Chapter 2 Espitle 2

Ariana's POV

"Don't you dare inject her with that," he growled. "Let's go; I will walk her out. I need to have a conversation with her, then you can take her to wherever my father asked you to take her to."

Jeffrey walked me out of my father's office with the three guards trailing behind us. When we were completely far away from my father's office and the three guards were about ten steps behind us, he finally spoke to me.

"Ariana I'm really sorry for everything. I'm sorry for neglecting you all these years and not being the ideal big brother you wish for. It's just that mother's death took a bad toll on me, and with father and everyone else blaming you for it, I didn't really know what to do; I felt confused. I know deep down Mother will not be happy with me, but I promise to make it up to you, Ariana. I will do whatever I can to get you out of this situation. You just need to hold on for now. Jeffrey said softly.

"I thought you didn't care about me, Jeffrey. What changed?" I asked sadly.

"I have always cared about you, Ari. It's just that Father made it difficult for me, and things always get worse for you whenever I try to help. So I just thought it was best I act like I didn't care to protect you. I love you, Ari. Seeing your face every day and the kind of young lady you're growing up to be always reminds me of Mother. She'll be so proud of you," Jeffrey replied as he used his thumb to gently caress my cheek affectionately.

"I didn't know, Jeff. I thought you hated me just like everyone else, and I know how difficult Father can be. Thank you for telling me this and letting me know you genuinely love and care for me. It means a lot to me. I love you, Jeff." I said, giving him a hug.

"I love you too, Ari. I promise to look for a solution so you don't end up with that man, okay? But I'm sorry I have let the guards do what they were asked to," he says, giving me a kiss on my forehead.

I only nodded as I watched him leave, and the guards quickly grabbed me like I was some sort of hardened criminal. Jeffrey stopped and looked back, then he said to the leader of the guards, "You better not inject her with wolfsbane, because if I find out that you did, I promise you I'll personally melt silver, mix it with wolfsbane, and force you to drink it. So you better be careful," he said and left.

***#****#***

2 weeks later.

It was cold. So cold.

My skin and body were numb. I shivered as I lay on the cold floor. The cell I was locked in had a completely cemented floor and a metal door. I had no light, no fresh air, no clean clothes, and no actual place to sleep except the cold, cement floor.

For the past two weeks that I've been here, I have been deprived of food and water. If it had been six months ago, my nursing mother, Charlotte, would have brought me food and water because she would have pleaded with the guard who held the key to my cell, and he would have given it to her. But Chloe found out that Charlotte had been sneaking food into the cell and told my dad. My dad blinded one of the guard's eyes with a silver knife as a warning for such not to happen again.

Right now, I have no hope, and every part of my body feels deathly weak. The smell of my own urine and feces seems to grow worse with each passing day. There is no toilet in the cell, so whenever I'm pressed, I have to go to a particular corner and relieve myself there.

As I lay on the floor I couldn't help but think. Maybe it would be in my best interests to become the Lycan king's breeder. Perhaps I could win his heart, make him fall in love with me, and, if he does, use the influence of his power to punish my father and the people of Crescent Moon Pack for the way they've treated me. If I can make him fall in love with me, maybe I can even convince him to destroy the Crescent Moon Pack.

The soft unlatching sound of the door lock echoed in the quiet room, pulling me sharply out of my reverie and back into the present.

"Hey, mutt! Get up. The guard who wanted to inject me with wolfsbane two weeks ago called out. "You've been ordered to go clean the whole bathroom at the castle and also the kitchens."

Gathering my strength, I force myself to stand up off the floor, stumbling as I walk over to the opened door. The guard led me to the bathroom at Alpha Stanley's castle through the backdoor at my father's mansion.

"Don't go into the showers or use the bathroom. Clean them!" he ordered. "When you're done, go straight to the kitchen, wash the dishes, and clean the kitchen. Don't steal anything there, and you're not to eat anything in the kitchen, even if it's leftovers. I hope I've made myself crystal clear."

I slowly nodded my head in affirmation.

"I'll be back in an hour so you better be done before I get back," he said as he walked out.

Slowly, I started cleaning the bathrooms right after he left. Luckily for me, the bathrooms in the castle were usually not as dirty as those in the pack house, so it didn't take long for me to finish. Afterwards, I left the bathroom and headed to the kitchen. I felt weak when I saw all the dirty dishes scattered around and how messy the kitchen looked.

I sat on the floor, tired and frustrated, my whole body vibrating and my legs shaking. I looked around the kitchen again, and then my eyes caught something. The big window in the kitchen was open. And immediately an idea popped into my head; perhaps I could escape. Unlike the bathroom, the kitchen is on the last floor of the castle, and the protector seems to have been removed. It was unusual, but I didn't care.

This is a rare opportunity for me to escape, and I'm not going to let such an opportunity go to waste. I looked around outside to see if anyone was around. Then I jumped out of the window and landed on both feet. The air outside was so fresh, so good and it felt refreshing. The sun was bright and shiny, but most of all, it felt very hot on my bare skin.

I scanned my environment; there were no guards in sight, so I moved on autopilot, running towards the pack border, and the next thing I knew, I had crossed the pack border, and I was running into the forest by myself in search of my freedom.

I breeze past trees, not stopping for breath as I move swiftly. After about an hour of running, I noticed with relief how quiet the wind was, as I could only hear my breathing. I don't know how far I have run despite running for hours, but I stop at a beautiful lake. My legs are shaking as I hit the ground. I whimpered aloud as the rocks jabbed my knees.

I used my arms to drag myself to the lake. The cool water hit my hands first. I sat down in the lake, my full body submerged. I start to scrub all the dirt off myself. I wet my hair and then ran my fingers through it nicely. When I was done washing myself, I drank some of the water going past me by cupping it with my now clean hands and sipping it.

The water was refreshing, it was nice and also cold.

I got up out of the water and lay down on a big rock close to the lake. I lay there, my whole body tensed and shaking from being wet. In my weak and tired state, I lay there until I fell into a deep, needed sleep.