CHAPTER 3: A PRISONER OF WAR

"The Midnighters had their way of putting an end to war and conflicts—it was the money they had. Knowing the Crescents pack did not accept money in exchange for prisoners, there was a very slim chance that Alicia was getting out of here anytime soon. Her release might lead to a war between the Midnighters and the Crescents pack.

This war could have been long anticipated by the Crescents. On the other side, the Midnighters weren’t aware that Alicia was alive after the incident.

Would the Crescents make her capture known to the Midnighters, or would they lock her up forever?

“Do not let her out of your sight!” Drake commanded two armed guards, pointing his index finger in Alicia's direction.

“She is a Prisoner of War now, our Prisoner of War,” Drake added.

The armed guards stood at the doorpost all day. Alicia couldn’t do much for herself; everything was done for her by Beliar. Her legs, waist, and wrists were chained to the bed frame. Alicia had nowhere to go now, neither did she have anyone to talk to except Beliar.

“Why can’t you just tell me what you all want with me!” Alicia screamed, which she did often since she was chained. Beliar didn’t have much to say about Drake's decisions; all she had was sympathy for Alicia. Belair tried to find reasons to hate Alicia but couldn’t. All Belair saw was an innocent girl who had just been unfortunate.

“You need to heal, but if you must keep at this screaming, you can’t heal. I can’t keep changing the bleeding bandage on your head, okay? Please settle down; you should be grateful we saved you that night. Maybe Alpha Hayes might just let you leave this place in one piece.” Beliar didn’t entirely believe her own words; she knew deep down Alpha Hayes wasn’t letting Alicia go.

He was either going to shave her hair, compare her to one of his female soldiers, lock her up, or even reduce her to a common slave. Hayes's punishments were predictable and stomach-sick to think about.

“Doctor! Thank you so much, thank you for saving me. Please, all I want to know is where my parents are?” Alicia strained at Belair’s words in response. Belair was the only one in her defense, but she still needed to know where her parents were.

“The guards who brought you in that night brought only you. I still don’t know what happened to your parents,” Belair's responses were soft and somber.

This was almost the seventh time Alicia had asked about her parents, and she was so disappointed hearing the same answers. Her heart broke, and hot tears filled her eyes.

Her father, Alpha Jones, and her mother, Chloe, weren’t fond of losing sight of their daughter for a minute because Alicia was their most priceless treasure.

“Then let me out of these chains! I need to find my parents!” Alicia charged, and her head wound opened up, bleeding again. Beliar looked at her in pity, without saying a word. Beliar kindly responded by attending to her bleeding head wound.

Hayes wasn’t seen much by his pack as the Alpha. He always made himself available to them when the matters at hand had passed over the heads of his top officials. He was more than an alpha to them in all the lands.

Hayes was always in his mansion training his students in martial arts, accompanied by his top officials.

Sudden heavy and steady footsteps made their way into the clinic at about 7:00 am. Alicia had screamed and called out the attention of everyone, disturbing the small town all through the night. Words began to spread about the city that Alicia was a witch.

These same words had reached the mansions and office of Beta Degen, Drake's father and the Beta of the pack, who Drake was going to take after him. Beta Degen was a personal advisor to Heartfield, Alpha Hayes's father at the time. After Heartfield's death, Hayes couldn’t make Drake his Beta because they were both young. Taking advice from Drake within his age range wasn’t the best for the pack; the wars needed a more experienced personality like Degen.

Though an old man in his late 60s, he was closer to Hayes than anyone in the pack. He was wiser and better at making decisions for the pack. Beta Degen was also a warlord like Hayes's father; he had the authority of a Lord throughout the Crescents and the Emoon Pack.

He walked into the room quietly, his officials stood around Alicia’s bed. Belair had given her a short sleeping dose to put her out of her misery every night. While she slept, her nose soon picked up many scents in the same room with her. She soon opened her eyes to a long scared man, right at his left eye, looking down at her. Degen was a man with an Alpha presence that demanded respect.

Alicia thought of Degen as a man around the same age as her father, so she sat up slowly, thinking of how she would choose her words wisely.

Guards at the door tripled at the door; Belair stood close to her husband, Drake. Other officials who were well-dressed stared at Alicia like they knew who she was, but they didn’t.

The special guards caught Alicia’s eyes; they reminded her of her father's and alpha's special squad of the Midnighters. The guards she saw were the Moon Knights of the Crescents pack; they were made up of either members of the pack or captured individuals from other packs.

Beta Degen fixed his eye comfortably on Alicia's eyes before he looked back at Belair, his daughter-in-law, and her husband Drake, his son. They all nodded their heads in a yes manner. It was definitely a closed mind link, common amongst siblings within the same pack.

In the werewolf society, sniffers were better leaders, career personnel than the runners; sniffers had better instincts. As both Degen and his family were original sniffers of the pack and were opened to a closed mind link that would shut everyone out from the channel of communication.

Alicia sensed a fear in the other officials they had for the man standing before her, even Drake, who claimed to be Beta, had the same fear written all over his eyes.

She wondered to herself if Drake was the Beta, as he says he is, that means this must be the Alpha, Belair spoke of.

Before Alicia could say a word to him, Degen waved his right arm in the air; Beta Degen and all the officials made their way out of the room.

Leaving Alicia in surprise.