Taken For The Alpha ✔️ - 58 - Wattpad

Taken For The Alpha ✔️

by Midika

YOU ARE READING

Taken For The Alpha ✔️

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 wields. Since she was little she has been able to heal even the most fatal of wounds. Because of this, her father has locked her away, keeping her powers safe from the outside world. That is, until a man appears below her balcony, giving her a glimpse into the freedom she could finally have. However, the moment she starts to trust him, he takes her captive, revealing his identity to be a powerful Alpha who needs her to heal his younger sister. But when the girl's illness becomes impossible for Ayah to heal, she is dragged on a journey beside the Alpha to find an amplifier. On the way she learns their connection goes deeper than their heated attraction, to a soul bond neither can deny.

Word Count: 2178

~Zaon

I lift my fist, then slowly lower it again. What am I doing? What could I possibly say to her? She's probably lying behind the very bedroom door I stand in front of, either sleeping or staying up, wondering what is wrong with me.

I didn't sleep at all last night. After Ayah confessed that she thinks I'm her mate, I went upstairs to my room and didn't wander out until now. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it if I ran into her.

Maybe she found her true mate after I left.

Or maybe she is right, and I'm her true mate.

"Ayah?" I call out tentatively, knocking softly on her door. "Can we talk?"

There is only silence in response.

She assured me she would stay here the night once the party concluded instead of returning to the village. We agreed it would be too late for her, and that Riley and Blake could stay as well.

Surely she wasn't so upset at me that she wouldn't stay in the room I had specially built for her. Whether she would ever admit it to me or not, she loves the room.

"I know I probably upset you. I promise I didn't mean to I just...what you said really made me panic," I admit, resting my forehead against the door.

More than panic. She took a mirror and turned it around to show me what I fear the most.

I've already had the thought that Ayah is my mate. Numerous times. Our connection is strange and inexplicable, despite everything pushing us apart. It would make sense, and yet if it's true...

I wince, pushing off the door, resting my palm against it.

"Trust me, you don't want me to be your mate. You have no idea what that would entail." I close my eyes, shaking my head. "You made me promise to keep your mate from you, which will be impossible if you're mine."

I couldn't let Ayah go. Not forever. It would kill me, but so would keeping her here when it is the last thing she wants. It's better we never go there, never even consider if we are truly mates.

But what about Iris? I can't just let her go, let her die.

"Fuck, I don't even know what I'm saying." I shake my head, knocking on the door again. "Can I come in?"

More silence.

"Ayah? Are you in there?" I ask insistently, knocking more rapidly now. If she's trying to ignore me, she's doing a good job of it.

A guard materializes behind me suddenly. "She wasn't seen going into her room last night, sir."

My jaw tightens. I don't like that.

"And why didn't you tell me this?" It should have been reported to me the first moment I woke, or even before then.

All my guards know that Ayah's safety is my utmost priority. They know to come to me the moment anything changes with her. While she may not live with me anymore, the directive still stands.

"I figured she went up to someone else's room or returned home with her husband," he tells me, a nervous lilt to his voice. "She wasn't seen leaving the party, so the former is more likely."

I flinch. After our conversation last night, I doubt she would have taken someone else to bed...unless of course, she wanted to spite me.

I knock again, harder still. "Ayah? Last chance or I'm coming in."

When I don't receive a response, I press the door open. The room is in the exact state it was in when Ayah moved out, meaning not once did she come up here.

A cold chill licks down my spine.

"Are you certain she didn't leave?"

He averts his gaze to the floor. "I don't believe so, sir."

Fuck. I shouldn't have walked away from her like that. She was vulnerable with me, admitting she feels a connection between us when all I've ever done is push her away.

"Then where the fuck is she?" I snap.

"She may be in someone's room." The guard clears his throat, knowing that is the last thing I want to hear.

Maybe she found someone she connected with at the ball. Maybe what is going on between us is nothing, and her real mate was here all along...in my moment of panic, I want to believe these rampant thoughts.

But if there is anything I am sure about, it's my feelings for Ayah. There isn't anyone else for her, and she wouldn't have tumbled into bed with just anyone.

"She won't be," I tell him. "Find her."

The guard takes off quickly, on to be replaced by another who appears at the threshold to Ayah's room.

"Sir, Raven was found outside unconscious," I say hastily. He's out of breath, his cheeks flushed, like he sprinted up the stairs.

I angle my head, uncertain if I heard him correctly, my mind still stuck singularly on Ayah. "What?"

He wrings his hands anxiously. "She is alive but...it's bad. She was attacked."

~Ayah

I sit on the floor, knees hiked up to my chest.

Riley paces on the other side of the room, cloaked in shadow. Blake sits opposite to me, picking at her fingernails.

It's been unbearably tense between us three.

Last night, we arrived at their pre-arranged safehouse. I was so exhausted from our travels and all my unanswered protests that I didn't bother trying to run when Riley loaded me out and brought me inside. I collapsed onto the mat he laid out and fell asleep for hours.

Now, I have no perception of where we are, or what time of the day it is.

Their safehouse is just a small cabin with a singular room and an outhouse. The windows have black screens pressed against them, keeping the outside world from looking in, but also keeping most sunlight out. Only a strip of it lights the floor and streaks across Blake's resigned expression.

"It's not too late," I murmur, rolling my stiff shoulders. Sleeping in the carriage, and now the floor has taken a toll on me.

I am utterly miserable.

"Zaon would have sent his forces out to find you five days ago," Riley says, approaching their supplies that are dumped in a corner of the room.

I blink hazily. "I've been gone for five days?"

"It takes time to travel so far." Blake shrugs, looking at me with reserved pity. "You still need rest. There isn't much else to do."

I wonder how long it took Zaon to realize I've gone missing. I told him I would stay at his manor overnight, so I'm sure he was suspicious when I didn't rise from my room.

Or perhaps he doesn't care. He did walk away from me after my admission...maybe he is glad, in some way, that I'm gone.

No, he would be thinking about Iris. He knows I'm what is best for her.

"So what, I'm stuck here?" I gesture around at the space. It's barely livable for a few days, let alone a few weeks, or longer.

Blake grimaces, clearly agreeing with me. "For now. Until the matter dies down enough."

"It won't. Zaon won't give up on finding me."

I glance at Riley, whose shoulders tense. I see how fearful he is every time I mention Zaon — he knows what the repercussions will be if he gets caught.

I don't want either of them to get hurt. I would try to protect them, but would it be enough? They have taken away Zaon's one chance at getting his sister back. I doubt he would be merciful, even if I pled.

"He wouldn't have if you confirmed your mate bond with him." His gaze hardens as he stares me down. "We got you out at the right time."

I still. He's right. I would hate to see Zaon's true reaction if it's confirmed we are mates.

"This is kidnapping." I look to Blake. She seems the least convinced that this is a good idea out of the two.

"We hope you don't see it that way for long. We did this for you, to liberate you," she insists softly, scooting a little closer.

"Please Blake, this has put you in so much danger." She's still my closest friend. I would hate to see something terrible come of her because she has decided to help me.

I only wish they consulted me first. I only wish they honored my wishes.

"Don't you see how much we would do for you? We owe you everything." She pushes a cloth bundle of biscuits closer to me, trying to prompt me to eat. She knows I haven't done much of that since they kidnapped me.

I look between Riley and Blake. "I don't want Iris to die."

They should know better than anyone else how it is to lose someone, or to almost lose someone. They must know how much pain this is causing their Alpha, who I thought they both respected.

"Why don't we think of an alternative way to help her while we're here?" Blake offers.

"There's no other way." My father had decades to find another way to help my mother. He was never successful, and we wouldn't be either, especially being on the run.

Riley sighs, opening the flimsy wooden back door, disappearing outside.

I have no idea where we are. I caught a brief glimpse of the landscape when I came inside, but it was dark, and I couldn't see far. All I could see was burnt, dead-looking grass and not a singular tree.

Now that her brother is gone, she leans closer, dropping her voice to a hushed whisper.

"Are you happy that Zaon might be your mate?"

My eyes narrow. "Stop trying to distract me."

"You can't hate me forever, Ayah." She nudges me, raising her brows.

"I don't hate you. I understand why you did this, I just wish you'd let me go," I exclaim. "But no, I'm not that happy. Zaon is an Alpha, and being mated to him would be...intense."

My mate needs to be pliant and understanding. He needs to understand that he has to give me space, that a traditional mate pairing is not what I'm looking for — at least not to the extent it constricts my freedom.

"You don't feel anything for him?"

"I definitely feel attraction and lust." I look down at my hands, feeling a heavy weight drape over my shoulders. "Anything more is too complicated to consider."

Blake smiles a little, like that is exactly what she wanted to hear.

"It won't matter, now that you're free," she reminds me, leaning back on her hands, kicking her legs out in front of her.

"I don't feel very free," I grumble.

"You will. Just give it time."

I will get away from them. I have to.

I'm not stupid enough to try to burst past them. I have no idea where I am, and I also have my father looking for me. I can't risk returning to him, which means I need to be careful about navigating this situation.

And above all, I don't want my friends to get caught by Zaon. I need to make sure they understand that moving on without me is their best option.

"What do you think Zaon's doing?" I ask softly.

"Losing his mind, probably." Blake's brows draw together. "And not just because of Iris."

"I don't want him to hurt you if he finds us," I say. "I'm upset at what you've done, but you're the first friend I've ever had and I don't want to lose you."

Her face softens and she leans forward, taking my hands in hers.

"You won't lose me, okay?" She breathes earnestly. "I hope you know I'm doing this because I care deeply about you."

"I know." I try to swallow, but there is an impossibly large lump in my throat.

"Get some rest. I'm going out to find a healer who can check out your concussion." She rises, stretching with a yawn. "Riley will be back in shortly."

"I'm fine. You shouldn't go out," I warn. I would rather she send Riley out than go herself. I don't want her to risk getting seen.

She laughs a little under her breath, shaking her head.

"I know you have no idea where we are, so trust me when I say this, Zaon isn't going to find us here."

I watch her incredulously as she grabs her coat and shrugs it onto her shoulders, turmoil swirling in my gut.

I think she is wrong...I think Zaon is going to find us here, and soon.