Chapter 6
M y heart pounded so hard in my chest, I wouldn’t have been surprised to look down and see the pumping through the shirt as I followed Carter out of the bedroom. I was going insane. There was no other explanation for me following a random alpha I had just met.
Why didn’t I stay in the room to eat? I could have bided my time, gathered a little of my strength back before getting the hell out of there.
I should have been screaming, trying to leave, trying to run, but I got the impression that Carter and his pack weren't going to hurt me. There was something deep in my instincts that told me I was safe. I'd always been told that an omega’s intuition was strong, but could I really trust my intuition, considering I had been locked in a basement for several years?
As I followed Carter down the hallway, there was a smell in the air that made me think that the roaring fire in my bedroom wasn't the only one in the house. Sure enough, as I entered the open-plan kitchen and living space, another fire was crackling away in the living area, surrounded by two large sofas. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling stone hearth, the cabin was beautifully decorated. The walls were made of a rich, dark wood, and there were decorations everywhere, ranging from portraits to little figurines and blankets dotting around the place. It was surprisingly cosy.
I took it in for a few moments until my brain caught up to what I’d seen upon entering the room. Sitting on one of the sofas was an alpha.
And he was gigantic .
My footsteps faltered as I took in the sheer mass of him. Even sitting down, he looked like he was easily twice my size, with dark hair cropped close in what reminded me of a military haircut. He had zero facial hair, emphasising just how pointed his jawline was, and his expression was quite severe.
Hearing my footsteps, he turned, and his face broke into a small smile at my appearance. "Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked, keeping his voice low and gentle.
He was definitely bigger than Carter. I should have been panicking, giving the sheer size of him. Alec had been able to do so much damage to me, and he was almost the same size as me. This alpha looked like he could hold me in one hand and crush me into little bitty pieces. Yet, as he stood up to greet me, towering easily two feet over me, I smiled.
Something felt so right about seeing him and so safe .
Mentally, I berated myself. Clearly, I was beyond help at this point if I thought a gigantic alpha was going to help me.
Before I could answer him, a movement to my right caught my attention, and I whipped around. Standing in the open-plan kitchen was another alpha. This one was a bit smaller than the one who had been by the fireplace. He had rugged blond curls and was stirring something on the burner. Something that smelled, frankly, delicious.
"These are my pack mates," Carter explained. "This is Dylan," he said, pointing towards the alpha by the fireplace, who gave me a small wave. "And the one stirring the chilli is Asher," he added, as the alpha in question gave me a nod and a beam.
"Uh…hello," I said weakly, nodding at them, unable to do anything else in my sheer panic. Sweat broke out on my palms as I realised I had landed myself in a situation that was a true mess. There were three alphas here. I had struggled with one beta. I was now on my own, and I didn’t even know which direction I had run in. I thought I had run towards the town, but instead, I had ended up in the middle of nowhere, in a cabin with three alphas I had never met before.
I was really having shitty luck.
My footsteps had faltered, but Carter gently placed his hand on the small of my back and pushed me forward. "Come on," he said. "Let's get you some food, and then we can talk." He spoke with ease, and his body language was utterly relaxed.
Part of me wanted to pull back, to avoid his touch, but there was another part of me that immediately yearned to do as I was told. Alec had beaten that into me, and five years of conditioning wasn’t going to disappear in a single day.
I followed him to the kitchen, keeping my footsteps small and trying to avoid eye contact with any of the alphas. What were they going to ask me? What was I going to say to them? How did I explain everything I had been through? A million questions were running through my head as I sat at the breakfast bar and a bowl of chilli was placed in front of me, drenched in sour cream, salsa, and all the delicious toppings. So much cheese, as well as a plate of steaming cornbread and a soda.
Carter had been the one to grab the soda and put it in front of me, but the blond one—Asher—glowered at him.
"You shouldn’t be giving her soda. She’s dehydrated. She needs water," he said.
Carter chuckled, looking at me. "Asher here is the doctor," he said. "As you can probably tell."
I suppressed a small smile as a bottle of water was placed next to the can of soda.
"That’s okay," I said. "I don’t mind water. I don’t even know the last time I drank a can of soda.”
Everyone turned to look at me.
"Do you not like soda?" Carter asked.
"Erm, no, that’s not it," I said, trying to find the right words. "I wasn’t able to get soda where I was."
“Maybe you should tell us your name?” he asked.
“Juniper,” I admitted.
“Pretty,” he said with a nod. I shouldn't have been so pleased at his approval.
I pulled myself away from the conversation and focused on the bowl in front of me, quickly shovelling a mouthful of chilli into my mouth. I immediately regretted that because the chilli was still piping hot, and all of a sudden, my mouth was on fire.
Breathing deeply, I grabbed the bottle of water and downed several gulps as the others smiled at me. Dylan’s face was frowning in concern, though.
"I’m fine," I assured him, waving my hand as he took a step towards me. "I just didn’t realise it was going to be so hot," I said in a shaky voice.
"You need to eat slowly," Asher said. "Judging by the looks of you, you’re underweight and you need to be eating at a gentle pace. Otherwise, you’re going to get sick."
I nodded. That made sense. I had heard things like that before, so I wasn’t doubting what he was saying. I was just slightly annoyed because I wanted to shove all that food into my mouth so fast, it would be gone in an instant.
After a few small bites, Carter spoke up. "So, where were you? I think we’re going to need an explanation about where you’ve been and how you ended up on our land."
I mulled over his words in my mind. He didn’t need to know exactly what had happened to me.
Maybe if they thought I was simply lost and my family was looking for me, they would let me go sooner?
"I got lost," I said as I took another bite. "It was just a mistake. If you could direct me towards the nearest city, I can phone my brother, and I can go home, and everything will be fine," I said with a grin, trying my best to act nonchalant.
Every alpha in the room frowned at me, looking between each other.
"What was that look for?"
"Do you know anything about where we are?" Dylan asked.
"Nope." I shook my head. "I got so turned around. It was such a muddle." I laughed, but it sounded false, even to my own ears.
"Sunshine, you are literally in the middle of nowhere," Dylan said. "There’s nothing for miles and miles around. We’re also in mudslide land. There’s no leaving the cabin for a few months, at least. There was a huge mudslide down at the base of the mountain. There’s no way to get back to the city anytime soon. Anyone who is up in these woods knows that.” The food in my stomach suddenly felt acidic and dull. Stuck , they were saying. I was stuck here.
No, I couldn't be stuck. I was going to go home. I. Wasn’t. Going. To. Stay. Here.
"No, no, no, no, no," I said, shaking my head. "I’m going home. I need to go home. Surely, you’ve got a phone I can use. I’m sure my brothers will come and get me." I looked between the alphas pleadingly, and unfortunately, I was met with sombre expressions.
"We are so far off the grid here," Carter explained. "We come up here for a few months of the year for the isolation because no one can get to us and we have no chance in hell of getting an internet connection out here. We find it peaceful. Does your family do the same?"
I stared at him like a deer in the headlights. What could I realistically say to that? I didn’t know these men. For all I knew, they were friends of Alec. Or monsters themselves.
Swallowing a bite, I looked at him. "It’s a long story," I said, not wanting to meet his eyes. "Look, I just need to get home. How do I do that? You’re not going to keep me here. I can’t stay put anymore. I need to go home." I dropped my spoon with a clatter.
"You need to go home from whoever was keeping you hostage?" Dylan asked pointedly.
I whipped around to look at him, nearly falling off my seat as I did so. "Wha-wha-what did you say?"
"You are running from someone who’s been holding you prisoner," Dylan said, crossing his arms and glaring at me. "It’s obvious. You’ve got bruises on your wrists and your arms. You’re underweight. Yes, we wanted to take it easy on you, but you’re bullshitting us, and that’s not okay. We don’t appreciate liars. What the fuck happened to you?" he growled.
Tears welled in my eyes and my vision started to blur as I could feel my heartbeat in my ears, as blood pounded through my body. I couldn't talk to them, I couldn't explain it, I couldn't face it.
With a panicked cry, I stood up and backed away from them as they came near me. I—I couldn't deal with it.
I fled from the room, making a beeline for the room I’d woken up in, heading straight to the bathroom. Closing the door, locking it, and sliding down, hiding myself in a corner as they followed me. They knocked on the door and asked me to open it, but I refused to listen, panic overwhelming me. My breaths came in ragged pants as darkness started to cloud my vision.
I was trapped again.