The Alpha's Shatter Zone
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Her feet stumbled down the dark steps as she was roughly pushed along from behind. Chesca’s mind swarmed with the events of the past couple hours—searching desperately for her mate, falling into the merciless hands of Elbert’s wolves, the deal she had made with Elbert, then coming face to face with the once familiar and now haunting presence of her sister. Nothing made sense anymore, but it didn’t take too many guesses to figure out where they were now taking her.

The coldness of the air increased as they twisted their way further down into the earth, its icy fingers crawling over her skin, the dank and dirty smell of dungeons rising to meet her. But why the dungeons? Elbert had said Kaiden was being taken care of…

Yet it wasn’t only the usual disgusting smells of a dungeon that churned her stomach. It was the scent of her mate, stronger than anything else that rose up to meet her, embracing her like a jealous enemy. And not just his natural, warm and calming scent. No, it was the coppery scent of his blood that almost undid her.

Chesca nearly tripped and fell flat on her face when they reached the bottom, but for Stanley’s vice like grip on her arms. A pale incandescent bulb hanging from the centre of the roof was the only light, and under it Chesca could see a few cells running parallel on either side of her. Her wolf stirred and was getting more and more agitated. At the far back of the huge underground dungeon, as she was pushed closer, she could see a figure draped in shadows and chained to the wall by his outstretched arms.

“Kaiden!” She gasped, her lungs heaving for air as the crude sight completely emptied them. His entire left side was covered in blood, the rest of his bare chest and arms were smeared with dirt, torn jeans hanging low on his hips. What crushed Chesca most was the way his head bent down in utter defeat. At the sound of her voice, it snapped up, his eyes taking a moment to search her out and steady their focus.

Chesca froze at the haunted look in his dark eyes. His hair had been shaved to within a quarter inch of his scalp, a few nasty red lines marked his skin, and such anger and hatred burned in his entire posture.

“What did they do to you?” She tried running forward, but Stanley and his partner held her back.

“Chesca? Wha—what are you doing here?” Kaiden rasped in a weak voice. “Did he capture you too? I swear, I’m going to—“

“Kaiden, don’t. I came to get you out. We’re going to figure this out. Hey! What are you doing?” she yelled as Stanley slammed her against the opposing wall in Kaiden’s cell, and chained one wrist to the ring on the wall while his partner fastened her other wrist on the other side of her. “You promised we could both go!”

Stanley smiled a cruel smile. “Just following my Alpha’s orders, sweetheart.”

“You sick son of a-” Chesca bit down the curse words that ached to be released. Telling herself she was better than that, she clenched her teeth and growled instead.

Stanley and his man left her, walking out with smug swagger as Chesca hung helplessly in between the locked chains, her feet barely touching the floor.

“Why? Why would you come for me? You said you hated me.” Kaiden once more slumped against his chains, but his eyes never left hers.

“I was stupid. I was angry and didn’t mean it. You’re my mate, Kaiden, and I’d never turn my back on you,” she spoke in earnestness, her heart aching to reach out and touch him, kiss him, and wrap him in her arms.

“I’m sorry too, for everything I did. You don’t deserve such a worthless dog like me, Chesca,” Kaiden whispered. “Just save yourself and get out of here before it’s too la—”

“Shh, don’t say that,” she interrupted. “I need you Kaiden,” she whimpered, straining against the chains but managing to only hurt her wrists more, causing them to bleed. “We have to get out of here.”

“I deserve your hate, Chesca. All along I’ve been planning ways to become Alpha of your pack. Trying to make you fall in love with me so I could rightfully be in charge. I never really cared for you,” he continued in a mournful voice, full of remorse.

“Maybe at the start you didn’t, but look at me Kaiden, and tell me you don’t feel what’s between us. That you don’t care for me,” Chesca held his gaze steadily and spoke with determination. There was something between them, and she wouldn’t let him back out now. His admission to his plans of taking over were no surprise, but there was no denying he’d felt what she’d felt, the connection, the bond, the strong pull that fate had designed to be unbreakable.

“I do care about you Chesca, more deeply than you know.”

Her heart raced from his words, and again she just wanted to hold him and kiss everything better.

“But that’s why you need to go. I don’t want you paying for my mistakes,” Kaiden mumbled, but fiercely.

“No, Kaiden. Your father is the one to blame, and I should’ve trusted you from the start. But I kept doubting you and now look at the mess we’re in,” she blurted out quickly, wishing they could just get on the same page and get out of here. She needed to be with him, and her body was burning to comfort him more than ever before.

“My father, he had it all planned,” Kaiden said miserably, as if he hadn’t heard what she’d said. “He expected that in my anger, I’d kill you and take the pack. He wanted to be Alpha, I wanted to be Alpha, so someone had to die for both of us to rule.”

“But he didn’t know we are mates. And because of that, you didn’t kill me. So it all works out,” she reasoned. Chesca wasn’t too astounded by his words, realising just how untrustworthy and terrible Elbert really was. All her trust she was now placing in Kaiden, her soulmate that she would always love and stand by.

“Now he’s dragged me back here, for who knows what. And I couldn’t protect you from him. I’m so sorry, Chesca,” Kaiden’s lips barely moved as he whispered in exhaustion. It was like he’d come to realise the gravity of his past sins, and felt too ashamed to even be in her presence. But nothing could send her running now. The bond they shared was too strong to ignore any longer.

The cell doors screeched open, shattering the otherwise quiet and dank ambience in the dungeons. Footsteps echoed across the grimy floors and a scent that whispered like a ghost from the past reached Chesca. Metal chains rattled as other prisoners shifted about in the cells, eagerly watching this new development in the excitement unfolding before them.

“Cora…” Chesca’s throat constricted just saying the name she’d tried so hard to forget.

“You didn’t seem too thrilled to see me upstairs, sister,” the woman replied as she stepped into Chesca’s cell, her tone light and airy but undeniably holding an edge. She now wore black leathers and boots that accentuated her long, toned legs. “After all these years…” she tutted her tongue.

Kaiden emitted a low growl, as if he sensed the threat she presented to Chesca.

“And who’s this? Your precious mate?” Cora eyed Chesca before walking towards Kaiden.

“Stay away from him,” Chesca warned with deadly precision.

“I’d say he was handsome,” Cora traced a finger down his jawline, “but he’s just a bloody mess. Such a shame.”

“I said stay away from him!” Chesca snapped loudly, yanking at her restraints.

Cora laughed a shrill laugh and stepped away. “Possessive, are we? Don’t worry, little sister, I don’t want your pathetic mate.” Casting one last disgusted look at Kaiden, she then gave all her attention to Chesca.

“Then what do you want? Why are you back after all these years?” It was the first question Chesca really had for her sister, along with how could she leave in the first place. Chesca had always wondered how she’d react if ever she saw Cora again. Would it be with anger, confusion, fury, sadness, unforgiveness, or a combination of everything? Too many different emotions and feelings had visited her over the years, she couldn’t figure out which she’d ever let her sister see.

“Oh, I wanted a few things…” Cora inspected her fingernails casually. “Elbert’s been able to give them to me.”

“Elbert? Why would you marry such an old creep?”

“He’s rich and powerful. And he cares about me,” Cora tilted her head and regarded Chesca through hooded eyes. “Why wouldn’t I? Besides, he’s not going to live forever—”

“Yeah, because I’m going to kill him,” Chesca snarled and tugged on her chains again. She was almost glad for them, or else her hands might have found their way to Cora’s neck on their own accord.

“No you wouldn’t, because he’s Kaiden’s father. Would you really deprive your precious mate of his dad? You of all people know what it’s like to lose your parents in such a tragic way.”

“Like you care!” Chesca snarled angrily. “You never even showed up for their memorial service.”

“They wouldn’t have wanted me there,” Cora replied flippantly, as if unaffected by their death, but a slight frown, a crease between her eyebrows, gave evidence of her inner turmoil.

Chesca softened her voice, “You have no idea how much they cared for you…”

“Listen here, you brat!” Cora’s eyes flashed with annoyance as her whole demeanour changed, speaking to Chesca like she was seven years old again. “You know nothing about caring or loving someone, so don’t try to preach to me. I had to leave. I had to get away and do what I wanted. I wanted freedom—”

“Freedom isn’t a luxury for the eldest child of an Alpha,” Chesca pointed out.

“I didn’t want the pack—”

“The choice wasn’t up to you!” Anger welled up within Chesca’s stomach, and she tried to control it but her body started shaking. Maybe it was the blood loss, the strain from the day, the lack of water...

“Yes, it was. And aren’t you glad to have become Alpha? You’ve done pretty well with the pack,” Cora paced in front of Chesca and flipped her hair over her shoulder casually.

“How would you know?” A chill crept down Chesca’s spine, and she fought to lower her breathing and stiffen her body against her wolf’s more natural instincts.

“I have my ways of knowing things. But besides, the pack is no longer yours, Button face,” Cora poked her on the nose then stepped back with a faint smirk lifting her red lips. “Oh, before I forget, I brought you a gift.” Cora reached into her pocket and produced a single red rose. Tucking it between the straps of Chesca’s singlet like a brooch, she stepped back to admire her work. “There. Like a beautiful bride.”

“You’re sick,” Chesca wriggled against her restraints despite knowing she was completely powerless.

“You don’t like my gift? But you always loved flowers,” Cora pouted at the rejection.

“You can’t destroy something, then act like nothing happened. You can’t think that one little gift can replace everything you took from me,” Chesca drilled her with a steely gaze, allowing no softness to seep from her throbbing heart.

“Isn’t that what forgiveness is all about?”

Chesca looked at her with incredulity and couldn’t contain a weary chuckle. “You have to be sorry to actually earn forgiveness.”

Cora’s face went from sparkling sweetly to deadly cold in a split second. “Well, then. I have someplace to be. Was nice catching up, sis.” She chuckled with a melodic timbre as if they had just been discussing the weather, then marched back out of the dungeons.

It took a few moments for Chesca to stop staring daggers at her exit, and unclench her aching fists. There was no good in getting worked up over her sister, but now the emptiness that it left in her chest made her feel like Cora had walked out of her life all over again. Tears nearly threatened to replace the seething anger she’d just felt.

“What was she talking about?”Kaiden rasped when silence once more hung between them.

“Just before she left our pack, she burnt my rose garden to the ground. Destroyed it until it lay in ashes,” Chesca explained dully, knowing if she felt too much, it would only result in more tears.

“I’m sorry… but, uh… I meant about the pack. What did she mean by the pack not being yours anymore?”

Of course that’s what he meant, Chesca mused sullenly. Telling him the full truth would have to occur sooner or later, so she might as well get it over with. It wasn’t a big deal anyway, she kept telling herself.

“Your father lied to me,” Chesca gulped and lifted her eyes once more to Kaiden. He watched her steadily and waited for her to continue. “He promised to let you go if I gave him the pack. Of course I agreed—”

“You what?” his roar startled her.

“I came all the way here to rescue you, Kaiden! I wasn’t going to turn back without you. But then the lying snake threw me in here, and—”

“You let him have your pack? The one you care so much about? Chesca…” he groaned and shut his eyes in disbelief, nearly wincing as the gravity of it sunk in.

“I care about you, Kaiden. You’re my mate, the only family I have. You’re all I have left…”

“No,” he cut her short angrily, startling her. Looking up once more, he stared at her, this time with darkened eyes. “Your pack is family. They care about you, and don’t tell me you don’t still care about them. And now my dad is just going to kill them all.” The anguish in his gravelly voice couldn’t be fabricated, as if he really did care about her pack.

Chesca stopped breathing for a few seconds. “Why would he do that? He doesn’t have any reason to—”

“You don’t get it,” Kaiden growled and shook his head slowly. “My dad is just like that, okay ? He doesn’t care who he hurts to get what he wants.”

A sudden weight squeezed on Chesca’s heart, draining her of energy yet spurring her lungs to breath faster and faster. Her heart raced with a cold dread that maybe Elbert was even worse than she could imagine. But a part of her, in this moment, saw Kaiden as the most important thing that mattered to her right now. He was in much physical pain, she could feel it through the bond, and they were both still completely stuck in this dungeon with possibly no hope of changing that.

“Kaiden, what are we going to do?” Chesca whimpered after a length of time. She felt hot tears roll down her dirty cheeks, and there was nothing to be done to stop them.

"Are...are you crying? Chesca, darling…” Kaiden began, “It’s going to be okay, we’ll figure this out,” he said soothingly, his tone devoid of the anger and sorrow it once held. It seemed now he just wanted to comfort her. In his own pain, he wanted to ease hers.

“How do you know? We weren’t meant to end like this—” a hiccup cut her short, and she sniffed, staring at her mate through blurry eyes. “We never even ma…” Warmth rushed to her face at the words that she almost said, and she could only hope Kaiden would understand. She just wanted to know what he was thinking, what was going through his mind right now. If only they were completely bonded, they could be one. Then their bodies and souls would be joined together as fate intended. She would understand him exactly and comfort him in the perfect way. He would know just what she needed and they would be an unstoppable force that nothing could break apart. But instead, they were rotting in chains, separated by a few feet of space.

“I know. But darling, we’re not dead yet,” he murmured huskily. “You don’t know how much I want you right now, Chesca,” he tugged on his chains, his arms straining and his chest heaving with the pain. But he could obviously dismiss it as his eyes darkened with a hint of desire and determination. That’s what the bond could do, she surmised; overcome pain and other weaknesses. If they could only touch each other, they would be comforted and strengthened on a whole new level.

“I must be a terrible person to be feeling like this right now, but I desperately need you, Kaiden.” Squirming in her chains, she fought back another wave of desire as she stared at her mate. “My wolf is going crazy.”

“Mine is too. I know how you’re feeling, Ches. Your scent is driving me insane.”

“I can even hear your heart beating.”

“Yours is beating just as fast,” the corners of his lips twitched in a smirk. “Wait a minute,” Kaiden cocked his head and went still for a moment, as if pulling something from the far reaches of his mind. “What is the moon doing tonight?”

“Uh, hanging in the sky?” Chesca wondered where on earth his random question had come from.

“No, I mean— is it full tonight?”

Her mouth dropped open. “Oh goodness, no. You don’t mean—“

“It’s been a lunar month already? Oh Chesca,” he groaned. “You’re in heat.”