Destined for the Alpha (15 page)

He cut a slice of apple and reached across the table to feed it to her. "Cordelia will be there, you know."

"I had a feeling." Truth be told, she had hoped that Cordelia was not attending, but she didn't want to constantly be in hiding and make that disgusting woman think that she had the upper hand. "Her being there makes me want to go even more."

"Do you miss her?"

"I want people to know I'm a strong alpha for you, Peter. I don't want one woman have that kind of power over me."

He laughed at her response "You've become so manipulative lately, my scared little pup is coming into her own."

She blushed and looked away "I just don't want anyone else to get hurt anymore."

"John, come in here and clean up this mess." he called and got up from his chair, wiping his hands off on his pants "perhaps it will be nice to introduce you to the rest of the clans."

"Thank you." she smiled up at her alpha and he kissed her gently, he ruffled her hair

"John will get you dressed after he gets in here and does his damn job." he called towards the closed door and the omega bust in looking flustered.

"Sorry, alpha, but beta Ivan…" he started gathering plates and Catherine stood up and followed her alpha out into the hall.

"Peter?"

"Hmm?" He asked turning back to see the small girl standing in the doorway, her hands clasped together and fidgeting.

"Do you think I'll really be safe in the same room as her?" she asked honestly.

"As long as I'm there, you'll be safe." he reassured her and pulled her against his body into a tight hug "trust me."

Chapter 11

The rest of the day she spent with her omega that seemed to be the only wolf that was ever around when she needed company.

"So these happen every month? The feasts?" she asked as John zipped up her gown, it was shapeless white chiffon that hit the floor and came to a collar around her neck, there were no sleeves and it seemed to hide her figure and define it all at once.

"Yeah, it's an excuse for everyone in the compound to get together and connect. We are a small society and as we all play an important part to create the whole, we should be mindful of the people we depend on." John was still dressed in rags, he only seemed to own two pairs of clothing, both of which were dirty and threadbare, she wondered how she could get the tailor to better dress her omega. "We usually do not go, or if we do, only the deltas attend. Alpha Peter says it's a waste of time."

"Oh." she said as he buttoned her collar, "have you gone?"

"Only once, it was just eating and then we left. There is supposedly dancing afterwards where everyone pushes the tables to the walls, but I am not sure."

"Let's go Catherine, or we're going to be late." Ivan called from the chair, he was in the usual white t-shirt and jeans, and she saw a gaping hole in the shoulder of his shirt and poked at it.

"How come you're not dressing up?" she asked, feeling terribly overdressed for the occasion.

"I never dress up." he huffed "it's a waste of time."

"Everyone else will look nice, don’t be obstinate Ivan" Peter interjected coming into the room adjusting the sleeves on his black velvet suit that she recalled him wearing the day of his trial.

"I don't want to be the odd one out." she walked over to her alpha and held out her hand.

"Gorgeous, alright Ivan let's get this over with." he said following Catherine down the hall, she quickly realized she didn't know where they were going and fell backwards to join her alpha.

"Wait!" she said, something not settling right in her stomach, she ran back to the room and opened up the top drawer, she grabbed the silver tincture and slid the small vial into her bra before running out to meet the group.

It was a large room she had never seen before, full of people she had never met, the hall was half as big as a football field and decorated with large candelabras and tapestries. The tables stretched the entire length of the room with a high table that had the elder council who were all talking. "All of these people…live here?" she asked feeling slightly frightened by all the strangers, she stepped behind Peter.

"Yeah, it's a large compound, you just stay in one wing, and the D’état clan is just a few floors beneath us. The compound is the mountain." Ivan chimed in behind her

He looked back at the small Helian girl "You're safe, stick near Me." he squeezed her hand reassuringly and tugged her ahead.

Peter was right, as they walked down the aisles, everyone was dressed even better than she was, suits and gowns, hair done up in elaborate ways. It wasn't a feast, it was a gala. They were headed towards the front of the room near the elders and she saw a set of empty seats, her heart jumped in her throat when she caught sight of Alpha Roland and Cordelia dining on the table to the left of them. "Ignore them." her alpha muttered under his breath and she looked away hoping they wouldn't see her. He seated her first and sat at the head of the long table, Ivan sat to his right and she sat to his left, her head bowed. Where had her courage went?

Dinner was almost as delicious as the food she had with Philippe and she didn't see him or his clan anywhere, hadn't he convinced her to come in the first place?  "Where's Philippe?" she asked, grabbing a gold goblet that had just been filled with red wine there were quite a few waiters floating about, done up in white suits with black ties who would take away plates and bring new ones.

"He's…not here." Peter said looking at another set of empty chairs down the table he frowned and went to get up but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Peter, you don't come to the feast usually, what's the occasion!" it was alpha Roland. Catherine immediately stood up along with Ivan but she felt something sharp against her back

"It's good to see you again, Alpha Catherine." that voice was familiar, it was cold, it was low, it was emotionless, it was Cordelia. "Do not move, beta, I have a very sharp knife against her very delicate skin, and we do not want any blood spilled tonight.” Cordelia said lowly, almost inaudible over the hum of the hall. Ivan sat back down and watched Cordelia coolly, as if he had expected it? The nervous feeling in Catherine’s stomach tightened. Who was Ivan?

"She's so beautiful, it's hard not to give her what she wants. You'd know as well as I do, Peter." Roland laughed, he was in a black suit also, the small blonde frowned in jealousy "Alright, let's take drinks in our rooms!"

Catherine whimpered and felt Cordelia yank her up by her hair. "Tossed aside for something like this, what could you be thinking Peter." Cordelia muttered pressing the knife into her back drawing blood-making Catherine cry out as they exited the rooms.

"Let her go, Roland, and get your female under some control." Peter growled as they walked down another stone hallway.

"We have less than a week to acclimate the Helian girl into our clan, with that kind of power, we can surpass the elder council easily. Do you think we'd let her stay with a clan like yours?"

"She is mine, she has always been mine. I doubt you could get her to mate with you, let alone accept you. Your ideas are ludicrous." She cried out when she felt a long cut travel down her arm, but she realized it was not her that was cut, but Peter.

"Shut your mouth, or I'll hurt her again." and Peter lapsed into silence while Catherine silently wept.

Their common room was lavish in velvets and purples, two omegas came out and served them cocktails. Catherine noticed they were barely clothed and fed and she felt instantly bad for them. They looked like walking skeletons, and she could tell that they were just punching bags for the group. How could wolves be so sadistic to abuse their own kind like this?

"Okay Helian, your blood please." Cordelia asked, scraping blood running down Catherine's back from the cut into a vial.

"Haven't you read the legends?" Peter spat "Blood must be willingly given."

Cordelia paused before throwing Catherine to the floor, she scraped her knees and elbows on the ground as she landed. "Willingly given?" the femme fatale asked as she sipped a vodka cocktail, she walked over towards Peter who was standing rigid next to Roland in the dark room.

"What would you give for?" She stabbed Peter in the side and while Peter didn't move or even flinch at the motion, Catherine curled up in pain.

"What?" Roland looked at the man who was bleeding next to him, his arm had healed now and the blood spilling down his leg was slowing. "This wasn't in the myths Cordelia."

She looked over at Catherine who was sobbing on the ground and clutching her side as if she had been stabbed instead. "She takes on your pain? What is this girl?"

Catherine felt another sharp stab in her arm and wailed. "Strange."

"Cordelia, I do not think it is wise to continue this line of reasoning." Her alpha warned "Grab the silver dagger, perhaps she will be more willing to cooperate when her alpha loses a limb."

Cordelia paused, all that could be heard was Catherine's soft sobs on the floor "I don't have the dagger anymore." she muttered quietly, like a chastised child.

"Where did it go?"

"Philippe D’état has possession of it." she said poutily and she heard Roland sigh in annoyance.

"Put them in a cage while you find it, you stupid woman." she heard Roland walk out of the room and Cordelia grabbed her hair and yanked her upright, leading her to what indeed was a large cage made out of silver. Roland opened it carefully with a glove and tossed her alpha inside, followed by Catherine who fell face first onto the concrete, adding more scrapes to her collection. Peter gathered the crying girl into his arms and hugged her against him in order to protect her, hushing her sobs as they died down. Eventually her eyelids became heavy and finally she fell asleep in his arms, protected from any evil in her alpha’s arms.

Chapter 12

When she woke it was quiet and Peter was asleep on the floor, his wounds had healed and he was curled around her body in an effort to protect her from any harm, even though he had clearly shown that the weakest point he had was her. The great alpha peter, taken down by a small blonde girl who wasn't even a wolf yet.

She walked to the silver bars of the cage and rattled them "Let us out!" she cried and she watched one of the sad and skinny lower wolves come over to check on her.

"Can I get you anything Helian? We were told to keep you well." his voice was as small as his body. He was malnourished and almost as short as she was, his black hair limp against her forehead.

She paused looking at him, pity welling up inside of her once more as she forgot her own plight and felt bad for the omega instead "Oh, it's you."

"Do I know you?" he asked, taken aback by her response

"Well no, but, are you alright?" she reached out of the cage and pointed to his ribcage and he looked down at himself

"I'm an omega, this is how omegas are. When I become stronger…" he shook his head "do you need anything?"

"Food, if you could." she asked politely looking back at Peter who was still asleep in the center of the cage on the stone floor.

When the omega came back with a platter of food he handed it to her with gloves on through the bars one item at a time, an apple, some bread, finished with a glass of water. "Is there anything else?" He asked after she set them on the floor.

"Yes!" Catherine replied and grabbed the apple and handed it back to the omega "Eat this please, you look starving."

He looked at her strangely "But this is all you get…"

She shook her head "this is probably all you get too, I'd rather us both be full than just one of us."

"Omegas aren't allowed-"

"This omega is allowed." Catherine cut him off "What's your name?"

He hesitated before he bit into the apple and the look on his face was that of pure bliss, "it's um, it's Mateo."

"eat up, Mateo and hand it back when you're done so you don't get in trouble." She sat on the floor next to the food but didn't dare touch it, saving it instead for her alpha.

"You're not a wolf yet?" asked Mateo sitting down outside the bars and far away from the silver.

"No, this week sometime is my changing I think." she looked down at the cup of water and ignored it. Peter may need more of it than her. "How did you know?"

"The silver doesn't hurt you yet like it hurts everyone else."

"Oh!" she didn't think about that and suddenly remembered the vial in her bra, the tincture! "I suppose it doesn't"    

Mateo handed her the core back and she placed it next to the bread and water. "I'm sorry that you're caged up here, alpha Catherine. we have overheard much about you. It's not unusual for beta Cordelia to get violent though." he hung his head "you're really nice though."

She smiled at the omega "You're nice too, Mateo. Thank you for some food, my alpha will appreciate it."

He stood up and nodded at her "I will try and get more, but it's hard for a guy like me."

"I know." she waved at him and he walked back down the hall, standing guard next to a wooden door.

She eventually fell back asleep next to Peter, there was nothing more to do.

"Catherine, are you awake?" she groaned and rubbed her eyes, it was dark now in the room, she didn't realize there was any natural light coming into the dim room until there was none at all, she couldn't see Peter but she could tell he was there "Yes"

"Are you okay? did they hurt you? The silver, it just drains me of energy. I'm so sorry. Dammit!"

"Did you eat?" she asked trying to make him out in the darkness

"Yes, the bread and the water. I lost so much blood." he sounded scared, and that in turn made Catherine scared, her alpha was infallible, strong in both will and body. Why hadn't anyone come to get them yet? Surely Ivan knew.

"Where is Ivan? Why aren't the elders taking action?" Peter asked mostly to himself. So he didn't know either. Catherine sat up and could just see Peter's outline next to her in the dark.

"He said…Roland said that with me on their side even the elder council wouldn't be a problem." Catherine paused "I thought I could just make sick people feel better, is there more?"