Chapter Five: Fevered Dreams

The pale morning light seeped through the narrow window, but it offered little comfort. My body felt so heavy, as if I was slowly sinking into the thin mattress that supported me. All my muscles ached, and my head pounded away with a dull, ceaseless pain.

I shifted uncomfortably, but the movement sent a sharp jolt through the back of my skull. Gritting my teeth, I reached back and felt the swelling just above my nape. Must have happened when he threw me down after releasing me last night-my head must have struck the stone wall.

The memory of his glowing red eyes flashed in my mind, and I shivered.

Alpha Red.

His name was enough to send shivers of fear and hatred down my spine. My throat still burns from where his hand had clutched me, and my mind replayed that one moment over and over. The sheer rage in his eyes, the monstrous strength in his grip-it was unlike anything I'd ever seen.

I closed my eyes and willed it away, but my mind strayed to my mother instead. My chest constricted at the thought of her soft voice, her soothing touch.

She had been my world once. Life was simpler, warmer when she was alive. But she'd died when I was thirteen, and everything changed.

A wave of sorrow washed over me as I remembered how my father, after her death, had remarried Serena. 

First, I was hopeful, I hoped this new stepmother would be nice to me, that she would fill in the void left by my mother. In reality, though, Serena had been less than kind.

Her words, since day one, cut sharper than any blade. She made it clear how I wasn't really part of her family, that I was but a weakness, an embarrassment.

Yet I still wanted my father's love and acceptance. Even when he was chillier, more absent, and finally showing favor to Serena over me, I just wanted for him to see me. Truly see me.

But he never did.

Hot tears threatened at the corners of my eyes, and I blinked them back. 

What was the point of crying now? 

My life has been one endless spiral of rejection, disappointment, and pain. And now I was here, injured and feverish in a strange, hostile place.

The prophecy, I thought bitterly. Of course, the seer had said I was special, destined for greatness. She had said that an immense power was within me. But if so, then why did they take me so easily? Why wasn't I able to stop anything?

I was weak. Always weak.

A wave of vertigo washed over me, and I clutched the thin blanket beneath me. The world spun, my vision blurring as the fever pulled me farther under.

Maybe it would be better if I didn't wake up. The thought came unhidden, soft and quiet but relentless. At least the pain would end if I died here.

The room siphoned the light away from me, the edges of my sight folding inward with the fall of consciousness.

And then I heard it, a shout, strident and urgent.

The noise was muffled, far away, yet it cut through the murk of my fever. I was being lifted, enfolded in strong arms, and carried.

Who is it?, I vaguely wondered, but that question no more formed than I gave into the darkness.

The dream came unbidden.

I was back in that room, standing in the exact place where Alpha Red had grabbed me. In his eyes, a stark green, swirled only fury uninhibited; in his snarling, my skin ran cold.

"You belong to me," he growled out, the voice thunderous.

He caught me before I could even make a move, and his hand was back on my throat, squeezing, choking off my air. I scratched at his arm, and he was like immovable rock. His face twisted into something grotesque, features distorting as eyes blazed brighter.

I tried to scream, but no sound came.

The world spun, black dots dancing at the edges of my vision as his grip tightened.

Then, of course, I was bolt upright and gasping.

My heart slammed and my chest heaved as I looked crazily around. A few seconds passed before the surroundings registered in my mind: white walls, softness of sheets, the faint scent of herbs-cum-disinfectant.

I now lay in another room, much brighter and sterile. An infirmary, maybe?

The door opened, and I tensed, waiting for him. Instead, a middle-aged man in a white coat stepped inside-a small tray carried in one hand. His eyes were crinkled at the edges as he smiled.

"you're awake," he said softly. "Great. I was beginning to get worried.”

I stared at him-my head still fuzzy-"where…?

"You are in the infirmary," he said, setting the tray down on a table nearby. "I am the healer here. My name is Gaius."

He pulled a chair up and sat down beside the bed, the movements slow, deliberate. "How are you feeling?”

I swallowed-my mouth was dry. "I… My head hurts," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Gaius nodded to a small vial on the tray. "You have a nasty bump on the back of your head, but it'll heal in time. You'll need to rest here for a few days."

He poured the vial's contents into a tumbler of water and handed that to me. "Drink this. It will help with the pain."

I took the glass gingerly and drank. The coolness immediately soothed my parched throat.

"You're malnourished," Gaius said factually. "You need to eat more."

A harsh laugh parted my lips. "I am used to it," I said, setting the empty glass on the bedside table. "Back home, I often would be…

His brow furrowed, but he didn't force. He merely smiled kindly instead. "Well, you are not going to be overlooked here. We'll make sure you are looked after.”

I wanted to snort at the words, but his eyes, so soft and kind, made that impossible.

As he spoke, I caught his gaze flicking down toward my neck. I tensed instinctively, reaching up to touch the skin that Alpha Red's palm had so recently touched.

"Does it hurt?" Gaius asked in a whisper.

"No," I said automatically, even as the memory of that grasp turned my belly over.

Gaius let his breath out in a slow hiss, easing back in his chair. "Listen”, he said, his voice level. "It's better you don't fight him."

My fist was clenched to my side. "Obey him, you mean," I spat back, the taste in my mouth bitter.

"Aye," Gaius said. "Alpha Red… He can be a hard ass, but he is good stock. Loyal. Kind to the soul.”

I screamed loud, with an empty laugh. "You only say that because he is your Alpha

"No," Gaius said finally, his eyes locking onto mine. "I have known him for years. He is not the monster that people make him out to be." 

I shook my head; anger welled inside me. "Not a monster?" I said. "Then why does he enslave people? Why does he destroy lives?" Gaius opened his mouth to reply, but I gave him no chance. 

"If he was not a monster, how could he enslave me?" I shrieked. Those words hung heavy in the air, unanswerable.