Alpha Zanthus

Chapter 2

When I woke up, I found myself in a moving vehicle.

Panic arose in me quickly, and I went to jerk into alertness, but my bodies movements were severely restricted. And not even by a seatbelt - my body was stiff and constricted. It was as if I had an invisible boa constrictor wrapped around me; to the tightest it could be.

Slowly, I peeked an eye open; the one facing the drivers side. Alpha Zanthus was driving, one hand carelessly on the steering wheel, and the other arm laying freely on the edge of the open window. He looked relaxed - as if his mate hadn't been sitting unconscious beside him for...Moon Goddess only knows how long.

I leisurely peeked the other eye open, looking out of my window that was only opened a crack. It provided a nice draft, but did very little to cool down my feverish body. My body was in inferno, in that moment.

And my whole body ached horribly; much like it did the first time I shifted when I was 16. My bones felt as if they were broken, fractured, and hollowed of all their marrow. My skin felt as if it was covered in third degree burns; and was tender to the touch. My head ached, and it felt as if my scalp was being peeled off. It was torture - and my eyes involuntarily began watering; even the unshed tears stung.

"You're awake," Alpha Zanthus stated, and I looked over at him. He didn't even bat an eye. His voice was completely monotone. "I was worried you died." He said, but by the tone of his voice I got that even if I had died, he wouldn't of cared. I was just another above-average pretty face in the crowd, and could easily be replaced by another she-wolf. I would've merely been considered another casualty amongst many others.

"What happened...?" I asked, trying to recollect what had happened earlier; but nothing was coming back to me. And I found myself getting frustrated...with myself.

"You don't remember?" He asked, voice still monotone. And suddenly, everything came back to me.

From my father screaming at Alpha Zanthus, to Alpha Zanthus almost choking him to death in return, to Alpha Zanthus choosing me as a mate...Alpha Zanthus almost killing Ocean...Alpha Zanthus marking me as his; and Alpha Zanthus lunging at my father.

But, even after all of those horrible events...my fathers disownment of me was what hurt the most. Especially because of the fact I accepted Alpha Zanthus as my mate to save my sisters life.

Because my father was too weak to.

That was what hurt me the most, and I resented my father for it. I didn't hate him, and regardless of his disownment, I still viewed him as my father; but I would obey his wishes of me never stepping onto his land again. Not because he said I'd be shot dead, but because I didn't think I ever wanted to see him again. The feeling was mutual on that end.

"Never mind..." I mumbled, attempting to sit up, but failing. I ended up slouching even more than I was earlier. "How long was I out for?" I questioned, wanting to know. I suspected I had been out for a few hours, because I was in very unfamiliar territory.

Beautiful, unfamiliar territory, however. The forest was much more livelier than the forest we had back at my previous pack...The BlueAutumn Pack. The canopies of the trees were so much fuller; and an assortment of bright yellow, orange, red, and brown leaves hung peacefully up there - occasionally falling to the rich brown earth below. The forest was lush, and I didn't doubt it had an abundance of animals to hunt, berries to pick, and room to run...And maybe even swim. I found myself unintentionally getting excited over that, and I promised myself I would check the forest out when I had the energy to.

"Seven hours." he answered simply; vaguely. He never elaborated on if it was normal or not...But I didn't believe it to be. Every she-wolf I met, who was marked, never fell unconscious after they were marked. They described maybe slight bruising and a dull ache...but never falling unconscious. However, I think I knew why I was taking the mark so poorly.

"Seven hours..." I mumbled to myself, taking the newfound information in. "Wait! Did you kill my father?!" I asked, alarmed and concerned. Just because he had disowned me didn't mean he disowned my sisters; and I hated the idea of them no longer having a father. But that didn't mean that I didn't think they could handle their own.

Alpha Zanthus snorted, as if I had just asked the most ridiculous question ever. "No. But I beat the f*****g mutt within an inch of his life, and left him for your sisters to deal with," he paused. "And don't call that mutt your father. He disowned you, in case you've forgotten. f**k, even if he didn't, he's not worthy of being your father; given how he didn't even fight for you." I didn't think his words were meant to hurt, but they still did.

"Alpha Zanthus, my sisters didn't deserve to witness that..and Ocean didn't deserve nearly being choked to death," I scolded softly. I wasn't bold enough to lecture him like a proper she-wolf yet - and I didn't know if I ever would be able to. I was a tenderhearted wolf...aggressiveness didn't run in my veins. "Alpha Zanthus...that was wrong of you." I finished, biting my cheek, preparing for an explosion.

"First of all, you're my mate. Do not call me 'Alpha Zanthus', call me 'Zanthus' and Zanthus only. Secondly, you're right. It wasn't right. But I wanted you - I want you, and you were being stubborn. You needed to know your place." He replied calmly, and if I'm honest I was shocked he didn't get angry at me.

I paused, not daring to question him on how I was being stubborn, or how I didn't know my place. Instead, I asked another question that weighed heavily on my mind. "Why di- do you even want me?"

I noticed how his grip tightened on the steering wheel ever so slightly. My question stumped him; struck a nerve. "You're beautiful." He replied. And I found myself feeling a bit sore over his answer. It wasn't because he had taken the time and gotten to know me, or he read my body language of serenity, it was because I had a pretty face.

"Is that all?" I queried, discreetly giving him a chance to redeem himself.

"I had heard talk of you around my pack. 'Have you heard of Olive Samuels from the BlueAutumn Pack? I heard she's a hot piece of ass.', 'I heard she's admired for her beauty - her natural beauty'," Zanthus mimicked, paraphrasing the gossip his pack had spoke of me. "So, instantly, you piqued my interest. And I knew who you were right away when I first saw you, because I had never seen a more beautiful she-wolf. I grew restless, and I knew I had to have you. Take that as a compliment because I've never had the desire of claiming a mate before."

I almost chortled at how he expected me to take that as a compliment. It was silly and childish on his part. "So that's the only reason you want me? Is because I'm beautiful?"

"Well, to pay off half of your fathers debt to me, as well," he admitted, looking somewhat ashamed. I assumed he just realized how shallow he sounded. He sounded like any other male-wolf. "I didn't have any other reasons to choose you. You're reading too much into this, Olive, drop it." He suddenly snapped, cutting communication off with me. I frowned, but didn't argue.

An awkward silence fell over us, and I found myself inwardly squirming. I wanted to turn on the radio, but I was immobile...and I was too scared to ask Zanthus to. His knuckles were already white from gripping the steering wheel too tightly, and I preferred his suffocating grip to be on the steering wheel instead of on me.

A few moments later, however, we reached his pack gates. Two large men were guarding the premises - but they still weren't as big as Zanthus. Zanthus had to be, singlehandedly, the biggest man I had ever seen. But even then, his huge, mountainous muscles weren't ugly or bubbly. They were smooth and defined...as if chiseled to perfection from the finest marble. And his magnificent height of easily around 6'5 - maybe even more, only added to his already massive intimidation. Heck, I was his mate, and I feared him.

The guards jumped into a battle stance once they caught sight of us, but they settled down once they spotted their Alpha. They bowed their heads in recognitory submission, before looking at me. They squinted at me, and eyed me in a feral way. I knew they didn't take me as a threat, because I was with Zanthus, but they did take me as someone new and...vulnerable.

And to my surprise, they offered me a small nod.

Zanthus drove through the territory gates, not even bothering to acknowledge his guards. Even I acknowledged them a bit; offering them a barely noticeable smile.

His territory was perfect, too. The cabins were nicely sized, and made from the wood of a red oak tree. The colour was mellow, and I found myself wishing that my old pack used the same wood. My old pack used driftwood.

The pack house had to be at least double the size of the one at my old pack, too. It too, like the cabins, was made from red oak. And it had many modern square windows, sparkled to perfection. It was beautiful...the architecture was brilliant.

Zanthus pulled up to a cabin - larger than all the other ones, and the architecture was slightly different. I instantly placed it as his cabin - the Alphas cabin; only something that nice and exquisite could belong to an Alpha. And His lawn was beautiful too; plush green grass covered his area, and not a weed was in sight. Come to think of it, I noticed that there wasn't a weed I had spotted in his territory.

He pulled into his driveway, shutting off the engine and turning to face me. "Welcome to The ObsidianBlood Pack, Olive." He announced, before getting out of the vehicle, leaving me at an impasse.

It hurt to move...and I feared I wouldn't be able to get myself out of his vehicle. But I didn't want to ask for his help; I wanted to prove myself to him, even though I doubted that's what I would do.

Lazily, I brought a shaky hand to the door handle. Most of my weight was leaning against the door, and I knew if I opened it I would spill out. So I ended up gripping the drivers seat, and pulled some of my weight away from the door. I figured I was mostly sturdy, but proved myself wrong once I cracked the door open; because my body tumbled out, and I face planted onto the ground.

"s**t!" I heard Zanthus curse, and in the next moment he was kneeling beside my face, which was now faced sideways. "Why are you reacting so poorly to my mark?" He questioned, fatigued, his fingers hovering above the mark he placed on me. "Your neck looks like shit...this isn't normal." And he was right, it wasn't.

"Maybe it's-" I went to go answer, but I vomited before I could finish. The vomit wasn't normal, either; it looked like tar, but smelt like tin. I began dry heaving, and Zanthus rolled me onto my back so I didn't inhale any of my stomachs toxic contents. "Maybe it's because I'm not 18 yet." I breathed out, clutching my stomach as crippling pains shot through it. Whether it was from the fear of Zanthus' reaction, or the fact that I felt horrible...I didn't know; but maybe it was both.

Zanthus loomed over me like a demonic shadow. "You're what?" He questioned through harshly gritted teeth; and I watched as his eyes turned an angry shade of black.

"I-I'm not eighteen yet, but I will be in f-four days..." I stuttered out, rightfully terrified. And he growled furiously at me - the sound deep and menacing; he wanted to kill me in that moment. I just hoped he wouldn't.

But the next events happened too quickly for me to comprehend.

I gasped as he grabbed my neck with a large, thick hand, lifting me off of the ground with ease. Instantly, I couldn't breath, and my small hands wrapped feebly around his wrist, pleading in their own way for him to let me go.

He held me above him by my neck, and I started to wheeze violently. "Do you realize what you've done?!" He roared, spit flying out of his mouth. I could feel my veins swelling; puffing out from below my flesh. "You have made a mockery of me! My pack will view me a molester because I've marked a minor!" He glared vehemently at me; all his anger seeping through his eyes. I could feel my eyes bulging, and my hands around his thick wrist loosening. I was beginning to lose consciousness. And suddenly, I understood how my father felt.

And finally, right before he choked me into oblivion, Zanthus let me go. And I fell onto the grass, puddling out. I gasped for breath as I laid like a starfish on the ground. Zanthus ended up leaning down again, grabbing a fistful of my hair as he painfully craned my neck up so I could look into his livid eyes. "You can hardly be considered a payment, you've just brought me more debt." He snarled at me, before dropping my head.

His words hurt, I wasn't willing to deny that. And silent tears fell; the power of his words falling down my cheeks in a steady stream.

"Can you get up?" He questioned after a lengthy time. I abhorred him in that moment.

But, in a last attempt effort to save my pride, I began pushing myself up. My arms shook, and my body screamed in refusal, and eventually gave in on itself. Defeated, I stuck my face in the moist earth. "No." I mumbled, not even having the energy to feel embarrassed.

Zanthus surprised me by rolling me over so I laid on my back. He hooked his arms under my knees and waist, lifting me up with ease. He held me firmly to his broad chest; and liking the feeling of his cool skin, I stuck my face in the crook of his neck.

He didn't even seem affected by my small weight, because he carried me across the grass with ease. In fact, the only thing he seemed affected by was my curly hair, because he kept sputtering it out of his mouth.

He carried me up his wooden stairs, and actually kicked the door open. I could hear the wood split, and I almost laughed, but I was too afraid to...

He carried me with ease up a flight of stairs, before taking a few more steps into an open room.

He placed me down gently on a comfy bed, and I instantly curled into the fetal position. It was the only comfortable position for me in that moment. "You'll be staying in my room." He told me, and I felt him sit on the edge of the bed, behind me.

I welcomed sleep again to the feeling of Zanthus' fingers stroking my cheek.