The Overpowered Series

Book 1:Chapter 7 - A Worst Punishment

Lena’s POV

The sound of the door clicking open followed by a rush of footsteps made me stir. I opened my bleary eyes to check who had entered my room. It was Leandros! I smiled at him as I sat up on the bed, but he stormed into my room in a fit of rage, and I frowned at his transformed demeanor. Was he the same friendly Gamma I had met earlier?

“Lena Warrick! Is that your name?” he asked with a scowl. I wondered what was wrong with him. Gone was his friendliness. Instead, it was replaced by a cold, calculating look while he glared at me angrily. What crime did I commit now?

“Yes. How did you know?” Maybe, the old pack members had informed him.

“That’s inconsequential! Who are you? Are you a Lucerian?” I frowned at his question. Of course, I was a Lucerian, having spent twenty years in this place, but I wasn’t sure if I was born one.

“I guess so.” He went livid with fury at my non-committal response.

“You can’t guess! It’s a yes or a no. Do you belong to our pack? Who are your parents?” he growled, his green eyes flashing ominously. I gaped at the man. What was the big deal? Why did my past matter so much? To them, I was already their enemy!

“I don’t know.” I watched him bang his fist on the bed violently. The immense force caused the bed to creak and soon it caved in. I fell off to the floor with a shriek. Wasn’t he overreacting? Maybe he was just as bad as his leader.

“I want a proper answer Lena if you wish to live!” I could see his hands clench into fists. The immense anger emanating from his body caused the knuckles to whiten. Yet he didn’t frighten me.

“I don’t have a proper answer to your questions, Gamma. Do what you want. I don’t wish to live anyway,” I shrugged, turning away from him. He sprang up with a determined look on his face.

“Fine, after twenty rounds of whipping, I’ll ask them again.” He whirled and strode purposefully out of the room, leaving me gaping after him. Did he really mean that? Would he stoop so low? Didn’t he realize my answer wouldn’t change even if he killed me? I really didn’t know about my family, my parents, my pack, my lineage!

‘Lena, run! They’re going to kill us!’ urged Xara, but I stood rooted to the spot, watching Leandros instruct his workers to torture me.

This was the worst situation in my life! For years, I trained to fight but never to defend myself as a prisoner. Would they really whip me for no fault of mine? Leandros left and five strangers entered my room. My mind went berserk, searching for a way to escape. I made a dash for the door, but they captured me.

“Leave me alone!” I fought tooth and nail against them, injuring two in the process.

“Call more guards!” yelled my captor. In an instant, nearly three more prison guards arrived to overpower me.

“Call Alpha Zephyrus! I won’t be treated like trash!” A fierce growl escaped me as I fought against them. I didn’t know these strangers. They might be from Alpha Zephyrus’ army.

“We have his orders to torture you until you spill the information you’re hiding.” Mustering all my strength, I pushed them away and made a dash for the door.

“I’m not hiding anything. I’m an orphan!” It was a desperate cry, but they were busy yelling at one another to hear me. I couldn’t go far. They captured me and carried me to a cell. Xara whimpered, and at that moment, for the first time, I felt helpless. They tied me up in chains and whipped me twenty times. My slender frame shook at every blow, leaving deep gashes all over me. It was sheer injustice! At that moment, I hated Alpha Zephyrus and his warriors with all my heart and soul.

They untied my limp body and carried me back to the room. In my semi-conscious state, I could feel the cold ground beneath me where they had dumped me. After they locked the door and left, I opened my bleary eyes. I would bleed to death if I lay on the cold floor. I had to get up.

I dragged my bleeding body across the room towards the bed. Pulling the mattress and sheet down with all my might, I lay upon it. Excruciating pain from the deep gashes made me drowsy. I tore the bedsheet to tie up the wounds. The bleeding stopped, and I lost consciousness!

Cold water splashed on my face, made me open my bleary eyes. I gaped at Leandros, standing in front of me. He glared at me as if I was a criminal.

“Are you ready to talk now? Tell me where your traitorous father is hiding and I’ll let you go.”

I gaped at him in confusion. My father? Did he know my father? “Who’s my father? I don’t know a thing about him.” He went livid and muttered curses at me.

“Don’t make me use force on you, Lena. If you don’t tell me about Beta Michael’s whereabouts, I know ways to get it out of you.”

“Beta Michael? Who’s he?” That was the only thing I caught on. This was a taboo topic in Lucania, and I had been dying to know everything about my family. Leandros lost his patience and punched the nearest wall.

“You leave me with no choice. Trenton, no food for the prisoner until she’s ready to spill.” He stormed out after instructing his man, who stood guard outside. I closed my eyes and let sleep overcome me. It was better to die than face this humiliation!

They didn’t give me anything to eat for almost a day. I didn’t possess the strength to get up. I lay there waiting for my death when the guard peered inside.

“Ready to talk?” he asked with a grin.

I closed my eyes, turning my back towards him. They could kill me for all I cared.

For two days, no one bothered me. It seemed I was dead to the members of my pack. Xara didn’t utter a single word for the last two days. I knew she was hurt. She was trying to heal us.

The prison door creaked open and Leandros arrived in the evening. “Go away!” I whispered weakly before turning my back to him.

“You are responsible for what you’re going through. Your father, Beta Michael Tremblay and your mother, Syble, escaped like cowards the night of the attack twenty years ago. If they had helped Zephyrus’ father, Alpha Dimitrios, our lives would have been better. Do you realize what we went through because of your father’s betrayal? We want revenge, Lena. I’m asking you nicely for the last time. Where is Michael Tremblay?”

I closed my eyes with a sigh, absorbing the information about my parents. Everything became crystal clear to me. Now I knew who my parents were. So, why was I called Warrick and not Tremblay?

Mistaking my silence as my non-compliance, he strode out of my cell. At the door, he stopped to turn and give me a look of distaste.

“You have twenty-four hours to cooperate, Lena. Otherwise, we will throw you in the dungeons and let you rot to death.” He stormed out, slamming the door after him and locking it well. His words echoed in my mind for a long time, making me confused.

How did he know my parents? How did he know I was a traitor’s daughter? Why had my parents abandoned me at birth? Were they killed by Alpha Atticus and his brother? Did my mother give birth to me on that fateful night when we were overpowered by Alpha Atticus and his brother? What happened to my mother after she gave birth to me? Couldn’t she take me away with her?

Maybe I was an unwanted child for them. Maybe they didn’t need me. Tears crept into my eyes at the thought. I wished Alpha Atticus was alive. At least he treated me better than Alpha Zephyrus. He was the only one who had the answers to all my questions.

For the next twenty-four hours, my mind hovered on the edge of semi-consciousness. They didn’t bother to give me anything to eat. The pain in my body was too much to bear, and I could feel myself sink into oblivion. At that point, I could feel Xara had given up too. She, too, was shocked to know about our parents.

I didn’t know when the twenty-four-hour ultimatum ended and it was time to throw me in the dungeons. In my twenty years of life, I had never seen a dungeon, but the thought of rotting to death made me tremble with fear. I wish I could die before that.