The Alpha's love slave

Crystal Blood Pack territory “What’s going on?” Maera Henderson protested vehemently as two burly men approached her. Fear leapt at her throat, but she kept her feet grounded as they grabbed her to blindfold her. Struggling was in vain. Their grips were vice like on her delicate skin and she was too terrified to make a single protest. The slightest movement caused burns and bruises on her arms, so she demurely allowed herself to be hauled out of the woods. Shame engulfed her for the coward she was. She’d been lost in thoughts when suddenly, two men had appeared out of nowhere and hustled her from the forest. Although she tried to keep her wits, her whole body became paralyzed with distress. It didn’t even come to her mind to try to escape, and she was tied up within seconds. Fighting against two men hadn’t even crossed her mind- she was too weak to resist, and she found herself being unceremoniously dumped at the back of a car. It was hard not to let the panic assuage her senses. When she realized that she was moving, her heart picked up a faster speed. Where were they taking her? Most importantly, who were her aggressors? Were they rogue werewolves that her folks had so often warned her about? It was dark, and she was prone to be attacked anyway being alone in the forest. Why – oh why had she listened to her father’s usual wailings and went out hunting on her own despite being aware of the danger? It was not like she was the bravest warrior of her pack. But her father’s hurtful words had incited her to prove to him that she was not the worthless daughter he considered her. With growing apprehension, she was more convinced that her kidnappers were either rogues, or worst vampires? She preened her ears to listen to the words, but their dialect made no sense to her. Shuddering, she suppressed a scream of horror. It was well-known that vampires were sworn enemies of the werewolves, and she would be an easy target considering that her werewolf was weak. She was a sore disappointment to her father and was no match to the blood thirsty monsters. But why would they kidnap her? Her head bumped against the closed car boot as the vehicle stopped abruptly. Trying this time to free herself from the bondage, she let out a frustrated growl when she failed miserably. “Who are you?” she asked shrilly when the screeching sound indicated that the car boot was being opened. “Where are you taking me? Let me out now! Please!” she begged in a broken voice. It didn’t seem to work. She was once again manhandled and was carried like a sack of potatoes to God knows where. She howled when they dumped her body to the ground, heedless of hurting her. “Shut up, b***h!” somebody cried out and kicked her in the tummy, causing excruciating pain to overwhelm her. She moaned in pain and bit her lips to block out another scream. There was no point in getting herself beaten once again. If she wanted to escape, she had to keep her equanimity. “Lift her up!” someone barked, and she tried to guess their accent. They seemed familiar with nothing of the slang or slurred undertones that rogues usually used. With her eyes still blindfolded, it was hard to determine her whereabouts, and she reluctantly allowed herself to be dragged towards what felt like a long alley. Her bare feet hurt as they stumbled upon hard rocks. There was no point protesting though. The men weren’t responding to her questions or pleas. Maera tried to come to terms with her feelings instead. She was terrified, which didn’t surprise her. On top of that, she was curious to know where they were taking her. Was her terrorized state due to the fact that she’d been manhandled her entire life? She sighed. If only she hadn’t fallen into that bout of maudlin self-pity against her father’s unjustified anger only a few hours ago. She would never have wandered in the dark forest on her own if it hadn’t been out of pure reaction to her father’s cruelty. Her cowardice wouldn’t have allowed her to sulk in the woods for too long in the company of her brother Xander. But her elder sibling hadn’t been around to help her. He’d taken off days ago without a word and hadn’t returned home since. Xander Henderson was a maverick character who behaved as he pleased. Xander never had to worry about the consequences as their father doted on his only son, always looking for excuses for his eccentricities. Their father, the Alpha of the Crystal Blood pack, Jeremy Henderson blamed Maera for the death of his beloved wife. Like it was not tragic enough to lose her mother at birth, she had to tolerate the wrath of an embittered man who held her accountable for an action over which she had no control. Consequently, she was treated like a servant instead of an Alpha’s daughter, serving the pack members and bearing the brunt of their wraths. There was no difference between her and the omegas, in fact her situation was far worse. Spurred by the demeaning way her own father treated her, the others also followed the same trend. “Why is there no food in the house?” he’d stormed into the kitchen that day, making her heart jump in fear. By now, she should have been used to his bad mood, but she kept on hoping that he would one day forget his unwarranted bitterness. “I…I have my algebra exams tomorrow,” she’d stammered incoherently already knowing that any excuse would be futile. “I already told you that I wouldn’t be cooking any food for today.” Her father’s eyes had landed on her, and she had cringed when she caught the usual disdain that was omnipresent whenever he looked her way. Murderer, those blue specters seemed to convey, and she shrunk back in shame and demureness. “I don’t remember. I’m hungry,” her father rasped angrily, raising a hand to land across her cheek. With a despondent nod, she bent her head downwards in mute resignation smarting from the pain. She had an online exam in less than five minutes – it was her last one for the end of year. Four long years of hard labor to finally become a graduated werewolf. She was an exceptionally bright student and was unwilling to flunk her exams for something as mundane as food. Some unexpected spark of rebellion had ignited at that pure moment of injustice – something she’d had to bear her whole life. “I don’t want to skip my exams,” she’d replied mutinously. Her protest had fueled the alpha’s wrath, his fury making her cower in fear. “HOW DARE YOU? You insolent child!!! Do I have to remind you how useless you are to me? You have a wolf which looks more like a dog than anything else, for Christ’s sake,” her father hollered at the top of his lungs. It was hard not to flinch at the harsh words. “But dad,” she retaliated with a much smaller voice despite the fact that her wolf quivered with fear inside her. “I don’t want to miss my last exam. It’s not fair to ask me to sacrifice my education. I have spent the whole day revising. Can you please let me sit for the exams and then I will hunt something down for you?” She knew it wasn’t cooked food that her father was looking for. Being an Alpha meant that his wolf had to be fed raw meat. Usually, she would go to the meat market early in the morning to bring him fresh sirloin. But exceptionally on that day, she’d warned her negligent parent that she wouldn’t be able to manage both her studies and the house chores. All for nothing it seemed. “You filthy b***h!” her father shouted again, and Maera felt a sense of shame as other people from the pack gathered around her house. Usually, Xander would be around to calm the old man down, but the latter’s disappearance was going to cost her her dignity. Where the hell was he anyway? “Dad, please,” she pleaded, feeling hot tears prickling her eyes and loathing herself for her weakness. But the fire which sparkled in the eyes of the furious man was telling – he was out of control. “You worthless little c*nt! I cannot stand the sight of you. I really don’t know how you can live with yourself being such a useless prick. No wonder your own mate has rejected a good-for-nothing i***t like you!” That was the last straw. Pain slashed through her from everywhere at the cruel reminder, and the tears which had brimmed in her eyes spilled over her cheeks. Humiliation roared as she forced the memories away but flashed of him came anyway. Eaton Miller, her mate. Don’t go there! Don’t go there! With a sharp intake of breath, she grabbed her brother’s laptop and left the room without any comeback. Her father surely knew how to throw a killer punch. All fight was gone from her as she hurdled herself into a secluded corner at the Crystal Café for free Wi-Fi as she ignored the snickering crowd around her. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she made an extra effort to complete her exams. Impatiently wiping away the streaming tears and peeping blindly through them to concentrate on the questions. Somehow, she’d managed to block the image of brilliant green eyes and firm chin. Afterwards, when the memories came, there was a deluge of sadness and she ran to the woods for some privacy to bowl her heart out. Thoughts of Eaton always got her into trouble, and now she felt herself hit the hard floor as her two captors flung her body to the ground. Pain engulfed her but she didn’t cry out, wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. “Where am I?” she asked in a voice which sounded oddly calm to herself. How come she was not freaking out anymore? She felt her blindfold being untied, and she held her breath for whatever was coming her way. The first thing which struck her was the bright light and she blinked to adapt to her new surroundings. With a heavy heart, she noticed that she was inside another castle, much more luxurious than the Crystal Blood Pack, but what caught her attention was the two men who stood in front of her. A pair of cold grey eyes gleamed in the light staring at her with undisguised disdain while the other didn’t even have the guts to look her in the eye. She braced herself for whatever was coming her way, her tongue darting out to moisten her parched lips. “Hello Maera Henderson,” the mocking voice sounded in the room. In spite of everything, she focused on the man who stood behind the one who’d spoken. Her coward mate Eaton Miller stood at the back of his Alpha; his head bent in utter humility. “Do you know who I am?” That question was futile – of course Maera knew who he was. Dastan Acker, Alpha of the Blood Rose Pack, sworn enemy of the Crystal Blood Pack. He was the cruel Alpha who’d ordered his beta and her mate Eaton Miller to reject her!