Amanda
"Let go!" I fought against the fierce grip.
But they were stronger than I could ever imagine.
"I would advise you comply," the calm stranger advised.
My eyes widened with every bit of confusion. Those lingered in my heart, with no response.
The forceful impact of my back against the back seat of the black jeep parked in the compound was a clear indication that I was in for the unknown.
But then something else struck me so hard, and I sniffed.
As the car drove out of the compound, my eyes drifted to the people I called family standing just there.
Those who would have protected me, even for a second. But no, how could I have asked for much, knowing this was my life after all?
Living as the adoptive daughter of the Moores was more like a choker to my neck, a death sentence in disguise.
Letting strangers drag me out of the house like a common criminal without interfering was the least among the multitude.
I gasped, turning to the stranger.
"Where to?"
At least I deserved to know where I was being dragged along as a sheep to. And to know what my crime was, to face such magnitude of humiliation.
The sniffing silence sliced deeper than the pains of whatever was crawling in my heart.
He flicked a gaze through the rearview mirror but withdrew as the driver pulled along the streets.
The glistening gate of the hospital I had just left a few hours ago came into view. Only then did I realize they were bringing me back to the hospital.
But for what exactly?
I sniffed, thousands of thoughts cascading through my heart, those I had never imagined.
I was dragged out of the car and led into the hospital.
Along the hallway leading to the emergency ward I had just left was the unknown alpha, the same one that had earlier walked past me without a word.
I bit the lower of my lips when he turned, his piercing red eyes burning into mine. The once sea-blue eyes replaced with rage, irritation, and something else I couldn't yet place.
"How dare you?" he yelled.
My knees fumbled as the floor beneath cracked under the intensity of his commanding voice.
He moved closer, his arm lifting my chin without permission, enough to hold his gaze despite my lowered head.
"How dare you?" he asked again, this time holding my chin.
My stomach knotted in confusion, my breath hitched, fear ripping my heart apart; but no response.
"I will make sure you spend the rest of your miserable life paying for your crimes," he spat, with so much hate in his eyes.
That sounded like a promise he was surely going to accomplish, but for what crime, if I may ask?
My thoughts traveled wide with dread, my feet fumbling, trying to recollect if I had done any wrong in the past to this stranger or anyone.
I mean, I was unaware of the pack he came from or who he truly was, aside the fact that he was undeniably an alpha.
My thoughts were blank with no trace whatsoever.
My lower lip trembled as I struggled to spill words out.
At least I should speak up. Perhaps he had mistaken my identity for someone else.
Or was that the reason he walked past without a word?
I tried to speak, but his commanding aura, the rage in his eyes, all crippled my resolve and burned every leftover courage I muttered while lost in my thoughts.
The crack of the door behind was the only reason his hard stare left mine, and he turned in that direction.
A low groan escaped my lips as my eyes found those of the stranger I had saved.
He was confined in a wheelchair, his eyes dripping with sorrow, something that cut deeper into my heart.
Something in me cracked, forgetting the torturous moment I had just gone through. Pity stabbed my chest, mixed with anger at whoever had run him down.
As he was wheeled closer, I noticed his features. His broad shoulders filled out a blue polo. His jawline was sharp, perfectly sculpted. He was strikingly handsome.
But something shifted when his sea-blue eyes met mine. Something I didn't understand.
"Is she the one?" he turned to his unmistakable, identical brother, his jaw clenching.
But he never replied. Instead, he crouched low to his level, gently placing his arm on his thigh.
"Don't you think taking you home is best for now?"
Silence. Thick and suffocating as his hard stares never left me.
My heart tensed, confusion masking my expression.
"I demand an answer," he finally broke the silence, his voice final.
The other alpha turned towards my direction, his rage burning more than before.
My heart leaped out of its cage. The only clue making its way into my tensed heart was how I had saved him.
Did I do any wrong in trying to save this stranger earlier?
"Just let me handle this," his brother interjected.
The creaking sound of the wheelchair got my attention, and I lifted my gaze to the stranger now facing me, with no distance separating us.
The guards by the side forced me on my knees to meet his gaze, his once sea-blue eyes returning amidst the resistance.
"What did I do wrong to deserve this level of treatment? How have I offended you?" he asked, but that wasn't a question.
It cut deeper into my heart, and for the next few seconds, everything seemed to be at a standstill as I struggled to understand what I was up for this time.
I mean, it seemed I was being mistaken or misunderstood.
"I…I…" I stuttered under his intimidating presence as his burning red eyes surfaced.
His teeth gritted, his fists clenched onto the handles of the wheelchair, making a cracking sound that echoed in the entire space.
Just then, I heard footsteps approaching, but I was too frightened to turn. At least not until I heard those familiar voices I had thought would stand up for me a few minutes ago.
"Greetings, Alpha," Dad bowed, and so did Mum.
A bit of hope crept into my bones, at least to know I wasn't here all alone, in the face of the unknown.
Dad leaned in, crouching low to my level, his gaze unreadable. But whatever it was, he was going to stand up for me, right?
Not that I had done anything wrong I could remember.
A hot slap creased my face, sending me crashing into the floor. For the next few seconds, everything blurred as his faint voice echoed in my ears.
"How could you bring so much pain to us? What's our crime?" Dad's harsh words rang into my ears, and I flinched, slowly raising my head to meet his angry gaze.
"I did nothing wrong, Dad," my voice wavered as I struggled against the stinging sensation that still burned on my cheeks.
"Shut that thing you call a mouth this minute!" Dad barked, lifting my jaw.
"That's enough," the alpha standing interrupted, his voice restrained a little, but carrying such great authority that caused everything to stand still.
"Take her away," he ordered.
Just then, two arms wrapped around my wrist, raising me from the floor as my gaze burned deeper with dread.
I should just speak up, tell this stranger that I was the one who had saved him, and inquire what my crime was. But I couldn't.
My lips surprisingly fumbled under their suffocating presence until I was tugged into the back seat of the car that had driven us in.
****
The damp hard surface sank into my skin, so rough that I forced my eyes open.
The black welcoming presence enveloped me as I struggled to sit upright in this awful-smelling place I lay.
"What…"
The memories all came flooding back, an unintended tear slipped down my cheeks as my arms flew to my chest.
The way the guards had dragged me in, those hard final looks of the two brothers, those life-wrenching stares from the pack members I had passed while being dragged in, the knowledge I was treated badly for a crime I never knew about; all flooded me like a nightmare.
Those cold deadly stares from Dad and Mum, such as I would never have imagined in my wildest dream, pierced deeper.
I gulped when I heard a faint sound in the distance approaching. My nerves all alert but crumbled as the light turned on, and seated before me was the stranger in a wheelchair.
His gaze held onto mine for a while, though this time not hard, not soft either, but it remained unreadable.
"Greetings, Alpha," I greeted, bowing my head slightly.
His eyes burned into mine for what felt like an eternity until he finally spoke.
"Tell me why you did it."
His voice was calm this time, but still held so much command.
"Did what?" my voice wavered.
Not when those sea-blue eyes kept flashing at mine accusingly.
He clenched his fists, his jaw tightening, my heart racing for fear of what he might do.
But he held on, slowly releasing his arms.
"Who sent you?" he yelled, and I raised an eyebrow.
"No one sent me," I threw back but cursed inwardly.
"You don't answer my question in such a manner!" he roared, and I flinched, cradling my knees over my trembling body.
The silence stretched out as the air suddenly carried that pang of dread that soaked into my skin like a second cloth.
"For this you have done, get ready for the worst." His words made my heart skip, and I unknowingly burned my gaze into his.
All I could see was rage, bitterness that stuck deeper than any other.
A sudden creeping feeling set in, but I sniffled.
A realization that if what I was thinking was right, then I was in for the worst; knocked me so hard, leaving silent whimpers in its wake.
The thought of Isabella, one of the stewards at my place of work, clouded my sense of reasoning. I had only ever asked her to stand in for me at the event center.
I tasted a bittersweet taste as I lowered my head, imagining what crimes she had committed this time, my thoughts traveling wide with dread clouding me.
"You will beg for death, but I will make it far from you," his voice cut through my thoughts, and I sniffed, lifting my eyes to meet him.
He wasn't joking. He meant every word.
The realization that this was a promise he must fulfill struck me real hard like a dagger to the chest.
If I were to bleed, I would have bled a bucket full.