Fated To The Midnight Alpha

~ LAYLA ~

I will not die today.

The cold metal cuffs dig roughly into my wrists. My head aches with a painful, pounding migraine that won't go away.

I don't want to believe this is real. But the truth hits me like a punch in the stomach.

I am chained up. Again.

Even after everything I did to stop this from ever happening, I am back in this nightmare.

I am a prisoner again. Caged like an animal.

But this place... it's different.

I do not fully know where I am. All I know and feel is that I am not in Kaliq's cage again like some rabid animal he locked up and almost turned me into.

This isn't Kaliq's prison. No. It doesn't smell like him. It doesn't feel like the moldy cage he locked me in and nearly broke me.

But I am a new prisoner in another cage nonetheless. Another cage much bigger and colder than Kaliq's.

Probably even worse.

When I pull at the chains holding me to the wall, the silver sizzles my skin with another painful burn. The pain shoots up my arms as I bite back a mournful cry and pull again.

Still nothing.

I am helplessly hanging here. A prisoner all over again. Nothing is happening.

Will I ever be free?

The thought makes me want to scream both in anger and for help. My heart bleeds when I remember my family-my parents. And my baby brother, Erin.

They died protecting me, and I swore to myself that I'd never let myself die or get caught again. I swore that I will never let myself be captured again by the one man who has sworn to own and destroy me and my entire family.

The monster who destroyed everything.

Kaliq.

I am sure he killed them. He enslaved me for years.

But I finally escaped, and I swore that I will never let him take me again.

So... why am I locked up now? Did he eventually succeed in dragging me back that night?

Is that why I'm here? Did he find me again?!

Fear rushes down my throat and spine like a pair of wicked cold hands. My breath hitches as I desperately try to hold onto anything around me that might make sense.

I force myself to look around, searching for answers.

The roof of this place is covered in cobwebs. The wall bricks are dark and cracked. To my right, there is a small window, way up near the top of the wall. Sunlight shines through it, forming a soft pale yellow glow pattern on the floor. I can hear birds singing outside.

Okay. I know I am not underground.

But I am still locked up in a cell.

Just where the fuck am I?!

I close my eyes and try to remember. I dig through the messy fog inside my mind, grabbing at any detail I can find.

Running. I remember running. I remember gasping for air and how my heart pounded like I was about to die, but I kept running. I remember those harsh sounds of chasing footsteps behind me. They belonged to Kaliq's men that were trying to capture me and drag me back into that smelly cage that night.

And... and then, I think I remember-

"She is awake, Alpha."

The voice makes my eyes fly open.

It is deep. Male. And just outside my cell.

Right then, something shiny catches my eyes on one of the iron bars. I squint at it.

My heart sinks.

It is a symbol of a crescent moon crossed by three claw marks.

I know that symbol!

Everyone knows it!

It is the pack symbol that only belongs to the BloodHounds Pack!

A chill runs through me. My whole body goes cold.

I am a captive. A rogue captive in the hands of the BloodHounds Pack.

No! This... this can't be happening to me!

This is bad.

Really bad.

The BloodHounds don't take prisoners. They kill rogues like me on sight.

Their Alpha is worse than all the horror stories. Cold. Deadly. No mercy.

His name is Raelin Michaelson.

But the world calls him the Midnight Alpha.

Three years ago, he wiped out a whole rogue camp in one night. They had attacked his pack and killed fifteen women and children on the night of his Alpha Ascension Ceremony. The massacre happened in the dead of midnight, and he made sure no rogue in that camp survived.

Ever since then, every rogue pack has steered clear away from his territory.

I am such a fool. A big, massive, rogue fool who somehow stumbled into the territory of the Midnight Alpha after that night I escaped Kaliq.

And now, I am locked up in his prison. I am doomed. I am never getting out of this wretched place alive.

Crying, I start yanking on the chains again. The force is hard enough to make my wrists bleed, but I don't care. I just want to get out of here by any means possible. I keep pulling at the shackles again and again, but my efforts are completely useless.

More tears spill down my face. Whoever put these chains on me expertly knew exactly what they were doing.

What have I done?

How could I be so stupid to have wandered into the Bloodhounds territory after I escaped Kaliq?

This is it.

I am going to die here.

"No, no, no," I whisper to myself, encouraging whatever little strength I have left. I keep tugging harder and ignoring the pain.

I can't give up. I won't.

However, the sounds of footsteps make me freeze.

And then, I hear keys clinking, and the creak of my cell door swinging open.

My breath catches in my throat.

Am I fucking scared? Yes.

But will I die today? No. I don't believe so.

I will fight until the last drop of my blood if that is what it will take for me to keep myself alive.

If I go down, I will go down fighting.

The room seems to shift. The air feels more stuffy now.

Then, I smell it. The comforting scent of pine trees, cinnamon, and fresh earth.

Something inside me stirs.

My wolf.

She moves inside me for the first time in so long. She recognizes what just entered the cell.

A strong, powerful presence.

An Alpha.

I can feel the power in my bones. I feel it everywhere.

And something else-something deeper-pulls at my chest like a hand softly reaching out to touch me. It is a feeling I don't understand. Like a fire starting in my heart.

I have never this before. It makes my pulse race in my veins.

Wait a minute-

Something snaps like a lock and key together inside my heart, and instantly, I recognize the feeling.

My mate bond.

No!

The deep, invisible connection settles inside me, but my tears are rolling down faster now. I yank at the chains again, but nothing happens.

No freedom. Nothing.

I don't want to believe what I just felt inside my heart.

But I can't lie to myself.

I know the truth. I feel it burning in my blood and screaming in my soul:

I just found my fated mate in a dark, forsaken place like this.

And he is a fucking Alpha.

~ LAYLA ~

I yank at my restraints again.

"I see you're awake."

The haunting tease in the voice of the male still approaching me is evident, followed by a dark chuckle that sounds like a deep rumble from his throat.

I stay still and say nothing.

For now, it will be better and safer for me not to speak rashly.

The approaching footsteps get closer and closer, and then, they finally deliver my new company, or should I say my new captor, into the light puddle right there at the center of my cell floor.

When the light illuminates his face, I gasp.

Raelin Michaelson. The infamous Midnight alpha.

I feel it. I know it. I can't be mistaken.

The pack crest.

The alpha aura around me and almost choking me.

Even the 'M' engraving on the signet ring I now see around his left index finger all point to the realization that I am indeed in the presence of the alpha who loathes and despises the likes of me.

The alpha who I just discovered seconds ago.... is my mate.

Silence descends down on us once more. Colder and now tainted with something sinister and full of hate.

I can feel the hate emanating from his alpha aura, harsh and cruel. He is tall and intimidating, his aura and commanding presence filling the small cell with a raw power that I know comes from his alpha blood.

His eyes are dark teal green, nearly black, and they are regarding me like I am nothing. Worthless.

A mere piece of rogue trash that had the guts to stumble into his pack territory.

"I can't believe Selene chose a lowlife like you to be my mate." He spits out, his eyes still burning me with a gaze so intense it feels like they are burning deep into my very soul.

He knows I am his mate too. Interesting.

I guess the hatred is mutual between us then.

I never asked for this pathetic life. I also never asked to be mated to an Alpha, much more an Alpha with a taste for rogue blood.

An Alpha who has sworn to destroy any rogue that dares venture into his territory again.

But wait, why am I still alive? Why has he kept me alive until now?

The reason can't possibly be because I am his mate.

The thought almost lures me into spitting out a scoff, but I hold in the urge to do so.

"Why am I here?" I demand instead, my voice hoarse but steady. "What do you want from me?"

My throat burns the more I speak. I am parched. I can't remember being fed even the slightest, tiniest drop of water ever since I was captured and locked in here like a fucking criminal.

"What do I want from you?" He repeats, and his lips twitch into something that might have been a condescending smirk, but the expression is gone too quickly to be sure.

He takes a step closer, and I press back against the wall, the cold stone digging into my skin.

"What do I want from you?" he says again, his tone now mocking me. He is close enough now that I can feel the heat radiating off him, and it takes everything in me not to shrink away in fear.

I keep mute, not saying anything.

I know that I am the prisoner here and he is my captor. But I will not allow even that circumstance to deter me or intimidate me into saying something that I might end up regretting.

Also, I will not let him see my fear. I will not give him the satisfaction of watching me squirm like a worm under his wicked hook.

His intense gaze flicks from my face down to my neck, then further down to my half-exposed breasts and straight to the locket necklace I always wear around my neck.

The only possession I have left of my family. Of Erin.

His eyes stay on the locket necklace, looking so intense, and I almost squirm in fear, the ringing in my ears getting louder and louder, almost deafening.

My hands ball into tight fists around the chains still binding me to the wall in an effort to resist myself from giving away my fear to him.

No. Please look away.

Please don't take the only physical memory I have left of my family from me.

Please.

As if he can hear the cry of my desperate thoughts, he looks away from the locket necklace and pins his attention back to my face.

"You asked what I want from you." He takes a menacing step closer, his voice lowering into a much darker tone. "I want to know why a filthy rogue was trespassing my territory."

The manner with which he spits out 'filthy rogue' is filled with so much disgust. So much disdain.

I swallow hard, my mind racing.

I can't tell him the truth.

If I do, he will kill me, or worse, he might decide to successfully find a way of getting rid of me by sending me back to Kaliq.

Mate or not.

I may not know my exact fate in this place now, whether I may eventually die here or not, but I am very certain about what will happen to me if I ever cross paths with Kaliq again.

I will be dead by Kaliq's hands if Raelin ever hands me back to that monster.

However, what can I say now that can convince Raelin and make him believe me?

"Are you deaf, or just dumb to speak?" He rashes out impatiently.

"I wasn't-" I start, but he cuts me off with a low growl, his eyes narrowing.

"Don't even think about lying to me," he warns, his dark tone of voice sending a dangerous shiver down my spine. "I can smell the fear on you, rogue. When I found you, you were running from something. Or someone."

My heart skips a beat, and I force myself to keep my expression neutral, to keep my voice steady.

"I wasn't trespassing." My throat hurts. "I don't even know how I got here. Yes, I was running from someone, but that is the last thing I can remember."

He does not look convinced by my answer. In fact, he looks like he is restraining himself from ripping my throat out.

"You expect me to believe that?" he asks, his voice dripping with skepticism. "You expect me to believe that you just happened to wander into my pack territory by accident?"

~ LAYLA ~

His question hangs in the air between us, waiting to be answered.

"Yes," I finally speak, my voice barely above a whisper. "You have to believe me. I would never just wander into your pack territory despite knowing how cruel you are to the likes of me."

"Is that so?" He asks, still giving me the deathly stare.

For a moment, I pray inwardly for him to believe me and stop asking me more questions.

I don't know if I can keep talking any longer with the intense pain I am feeling deep inside my throat.

Unfortunately for me, I watch his teal eyes as they instantly switch to a fierce red, burning into mine. I feel the unleashed power of his alpha aura wrapping around me and pressing down on me, suffocating my mind at the same time.

Dear Selene.

He does not believe me.

I am a rogue. Of course he will never believe whatever comes out of my lips.

I have never felt so small and so dejected in my entire life, but now is not the time for me to drown in my helplessness.

I need to stay alive.

And if achieving that means that I have to do anything to resist telling him the truth no matter what, I will do it.

I close my eyes, trying to use the measly strength I have left to fight back, but his aura is everywhere inside my mind, hunting for the truth like a hungry wolf searching for that spicy bloody meat.

Every instinct in me is fighting to succumb, to bow my head.

To submit.

Yes, I may be weak right now, but my mind is mine. I refuse to allow my mind to be controlled by someone else.

I am in charge of my own mind. And Raelin Michaelson is not my Alpha.

I have no Alpha.

The only true, ultimate Alpha that I will ever acknowledge in my life is my father, even though he is dead now.

I try to focus on memories of my dad, trying to draw more of the strength I need from them. Raelin is still messing with my mind, still trying to grasp control over me.

But I have lived my life so far like some hunted animal. I have survived a lot of dehumanizing tortures just to survive and protect my family, even though I lost them all in the end.

This situation is no different. And I refuse to let it be different this time.

I am strong. I will not submit to anyone.

Not even to Raelin Michaelson.

The silence around us stretches on. Thick and heavy. The truth is, I want him to stop torturing me.

But he is so fucking persistent. He is truly merciless. I can't believe he is my mate!

Moments that feel like ages of torment pass between us, and just when I begin contemplating whether to say something to interrupt him from punishing me, his eyes rapidly switch back to their normal teal color, freeing my mind.

And he laughs. He fucking laughs.

What the hell is going on here?

"I like you." He chuckles, his laughter dying down with one of his fingers lifting up my chin to him. "You must be a strong one, rogue darling, but I can't wait to find out how long you can resist telling me the truth."

"I am telling you the truth." I hiss out, the pain deep in my throat becoming unbearable. "Please, I can't keep talking. My ...my throat hurts."

I cough involuntarily, and the instant pain from the action burns through my gullet like hell.

I hate that I sound so pitiful and pathetic, but I am clawing at whatever straws I hope I have left to save myself from becoming dumb forever.

I feel like if I dare so much as whisper just one more word without first tasting even the slightest droplet of water, I am going to damage my throat and never speak forever.

"You're thirsty?" He asks.

I nod, not wanting to speak again.

Intense silence passes between us, no words spoken. He stares at me for a moment, but that moment ends when he turns his back on me.

And then, more silence.

Please, just fucking help me.

Another silence.

The corners of my eyes sting. He is not going to help me. He is truly heartless.

I shut my eyes, now almost at the brink of shedding tears. Ever since the day I lost my family, I have suffered and endured various ranges and kinds of punishments that nearly drove me into madness.

But this one time.... Just this one time that I am begging for a fucking droplet of water, I feel like I am being tormented with the worst weapon I have always feared since I lost my family.

The weapon of neglect. Especially from the one person I always thought that Selene would use to change my fugitive life for the better.

I do not know what hurts more: my burning throat, or my stupid bet of relying on miserable hope.

Seconds later, I hear rushing footsteps outside the dim cell corridor, and I open my eyes.

When I do, I see Raelin looking at me. No, he is looking down at my locket necklace.

Why does his eyes keep going there?

I am pulled out of my thoughts when my cell door creaks. Raelin and I both dart our attention to the entrance and instantly see a young girl scuttling into my cell, carrying a full transparent bottle of water.

"Here Uncle Ray I brought the-"

"Shit! What are you doing down here?!" Raelin asks sharply, his eyes growing wide in shock.

Mine widens in surprise and curiosity too.

"No curse words Uncle Ray. Mum doesn't know I'm here." The girl's voice is chirpy and very fast. "Please don't tell her. I don't want Nora getting in trouble because of me. I just wanted to see-"

"It's alright, Cupcake." Raelin cuts her off, his intimidating physique squatting down before the little girl.

Gently, he tries collecting the water from her, but she holds back, her small hands squeezing around the bottle.