Chapter 11

Chapter

Eleven

ELLA

H e looked just like he did in my nightmares. From that other night when I swore I saw him. Blond hair and light green eyes.

He looked poisonous– how he stood out so perfectly. He was the picture of clean decorum and if anything the past few years only made his features sharper and more assertive of a presence than his father even was.

A snake.

"Come. Sit, omega."

I turned back towards the door. They were leaving me here? Alone? With him?

"Omega," said Ben, his voice dipping low. " Sit ."

I had never been barked at before. At least, not like that. I could hardly control myself as I was forced to sit in the nearest chair. I barely made it into the seat, balancing myself before I could tumble onto the rug.

"When we found you, well… to say that we were shocked you were alive let alone debasing yourself with a pack… that would be an understatement," said Ben. "But then we got the news that not only were you found more or less safely but still intact. Gosh, you saved yourself just for me still, didn't you."

"I didn't save anything for you."

He smiled wider. "You even saved that sharp tongue, I see."

"Why are you here?" I managed to choke out, my voice barely above a whisper. The memories flooded back, the fear and pain he had caused me still lingering like a shadow in my mind. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to get as far away from him as possible. But I was frozen in place, held captive by his piercing gaze and the weight of his presence.

Benjamin leaned back, crossing one leg over the other with a casual grace that only added to my unease. "I'm here to offer you a chance to come back where you belong, Elena," he said smoothly, his tone almost mocking. "Your place is with your family, with us."

My fists clenched tightly in my lap as I fought to control my rising emotions. "I have no family with you," I spat out, the words tasting bitter. "You're not my family. You're monsters."

His smile never wavered, but there was a dangerous edge to it.

There always was.

"Is that what you see us as?"

I knew that was what they were.

I held my ground, refusing to cower before the man who had haunted my nightmares for so long. Despite the fear and anger churning inside me, I forced myself to meet Benjamin's gaze with defiance. I had to. If not for me. For Peter. For all the times I hadn't before when I thought that it would get better and I was doing the right thing.

We were wrong. And I had to make this right.

Even if it didn't end well.

Benjamin's facade cracked for a fraction of a second before he schooled his features back into a mask of indifference. "You will regret your words, Elena," he warned softly, the threat hanging heavy between us.

I had no doubt that was true.

"You have no claim over me."

Benjamin's emerald eyes glinted with an unsettling mix of amusement and something darker. "Oh, Elena," he purred, leaning forward slightly, "you misunderstand. We're not giving you a choice in the matter. Plus, that isn't true. We had a deal all those years ago. You're mine whether you ran away on some little defiance or not."

His words sent a cold shiver down my spine, but I refused to show him any sign of fear. I squared my shoulders, meeting his gaze head-on. "I'll never go back with you. I'd rather die."

The room fell into a tense silence, the air thick with unspoken threats and challenges. Benjamin's smile turned predatory, and for a moment, I could see the cruel glint in his eyes that haunted my nightmares.

"I suppose that's an option. But truly, let's play this out. Huh? I'm nothing but a giving man," he chuckled.

He waited as if I was going with him.

"Where would you go?"

"Excuse me?"

"Where would you go if I didn't take you back home? You're already registered to my pack even if there is some nasty tape to go through now that you are here at the academy doing things properly." He waved his hand to the side as if brushing aside a cobweb. Nothing but an annoyance.

"I could stay here. Court others. I've been encouraged to."

He barked a louder laugh. "They have to encourage all the omegas to court, Elena. I didn't realize that you had become stupid."

I clenched my jaw.

"Not to mention, I wouldn't allow it."

"It doesn't matter."

"Who do you think is paying for all of this, Elena?" He raised an eyebrow.

My heart stopped in my chest. I hadn't given a thought to who was paying for the academy. I assumed the tuition came from Omega funds, as Jessica at Omega Services mentioned.

She did say that, didn't she? But, she also told me that I was going to learn at school. She told me that I was going to court a multitude of other alphas that weren't the Prestford Pack properly.

My mouth tasted sour again.

"Once they get you back into proper order, you truly are a beautiful omega, Elena. From what I heard, you're perfect yet, even if you did run. Even if you decided to hoard yourself to a life as a beta for the past six years." He said the final statement with disgust.

A beta.

To him? How lowly.

I wanted to tell him that he knew nothing. That he was a bigot and horrible and I would never want to be with him no matter what he told me. Instead, I stayed silent.

I knew all too well how much more he hated it.

"Trust that you'll see me at the upcoming courting arrangements. We do have to make this look civil after all."

"I won't ever choose you," I muttered.

"Oh, you still think you have a choice." He found the idea hilarious. Me? Get a choice?

In his presence, I was beginning to think that I should find it that way too.

"You will understand your place. You are going to participate in your classes and become the perfect little omega for me by the time courting season starts in this place so that everyone sees us together as the perfect alpha and omega pairing. No questions. No nonsense. Do you understand?"

I didn't answer.

"And don't think I don't know where you have been, omega. With that pack. Hm. What should I do about that? Because you think you can run back there too, don't you? Think again. Omega," Benjamin purred, leaning in closer. "I wouldn't get too comfortable in your little sanctuary."

"You'll never be half the alpha any of them were," I muttered through my teeth.

Benjamin's facade shattered in an instant, the mask of indifference slipping away to reveal the raw, unbridled fury that lay beneath the surface. His eyes blazed with a fire that sent a chill down my spine, but I refused to back down. This was a battle of wills, one that I had been preparing for without even realizing it.

"Do not test me, Elena," he seethed, his voice low and dangerous. "You have no idea what you're up against."

"I know exactly what I'm up against," I shot back, my voice steady despite the fear that threatened to consume me. "I know you're nothing but a coward who preys on the vulnerable. You can't control me anymore."

"I do not intend to be half of what they were, Elena," he said softly, his voice laced with malice as he rose to his feet in one fluid motion, his body tense with restrained violence. "I will be far more."

I braced myself for whatever was to come, knowing that this confrontation could end in bloodshed. But I refused to show him any hint of weakness.

"You will be an obedient little puppet," Benjamin said softly, his voice laced with malice. "In this society, there are some rules to follow. And I would hate to have to do something that I regret. To you. Or that pack that was harboring you. Bad look for someone like the Prestfords."

"You won't touch them."

"We'll see." Benjamin's eyes flashed with a hint of impatience, his lips curling into a smirk. "You'll see things my way, Elena. You have no choice." He began to move toward me, his presence seeming to fill the room and smother me in its darkness. In a swift motion, he yanked on my hair.

For some, maybe it would look like a caress as he held my neck tightly.

I gritted my teeth so as not to cry out.

He'd like that.

And I would never willingly do anything he would prefer if I could help it.

"I hear you have a heat coming soon too, omega. Prepare yourself for me. We'll bond, and you'll be mine. Just how I was promised. You promised too, remember?" he shoved me back. "You know how I like it."