The Alpha and the Princess

Reminiscence

I had a strange dream or was it my imagination replaying the stories I read. I kept my eyes closed and tried to remember what I saw. I was lost in a dark cave, I was lonely and scared. I heard a beast growling. It wasn't like any wild animal. It was something from another world. I ran away but the beast kept getting closer, then everything became silent. I turned around and sighed when I saw the light filling the cave. But it was no light, it was a wave of fire, green and purple flames that were going to burn me alive. 

I braced myself as I knew I couldn't outrun it. But I felt a different pair of arms going around my waist and took me out of the cave. He was muscular and warm, but I couldn't see his face. I thought he took me away on his horse, but he disappeared and instead of the horse I was riding a giant black wolf. It was running so fast that I had to lower myself and hold my arms around his neck. I was hugging a soft furry wolf, but I wasn't scared. I felt safe.

What was more strange is that I woke up in bed, I don't remember how I came here. Great, now I'm sleepwalking!  The pillow and the blanket on the other side of the bed were still filled with that delicious fragrance. I couldn't get enough of it but I had to get up. As I lowered my feet and sat on the bed, I found a note on my nightstand: 

“I filled the closet with a few things, take what you like. 

XOXO 

Hannah”

I made a leap to the closet and took a look, it was stuffed! These aren't a few things, it's A LOT OF THINGS! Dresses, shirts, jackets, pants, skirts, shoes...I screamed internally, there is everything I could think of and more. I picked an outfit, skinny dark jeans, and a plaid shirt before going to the bathroom, I brushed my teeth, took a shower. I dried my hair and brushed it in a ponytail. 

Out of habit, I felt the need to clean the mess in the bathroom, change the bedsheets. I left the blanket and the pillow covers because I liked the way it smelled. I put on black leather boots and a matching jacket. I picked the laundry and went looking for the washing machine to load it. I wondered how many rooms they have, this place was so huge that it looked like a hotel.

I noticed what looked like a service door, I pushed it and found two ladies, maybe in their thirties. They were surprised to see me and jumped to take the laundry out of my hands. 

"Oh miss you didn't have to bring the laundry here, you just leave it in the basket and we will take it later," the short woman said

"It's fine really, I am used to doing the laundry myself"

"But you are a guest, the alpha will be angry if we let you.."

"The who?" I interrupted.

The other woman elbowed her and raised her eyebrows. I wanted to talk more but she politely dismissed me out of the laundry room saying that they had work to do. As I left, I could hear them arguing but I couldn't make out what it was about.

I headed to the kitchen expecting to see as many people gathered as it was the case yesterday, but I could only see Hannah sitting by the kitchen island having breakfast. After saying Good morning, I poured a cup of coffee and sat next to her. 

"Thanks for the closet, everything looks amazing," I told Hannah as I held her hand.

"Take it as a welcome gift" I didn't understand what she meant but I didn't want to sound rude.

"You are so generous and I feel lucky I have met you. "

"I'm the lucky one, I hope we can become friends," she said with a bright smile on her face.

I didn't want to disappoint her and tell her that I was going to leave as soon as I could, but I didn't want to lie either. So I gave her a hug. As I backed up I wanted to change the subject immediately.

"Where's everybody?" I asked.

"Working, training, studying. The usual." Hannah answered with a shrug.

She must have seen my eyes roaming around searching because she continued.

"Usually it's just me, Victor takes his coffee while making calls in his study."

I felt my face flush, for making my feelings obvious. I took a piece from the pile of pancakes in front of me to distract myself.

"What do you want to do for fun today?" Hannah asked

" I want to go to the clinic"

"Are you sick?" She sounded worried.

"I'm fine." For now. "I need to talk to doctor Stone"

"Where's the fun in that? She is a total mood killer with all her seriousness," she said with amusement.

I wasn't in the mood for jokes so I kept eating silently. But that didn't discourage her. 

"While you go to the clinic, I’ll be taking an online course. When you get back we will hang out together. What do you think?"

I nodded my head in approval and she waved goodbye. After finishing breakfast, I made my way to the clinic and knocked on the office door, no answer. I pushed the door, "Hello?"  The doctor was not here. 

I was wondering where she went when I heard faint voices. I followed the noises upstairs where patients’ rooms were located. I was surprised to see that all the beds were full of patients. They were the men I saw at training yesterday. I searched every room, all I could see was bruised faces, broken limbs in casts until I found the doctor. 

"Good morning Doc," I said to get her attention, but she didn't answer me. Rude.

"I was wondering if you got in touch with my doctor and when I can have my medicine?" I asked.

"He's out of town, on a vacation or something," She said without peeling her eyes from a patient's chart.

"Did you tell them it was an emergency? Do you know when he will get back?"

She turned to me and said "As you can see I am busy, I have more patients than I can handle"

"What happened to them, they were fine yesterday" curiosity took over me.

She turned over to me. "Victor is what happened to them, something made him angry and he lashed out at them. I would advise you to stay away from him as much as you can. And now if you could excuse me I have a job to do"

She snapped at me before she moved to check another patient. I was hoping to get my medicine soon, but I'll have to wait I guess.

I walked back to the house, thinking about what I should do with my life now. Where should I go after I leave this place? It is a really beautiful and peaceful way of life in the middle of nature. It was refreshing to be away from the noise of the city, pollution, and garbage everywhere. 

Usually, when I don't take my pills even for one day, my symptoms hit me hard. I feel nervous, agitated and I can't focus on anything. Somehow, I've been here for two days and I feel better than ever, except for the voices in my head. Maybe nature does have healing powers. I was deep in my thoughts that I didn't notice that I walked to the lake.

I sat on a falling tree trunk and looked at the beautiful scenery in front of me. The lake was round in shape. the east side of the shore was covered with white sand and looked like a moon crescent. The west side was a wall made of large rocky blocks with a little waterfall. The wind would blow sometimes, the water sprinkle in thin droplets and a little rainbow forms, suspended there for a minute before disappearing. Why the good things never stay long, why the happiness never lasts. Like the only time I ever felt happy in my life.

~~~~Flashback~~~~

It was my freshman year in high school, I got a new foster family. I was distant at first, most foster parents take in the kids only to get the paycheck and never cared about the children.  Bill and Georgia were different, they were an old married couple. They had three kids but they all moved out and after they settled out of the state, they rarely came to visit. They wanted to take care of a child and give them the love they couldn't give to their grandkids who were too far away. 

They were the nicest people I ever met, they treated me well and showered me with the love and affection I was always craving for. They were the family I always dreamed of. They didn't have much, but they shared with me the little that they had. For them, I did my best to behave at school and not get into fights. They even let me put on contact lenses so the other kids don't make fun of my different eye color. When it came Thanksgiving, Christmas, and new year they prepared a little and cozy celebration. It wasn't fancy but it was from the heart and that was what always mattered to me. 

For a little while, I felt safe, happy, not lonely anymore. To my biggest dismay, the happy days didn't last. Before the end of the school year, Bill had a stroke, he survived but half of his body was paralyzed. The last of their savings paid for the hospital fees. They were forced to take a second mortgage on their house and they couldn't afford another mouth to feed and Georgia had to take care of her husband around the clock.

When the social services came to pick me up, my heart broke at seeing a single tear dropped from Bill's eyes. He was trying to say something but because of the stroke,  he was left lying in bed and unable to speak properly.

"I'm sure he wants to say the same thing as me," Said Georgia with a strangled voice. "We wish you were really our daughter, and we would want you to stay if Bill wasn't sick." She choked on her tears, took a breath, and continued.

"We love you and you will always be in our hearts and prayers"

"I love you too," I said back and hugged Georgia. 

After a minute the social worker snatched me from her arms saying that it was time to go. I cried. I kicked. I screamed. I begged, but to no avail. They were as sad as me but we didn't have a choice. There was no way for me to fit in their lives. We said our goodbyes to each other, to the only family I ever had, to the short time I ever felt loved in my life.

"What are you doing here?"

A deep voice pulled me out of my memories and back to the present. I looked up to see who it was, only to meet warm honey-colored eyes on a cold and scary face. 

Victor.

How does he keep finding me?