McKayla

I woke up on a comfortable bed in a nice looking room. The events of the previous day came rushing back to me, and I shuddered in disgust. I suppose that my mate had discovered that the cells weren't the safest place for me after all, and had decided to let me stay in an actual room. Thank god! I had been on the verge of insanity down there.

The first thing that I did was go to the window and soak up the sunlight that was filtering through. I hadn't seen the sun in over a month and the way it was warming my skin felt heavenly. 

Then, I took in the view, looking for an escape plan. I was high up, probably on the third floor, so there would be no jumping out of the window. No trees were close enough to the house to climb down either. I looked around and discovered that the trees that surrounded the house continued toward the horizon as far as I could see. Because this was an unfamiliar pack, I had no sense of direction. If somehow I managed to get out through the front door, I would have to wander around the woods aimlessly and hope to eventually find my way home.

When the foul stench of my body odor wafted up to my nose, I decided to take a shower. I desperately needed one. It took over 30 minutes of harsh scrubbing to get most of the smell off of my skin, and another 30 minutes just to work the matted tangles out of my hair. After I was done cleaning off, I spent a long time just standing under the warm spray, enjoying the way it loosened my strained muscles.

Once out of the shower, I wrapped myself in a towel and made my way to the closet. It just happened to be filled with clothes that were exactly my size. How convenient.

I slipped on the baggiest clothes that I could find, uncomfortable with the idea of anyone being able to see the outlines of my body after the events of last night.

As quietly as I could, I went downstairs. There was a lot of noise coming from what looked like the kitchen, but no one was in the hallway and I was able to slip out of the front door unnoticed. After gently closing the door behind me, I turned and sprinted toward the tree line. There was no one in sight, but that didn't mean that my chances of escape were very good. Every pack constantly had wolves patrolling the borders to keep anyone unwanted from entering or leaving. Wolves defecting from the pack were not looked upon well.

I reached the trees and ran through them for about a minute before strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back into a hard chest. Shit! I hadn't even heard anyone approaching. I needed to be more observant. My dad taught me better.

I rammed my elbow back into his side as hard as I could and heard a distinct crack. The man grunted and loosened his grip just enough for me to twist out of his hold. I swiftly kneed him in the groin, which sent him to the ground in the fetal position, and continued to run in the same direction as before. I was a great runner, but in my weakened state from the captivity, I  was slower and stumbled every few steps. Still, with the alpha blood coursing through my veins, I figured that I was faster than the average wolf.

"Hey, wait! I promise I won't hurt you. Just please come back!" The man called out. I heard some rustling and thudding and knew that he was hot on my trail. I had no chance of out running him, but I had to try. I wouldn't just roll over anymore and let them lock me away for the rest of my life.

I put up a good chase, considering, but a few minutes in, he tackled me to the ground. The man took the brunt of the impact, but it still jarred me and made me light headed. He shifted me so that I was laying on my stomach while he straddled my back and held my hands firmly behind me.

I thrashed about and screamed, "Let me go! Please, just let me go! I mean your pack no harm, I just want to go home."

I sharply brought my head back and slammed it into the man's face, making him grunt but not loosen his hold and mostly making me dizzy.

"Damn, you put up a good fight. Sorry, honey, but your mate needs you here. Come with me."

When I refused to follow, he simply leaned down and picked me up. I growled and tried to twist out of his grip, but it was no use. I was too weak and drained. The man just laughed at me, making me growl louder. I noticed a small trickle of blood coming from his nose. At least I had inflicted some damage to the man who was returning me to my own personal hell.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm impressed with the effort you put up, but it's a waste. I'm Marcus, the beta. It's nice to meet you, McKayla." Marcus told me as he walked us back toward the house.

"Well, Marcus, why don't you just put me down and let me leave? I can assure you that the alpha doesn't want me here. It will be easier on the both of us if I just go home."

"I feel for you, McKayla. I really do. But Alpha Logan is just being stubborn. He'll come around to you. It might take a while, and he might seem cruel at first, but I know that he will accept you eventually. He's a good person deep down."

I actually burst out laughing. "Yeah, he's such a good person that he made me spend a month of my life in a cell, where I rotted away and was nearly raped while he just went along fucking every girl in the pack. There was a boy down there, a nice, sweet boy who died because of him, because he is such a good person."

Marcus flinched a little. "I really am sorry that you had to go through that. But I still can't let you go."

He made his way through the front door with me still in his arms when a ground shaking growl erupted. Suddenly my mate was in front of us. Alpha Logan, according to Marcus. I started to tremble in a mixture of longing and fear.

"Is she hurt?" Alpha Logan snarled out.

"No," was Marcus's simple reply.

"Then why the fuck are you touching her?"

Marcus was quick to set me on my feet after that. "She tried to escape, put up one hell of a fight, and refused to walk back willingly, so I had to carry her."

Alpha Logan scoffed out, "The beta of my pack couldn't handle one little girl?" before turning to face me. My heart skipped a beat when I made eye contact with my mate after so long. But the look he was giving me was anything but comforting.

"We need to talk." He growled out before grabbing my arm and dragging me away.