, Alpha Mathew openly disapproved of her training methods. It wasn’t until that moment that Andrea realised the Alpha more than likely had a lot at stake in trusting her to carry out an assassination for him. She wasn’t doing it for him yet she enjoyed knowing she was more than likely his last hope, if he fished her out the dungeon after so many years.

“If you wanted me to dispose of your pack members, all you had to do was ask”, she called over her shoulder as she entered the middle of the training ground – where most of the fights took place – to greet the furious looking Beta, waiting for her.

Andrea maintained a relaxed stance when the beta shifted into a more offense like pose. Understanding that anger was what fuelled Beta made winning a guarantee. Antagonising the Beta by simply undermining his attacks was to overwhelm his anger into making him more careless. His first blow came expectedly, he kicked out aiming for her ribs. The attack was rushed and allowed her time to step back from the attack, instantly circling him again. The second attack came with more accuracy, his shifted claws aiming for her face. Werewolves mostly fought in human form when practicing and shifting was a last resort, which meant if the Beta was already resorting to shifting then his wolf was patiently shitting on the surface.

His third attack was up close and he aimed a punch at her face which she deflected instantly with her right hand and used it to grip his wrist. The Beta had no idea what hit him when Andrea twisted her entire body around connecting her left heel into his face with enough force to kill a human. His knees hit the floor instantly, his arm in the air as Andrea maintained her hold on his wrist. She brought down a punch that ultimately broke his nose and Nyx was cheering at the satisfying crunching noise his face made. She let him go and backed up into her original defensive pose.

His next hit was desperate and uncoordinated therefore she wasn’t surprised he had left himself open to yet another attack, her next kick knocked him backwards and too the ground in a heap. Beta Andrew wasn’t a bad fighter, in fact Andrea would go as far enough to say he was skilled however, his anger for her was blinding him with rage and it made him mediocre at best.

“I expected better from a Beta”, she sighed at the bleeding man coughing up blood in front of her. The words had barely left her lips when she felt the air shift and the Beta’s rusty coloured wolf was flying through the air and aiming for her throat. Her body went into action immediately, throwing herself under the body of his wolf and onto her feet in seconds to witness the Betas enraged growls as he headed for her a second time.

“That’s enough!”, the Alphas voice echoed in the air. Andrew stopped in his advance and reluctantly took off in the direction of the pack house. he had phased and destroyed his clothes and needed to get away from the murdered. She watched him go and casually stepped off the fighting ring and observed as other wolves took their place. The pack wolves kept up their stares and whispers only this time it was mixed in with questions and a general wariness at her abilities.

Andrea never fought with Beta Andrew again after that day, not even when he approached her and requested a fight a week after their first and only encounter. During that time, she had heard enough whispers to understand where his resentment steamed from and she was angry that she had never considered it before. Andrea killed the Beta and Alpha of the Stark pack; their children took over those roles. Beta Andrew had lost his parents because of her and she couldn’t help but feel disgusted in herself for antagonising him knowing how he felt. The rage and anger Andrea had felt that day in the Alphas office, discovering her family was murdered was the most painful thing she has ever experienced and wouldn’t wish it on anyone. She vowed to keep out of the Betas way and not give him the living reminder that is her, in his home.

The time moved quickly in the Stark pack, her days were spent in the training grounds and her nights looking over blue prints and pack members of the blue blood pack, within the walls of her temporary room. Everyday Alpha Mathew made her fight a member of his pack and each time she won with zero to no effort. Of course, that was exactly what Andrea intended. Getting angry and showing them her abilities would only give them a familiarity with her fighting skills and that would only give her a disadvantage in a fight.

“The Alpha wants to see you in his office”, Beta Andrews voice shouted from the hall outside her door, his tone aggravated, like always.

Discarding the papers on the desk, she made her way out into the hall. Andrew was already heading towards the large staircase and she jogged a little to keep on his heels. Andrea realised how quiet it was and how the usual calvary of ‘guards’ positioned outside her room were gone. She assumed this was due to her exemplary behaviour since the first night.

“Go in”, Andrew sneered, gesturing impatiently at the large oak door.

Alpha Mathew would expect her to knock, it would be the respectful thing to do considering he was an alpha, but he had called her here so she opened the door and walked straight into the middle of the room, smirking slightly as the angry face of the Alpha in front of her. She couldn’t help but notice the 2 large suitcases by the door.

“Andrea, the Blue blood pack sent a car for you earlier than we had expected. They are outside and you have to leave tonight”, his voice conveyed nothing but slight annoyance. She understood this was due to him believing she wasn’t prepared and not the false sense of worry he was portraying to the two guests outside – who were listening in on their conversation.

“Thank you, Alpha”, she answered him in the sweetest voice she could muster and smiled at the utter shock on his face as she stepped into the role of devoted teacher. He handed her a handbag that contained all her document. The two men escorting her out of the pack, trailed her luggage into the trunk of the car, sliding into the front seat at the same time she slid into the back seats. Their eyes focused on every inch of her face, searching for the slightest fault in her features in order to give away her assassination plot. It was evident they didn’t trust her; therefore, she fought the need to stare them down and rolled down the car window to her right and met the eyes of both Alpha Mathew and Beta Andrew.

“Thank you”, her voice hitched just right and they watched as a single tear slid down her face. Andrea held back the urge to smile at the tactics she possessed.

The car drove off in the direction of her fate.

In the direction of the sister, she loved.

In the direction of the man, she would kill.