11. Ella

Chapter eleven

Ella

T ime has lost all meaning.

But it's not like it held any meaning before, anyway.

My entire life has been spent behind bars, and I don't think things will change any time soon.

Or at all.

Never again will I feel the wet blades of grass between my toes. Nor the sharp tines of twigs as they cut into the soles of my feet.

I won't cry. I don't think I am even capable.

I may have cried once. Probably around the time they first captured me.

Around the time I was still young enough to cry about a family I no longer remember.

Do they remember me?

Are my family out there searching the wilds for me? Did they give up at some point, assuming I was dead?

I bet they wish I were dead. But not in a malicious manner.

They wish death out of mercy.

Sometimes, I wish I had been killed, because this is no life to live.

If there is anything beyond death, then I could be running through endless fields of wet grass right now.

A place where I can truly be free…

Hoping for a life after death is the best I can hope for now.

Maybe I should just refuse to eat whatever slop they bring me next, and just waste away.

They never let me starve myself back at the Facility. They knew my game and wouldn't let me commit the act of suicide.

I wonder if my new jailers will be just as cruel.

Keeping me alive out of spite.

Yet, I feel a small seed of hope inside me, one that refuses to give up.

Maybe I will get out of this cell.

Just… maybe.

Footsteps approach and I sit up straight in my shackles.

All three Alphas enter the building, and I blink when I get a look at Kellen.

His face is painted like a panda, and what the hell?

In fact, they smell like wild animals, and did they go to a zoo perhaps?

Theo folds his arms, and now they all just stare at me.

Their scents mingle, creating a delicious cocktail of Alpha pheromones, and I ignore the watering of my mouth.

I do not want them. They are my jailers, and they are cruel.

No matter what, I will not let my Omega get the best of me.

She will not yield to these Alphas any further.

Theo sighs and leans against the cell, and now he places his face between the bars.

I hope he gets stuck that way.

"So, Twenty-two… we have decided as a pack that it's time we got you to talk."

I tighten my lips.

My old jailers tried that already, and they failed miserably.

"The governor may be lenient with you, but quite frankly, we don't trust you."

Again, I match his glare, hoping he sees the hate I bear for him in my eyes.

I hope they all see my hatred.

"So, let's end this farce and just tell us where you came from."

My eyes burn and if only he would turn to ash.

He won't get me to talk.

Theo turns to Alastor, and now the green-eyed Alpha enters my cell.

Without warning, he slams me with his Alpha energy, and I almost buckle.

They really are strong.

My stomach gurgles, and then I feel light-headed.

But I resist.

They will not get the best of me.

No matter what, I won't concede.

Alastor hits me with another wave, and finally, I dry heave onto the concrete.

It's awful. Whatever he is doing to me.

It's not natural.

How can any one person harbor so much power?

Not even the warden was this powerful…

They must come from good stock. It's the only explanation.

Alastor hits me again and again, and he doesn't even have to touch me as I throw up the imaginary contents of my stomach.

It's too much, but I will not cave.

I will not give them the information they seek.

Not because I feel any loyalty to the warden.

I just don't like them.

I'm petulant that way.

My body shakes as Alastor makes me vomit over and over, and I hear Theo chuckle next.

"Just tell us where you came from and it will all be over, Twenty-two…"

Never. I would rather choke on my own vomit than give in to him.

I hate them.

This world really would be a better place without Alphas.

And I know who I will kill first.

The warden.

Then I will find my old jailers, and finally end with these three.

"Seriously, Twenty-two, give up. It's pointless…"

I growl, wiping bile from my lips. "Fuck you!"

A hush spreads through the building. Even Alastor stops, peering at his pack lead.

Kellen blinks a few times. Then he throws his head back and guffaws, coming toward the bars. "I like an Omega with a bit of spice. Piss her off again, Theo. Make her curse again."

Theo snaps his teeth at him. "No! Listen to yourself. You are already taken…"

Taken?

I peer between the two and I thought I sniffed an Omega's scent on them.

They do have someone back at home.

Someone very special.

Theo catches my curious gaze and then shows his teeth. "Wipe that smug look off your face."

My smirk only widens, and now his low growl vibrates through the building. "What's their name?"

All three Alphas freeze.

But I go on. "Are they prettier than me?"

Kellen's face tics.

"Going by the scent of that sour cherry, I'd have to say they were very special… So special, in fact, that you don't want me anywhere near them."

Theo shows me the whites of his eyes. "Watch it. You're lucky I haven't decided to kill you yet."

Please. If he thinks he's going to get a thanks from me, then he can kiss my ass.

Theo takes several deep breaths, running his hand through his black hair. Then he focuses on me.

"One more time. Where did you come from? Who sent you?"

I watch him unimpressed, and if he hasn't already figured it out, then he really is as stupid as he looks.

I will never talk.

"Nuff of this!"

Kellen opens the cell door, and now he hovers over me, balling his fists.

He's angry.

But through that tang of energy, I smell the desire.

He wants me, but he's torn between me and his Omega.

He can only be faithful to one.

They're too distracted by putting me in my place, that they fail to scent the Omega standing outside the door right now.

I meet a pair of the softest brown eyes I have ever seen, and I have no idea what comes over me.

His cherry perfume is even stronger in person, and it hits me from out of nowhere.

It feels like I am falling into infinity the longer I gaze into those fawn brown eyes, and maybe fairy tales are real after all.

I am pretty sure I have found my reason for living.

Starving myself is no longer an option now.

Because I have finally found something that is mine…