Becoming Alpha

Chapter 10

Hope

I'm not sure how long I was asleep, but I was back in my room when I woke up. I felt tired and very hungry. I got up and opened the door and found one of the Pack's warriors standing there. He was avoiding my eyes and I could feel how uncomfortable he was.

"Let me guess, I can't leave," I said.

"I'm so sorry, but those are the Alpha's orders," he said, and he sounded really sorry. We have been in the same position before, but at least my dad did it out of concern for me, but I had no idea why Doom was trying so hard to force his son on me. It was such a weird situation.

"Yeah, I understand. Nothing you can do against Alpha's orders. At least could you get me some food? I'm starving," I asked, knowing full well that I needed to rebuild my strength.

"Of course, I'll let your brother know that you are awake," he said and closed the door.

I sat on my bed and I felt despair trying to get a hold of me. I felt like crying but refused to do that. I just needed to get out and find the right place for me to start again. I needed to become strong enough to reclaim my Pack.

Anger was winning over despair by the time the door opened again. It was my brother, carrying a tray of food. I wanted to throw it in his face, but I needed it, so I had to accept it.

"It's good to see you are feeling better," he said, and I glared at him. "I know you are angry at me, but I was actually trying to help you."

"Don't," I said. "Just stop lying! Everything you are doing, you are doing for yourself. It has nothing to do with me. Well, yes, it's about me, but only about how you can better use me for your own gain. I don't know what happened to you while you were away, but you are not my brother."

"Don't say things you might regret later," he warned.

"I won't regret saying the truth. You betrayed our father and you betrayed me! That sicko almost killed me, mostly because you helped him. I'm faster than him, I could have avoided him long enough to remain safe, but you got in the middle," and it hurt so much that it was my brother who had done that, I felt like I could trust no one.

"You were only inciting him more. Running from a predator only wakes his hunting instincts," he tried to justify himself.

"Then you could have stepped between us and stopped him, instead of helping him. It's clear you don't care about me."

"Stop it!" he screamed and he scared me a little. "All I do is for you, even if you can't see it. Just stop being so stubborn and give him a chance. You will see you will be much happier with him, you only need to give him a chance." I felt like it was not him talking, but Doom, he was brainwashed.

"And why should I? He is not my True Mate. I get you don't believe in that anymore," I said before he could interrupt me, "but I do, and you should respect that."

"You just can't see clearly. Give it some time and you will see this is for the best. As part of this Pack you have an important role, and to keep the peace..."

"But I'm not," I cut him, and I could see he didn't understand. "I'm no longer part of the Pack, I cut my ties with it last night," at least I thought it had been the previous night, for all I knew I could have been out for days. "I want to go."

"You can't!" he sounded desperate.

"See? You are not better than our dad, no matter how much better than him you believe you are. And Doom is even worse."

"It's not like that! Stop trying to make us the bad guys. We are only trying to protect you!"

"And what do you think dad was trying to do?" I asked.

"Just try, okay? Give us a chance."

"I won't do anything for the people who are keeping me prisoner," I said, and I stood up, but I moved too fast and I felt dizzy. When I saw Hector's worried face, I exaggerated my dizziness, and I could see that my brother was genuinely worried.

"What's wrong," he asked, and I acted as if I couldn't stay on my feet. "Helena?" he grabbed me and hugged me closer to him. I didn't even try to correct him anymore.

"I don't feel so good," I said.

"Let me call the healer," he said.

"No, I'm okay," I said and acted as if I was trying to stand by myself.

"No, you're not. You need to be checked."

"Maybe you got me out of the clinic too soon. Why don't you take me there, the fresh air might even help a little," I said, and I could see that he didn't like the idea, but he finally agreed.

"I still think it would be better to have someone come to you, but just so you see that I worry about you and care about what you want, let's go there."

We started walking outside, but I kept most of my weight on him, still acting as if I was going to faint at any moment. I was feeling nervous, not really sure what I was going to do, only knowing that I would only have a chance at getting away, and I had to take it.

I knew that my brother was not going to let me go without a fight and that I needed to time my escape very carefully. I couldn't allow him to go after me, I needed time, a head start. I didn't like that I would have to hurt him, and badly if I wanted to get away, but I couldn't stay. Once we were outside, and on our way to the clinic, I started to search around for something to help me, and I found something that could work.

"Let's stop for just a moment," I asked while moving toward a three. "Just a minute to catch my breath," I said.

"I can carry you to the clinic," he offered.

"No, please, I want the fresh air," I insisted, and he accepted.

We were at the back of the Pack House, and I didn't see anyone around. I knew it was because of the hour, not many people were outside at that time, and I was in luck because of that. I was leaning against the tree, waiting for my brother to be distracted. It didn't take long, he has always been very impatient, so he turned his back on me and took a couple of steps away, looking around as if expecting someone to walk and help him with me.

I took the chance to jump and hold onto a half-torn branch of the tree and then used my body weight to break it completely, using the same momentum to bring it down on my brother. He started to turn when he heard the noise, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid it. It was a big branch and a heavy one, it hit me on the shoulder and it hurt, but I knew it was worse for my brother. I let the branch fall over him, knowing it would take him a few minutes to recover from the blow, and then get free from the tree branch over him.

I only took a second to make sure he was alright, and then I started running. I only took a quick detour to grab my backpack, the one I had prepared with a few essentials, and then I ran towards the river. The river was the limit of the pack's territory, but also my best option for escape.

I had been thinking about my mom and the river all day, and now I knew what I had to do. It was a big risk, but it was my only chance at getting free.

The backpack was slowing me down, and in the river, it would be an even bigger risk, it would slow me down and probably weigh me down, but I needed it. I didn't have much time to even think about it, because I could hear someone running after me, and I knew that soon more people would be on the chase.

"Stop, Helena! Don't do anything stupid," my brother yelled at me, but I only responded with a rude gesture of my hand, as I kept running, and then jumped into the water.

We were already close to the part of the river where the rapids started. It would have been enough for me to let the current drag me, but I needed to get away as fast as I could, so I started swimming until I lost control of myself and was left at the mercy of the current. It was too much and I started to believe I had made the wrong choice.

"Sister!" my brother was yelling at me. By then we were in the part where the river ran through a canyon, the walls standing a few feet up. I could barely see my brother. "Try to hold on," he said, and he threw a rope at me. I didn't even try to hold it, I had already committed to my actions, and I would keep going until the end.

Soon the roar of the waterfall reached my ears. This was the most dangerous part of my plan, and as the water tossed me from one side to the other, I started to fear I had made a huge mistake.

I reached the end, and I started to fall, with water pushing me down. I was at the mercy of the waterfall and I felt like I didn't have enough strength to climb out. Darkness surrounded me and I couldn't see anything anymore.