Captive Of The Alpha
Chapter 64

Nebraska could have sworn her heart skipped a beat. Before her lay the bodies of her husband and son, unconscious on the floor. It had all happened so fast. Seconds before, they were sharing the herd, and now they were there.

-Ne…, Nebrask …., Nebraska,” the sound of her name reached her ears along with the bustle around her.

She had been shocked for a moment. Sara waved her arm to bring her to her senses as tears streamed down her face. The queen shook her head and centred herself. This was no time to panic.

She knelt beside her husband after verifying that Nicholas was copying her and Rodrigo, and searched for Hades’ breath. It was light but present. She breathed with a modicum of relief. Out of the commotion that was beginning to form around her, Caesar managed to appear and knelt down beside her, taking her wrist pulse to study what had really happened.

What had happened, what had happened to the alpha, had he been poisoned?

The hubbub became very audible to almost everyone between questions, wolves jostling, some panicking over the alpha’s condition. Others running back and forth. Even Siran found it hard to reach them and look at the scene with a worried face and a painfully furrowed brow. Shouting, murmuring…

-Quiet!” shouted Nebraska and all sound in the room disappeared. “Caesar,” she looked at the doctor for results, with all the noise she wasn’t sure she had a good idea what was going on.

-Queen, the alpha has been poisoned,” he said.

Nebraska closed her eyes and pursed her lips.

-I’m sure it was her,” a male voice echoed in the room and everyone looked at a wolf who pushed those in front of him and positioned himself in front of everyone, “Don’t play the victim, you want to take over the pack, so you poisoned the alpha, who better than you to do it?

A minute of silence and then everyone began to look at each other. Doubt began to bloom.

Noa turned away from Nicolas and walked straight towards him.

-What are you say…?

-Noa’s voice echoed over his son’s and he stopped with a slight shudder and stepped back. It was the first time he had heard her speak in that tone.

Nebraska sat up and turned to face the wolf, walking slowly. Her hair began to wave slightly around her neck and her eyes became very golden, the iris disappearing into a whitish centre. The wolf that had been stalking her felt her body being paralysed and began to sweat. No part of his body moved.

The members of the pack backed away, lowering their heads. The atmosphere around her intimidated them to such an extent that it demanded their submission. It was not like the feeling when an alpha asserted himself where his body was crushed by a force greater than them. No, this time it was as if they lost their own will to do anything to this she-wolf.

Even her two youngest sons clung to Siran trembling and Nicholas’ face turned pale as he hugged Rodrigo tighter in his arms.

-Say it again,” Nebraska stopped in front of the wolf who had fallen to his knees, “Say in front of me that I was the one who poisoned him,” she looked down at him with a frozen face.

The slanderer couldn’t speak, a tremor ran through his whole body. Not even when Hades was upset had he reacted like this.

-I’ll tell you what,” Nebraska leaned in front of him and lifted his chin with her finger, making their gazes meet, terrifying him. He had never witnessed orbs like that before. “If I had wanted to take over the pack, I would have used other, quicker methods to do it. Do not alter the facts as you see fit. Besides,” a menacing smile left his lips as he slowly turned his head, “why are you so nervous?

The wolf’s trembling became more noticeable and he tried to release his grip.

-Siran,” Nebraska snapped up, “Take him in for questioning, the scent he’s giving off tells me he’s hiding something. Tell Leoxi to be alert and to reinforce the guard on all sides. No one is allowed to move outside the herd boundaries.

The beta nodded. He dared not refuse to refuse her command. First, because she was his queen, second, because he did not think he would be able to refuse her order in the tone she had used.

-Caesar, take Hades and Rodrigo with you so that you may attend to them. All you need will be given to you to secure their lives. Anyone who refuses, let me know.

-Sara, gather all those who drank wine and take them to another room to be examined to check for other cases of poisoning. I will check the barrels myself. And prepare a messenger, in case the contents are contaminated, we need to report it.

He turned to the rest of the herd.

-Remain calm and everyone return to their duties, you will be notified of the alpha’s status as soon as we have a breakthrough. If you see anyone acting strangely report it to any of the wolf guards.

The wolves around him nodded in their positions without replying.

-Move along,” Nebraska finally ordered, returning to normal.

Everything was done as she had ordered and without complaint. She didn’t know if they did it out of fear. She had never used her strength in that way, she herself had forbidden it as soon as she had discovered other ways to use her ability to calm the wild state. She did not like the reaction of others to her. She liked to be respected for who she was, not feared. And that was what she found in her children’s eyes as she stood before them.

Nicholas wrapped his arms around Alan and Noa’s shoulders, but they slipped behind his back. The hands of all three trembled slightly and they didn’t raise their heads even after the omega’s eyes were the same colour again. Nebraska swallowed dryly and smiled slightly, something she never did and it only showed pain on her face.

-I’m sorry,” was all she said before walking past him and following the path where Caesar had taken her husband and son.

She could bear it all, but the rejection of one of her sons was hard enough, of the other three it broke her inside. And if they were afraid of her now, then it was better to turn away.

The three of them stood there motionless, listening to what was going on around them. Noa began to cry silently against his brother’s back and Alan just hugged Nicholas. The older boy clenched his fists remembering his mother’s expression.

Nebraska stood for three hours in front of the door of what was considered the pack’s treatment room. Caesar’s helpers came and went, but they were told nothing and were forbidden to even peek in.

Siran was hugging Sara against his chest who had no comfort. Both had performed the tasks assigned to them. Among the other members of the pack there was no one else with symptoms of poisoning, besides the contents of the barrels were clean, so it was necessary to notify those who had made the gift, it was no time to look for more conflict.

Siran had spoken to Leoxi and security had been tightened. No one outside could know of the situation, or they would be very vulnerable, with the alpha on leave and Nebraska, a queen, who he didn’t know if they would respond to him after there was still a question as to whether she was the one who had poisoned him.

Leoxi had returned, within an hour of replaceing out, he was shocked by the information he had been given and his desperation caused him to break one of the window panes. He was now sitting in a corner waiting for results. He had not tried to engage the omega, had not even spoken to her.

Nebraska knew, that so many good things were happening around her was just an illusion. Fate was not grateful to her. And for the first time Nebraska felt more alone than when she had been held captive for so many years.

What had she done wrong?