13:Taught By The Alpha

“I have to go now.” She said and watched his eyes drop briefly to the pig, before returning to hers.

“You don’t want the game anymore, I see.”

“Please, let me go.” Arda’s fear of him was mounting. He did not respond. Instead, a small grin split his lips. Then despite her ear defenders, she heard the howling of wolves in the distance.

Arda turned and made a run in the direction she had come from and before she could leave the little clearing and hit the denser part of the forest, she felt strong arms pulling her roughly back against a firm, muscled chest.

She opened her mouth to scream and felt a hand covering her mouth. She started struggling and felt herself being moved swiftly and before she knew it, she was being held sturdily against a tree.

 Her back was against the tree and he was standing before her, keeping her captive with nothing but his sinewy body. Her frightened eyes stared pleadingly into his and she felt them watering.

Gillow could feel his heart melting with mercy and at the same time, the smell of her blood filled his nostrils. Her blood type had to be B positive. It was the tastiest blood type of his kind. Why would his mate have that? Damn, he wasn’t prepared for this aspect.

He inhaled her neck deeply and fought to control his rising hunger. Then he put his mouth close to her ear, letting her feel his hot breath upon her delicate-looking skin. “I will take my hand off your mouth and you will be as quiet as a mouse.” He whispered roughly. “If you make a noise, you will regret it immediately. Is that clear?”

She gave him a series of rapid nods and he took his hand off her mouth.

“Please, I want to go.” She begged and Gillow took pity on her. He had already succeeded in his plan to scare wisdom into her but too much of everything was bad. He didn’t want her too afraid of him. She was going to be his mate soon and he didn’t want a frightened woman accepting his thrusts.

“Your actions just now were without wisdom. Do you know that?”

Arda understood perfectly, what he was talking about and it was a little surprising that he seemed to focus on correcting her when he could have been hurting her or something. Maybe he wasn’t a bad person. Well, it was too early to judge. She was still at his mercy.

She knew that she shouldn’t have approached him alone because he was a stranger who was armed and they were in a forest at night. Arda nodded in response to his question.

“I want to hear words.” He said sternly and her heart pummeled against her chest.

“I shouldn’t have approached a stranger alone because they might be dangerous.” She said shakily.

“Good.” He commended, "but I prefer this version, I will observe my safety and never run blindly into a dangerous situation again.”

He waited and Arda understood he wanted her to repeat the words.

“I will observe my safety and never run blindly into a dangerous situation again.” She said.

“You’re a fast learner. So what should I do to you if we have another episode?”

Arda wanted to tell him to go to hell but right now, she was at his mercy. 

“I believe I won’t run into you again.”

“Is that so?” he scoffed. “Well, time will tell.” He was glad that she was smart. The gods couldn’t have chosen better. Their choice was a bit flawed though because her blood type was a serious temptation to him. It made him a danger to her. How he was being under control right now was still a mystery to him. He pulled himself away from her, giving her space that was just enough for her to slip away.

“Run.” He commanded but she was frozen in fear. At the same time, her eyes riveted longingly towards the pig on the ground. His eyes followed her gaze and swiftly returned to hers. “Really?” he asked, unbelieving.

“I…I did see it first.” She said in a small voice and he gave her a dark look. This was enough to scare her and she started backing herself away from the tree. Then she turned and ran off into the woods, disappearing from his sight.

Gillow’s eyes looked up at the moonlight and returned to the pig. He circled his thumb and forefinger over his lips and blew a whistle. Seconds later, the bushes surrounding him began to rustle and a group of hunters emerged from the forest and gathered themselves around him.

They were a combination of males and females around ten in number, Karina among them. They were all tall and heavily built, but Gillow was the tallest and most intimidating. Karina presented herself before him and took a bow.

“You did not tell me about her blood.” He said coldly.

“We thought that…” she began.

“We?” he demanded and Karina caught herself pausing for a bit, her heart pounding with fear. They couldn’t know about Jacob, especially the Alpha. She would be in trouble.

“I mean, I…”

“Who else have you been working with?” he interrupted sharply and Karina shook her head.

“No one.”

“Imagine what will happen if I have to read your mind and discover otherwise.”

“I’m loyal to the pack.”

“That is not the question. Who else have you been working with?”

“Jacob…Jacob Cain.”

There were gasps of surprise among the others and Gillow’s iris became red and fierce. The rest of the group fell to their knees, including Karina.

“Sleeping with the enemy.” He muttered under his breath.

“Jacob is not like his father…”

“Silence!” he growled and she fell quiet, her eyes forming a pool.

“Does he know about my mate?”

Karina could feel her body trembling and the tears that had gathered in her eyes began rolling down her face. She shook her head but she knew as well as he did that she was lying.

“Do you know what the punishment is for traitors?”

“Alpha…” she began pleadingly, but Gillow silenced her with a finger across his lips. Then he addressed two men closest to him in proximity.

“I want her in the silver room.”

Low menacing growls emanated from them as they stood up. Karina let out a wild cry as both men approached her. As their hands grabbed her arms from both sides and pulled her up, she let out another cry that was nothing but the howling of a wolf in distress.

***

Arda was reunited with her family at the tree where they had started their hunt. Her father was holding a large tortoise while her sister was with nothing. They all heard the agony-filled cry of the wolf and looked at each other cautiously.

“Daddy, let’s go home,” Arda said to him. “Congrats on the tortoise.”

“So where is your game?” Mabel asked. “We heard a shot.”

“Oh, that wasn’t my shot. Another hunter did that.”

Mabel and her father exchanged horrified glances.

“What?” Arda asked.

“Did you see the person?” Mabel demanded.

“We had a little…squabble about it. I saw it first and he just killed it.”

“Where did he fire his gun from?” her father asked.

“A tree.”

“Come on, Arda, the kill wasn’t yours.” Her father said and Arda remained silent. She already knew that.

“Were you both aware of each other’s presence?” Mabel asked.

Arda shook her head. “I don’t know about him,” She answered. “But I understand that it wasn’t my kill.”

“And next time please don’t expose yourself to a stranger alone.” Her father cautioned. “You should know better. There is danger in the world.”

“I’m sorry, dad.”

“It’s fine. Let’s go.”

Arda spotted a pig behind her father and Mabel. It emerged from a bush and stood, looking confused.

“Shh.” She said and aimed her gun between them as they remained standing before her. She wasted no time firing a shot at it and the pig went down.

Mabel and her father turned to see the pig and they all smiled.

“Well, I guess we won’t have to return home with just a pet.” Said, Arda.

Arda’s father looked at the tortoise in his hand and they all laughed.

***

The silver room was not a room of silver. In fact, there was nothing of silver inside it. It was just an empty room, which was barricaded with a strong wooden protector like steel bars that allowed anyone in the corridor a view of the inside.

Inside the room was a bed of wood and a stool by its side. The room was bland, the walls stained with old blood. The floor was plain, cold, and uncomfortable. At the side of the bed was a latrine. The silver room was nothing but a prison cell.

Karina sat on the floor with her back to the wall. Chains of black steel went around her feet and could be traced to the bed. Apparently, she could move around only inside the prison cell.

She bolted to her feet, afraid as Gillow came into view before the cell barricade.

Karina was terrified. She had put his mate in danger even though it was not intentional. But she had known Jacob for a long t. He would not reveal Arda’s identity to his family’s pack. She had never thought about it until now but she hoped she was not wrong about Jacob. Silently, she also prayed for mercy from the Alpha.