Alpha Female - Book 1 -Under Major Editing-

Chapter 31

Alex had been thrown into a cell, the hard concrete scratching his arms, and due to the silver, he felt every ache in his body. He laid back, breathing deep as he tried to breath through the pain radiating through his body. He picked his head up at the sound of movement from the corner of the cell. He saw a young man leaning up, looking at him. Any other time, he would have been defensive, but with the pain radiating through him, he simply laid there. The man stood up and walked over to him slowly, bending down and glancing over him. "Are you okay?" he asked. His voice was deep, and laced with kindness, regardless of the situation they were in.

Alex nodded. "Yeah. The silver is making me weak, so everything is hitting me a lot harder."

The man nodded, helping him sit up. "I'm Andrew. My mom calls me Drew though."

"Alex, it's nice to meet you. Even if it's under these circumstances." he said, chucking a little at the end of his sentence.

Drew smiled kindly, sitting down on the concrete floor. "Why are you here?"

Alex sighed, leaning against the wall behind him. "I'm the gamma of Nightshade. The Martinez's overtook the pack."

He heard shuffling in the cell across from him. A blonde woman stepped up the bars, her blonde hair matted and dirty, but nevertheless, it still shone in the light. "Nightshade? Aldrich Branson's pack?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah. They had guys stationed in the pack, planned this whole big thing and took me and my.. alpha."

"Branson is here?" Drew asked, disappointment, but also relief in his voice.

"No.. his mate, she doesn't claim the title as luna. She was alpha of Silent Ash and didn't want to give her title up, so she's my alpha."

The blonde woman closed her eyes as tears filled her eyes. "Nicole is here?"

Alex nodded, confused as ever. "Who are you?"

The blonde woman sniffed, looking at Alex. "Nicollet Danielson. I'm Nicole's mother."

Alex's eyes widened. "You can't be. You died. They found your body skinned."

She shook her head, tears still flowing down her face. "It wasn't me. They staged it with a witches help. I was taken that day and have been here ever since."

Alex stared at her in disbelief. His eyes turned to Drew, seeing the similarities he had with not only Nicolette, but Andrew Danielson. "Is she your mom?"

Drew nodded. Alex was stunned. They had been there for 20 years. Hell, Drew was born in there. Anger coursed through him as he looked between the two. "You guys have been here this whole time?"

Drew nodded. "We found out about Andrew dying a few weeks ago. Is he really gone?"

Alex sighed and nodded. He watched as Drew looked down, blinking back tears for the father he never knew. Alex's heart was breaking, and he knew the Martinez's had to die for all they were doing. "You're gonna get out of here, I promise. Aldrich will figure something out."

Nicollet was still crying, saying prayers to the moon goddess for her daughters safety. Drew sat beside Alex, playing with his fingers nervously. "What's my sister like?"

Alex took a deep breath, leaning his head against the wall. "She's amazing. She became alpha 2 years ago, and the nation nearly rioted over it." He and Drew laughed before he continued. "She's compassionate, she loved y'all's dad more than anything, it nearly killed her when he died. But, she overcame it, and she's gotten stronger due to it." He looked at Drew, seeing him nervously chewing his thumb nail. "She's gonna be okay. The moon goddess herself said she would be okay. You'll get to meet her."

Drew shook his head. "Dominic's gonna hurt her, bad. He's told me some of the things he's planned for her, and it's insane. He's insane. I have to get her out of there."

Nicollet stopped praying and turned to face him. "Don't you dare do anything, Andrew. You know what will happen."

"I can take them, Mom. I haven't been eating the food they give us, I can do it."

"No." Nicollet's voice was stern. "They'll kill you. Don't."

Drew sighed and nodded, slouching back against the wall. "I hate this place. They took everything from me. My family, my childhood, everything."

Alex felt sorry for him. He couldn't imagine living in that place for so long. They had been secluded from the outside world, and it was inhumane how they had been treated. "You'll get revenge, kid. Don't worry. Pick who you want, and their yours."

"Dominic." he said immediately, the name leaving a foul taste in his mouth. "I pick him."

Alex stared at him for a moment, taking him in. The boy was angry, but scared. He had a power in him, Alex could sense it. He was a natural born alpha, that was easy to tell. "Okay. When Aldrich figures out what do, I'll tell him. He's yours to kill."

Drew nodded, staring ahead of him, lost in his thoughts. Alex did the same, letting the deafening silence overtake him.

Her body hurt everywhere. She was laying in the bed, Dominic's front pressed against her back. She had stopped crying long ago, not having anymore tears left to cry. He had broken her, forced her to do things she never imagined she would do with anyone else but Aldrich. Her body was Aldrich's, not his. But he still had taken it like it belonged to him.

He was cruel, sadistic. He fed off her pain and kept going until he was satisfied. He loved it. He had told her he was going to make love to her, but it was anything but that. It was hard, rough, and forced. She hadn't reacted, which angered him. So her body was littered with bites and bruises due to it. Maybe it would've been easier to just pretend that she liked it. But every time she thought about, she was reminded that he wasn't Aldrich. Aldrich's face stayed in her mind, the way he smiled when she walked in a room, the way his arms would randomly tighten around her in his sleep, his kisses and gentle caresses. He knew what she liked in bed, what she disliked, and he made sure not to do the things she didn't like or ask for them. Everything he did catered to her, and her heart broke over and over as she remembered who was laying behind her.

Nicole closed her eyes, trying to imagine she was anywhere but there. It wasn't helping, but at least it got her mind off what happened. She imagined she was back at Silent Ash, surrounded by mountains and the people she loved. She thought of her dad, how he cheered her up when she was sad. Chin up, Princess. Or the crown falls. She used to roll her eyes and dramatically lift her head up, a stupid grin on her face as she did it. Andrew would laugh and roll his eyes at her silliness, usually making some kind of sly comment. She could hear the phrase repeating over and over in her head though.

Chin up, Princess. Or the crown falls. Chin up, Princess. Or the crown falls. Chin up, Princess. Or the crown falls.

She realized then that she wasn't broken. Yes, she had been violated and abused, but not broken. With those words chanting in her head, she drifted off to sleep.