003 Escape

OCTAVIA

I froze at the spot, my heart racing and my toes curling into the dirt.

What was it? A rogue? A hunter? The scent that filled my nose didn't make the thoughts in my head a bit more realistic. Whatever was behind me smelled royal and the Alpha pheromone was so heavy and powerful that it made me feel a bit dizzy.

With my heartbeat in a wild acceleration, I slowly raised my head to take a turn. But the moment I did, an arrow flew past me from behind and hit a stray wolf hiding in the thicket. My jaw dropped and I felt my palms get clammy with fear and horror.

My legs began to shake and my chest tightened as the pheromones got even heavier. I heard feet shuffle over the dry leaves as a presence approached even though one was already behind me. If I weren't an Alpha, I would have been dead by now from the pheromones choking me from them.

I wondered who meant more danger at the moment. The one right behind me or the one that saved my life. Or both.

“Your name?”

I gasped as I felt a cold metal against my neck. Chills washed down my body when I realized that the one who shot the arrow was not close to being a savior, not when he held a knife to my throat.

He had a sharp, assiduous voice that was filled with melodies when he spoke, and even his pheromones felt more endurable than the first one.

“Oc… Octavia,” I gasped out, holding my head up to lessen the chances of getting a deep slash on my neck.

“Octavia,” he sang my name like a song as he drew the knife away from my neck and rested it on my shoulder.

He shifted his feet so he could stand in front of me. I looked down and my breath hitched when my eyes locked with a pair of sharp blue eyes. My heart skipped a beat for a moment when my eyes met his. It felt like he was piercing through my soul with those eyes while having a cocky smile on his face.

His silver hair was combed to the back, and it cascaded over his shoulders. He has a youthful appearance and a vibrant one too. Sharp eyes full of innocence, a smile made of mischief, a settling yet powerful aura, square shoulders, and a slender body. The sides of his cheeks deepened as his smile turned into a grin.

“Octavia, huh?” He nodded his head, the grin still on his face. It made him look like a child playing around his mother.

Bitterness rose in me when the word “mother” crossed my mind.

“So…” he pulled the knife away and trapped me in his soft arms instead.

“What is Octavia doing in a wood like this?” He asked in such a soft voice that I thought for a second if I was safe. I would have agreed with that if I didn't have dark eyes piercing through my bare back.

“I… I…” I shifted in discomfort, trying to look back at whoever was behind me.

“You're scaring her, brother,” the silver-haired stranger said.

I felt him shift away from me and move towards the thicket.

I followed him with my eyes, staring at his broad back and jet black hair that fell over his shoulders too.

“You seem to be more interested in my brother now,” he whispered, and my gaze shot back to him. The grin on his face had faded and jealousy rocked his blue eyes.

“No…. I…”

“You haven't answered my question though. Who are you?” He seemed serious now and that frightened me.

I swallowed hard and gripped my hands together. I couldn't tell anyone the truth about myself. I didn't know who they were or who they supported. Besides, I was meant to keep my identity a secret until I had fulfilled my pledge.

“I was abducted by rogues after I ran away from my master,” I lied in a trembling, convincing voice. My head was down and my body was shaking as I waited for his response.

“Your master?” He asked.

I gulped hard and nodded my head.

“He wanted to keep me as a sex slave but I ran,” I muttered, hoping he would buy my lies and deceit.

Silence crept in and my heart began to race in fear as time passed with no response.

I dropped to my knees and gripped his gold-clad legs, whimpering.

“Please save me,” I cried.

I heard a dark chuckle from him and just when I slowly raised my head to be sure it was from him, a hand grabbed me from behind and pulled me up. I gasped in pain as my back slammed against a tree.

I felt horror engulf every part of me when my eyes locked with a pair of dim emerald eyes. The dark pheromones hit my nose and my belly churned while my breath ceased.

I gripped my fist tightly, trying to fight the darkness that emitted from the man before me.

He was the complete opposite of his brother. Complete. There was nothing about them that seemed identical. Nothing.

“You know there is a war in the Pack nearest to you, don't you?” He whispered.

His voice was dark and filled with authority.

I gulped hard and glanced over at his silver-haired brother.

He smiled and tilted his head to the side, enjoying the misery his brother was making me go through.

“No!” I gasped.

He stared long at me, his lips twitched up in an evil smirk.

“The smoke is up in the sky and rogues don't go through this part. You can't tell me you didn't see it when you escaped from the rogues that captured you after your master,” he said.

My heart dropped and my tongue became numb as I stared at him. I couldn't think of an answer to a question that caused me pain. The thought of that smoke destroyed me totally. But I had to answer. If I wanted to escape then I would have to answer their question. I was ready to do anything just to live and carry out this pledge I made to my Pack.

“I saw it,” I whispered in a trembling voice.

My heart broke and my belly tightened in so much sorrow as tears gathered in my eyes.

He drew his face closer, hitting my face with his breath as he ran his eyes over me in suspicion. I knew he didn't believe my story. Neither he nor his brother did.

“Alpha!” A voice came up and I stiffened.

He jerked back and turned along with his brother.

I saw a man run into the place we were, panting.

“Alpha Valerius, the Alpha of Blackwater Pack, has been beheaded along with his sons,” the man blurted out and my heart began to bleed. I gripped my fist tightly and looked down, trying so hard to hold in the tears that were threatening to pour out.

My father was dead along with my brothers. We lost the war. I lost everything.

“Good,” the dark-haired man muttered, and my head jerked up.

Rage rushed through me and a gasp escaped my lips.

He turned and looked at me, his eyes filled with a sinister delight.

“Your Alpha is dead, how do you feel about that?” He muttered.

The rage in me turned into fear and my jaw dropped.

“What?” I gasped.

“Burnt dress, blood, cuts, and burns…and you want me to believe you ran from rogues?” The silver-haired Alpha muttered as he trod closer.

My eyes flickered to the messenger, and my belly twisted when I saw the same sigil I found on the armor of the man who killed my brother.

My heart raced as the realization slowly dawned on me. They were twin brothers, they were Alphas, and they were against my pack.

It meant one thing. They were the Alphas of the Lockwood Pack. The same people I had pledged my life to kill.