The Game Of Quadruplet Mates
Chapter 37

I woke from a restless type of sleep, where I am more tired than I ever was. It's as if I had tossed and turned for hours on end before finally regaining consciousness, but even that felt like a dream. It was hazy and clouded. Images flashed through my heavy eyelids; of the moon high above the sky, of two figures hovering on top of me, to the bright sun. The next is bright lights and loud sounds from all over the place. I can hear people talking but it's muddled and I can't make out the words. Every time I tried to hear more, to open my eyes, it seemed to slip from my hands like trying to grasp air.

When my eyes finally opened, I was breathing hard and sweating. I was cold and hot at the same time. Nightmares seemed to plague my mind even when I was already awake and as I felt around for Ajax, to feel his warmth, for he is almost always close enough to reach, my hands only seemed to replace empty space. So I listened, confused as to why I heard honking and zooming sounds. I should be able to hear Ajax in his morning meetings or how he's telling people to get things ready for me. But there was nothing but those foreign sounds of cars and such.

That's when I realized that I was staring at a ceiling I had never seen before. This wasn't my room in the farm pack nor was it my room in the valley, I... was not home. I've been taken.

Kidnapped.

Like a bad dream turning into reality, I sat up with a gasp, looking around in panic. Everything came back to me all at once. About Jeremy with another girl, of replaceing him and having this fight, of Ajax hearing it and the confrontation between Alpha and Beta. I remember Ajax sending him away, with Jeremy on his knees and begging me to keep secrets, and then me telling Ajax I love him before his wolf takes over his body, leaving only pieces of his clothes which I pick up.

And then to the two men that were supposed to protect me, the ones that betrayed me, saying that Ajax sent them to take me home.

But they never did.

There was only darkness.

Without even needing confirmation, I know I'm not on the farm lands anymore. The air was different, thick with smoke and congestion but also this strong smell of perfume in the air and to the obvious: there was too much glamor for it to be anywhere but where I was dreading.

I've woken up in a bed that was too large, the sheets tucked immaculate, the pillows perfectly fluffed and the blankets without a single lump. The room is bright but dim at the same time, the big pointed windows sort of blurred so I cannot see what is outside, the lights are futuristic, the carpet on the floor black and pristine.

Perfect.

Everything was too perfect.

I immediately felt sick to my stomach.

I was far from home.

To the last place I wanted to be the most.

I missed the waterfalls by my house, the view of the woodlands and the twisting rivers. I missed home.

I missed Ajax.

My feet wobbled when I tried to stand up, I felt so weak and my nose along with all of the air pathways felt like it was burned, scorched. I touched my nose, feeling how raw it was. Whatever they used to put me to sleep was something really harsh.

I looked out the window, but it was too blurred, like a fog covering the glass, and as I closed my eyes to listen, I could only hear the confirmation of where I was.

The city.

My only consolation is that I was alone until I wasn't.

The big wide door to the front opening to reveal...

"Konstantin?!" I bellowed, my teeth poking out of my lips as my body shook.

Was I shifting?

Was it happening?

The pain in my airways suddenly ached as I let out a breath, grasping the walls for support.

Whatever it was, it was gone because of whatever they used on me.

"They gave you silver powder. It will hurt you for a little while." Konstantin tells me, walking inside the room and closing the door behind him.

"You? You're behind this?" Anger like no other creeped through my veins, making me square my shoulder and straighten my spine. "How could you?!"

He doesn't answer, his eyes staring at me but not focusing, like he could see me but not really. "The silver will keep your scent hidden,"

I couldn't help but laugh mockingly. "Do you think that will stop him? Ajax will move heaven and hell to replace me. You just made yourselves a target by taking me here. He's going to destroy you all."

"Don't tell that to them." Konstantin warned, his entire posture stiff and guarded. "Don't ever mention who is coming for you if you value your life."

"What?" For the first time, I got a much closer look at him. He didn't look like the glorious city Beta that was all glamour and luxury. The one that grabbed everyone's attention by pure appearance alone. He was dressed like that, yes, but his skin was darker than it was and it took me a while to realize he was covered in bruises.

Purple and brown bruises painted his skin dark. There was so much of it, he was more purple than tan. His eyes weren't symmetrical, with one of them lower than the other, the right eye swelling so much it was nearly closed. His lips were puffed up and split, dried blood crushing the cut.

The Beta that everyone coveted in the Games was now so battered that I couldn't believe he was the same boy that tried to wine and dine me.

He had claw marks on his neck, red and angry gashes that had healed close but leaving gruesome looking lines.

Even his hands were lumpy and pointing in different directions except the right one. Some bent so badly that I couldn't help but cringe, looking away.

There was no brightness in his eyes, only this hollow expression that scared me.

"What happened to you?" I replace myself whispering, taking a step back from him. "What did they do to you?"

"This is what's going to happen to you if you don't close your mouth about your mate." Konstantin warned in a low voice, as if frightened someone would hear us. "You're in the city pack now, June."

He taps the glass and suddenly the fog obscuring the view clears to reveal a vast concrete jungle. My lips parted as I stared at the tall buildings that touched the clouds and bright lights that lit up the sky. Buildings upon buildings was all I could see for miles and miles. It was a metropolis of towering skyscrapers and a place that never sleeps. The city pulsed with endless energy, the flashing lights of life and power.

It was hauntingly beautiful and a sight I never thought I would see.

"No," I was breathing hard, sinking to my knees as I stared at the famed city pack. "No... take me back. Take me back right now."

"You're far from home." He tells me almost sympathetically. "There is no going back now."

"Why would you do this?" I accused, a growl leaving my lips. "How could you take me here? You've doomed us all."

Konstantin tiredly sat down on the bed, wincing in pain at the mere action. He was truly a broken thing. "What did I say about mentioning that? Do you really want to die, June?"

My lips pressed thin, standing to my full height and I walked towards him, looking down at this damaged man. "It's the truth and you know it."

"And it will get you killed." He says, staring into my eyes. "Don't you see? You're at their mercy now and you will learn very quickly that they don't have mercy."

"Who?" But I already knew.

He looked truly so broken. A shell of a man he used to be. The clothes hid it well but I could see through his facade, noticing the bruises that healed but were merely replaced with new ones. "You know who."

My eyes widened in horror. "Did Cora do this to you?"

He shrugged but this only caused his body to spasm. "All of them did."

I shook my head, unable to believe what had become of him. "So why would you take me here?"

Konstantin looked up, giving me a laugh so cold it chilled my entire body. "I didn't."

I remember the charismatic Alpha in the Games, the one that stood on the platform with this well practice smile, saying words so scripted, so fake. "He did?"

"And it wasn't hard. You're all still farm packs in the end. Ones. Even your precious nameless pack. They're still a one. The money offered to your guards didn't even put a dent in their pockets. Your guards accepted it so easily, because everyone is blind to wealth in the end." Konstantin chuckled but he didn't look amused. He looked scared. He looked like he accepted the inevitable. "Your friend Pete told us you were coming to the defenseless farm pack, away from the protection of the mountains. Without even asking for payment, your friend told us how to cross their lines and where loyal nameless pack members patrolled. And... our Alpha learned very quickly that you were always accompanied by either your mate or Jeremy and Jeremy would never accept money or any kind of bribery. But suddenly, there was a small window where you didn't have both."

A small window where Jeremy was sent away and Ajax's wolf took over his body.

When I was alone for the very first time.

"What do they want from me?" I replace myself asking, swallowing back the bile that rose up to my throat.

De a d, hopeless eyes looked up at me. "You're his weakness. The first weakness he's ever had. Do you know how long that monster has caused the city pack trouble? Do you know how long our Alpha has tried to put him down but could never come close?" "Do you think taking me will help this pack?" My chest was contracting painfully in panic. "Do you think that will save you all?"

"It will certainly make him hesitate, but what do I know?" The sarcastic way he says this makes me think many have questioned his position. His worth. "I'm just a fake Beta."

I glanced around, hugging myself. "Why am I here? In your room?"

"Because I'm trying to protect you." Konstantin stands from the bed and came up to hover over me, his minty breath fanning my face. "They wanted you tortured. They wanted you in a cell and drugged to the point of forgetting your own name."

His close proximity made me want to take a step back, but I didn't want him to think I was scared, so even if I wanted to put distance between us, I stood my ground. "I'm not following."

He smiled then and it was so genuine that it made me sick. "I told them that we would mate. That you want to mate me."

This time, I jumped away from him. "What?!"

Konstantin takes a step closer to me, eliminating the space I created. "They just want us to get married, June. To sever your ties to the monster. They won't harm you if you follow." Wasn't he just telling me that I was a weakness that they wanted to exploit?

Wasn't he just saying that they finally had something over Ajax?

That they wanted to use me.

I felt like I was being caved in. "Do you really believe that?"

"I have to." And he really meant it. His eyes that were once so excited and bright were dull and without any kind of hope. "They just needed you out of their way, to distract him."

"Then I think you're either really pure or dumb." As I look at this man, it was probably both. "I won't allow myself to be used like this and your superiors know what I am to Ajax, Konstantin. And he won't stop until he gets me back. I've seen what he can do. No one will survive this."

"But that's where this comes in." Konstantin tugs me forward. "If you bind yourself to me, willingly, the Alpha will think that you chose me."

I scoffed, Ajax would never. He won't let me be taken by the city pack. "What do you get from this? Look at what they've done to you. Look at what your beloved pack has turned you into. You're supposed to be safe here. This is your home. But you're not. Why are you a part of this?"

His eyes darkened, his jaw tightened. "You make it sound like I have a choice. I never wanted to be a Beta. I was forced into it. They used to get to Jeremy and... I let them. But with this, they will finally release me from my position. That I can take you, the first person I've ever truly wanted, and get away from here. That I can be free."

"It's been really bad for you." It wasn't a question, but he answered anyway. "For all of you."

"I knew what I did in the Games had..." He trailed off, lips quivering as if remembering everything that had happened to him in the last few days. "Consequences, but I still did it because I wanted to do something for myself, for once, and I paid the price. They have- they have done things to me that I would never wish on another person. It has been hell. I used to laugh when they did this to him."

Something ugly stirred in my stomach. "To whom?"

"To Jeremy." Konstantin confirmed guiltily. "They used to beat him bloody every day, burning him and cutting him and making him drown in his own blood. The worst part was his mother did it to him. And I watched and laughed. I always laughed at it before because I thought it was right. Karma has a way of coming back and I'm now living the hell he used to call his life."

I ran to the trash can beside the bed, hurling the contents of my stomach out.

Jeremy and... his past.

More vomit left my lips.

I had almost forgotten that Jeremy was from here. That this city was where he was born. He always said that life here was difficult for him, but I couldn't imagine Jeremy looking like Konstantin. Beaten. Bloody. Destroyed.

By his mother, no less.

Jeremy is always so positive and charming and a ray of sunshine. It's impossible to think of him like this. Like Konstantin now.

Wasn't this his family? His mother? His uncle?

I couldn't believe it.

Is it true? Was this his life before Ajax? Is this the nightmare that he once lived?

If it was, then everything about Ajax and Jeremy made sense now. Their bond. The devotion. The loyalty. The way Jeremy looks up at Ajax and calls him his savior. All of it comes back to me now. Everything between them. Its no wonder he let me go. Its no wonder he fought against me.

He wanted Ajax happy.

Even at his own expense.

Above all else.

Oh, Jeremy.

The memory of Jeremy shaking and whimpering, of Ajax having lifted his hand against Jeremy before stopping himself and looking horrified at doing so. Ajax must have remembered Jeremy's old life.

And now that was all happening to Konstantin.

I hate how I did, but I felt sympathy for this crippled Beta. Nobody deserved this. Not even him. "Maybe we can get out of this together."

He shakes his head, absolutely defeated. "Do not underestimate them. They are vile people, June."

I look at Konstantin, the scars on his body, the disfigured face. He used to be handsome, beautiful even. Now... they've ruined him to the point where I can't even recognize him anymore. There was so much anger in the way that he was beaten, like there was a purpose to every strike.

Cora made sure that no part of him was left untouched, as if she was breaking a toy that no one else could have, a play thing that she was done using but still wouldn't easily let go.

That's the world for her.

Her playground that she was ready to destroy as long as it entertained her. And this life was all Konstantin had ever known and he wanted to escape it.