3. Mine
“Stop! She didn’t do anything!” Ellie tried shoving past her father’s guards, but they easily held her back as she flung herself out of the vehicle, trying to get to me. Tears streamed down her enraged face as her fingers gripped the strong arm of the Alpha who blocked her. I still didn’t know why she wasn’t using her abilities, but I made a note to ask someone about it later.
“She kidnapped you. That’s plenty, Ellery.” Gerard waved away his daughter’s words. “She will be punished as is our right.”
Except Lucinda lied, and despite Ellie telling them multiple times that they were wrong and Lucinda was to blame, no one cared. I was guilty in his eyes, and I assumed he didn’t believe his sister could do anything wrong, at least to this level. The other side of my brain said he knew all about it and was a piece of shit father, but I held out hope that he was just oblivious and stupid.
I had simply been there at the right and wrong time, so Ellie was safe for now. I doubted Lucinda would stop her wicked ways due to a minor inconvenience like distance. She’d find a way to get her hands back on Ellie and sell her to the highest bidder. My nostrils flared, knowing there wasn’t anything I could do about it if I was to remain out here.
“Why won’t you listen to me?” Ellie screeched again with her arms raised in the air, trying to gain their attention. When they ignored her, she dropped her hands to her head and gripped her hair between her fingers with frustration. I was surprised chunks weren’t being ripped out with how tightly she was fisting her hair.
I adjusted myself as I half lay on the ground. I propped myself up on my elbows, and the small gravel embedded in the soft dirt was starting to dig into my delicate skin thanks to the Alpha-hole who tossed me here. I was not a fan of aching or irritating pain, so this was worse than the pain in my face and shoulder.
I glared up at all of them. I knew of their kind; all Humans did to an extent. We were somehow equals to them and yet lower. The Omegas, Betas, and Alphas of the world couldn’t lay a finger on us or use their powers against us, but that didn’t mean they had to treat Humans with any level of kindness.
The same went for the Witches, the Half-Breeds some called them, an insult to their kind. Although they were a part of the hierarchy, they were considered lower class, just as we were, but at least they had designations unlike us Humans.
We were lower class. The Human world knew it. We simply ignored it because even though we weren’t special, we somehow saw ourselves as better if for no other reason than not having the limitations of the hierarchy lurking over our shoulder.
I internally rolled my eyes as they continued to argue. I could sneak away, but I knew at least one of these men had a relic they could use against me, if they weren’t a Witch with powers of their own. Thankfully, Witches with that kind of power were few and far between.
That sparked something. Lucinda seemed to have a high position in their world, meaning she wasn’t a Witch, so how did she have magic guarding the door? There were more people at play here than they thought. With a powerful enough Witch on her side, who knew what they could do, but maybe it was simply an enchanted doorknob and I was reading too much into this.
“Enough!” Gerard boomed. That was impressive coming from an Omega. They might run the Primarch, but the Alphas were still the loud ones, booming orders while protecting their own kind.
That was unless they were given a ridiculous amount of compensation for their services. That was the same for every designation as far as I knew. The work simply changed.
I frowned when Gerard’s piercing green gaze fell upon me. I felt the grime of his pheromones wafting around me, clinging to my skin, but they did little other than annoy my senses. Some Humans were sensitive to them, to all of the designations’ abilities, but I wasn’t one of them.
“You…” I bit my lip, knowing nothing good would come from my life again. I only ever wanted to help others, and this was where it had gotten me. Thanks to the bloodline curse, I was able to remain silent, but in the end, what good would that do? “Will remain here, locked away, until I have the time to deal with you. The council…” Gerard cleared his throat before turning to Ellie and continuing. “The council has requested my presence. Ellery, you will stay with Oliver—”
“No!” The Alphas let her go, so I knew she had used her abilities. Whether it was intentional or not, I wasn’t sure. “I’m staying right here with Mine! You may not believe me, but Lucinda has horrible plans for me and other Omegas. I don’t want to believe it either, but I know what I heard. Mine tried to save me, and right now, I only feel safe with her.” Gerard tried arguing, but Ellie cut him off again. “If you trust them enough to keep her from me, then you must trust whoever owns this house enough to protect me and guard her. I’m seventeen, and I was raised to be the next Gerard Lorey. I’m not an idiot.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stomped her foot, ruining her tirade and proving that she was truly a teenager, but as she stated, a teenager raised to be a leader.
Gerard clenched his jaw, and the area grew silent for a few moments. “Fine.” That was all he said before snapping his fingers, signaling for Oliver to run up to the front door of the large cabin and retrieve the owners. How they hadn’t heard all of this commotion was beyond me, but maybe they were smart unlike me and ignored the cries for help.
I moved to my knees, needing to give my elbows some relief. All eyes fell on me and my movements as I awkwardly rolled around in the dirt, but they knew I was trapped and unable to flee. I was a menace in their eyes but not a threat, not really.
There was chatter behind me as the owners stepped onto the large wooden porch that overlooked our little get together. Ellie walked over to me, despite her father telling her not to.
She ignored him and knelt in front of me. I wanted to write it off as a typical teenage rebellion, but it was much more than that and spoke volumes about her and her father’s relationship. He had put her in a cage and dismissed her, and she would do the same to him until he learned to listen.
“I’m sorry for all of this, but thank you again, Mine.”
I nodded in response, unable to do anything else to comfort her with my hands literally tied. We smiled at each other, and with her helping hands, I stood up and faced the people who would be my keepers for the foreseeable future.
My eyes widened as I stared up at two Alphas. There was no mistaking them for another designation. They were large in body and essence. Everything screamed danger when you looked at them, and I knew I was in serious trouble. I glanced at Ellie, but she didn’t seem fazed in the slightest. Actually, she seemed to recognize the women towering over us, glaring at them with a slight sneer of her lip.
“Ellie! What are you doing here?” the shorter one with a black pixie cut asked. Where the blinding light hit her hair, it nearly glowed red and only served to enhance the power she exuded.
“Long story,” she grumbled. “I didn’t realize this was where you were.” Ellie’s voice was quiet as she spoke with a hint of… a sad sort of awe, which was impressive since her jaw was clenched tight. They meant something to her, but I wasn’t sure it was a good kind of something.
“I see,” she replied, glancing at the woman beside her who was a few inches taller with long, curly, blonde hair that swayed in the small breeze that passed through the forest.
The brunette was more of what you’d expect an Alpha to look like with a broad muscular physique whose biceps could easily pop off heads or give the greatest hugs known to man. The blonde was what I expected a fae to look like if they were real. I wasn’t holding my breath on that, but as far as I knew, they weren’t. She towered over all of us with her lean build. Despite that, I knew there was something deadly lurking within.
Ellie didn’t wait for an invite before marching up the steps and sweeping past the Alphas. She walked through the open door without another word. I almost wished she had dragged me along, but I had a feeling we weren’t finished just yet, and someone had to uncuff me before I dislocated a shoulder escaping these damn things.
“Gerard, what is the meaning of this?” the brunette questioned. I side-eyed Gerard as we all waited for a response. The Alpha’s low voice commanded respect, but everyone here knew who was truly in charge.
“Odella…”
Odella grimaced and snapped, “Odie, Gerry.” There was a twinkle of amusement in her eyes as she corrected the Omega, but the amusement faded into… regret? How well did they know each other? Clearly, I was missing many pieces of this puzzle, but I would give my left foot to not have to stay and sort it all out.
I was slowly fading into the background even though I was standing directly in the middle of everyone. No eyes were on me, but there was still no escape.
“Odie,” Gerard corrected, “this Human, Carmine, attempted to kidnap Ellery, but I do not have time to pull together the full case to have her punished through the proper channels. However, it is my right to detain her for the time being. I trust no one else to handle this besides the two of you. Especially now that Ellery refuses to cooperate. She will be staying as well, as you can see.” His voice was tired. Clearly having a teenager and a cunt of a sister was too much to handle. I’d trade lives with him, then he could see how great he had it.
Odie quirked her eyebrow as the Alpha beside her frowned. It looked like she frowned a lot despite her soft features. I couldn’t tell what color Odie’s eyes were, but there was no missing the ice blue orbs that held a level of annoyance that was oddly impressive.
“You expect us to allow this request?” Odie questioned, crossing her arms and sighing down at Gerard.
He scoffed. “You know I didn’t call for a reason. I’m already here, and you will be compensated accordingly, of course.” It was like they’d had this conversation many times before and were simply going through the motions. It was grating even on me. “You’re retired, and I figured this would liven up your dull lives a little. Flex the muscles, and use the talents you threw away for a few weeks while watching these two, hm?” There was so much behind those words, the jab Gerard haphazardly threw at the two Alphas looming before us.
I grimaced at Gerard, then looked between him and the Alphas, trying to piece together the history they clearly had.
“Watching over a Human and Ellie isn’t exactly—”
“You’re going to say yes, so cut it, Odie.” Gerard turned and started walking toward his caravan with his guards and Oliver in tow after he bounded off the porch. “Oliver will send Cy the details and purchase anything you need. Oliver, handle the invoicing…” Gerard’s words were cut off as the car door was shut.
Oliver with his thin Beta form, brown eyes, and near-white hair paid us no mind as he rounded the car and entered the back seat. I had spent little time with him, but he was nearly a robot in my eyes, and something seemed wrong with him. Ellie didn’t seem to trust him, and that was enough for me to stay far away from him. The Alphas that owned this cabin, however, were an entirely different story.
I watched as the Alpha guards maneuvered all around in their own vehicles, and soon, they were off. How Gerard left without saying goodbye to Ellie was another shiv to my heart. Even my estranged family wasn’t that cold when we were together.
The forest around us was quiet, and the soft breeze chilled my skin, increasing the dread I felt deep in my gut.
I didn’t turn around. Instead, I stared off, wondering what was going to happen but not having the balls to ask, that was if any of them could understand me after magically producing a key to the cuffs still gluing my arms together.
Footsteps sounded along the porch, leading inside, but still, I didn’t move. If I was going to make a break for it, now would be a good time, but without hands, I’d probably fall and crack my head open. Decisions, decisions.
“Are you going to stand there the entire time? We are deep in the forest at night, so who knows what will come out for a snack.” Odie. That meant Cy was the one who had gone inside.
I stood there for a moment longer, trying to find my words. Turning to her, I shrugged, having no way to communicate just yet.
Odie and Cy were my captors now, but at least I had Ellie with me. I didn’t know her very well, but she was sweet and the closest friend in age I’d make out here. Five years wasn’t a lot in the long run, but it was enough at times. Maybe I would teach her ways to irritate our wardens, and she’d teach me the newest teenage slang so I could add it to my annoying repertoire.
After walking up the steps, I stopped beside Odie, who was staring down at me. I quirked a brow as she had done before, waiting for her to ask about why I hadn’t spoken—or signed in my case—and hoping she’d relieve me of that burden. It wasn’t a secret. I’d gladly tell them the tale of how my entire bloodline had been cursed for generations, going further back than any of us truly knew, but if they didn’t want to know and didn”t ask, then I wasn”t spilling the beans. They could think what they wanted and ignore me the entire time I was here. That was fine by me.
Her eyes, which I could now tell were a pale hazel, turned to slits as she appraised me, eyeing me up and down. She might not be as tall as Cy, but that didn’t stop her from looming over me. A shiver ran up my spine, but I was determined to believe that it was the wind again.
“Turn,” she commanded, and with hope filling my body, I did so without hesitation. In the next second, the metal cuffs fell from my wrists.
Pulling my arms in front of my body, I rubbed the aching joints, then stretched my arms above my head, shaking out my shoulders before turning back to Odie and signing thank you to her.
Her head cocked to the side as if she was contemplating something a little too hard, then she nodded and signed back, “You’re welcome.”
I kept my surprise at her ease with signing to myself as she held her left arm out to her side, signaling for me to head inside. I took a deep breath as Odie followed along behind me, closing the door and sealing us all in for who knew how long.
Night one on lockdown had begun, and with every step I took, my irritation grew and my mood dwindled to a piece of sour candy frozen in lemon juice. I sighed and reminded myself that if I was fed and given a bed, it wouldn’t be all bad, but my hopes were not high.