f o u r t e e n
b e t r a y a l
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Dedicated to VictoriaRobinson64 ❤️

THE ROPES AROUND Tia's wrists burned as she attempted to pull the thick material apart. Exasperated, the girl released a sigh as the wolf's bane bit into her wrists. Escape was impossible, particularly when herself and Connor were surrounded by four immature vampires who pushed them through the wide corridor. The girl attempted to stop walking, taking a second to think about the possibility of lashing out with her leg to disable one the of the young vampires, but stopped herself before she could act. Connor was strong, but he wouldn't be able to take on three vampires with his hands incapacitated. The other species was much stronger than werewolves were - and much more difficult to kill.

"Where're we going?" Tia groaned, frustrated that she hadn't been killed yet.

Her teeth thirsted for blood – her hands to be free of their constraints. She had been a prisoner all her life for what she was, and she had never been able to help that. Now, at the epitome of her freedom, she had once again landed herself in the hands of the enemy. Tia wasn't free. She doubted she ever would be.

The young new-borns replied by shoving Connor and Tia hard in the back, knocking the she-wolf off balance and onto the floor. She was back on her feet in less than a second, a snarl prying at her lips as the anger built within her body.

"Great answer," She remarked bitterly, pulling at the ropes imprisoning her. Eretria twisted her neck, and shivered at the sound of the joint clicking back into place.

Connor kept his head down, and Tia had no option to do the same as the pair were hurried into a room not too dissimilar to Connor's own office back at his pack house. Yet, despite the similarities – consisting of a wide hard-wood desk, and unorganised papers – the room was three times as large, and the silhouette of a cushioned oak chair was placed directly in the centre of the room. It was empty.

Tia grunted as one of the fledglings cut loose her restraints, and pushed her into the confines of the room, followed by an angry Connor, and slammed the door shut. Metal on metal, the barricade was locked.

"That was stupid of them," Tia uttered as she studied the dwelling, picking up a long piece of metal that was charred at the end, typically used to stoke the fire which wasn't burning. She bent the metal in her hands, creating a curve in the silver.

Connor sighed, and leant up against the far wall. It was slathered with an exotic vintage pattern that was peeling away at the seams. The Alpha picked up a glass, and hurried over to the desk. "If there was a way out, it would've been stupid," He commented, before picking up an empty vase with a gold liquid residing at the bottom. Connor rolled his eyes and placed the pristine glass back on the desk. "And if they'd left me some Bourbon."

Tia rolled her eyes, and pulled her jacket closer to her body to keep the biting cold out of her bones. "Alcohol would hardly help."

Connor ran his hands along one of the shelves occupying the far wall of the room. He drew it away, studying the grey material stuck to his fingers before rubbing it off with his thumb. Eretria's cheeks heated up when his eyes came to rest on her, his beautifully crafted face sculpted into a smile.

"We can't get drunk, remember?"

"That's not the point," Tia stated through gritted teeth. She wandered over to an aged leather sofa, and lay down. Connor pounded twice on the door before joining her, sitting half a meter away to avoid the she-wolf lashing out. He didn't know her – at all. "The point is they haven't killed us yet."

Connor sighed, shifting his body so that he was leant back against the arm of the sofa, and facing Eretria. "I'm an Alpha," The male murmured. He dared to close his eyes, the light escaping from his eyes like a light being switched off. "I'm valuable."

"Valuable to kill," Tia reminded him.

Connor waved a hand, and Tia felt a little bit of the fire inside her diminish as he waved her away. Connor was... likable – or so Tia had thought up until that point. "Shh," he hushed, the rise and fall of his chest slowing.

Tia sat there for five minutes, compensating what she should do. Talking to Connor wasn't on the agenda, but nor was falling asleep – which the Alpha had demonstrated with ease. The woman couldn't sit still. She was agitated, and among many other things, scared. Her life would shortly end if she overstayed her welcome; not that she had been welcome in the first place.

Standing up, Tia's hands enclosed over the pole she had bent earlier. She gripped it with both limbs, and jabbed it at the lock on the door. Much to her disappointment, it didn't give way, so the woman flung herself at the wooden object. Frustration powered Eretria's muscles as she brought the metal down onto the lock in one final attempt.

With a clang, the lock was ripped from its holdings and landed heavily on the floor. Vibrations shook through Tia's leg as she tentatively pushed the door open. She gazed out into the hallway, and glanced back at Connor who had woken up dazed, only to walk straight into the chest of yet another vampire.

"Connor," Tia gulped, refusing to gaze up as she used the fire stoke to stab a hole through the mysterious man's stomach.

"Ow," the vampire grunted, pulling out the rod within seconds. Tia stilled at the sound of his voice, and instantly relaxed. "Normally you wouldn't thank your rescuer by stabbing them, but you're welcome."

Tia pushed her dark hair out of her eyes as she panted, "Jared?" She enquired, stepping back to marvel at the beta in the doorway. He wasn't sweating, which was unusual for a man who had supposedly fought his way through a vampire nest to capture them. In fact, Jared didn't have a single scratch on his body. The thought didn't rest well with Tia, but a smile sparked onto her lips at the thought of escaping her impending death. Moreover, Jared looked sinisterly handsome, with yellow shadows cast across his face like jagged lines. His brown hair was pushed back, revealing his square forehead, and the wrinkles which had started to form. Tia had originally though that the Beta was in his early twenties, but he appeared ageless in that moment – almost thirty, if she had to guess.

"Jared," Connor gasped, appearing at the door. He tugged the bloodied sleeve of his tailored suit before buttoning it together. Eretria cringed at the scent of death woven with the oxygen surrounding her. It filled her lungs. It fuelled her body.

"Thank God you're here," The Alpha continued, before raising a brow at the empty corridor. "How did you get here?" Connor's voice grew cold as Jared's lips turned from a flat line to a devilish smirk.

"Let's just say," Jared snarled, the gold of his irises morphing to a sinister silver. Tia stepped back, her hands gripping onto the smooth wall as she instinctively prepared to run in the opposite direction. But she forced herself to stay, and placed herself between the two male wolves as Jared advanced. "I have contacts."

Abruptly, Jared rushed forwards, slamming Eretria's small figure against the wall. In the blink of an eye, he had Connor's head between his hands, and jerked them to the side. Connor's body fell to the floor with nothing more than the wood to comfort him. Tia knew he wasn't dead – Alpha's could heal much faster than the typical Omega due to the wolf enhancement in their DNA. They could come back from the brink. Tia knew she could too, but she didn't want it to come to that.

All the air left Tia's lungs as she gaped at the Alpha on the floor. It was moments like these – nail-biting betrayals, and unexplained bursts of violence – that brought out the fear she had spent years hiding. Her confident shell had crumbled. "Jare-" Eretria began, but was cut off as Jared pinned her up against the door. Connor's limp arm brushed her shoes, and Tia gulped.

"What do you want?" Tia asked sourly, lashing out with her legs to break Jared's hold. He was stronger than he appeared, and effortlessly overpowered the she-wolf. Her mind was raging with nonsensical thoughts, enquiring question after question until her brain was painstakingly numb. "Get your fucking hands off me!" The woman resorted to shouting as Jared's face neared her, his stray hand reaching up to brush her cheek.

Eretria had never felt so cold.

"Shh," Jared hushed in a sadistic tone, amber eyes blazing as they trailed over the woman's body. Her skin tingled in disgust, and she fought the urge to vomit. She had never felt so betrayed in her life – including what her father had done to her all those years ago.

Tia had concluded something. Jared was pure evil.

"You killed the packs," Tia spat, thrashing her arms once more without avail. "It was you all along."

A dark chuckle rose from Jared's darkened lips. Shadows splayed across his face, scarring it with darkness. "That's the thing, sweetheart. It wasn't," Jared murmured, staring Tia straight in the eye as his hand ran up her waist and gripped tightly. He leant forwards, brushing his body up against hers before whispering in Tia's ear. "Don't worry, sweetheart, you'll understand soon enough."

Tia headbutted Jared away from her face. The man staggered back, wincing as he raised a hand to rub the area of contact. Tia's head was too numb to feel the pain.

"You'll regret that," Jared jeered. He stretched out his figers, and wrapped them around the she-wolf's tanned cheeks.

"No," Eretria muttered, on the brink of tears. She had already anticipated her inevitable death – however, she had predicted she would be killed by a vampire, not one of her kind. "No, I won't."

And darkness ensnared Tia like vice, refusing to cut her loose.

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Ahh so what does everyone make of Jared? Do you think he's lying? A lot will be explained in the next chapter ;)

We're almost halfway through the book, and I'm so excited to see the characters develop!!

Thank you so much for reading! The next update will be soon because I really want to finish this book before summer ❤️