The Alpha and his Mate
Chapter 21

Annabelle’s PoV

I had been tossing and turning all night, my mind just wouldn’t stop thinking about everything Xavier had told us. About how I was a magic messenger that had some weird wolf connection to an ancient goddess that I had never even heard of a week ago. I just wish I knew someone who had the answers, who knew what was going on with me and could help me in some way. Someone like my Mother.

I genuinely believe that she too was a messenger of the moon goddess, why else would someone want to harm her and rip me away from my family?

I looked over to my left to see that Jax was still fast asleep on the other side of the bed, oblivious to the thoughts that were racing through my brain. We had kind of just kept the sleeping arrangements since the other night when I asked him to sleep next to me. We both stubborn and refused to let the other sleep on the sofa so why bother continuing the fight at all if we both knew the other wouldn’t be giving in any time soon. I didn’t have a major issue with it, sure it was a bit bizarre that I was allowing someone to sleep next to me when I could barely stand someone touching me not to long ago but what can I say, he made me feel safe. And safe was a feeling almost foreign to me thanks to all my years at the Leften’s house.

I sighed and gave up trying to get back to sleep, I had already slept enough over the last 48 hours anyway so why was I even bothering trying to force my body to have more. I got up and made my way down the stairs and into the kitchen to get myself a cold glass of water. I still found it a bit bizarre sometimes that I was able to just go into the kitchen and help myself to anything that I wanted. I was so used to having to ask permission for years on end at the Leftens that I still catch myself beginning to ask Jax if I was allowed to do anything. You’d think I would have gotten used to it by now but sadly that little habbit was still engrained into my brain.

I sighed as the cold water soothed my dry throat, when was the last time I had anything to drink?

I filled the glass back up, intending to down my second pint of water when a sudden ear-splitting screech rang all around me and invaded my senses. It was a noise so intense that it made my eyes water and vision to blur.

I dropped the glass of water and covered my ears with my hands, hoping to somehow dull the sound down by even a little but nothing helped, if anything it just made the noise worse. I was aware of nothing; my undivided attention was on this painful ringing noise that seemed to increase with every passing second and just when I was about to give up hope... it stopped. My vision cleared and I could suddenly hear everything that was going on around me.

What was peculiar though was that I wasn’t in Jax’s kitchen anymore, in fact I wasn’t even above ground. I was in some type of make shift cell block.

I took a few gulps of air to help calm my nervous heart and sweaty palms and just when I was happy that I was calm enough I heard a commotion from up ahead. Curiosity got the best of me as I slowly made my way over towards the voices. They were muffled at first but as I got closer, I managed recognised a male voice yelling. I couldn’t quite work out what he was shouting or who he was shouting at but whoever it was I felt immensely sorry for them. I had been yelled at like that a lot over my childhood and it never got easier being on the receiving end of someone else’s rage. Nine times out of ten you would always end up on the receiving end of someone’s fist.

I inched forward, trying to get closer to the angry man until I could satisfied enough with the distance so that I could hear what he was yelling.

“What the hell do you mean you don’t know!” The man yelled, I inched closer so that I could look around the corner and get a better look at what was going on. As I poked my head out from behind the moss covered stone wall I saw a man towering over a cowering figure as they crouched on the floor, hoping to make themselves as small and insignificant as possible. I knew that posture anywhere, it was the posture of someone who was expecting a blow at any moment, like me before I had ran for my life.

The other person must have muttered a response but it was too quiet for me to hear as all I got was a quiet whisper of unintelligible mumbles.

“Well then ask again. The only reason we are keeping you around is because of what you know and if your knowledge has run out then so has your time on this planet” the man towering over the figure snarled.

I crept closer still, making sure to stick to the shadows, hoping to hear the other side of the story. “I have asked but I’m getting nothing back sir, our communication bond has been broken” the woman explained, not taking her eyes off the grime covered floor.

The man grunted in annoyance before delivering a swift kick to the poor woman’s abdomen. “You know we now know where she is right? Did your precious moon goddess tell you that we’ve finally found her? It won’t be long before she’s dragged back here to where she belongs, sharing a cell with you” the man sneered.

“NO!” The woman cried out, her voice echoing off the walls around her. I still couldn’t get a proper glimpse at her as she was still shrouded in the shadows, but whoever it was, I could tell that she was in pain. It wasn’t the kind of physical pain that you would expect to hear from someone after getting a boot to the rib cage, it was the type of broken whale you’d hear from someone who was emotionally shattered.

“Oh would you just shut up and ask again” the man sighed, as if he was already bored with the conversation.

It was silent for a few minutes as the man looked over the women cloaked in shadows expectantly, as if he was waiting for something.

The woman let out a sudden sob and the man sighed again before running his hand down his face in exasperation. “Bring him out!” the man suddenly shouted over his shoulder causing the woman to cry out as she got up on her knees and strained in her chains, trying to release herself. I could smell the slight singe of her flesh as what appeared to be silver laced chains dug into her skin at her sudden movements. If the pain she was feeling right now was anything like the pain I felt in my dream I was amazed at how little of an effect they had on her.

“It’s no use darling, you and I both know you don’t have the strength to break out of those silver chains” the man chuckled.

“You bastard, don’t you dare touch a single hair on his head” she growled.

Suddenly there was a loud noise coming from the other side of the room, almost like deadbolts, and before long a door I hadn’t seen before opened up to reveal two men walking in, supporting another man by his shoulders with his hands tied behind his back and a ratty old bag slung over his head.

“You know the drill by now, for every time you don’t answer my question your man over here gets a punch. Got it?”

The woman just cried and shook her head. “I don’t know, she’s not answering any of the calls I put out, I don’t know anything!”

“Wrong answer” the guy grinned as he nodded at the other two guys as one of them gave a swift punch to the chained man’s covered face.

I cringed as I looked away. I wish I could help in some way but what could I do? I don’t even know how I got here in the first place.

The interrogation went on for several minutes, I honestly didn’t know how the guy was still alive after all the hits he had received. The bag that was covering his face was now soaked in red and he was hunched over from the sheer force of some of the guys punches.

“Are you really going to let your mate die over some silly secrets the moon goddess has asked you to keep?” The main guy asked the woman as he strode up to her as she continued to sob on the floor. “Is it all really worth making your mate go through this kind of pain?”

The woman stayed silent as she kept her eyes downcast, not wanting to look at the state her mate was in.

“You can’t even look at him, can you?” The man crouched down to her height and lifted her chin up, an evil glint in his eyes. “Take the bag off his head” the guy yelled at the other two men in the room who were barely keeping the poor beaten and bloodied man on his feet.

One of then swiftly nodded before removing the bag to reveal someone who was barely recognisable. Both of his eyes were swollen shut, his nose was broken and his lips were busted open in multiple places.

“Samuel no!” The woman screamed as she leapt forward towards her mate in a panic.

As the woman leapt forward I got the first good look at her since I got here. Her hair was knotted and pulled back into a sloppy updo but even through all the dirt and blood I could tell that it was a light blond colour. She had high cheekbones and a strong jawline. She looked familiar.

“Samuel please, just stay awake. Stay alive for me” she sobbed as her legs gave out on her and she went crashing to the floor, the chains stopping her from moving more than a foot in her mate’s direction.

I looked over at the guy known as Samuel and noticed that his head was slightly raised, as if he was trying to see through the slits that were his eyes.

“Jane?” It was barely a whisper, but thanks to my new wolf hearing I heard him.

Jane? I knew a Jane. Where did I know a Jane from.

Remember... the imaginary voice whispered in my head and I rolled my eyes at the timing.

Not now imaginary voice.

Remember...

Remember what?!

And suddenly I was slammed with a vision. It was of a man and woman walking side by side in front of me holding hands. They were smiling at each other as they talked, I couldn’t hear what they were saying though. The man turned around to look at me and smiled as he reached down to pick me up in his arms.

I felt happy and safe in this moment, like nothing bad could happen.

I looked over to my other side and took in the woman next to me, blond hair, high cheekbones, strong jaw.

Remember...

“M-Mum?” I stuttered as I struggled to get air into my lungs.

I didn’t realise I had said it out load until all five pairs of eyes turned to face me.

“A-A-Annabelle?” the woman stuttered as she looked me over.

“Mummy?” I couldn’t believe it; she was actually alive.

“SECURITY BREACH! LOCK THE DOORS DOWN” the man in front of me screamed and started to charge towards me.

“Annabelle run!” My mum shouted but before I had a chance, I was suddenly yanked from the room and back in Jax’s living room, lying on the sofa with Dr Tessler looking over me.