Taken For The Alpha ✔️ - 36 - Wattpad

Taken For The Alpha ✔️

by Midika

Taken For The Alpha ✔️

Werewolf

*18+ read at your discretion!* My hands tremble by my sides. "Don't sleep with her..." He steps toward me, his eyes dark. "Why not?" "Whatever you were planning to do to her tonight, do it to me instead," I whisper. *** Ayah has always been unremarkable in every way other than in the power she wi...

Word Count: 2381

~Ayah

My head rests against the transport wall as I doze in and out of sleep.

Suddenly, the wheel pitches into a particularly deep pothole, forcing my head away then back into the wall with a solid thunk.

"Ow," I groan, rubbing it tiredly.
Zaon looks up from the book he was reading, his gaze softening.

"Are you alright?"

I stifle my yawn, pulling back the gauzy curtain to see outside. Rain falls steadily against the glass, melting into the dark expanse of night. It was dusk when I first fell into sleep, and now the night has advanced on. I can't even gauge where we are, although I don't have much of a reference point.

"I'm tired of travelling," I complain. "It's late. When can we stop for rest?"

"Soon, at an inn up ahead," he assures me.

We've been travelling since the early hours of this morning, and have only stopped for two breaks. We haven't spoken much despite our proximity - Zaon has been reading and I've been studying the landscape and all the villages we've passed through.

"I cannot wait to stretch my legs," I say wistfully. My knees are tight and aching.

Zaon nods vacantly, attention returning to his book. "Indeed."

A sudden flash of lightening splits the sky apart, briefly lighting up the lone landscape. We're immersed in a dark forest, and while I only get a glimpse of it, it's haunting enough to unnerve me. Only a moment later, a violent growl of thunder threads through the carriage, making Zaon meet my gaze.

We stare at each other for a moment. He's checking if I'm afraid.

A moment later, the carriage abruptly stops. I lurch forward, having to grab the handle on the door to stop myself from pitching into Zaon's lap in front of me.

"What is going on?" I ask warily. Did the coachman get struck by lightening or something?

Zaon frowns, looking out the small window. "I'm not sure. Stay here while I check."

Tugging his hood over his head, he yanks open the carriage door and steps out into the night.

Silence ensues. A dark, terrible silence.

I peer again out the carriage window, seeing nothing but shadow and a steady assault of rain. I know Zaon is an Alpha, and whatever is going out there is what he can handle, but I'm still uneasy.

Seconds pass, and then minutes. Suddenly, I can hear the faint muffle of voices coming from the road up ahead.

Swallowing my fear, I pop the door open a crack. Thunder thuds through the carriage, drowning out the voices until I can finally focus on them again.

One of the voices speaking is Zaon and the other...wait, I recognise that voice.

I'm stepping out of the transport before I can think. The darkness is cut through by lantern light as I rush to the front of the carriage. I can see Zaon's back, silhouetted by the light, and behind him, a man I tragically recognise.

It's my fathers trusted advisor, Fredrick.

Behind him, there are a number of armed guards wearing my fathers colours. Rain lashes over them, over me. My hair and clothes are immediately dampening as I reach Zaon's side.

"Ayah, there you are." Fredrick raises the lantern he holds in an effort to get a better look at me. "What a relief it is to see you safe and well."

A cold, terrible feeling spills into my stomach.

My father's men are right here, within reach. Only a few steps and I would be amongst people representing a pack I grew up in. I could be reunited with my father, brought back to the same life I had gotten so used to.

I would never have to see Zaon again. It would be done.

"Fredrick, what are you doing here?" I ask shakily, rain streaming down my face in thick rivets.

I can feel Zaon studying the side of my face. He hasn't reached for me, or ordered me back into the carriage. He's seeing my willingness to run back into the clutches of my fathers men.

"Ayah darling, who is this man wearing your fathers pack colours?" Zaon gestures at Fredrick.

"He's his advisor," I tell him lowly.

I'm surprised he doesn't know. It shows how unwilling my father has always been to establish friendly relations with neighbouring packs — it was never his priority. It's a miracle his pack has stayed afloat all this time.

"Well, he was just moving his envoy out of our way." Zaon says that loudly, ensuring the insinuation is heard clearly.

Fredrick swallows. In all his stubbornness, he's still struggling not to let his fear show. He's just an advisor, who spends most of his time locked up in my father's office. The only reason he could get out of this alive is with all the males flanking him.

"We are here to retrieve you, Ayah. Your father has been desperate to see your return," Fredrick remarks, gesturing for me to step closer.

I shift from foot to foot. Despite being completely wet to the bone, any feelings of coldness are distant.

"I'm afraid Ayah belongs to my pack, now," Zaon states firmly, looking at me, then back at the advisor.

He's equally as drenched, although somehow, it only makes him more imposing. Shadows rest in the shallow contours of his face, and against the strong lines of his body. He's a weapon, poised and ready to strike the moment he needs to.

"Unless she has married into your pack, she is still the daughter of my Alpha. Her rightful place is back at her home." Fredrick widens his arms to encompass my fathers pack, which we aren't even in.

He's right, though. I'm not a member of Zaon's pack, which has put me in danger of many things, including this. The chance of seeing my father again, of returning to that cursed room is higher than ever.

"I will not allow it," Zaon says simply, seemingly unbothered, but I know the truth behind the impassive façade.

He knows we are cornered.

"You have no claim to her. You've broken many laws taking her," Fredrick continues, daring to take a step closer, his boots squelching in a divot on the road. "Return her now, and Alpha Elex will pardon your crime."

"Ayah left with me willingly." Zaon peers down at me, still making no move to restrain me. "Didn't you, Ayah?"

My throat dries. If I say no, if I claim I'm a prisoner, Fredrick has every right to take me. If I left willingly, he can only force me to leave. I'm an adult, not under my fathers care. My autonomy can't be quashed, if I demand it so.

The problem is, do I want to?

"Well...I...."

"Elex's daughter would never abandon her mother, condemning her to death. You are lying." Fredricks's frustration is mounting, a harsh line slashing across his forehead.

"By leaving with me, Ayah guaranteed her own freedom. If she returns with you, then she becomes a slave once again to your Alpha," Zaon responds back.

I gaze up at the side of Zaon's face, wondering what it would feel like to never see him again. It's so jarring, I have to step away from that thought for a moment.

This is about me, about my freedom. Do I want to return to my father and be rid of my deal with Zaon, this endless chase for an amplifier? Do I sacrifice my freedom for my safety?

Will I even be safe with my father? I can't know.

"Come with us, Ayah. We know you are being held captive." Fredrick holds out his hand, hoping I'll take it despite the gap between us.

I fidget uncertainly. "Fredrick..."

What if my father has changed? What if he's come to his senses now that he's lost his mate? I'm sure he is still in mourning. Has it made him more volatile, or less?

"You can go home, right now. Your father is eagerly awaiting you," he continues desperately. "He even restored your home. Everything is as you left it."

The thought of my room, my prison, of my life before makes me shudder. It's made the decision for me.

"I am here voluntarily, Fredrick. I chose to leave with Zaon," I announce, my voice as cold as the wind cupping my face.

His face is drawn as he regards me. "Is he threatening you?"

Zaon doesn't move, but I feel him stiffen beside me. I hope he can keep his patience until this conversation is drawn to a close.

"With him I have a chance at freedom," I explain. "If I return to father, I'll be a prisoner once again."

Fredrick exchanges a look with a guard, not expecting me to choose not to return home with him. He anticipated a battle with Zaon, sure, but not with me.

"We are under strict orders to have your returned." He almost sounds uncertain, sizing up Zaon again.

"You heard her. She is staying with me," the Alpha commands. "You have entered my land without my permission. I have every right to kill you and send your heads back to your master."

Fredrick scoffs, but it's posturing. He's risking a great deal being here. I'm sure he hoped Zaon wouldn't be glued to my side, but there hasn't been a time leaving his manor that he hasn't been with me.

"With what army?" The advisor asks, stretching his arms wide.

Zaon looks at me, then back at him with a subtle but sly smile. "You believe I need an army to kill you?"

I freeze. Fredrick visibly swallows.

"Give us the girl, Alpha." His voice is a little shaky.

"Or what, advisor?" Zaon steps forward. Some of the guards visibly flinch, clutching their weapons tighter. "What is she worth to you?"

Fredrick's hands curl into fists. "More than she could possibly be to you. Her father misses her dearly—"

"Her powers are what he wants. We can skip the part where we pretend they don't exist." Zaon's arm moves, like he wants to reach back for me, but he refrains

The advisor scowls. "If you know of her powers, then you know we cannot leave without her."

Suddenly, running into the dark, imposing forest seems preferrable to standing here under their scrutiny. I can see the guards weighing up the best way to grab me and run.

"Have it your way." Zaon waves his hand, only slightly inconvenienced. "Ayah, go wait inside the carriage, please."

He can't be serious.

"They will kill you, Zaon," I hiss under my breath.

"Do not worry about me." He offers me a reassuring look. "Go."

I hesitate, glancing back and forth between the swarm of guards and Zaon.

"Quickly now," he prompts softly.

I turn to leave, knowing that if this does break into an altercation, I don't want to get into the middle of it.

"Ayah, by leaving you are declaring yourself an enemy of your fathers pack," Fredrick calls after me, the tension in his voice making my stomach turn.

Ignoring him, I step into the carriage, concealing myself from the rain. Water drips off my skin, hair and clothes, wetting the velvet cushions I settle on. Outside, the voices are muffled, sounding distant.

I shiver, wrapping my arms around myself. My stomach is so tight, I could throw up.

I just gave up my one opportunity to go home...and I don't regret it.

The sound of a large impact rings through the cabin of the carriage, coming from outside. It's followed by a shout, and then another. Whoever it is, they sound panicked.

More commotion and noise ensues. The ground feels like it's shaking, causing the carriage to shift and undulate.

I glance at the window, covered by the gauzy curtain. I'm tempted to yank it back and look out, but through the rain and darkness, I doubt I would see anything.

I'm not sure I would want to, anyway.

The commotion suddenly ceases, an eerie silence filling the air in its absence. I pause, straining to listen, hearing footsteps distantly.

My heart leaps into my throat, my heart racing. If that is anyone but Zaon left standing, I'm screwed.

I breathe out in relief as I hear Zaon's voice raise outside.

"Send word back to Elex that his daughter has voluntarily left his pack and now resides within mine. She is under my protection, and any further threats to her life will not be tolerated," he exclaims, speaking to who I imagine was one of my father's guards.

His response comes, soft and barely legible. "Yes...sir."

"Elex should know that it is unlikely he will ever see Ayah again. Not unless he can put aside his obsession for her power and focus on the fact that he has a daughter," Zaon states.

There's a shuffling sound.

"Go. Do not let me see you again."

Footsteps disappear, then another, heavier set approach the carriage. I pull back a touch as the door opens, a gust of wind blowing rain into the cabin.

Zaon stands amidst the shadows, his expression grave, gaze hooded. He's covered in blood. It stains his skin, hair, clothes. It's dark red and dripping, diluted by the rain as it glazes his skin.

Fuck.

He gets into the carriage, which shifts under his weight. He settles in front of me.

"My apologies for the unnecessary diversion. The issue has been remedied," he says hoarsely.

"Are you hurt?" I whisper, my throat tight.

He looks down at himself, only now realising what covers him. "No. This isn't my blood."

"Oh..." He killed them all. Was it Fredrick he spared out there, sending him back to my father with a message?

He looks over me, at the clothing hugging my skin.

"You must be freezing," he murmurs. "We will stop up ahead at the inn."

🖤••🖤 Thank you everyone for continuing to read this story, your support means everything to me (: If you want to read ahead, this story is 15 chapters ahead on INKITT (@midika) and is 5 chapters ahead on RADISH.