The Alpha's Caged Pet

Alanis's POV:

I hear fighting and screaming coming from outside my bedroom window. I get out of my bed quickly to see what is going on outside. I listen to my father and mother screaming as I scramble to look out the window. I know who it is, but I need to see it for myself. If I am going to die tonight, I want to know who the monster is that came calling. I want to look him in the eyes when I die. Alpha Raymond is here to kill us all.

I look out and see Alpha Raymond and his pack of wolves running from house to house. He is killing us—all of us. For what? Our land and our obedience. He does not like us, but why? There is no reason except that my father and the council refused his offer to combine our packs. Alpha Raymond does not like being told no. He never thought my father would lash out at him and reject his proposal, but my father and the council bend to no one.

"Alanis!" my mother calls to me. I can hear the fear in her voice as she waits for me to join her in waiting for death. My mother is a strong woman, but tonight, she is afraid. Not just for herself, but also for her pack and her daughter.

I dash out of my room and run through the kitchen. I pass what remains of my birthday cake on the kitchen table. We celebrated my 18th birthday tonight. I am too young to die. I do not want to die, but death is here for me. Our night was full of laughter, fun, and excitement for me, and now, it has all gone to hell.

I run to my parents. My father takes his wolf form and rushes out the door to fight with the others. My mother and I hide in a downstairs closet. We huddle together. She holds me so tight. I can feel the tears streaming down her face. She knows we will not survive this night. She knows, and I know that when Alpha Raymond comes in the middle of the night, he is not coming to negotiate. He is coming to murder. My father did not want to join packs with a ruthless killer, and now, we are here on the wrong end of Alpha Raymond's wrath.

"Everything will be okay, Alanis," my mother whispers in my ear.

She holds me tightly and runs her fingers through my hair, trying to comfort me. Nothing will comfort me tonight. I know what is coming for us. Our pack is no match for Alpha Raymond and his wolves.

I know it will not be okay. I know my mother is lying to me, but she is trying to calm me. I love her. No one on earth could have a mother as wonderful as her. She is kind and graceful yet bold. She is the most beautiful person I know. The entire pack loves her and looks up to her, and now, she will die.

The closet door swings open. I am afraid to look up. My mother pushes me behind her and darts out of the closet as she slams the door to protect me. I know they saw me. Besides, where would I go if I were the only one left alive after the carnage? No other pack would take in a refugee running from Alpha Raymond. All the other packs have either joined him or are fearful of him. No one survives his wrath, and no one is trying to stop him. He is vicious and feared by all wolves.

I hear my mother's screams, and then, I see the blood rushing under the closet door. The door opens, and I look up to see him. It is Alpha Raymond. He grabs me, pulling me out of the closet. His hands are rough, and he smells like the blood of my friends and family. Alpha Raymond throws me onto the floor. He stands over me as I lie next to my dead mother.

"Beg for your life," Alpha Raymond growls at me. He kicks me, then laughs at me as I turn my body to try to avoid his boot.

I refuse to beg him for anything—not even for my life. I will die silently. I look at my mother and reach for her. I want to touch her one more time. I want to feel her skin. The tears well up and begin to slide down my cheek.

"You bastard!" I scream at him. I crawl to my mother's body, but he pulls me away from her. I kick and claw until I reach her. If I am going to die anyway, I want to be with her, holding her.

I lie over my mother's body and sob. She did not deserve this; none of the wolves in this pack or any pack deserved this. We are a peaceful pack. We do not get involved in other packs' business or feuds, and look where that landed us—extinct.

"Beg for your life, and I might let you live!" Alpha Raymond screams at me as his boot lands on my ribcage.

I refuse. I will not beg for my life. I look up at him, angry. I want to kill him. "Kill me now!" I scream at him.

Alpha Raymond begins to laugh. His wolves join in, laughing at me and my boldness. No one speaks to the Alpha this way, especially not a young woman. What do I have to lose? He is going to kill me anyway.

Alpha Raymond grabs me and begins pulling me out of my house. He drags me off my mother's dead body, and then, I see my father. He is alive and on his knees. Wolves are circling him. Our eyes meet, and I watch as the wolves kill my father. They devour him right in front of me. I let out a blood-curdling scream that I am sure the entire pack hears—if there are any of us left.

"Put her in my truck. She is coming with me," Alpha Raymond says as he pushes me into another wolf. I fall to the ground.

A young wolf grabs my wrists and helps me to my feet roughly. He pulls me toward the Alpha's truck. I look around to see if anyone else is alive. I see nothing but dead wolves everywhere. Our homes are on fire. This monster has destroyed our way of life. Everything about us is either dead or on fire. I should be dead with my pack and my family. What will he do with me?

I listen to the fire crackle as the young wolf drags me across the field to the Alpha's truck. They drove here, hid, and then attacked when we all lay down to sleep. They are cowards. They were afraid to attack when we were awake and had a chance to fight them. They wanted to sneak in and kill us in our sleep or burn us alive. Cowards. They are nothing but cowards.

The young wolf grabs a pair of handcuffs out of the truck and handcuffs me, then puts me in the bed of the truck. I am the only one they're taking. What are they going to do with me? What do they want from me? I am afraid to know the answer to these questions. Will he make me his slave, his pet, his breeder? Horrible thoughts of what that disgusting coward is going to do to me run through my mind.

I lie down and wait for Alpha Raymond to take me away. Maybe he will still kill me so that I can be with my parents. After an hour, he finally runs up to the truck. He jumps in the front without a word to me and drives away, laughing and hollering over his victory. He is celebrating the death of my family and pack.

I lie in the back of the truck. The ride is horrible. It is hard to tolerate the bumps and banging of being in the bed of the truck. I think Alpha Raymond is hitting every rock and pothole he can find on purpose just to hurt me. A few stones fly into the back, and I cover my face to prevent them from striking me.

We finally arrive at the packhouse. I wait for Alpha Raymond or someone to pull me out of the truck. Maybe they will forget about me. I can hear them laughing, talking, and definitely drinking. The same young wolf that put me in the truck comes to retrieve me. "Come on," the young wolf screams at me.

The young wolf grabs my handcuffs and pulls me out of the truck and onto the ground, hard. I grunt but do not give him the pleasure of a scream or a word of pain. I do not even look up as he pulls me to my feet. I keep my head low and my eyes on the ground.

The young wolf takes me into the packhouse and throws me at the Alpha's feet. Alpha Raymond puts his boot on my head and kicks me hard. I do not make a sound. Screw him and this twisted game he is playing with me.

"Cage her in the basement. Death is too good for a young woman with a mouth so fierce. She needs to learn some manners, and I am just the wolf to teach her," Alpha Raymond growls as he kicks me again.

The young wolf pulls me by my hair to my feet. He grabs my handcuffs and drags me through the house to the basement door. He opens the door. It is dark, and it smells as we go down the stairs. I do not want to go down there. I am afraid, but the young wolf pulls my handcuffs hard, jerking my shoulder and dragging me down the steps.

The young wolf turns on a small light. It barely illuminates the basement. He takes my handcuffs off and pushes me into a large metal cage. There is a small mat to sleep on, a sink, and a toilet. Alpha Raymond has done this before. The mat is bloody and smells, but I have no choice but to lie on it.

"Get comfortable, little wolf. You will never see the light of day again," the young wolf says as he leaves me alone in the cage.

I curl up on the mat and let out a cry. My parents are gone. My family and my pack are all dead. And I am trapped in a cage for Alpha Raymond to decide how I live and when I die.

Alanis's POV:

Two Years Later.

I have been in this basement, trapped in this cage, for so long. I am not sure how long it has been since I saw the light of day. I think it has been about two years, but time is hard to keep up with down here. I close my eyes to sleep and then open my eyes in the morning so a wolf can throw food at me and refill my water bowl. I am like a dog that no one wants around. They keep me around to torture my soul.

Ashton, the young wolf who locked me in here, occasionally brings me extra food. I have always been thin, but being in this cage for so long with such little food has made me a frail, skinny version of my former self. He has been kind to me. Not kind enough to free me, even though I have begged him to kill me and get it over with.

My mind and body cannot take much more of living in this basement, alone and afraid. I am thankful that Alpha Raymond has never come down here. He has probably forgotten I am down here. I am his prisoner for as long as he wants to keep me, and there is nothing I can do about it.

I lie down on my mat to go to sleep. Ashton brought me a piece of cake earlier from a celebration. The wolves and Alpha Raymond were celebrating again. I am sure they murdered someone innocent or did something horrible to celebrate. At least I got a piece of cake out of the deal.

I curl up and eat my cake on my mat. I leave a few crumbs for the little mouse that is down here with me. He is a prisoner, too. At least he can crawl out of here and leave. But not me; I am stuck. I think of my parents as I do every night when I close my eyes. I cannot remember what my mother smelled like, but I can remember her voice. I hear her voice as I drift off to sleep.

I wake to a loud noise upstairs. Something is happening up there. There are screams and the sound of fighting. I curl up tighter into the smallest ball I can make myself. I pull the old blanket over me and begin to cry. I do not know what is happening, but I know it is terrible. The screams and fighting get louder, and then, everything just stops. It is silent. Someone probably got drunk and pissed Alpha Raymond off.

I hear footsteps and then talking. Maybe the party got out of hand. The door opens, and someone is coming down the steps. I look up to see someone I have never seen before. She walks toward my cage and looks at me like she is sad for me.

"What is your name?" she asks. She touches the bars on my cage and then reaches her hand in to offer me help.

I hang my head and look to the ground. She is not scary, but I do not understand what is going on, and I am afraid to answer her. She opens my cage. What is she doing? Why is she coming close to me? Will she hurt me? I back as far away as I can.

"Come with me," she says. She extends her hand for me to come with her and moves closer to me. What is she doing?

I back up to the back of my cage. I am terrified. I look up to see others coming down—several wolves in their wolf form and some as men. I scream, even though I do not know why I am screaming. One of the men comes close to my cage. He closes it and locks it.

"I am Alpha Sebastian. What is your name?" he asks calmly.

"I…I…I am Alanis, daughter of Merrill and Mary," I answer. I cannot back up any further. If he comes in here, or if she does, there will be nowhere for me to run. What are they doing here? Tears stream down my face, and I wipe them away quickly.

Alpha Sebastian looks at the woman who tried to let me out of my cage. He touches her shoulder and then looks back at me. Does he know who I am? Did he know my parents, or is this a cruel trick?

"Alanis, this is my sister, Julian. She wants to help you out of this cage tonight, but if you are afraid, it can wait. I will leave it unlocked for you, and if you want, you may come out on your own," Alpha Sebastian says as he steps back from the cage, giving me more space.

I shake my head. "He will kill me if I leave this cage," I say with a tremble in my voice.

"Alpha Raymond and his wolves are dead. Their reign of terror is over. He will never hurt anyone again," Alpha Sebastian says.

I take a deep breath and fall to my knees. Alpha Raymond is dead. He is dead! I begin to cry. I cannot stop crying. "He killed my parents!" I yell.

"We know. We know of your pack and what happened to it, but we did not know you were still alive," Alpha Sebastian says. He looks concerned for me. I have not had anyone care for me in a long time, but he and his sister seem to care.

"He has kept me down here since that night, locked in here," I say. My voice breaks as I speak. My body shakes as I try to wrap my mind around the thought of being free from this cage.

Alpha Sebastian and Julian gasp, looking at one another in disbelief. "You have been down here for two years?" Sebastian asks me.

I nod my head. Yes. Tears roll down my dirty face. I look at my hands. I am filthy. They knew my father, and they are seeing me like this. I am embarrassed. The daughter of a council member should not look like this. I close my eyes in disgust at what I am now.

Julian opens the door to my cage. "I can help you out of here, and we can get you cleaned up, if you'd like?" Julian asks me. She extends her hand to help me, but I am afraid.

"Are you going to hurt me? Are you going to take me somewhere and lock me in another cage?" I ask.

"No, my sweet wolf. You are safe. Please let me help you," Julian says to me.

"I…I…I am afraid. I am sorry. I am just so afraid," I cry.

Alpha Sebastian stops Julian. "Give her time; she will come out before we leave to go home," Alpha Sebastian says.

"Where will I go? I have no one. My…My…family is all dead. What will happen to me?" My voice trembles as I ask.

"We will protect you, Alanis. You are under my protection now, and I take care of my people," Alpha Sebastian says. Alpha Sebastian's words are honest and pure. Maybe I can trust him. If he wanted to hurt me, he would've dragged me out of here.

"Thank you. I am afraid," I say. For the first since being in the basement, I think someone might actually care about me and want to help me. I am so scared of living without my parents or being the girl in the cage. I have no idea who I am anymore. The words sting my soul. I have said I am afraid before, but the words mean something more this time. I am so scared of what is outside this cage.

The wolves start going up the stairs. Alpha Sebastian follows them. Julian stays with me. She finds something to sit on and takes a seat outside my cage. She is persistent in her efforts to help me. No one has cared about me in a long time. Not since my mother and father died.

"I will stay here with you," Julian says softly. She sits quietly, waiting for me.

I look at her, and she is so beautiful. I cannot imagine what I look like to her. I was hosed off with cold water every week. I have not had a bath or a good meal in so long. I cannot remember when Ashton last brought me clothes. Julian sits with me for hours. Why is she so concerned for me? I should leave this cage. I can leave this cage.

"Julian, I would like to leave this cage and clean myself up," I say softly. Julian stands up from her seat. She opens the cage and reaches in to take my hands. "You do not want to touch me. I am filthy," I say as I pull back from her. I do not want to get her dirty.

"I can wash my hands, shower, and change my clothes. Nothing is more important than you right now. Let me help you, little wolf," Julian says.

Julian helps me to the stairs. I start to climb them, but it is difficult for me after being in my cage for so long. It hurts as I make my way up a few steps. I scream out. "ARGH!" My knees buckle, and I begin to cry. The pain is so fierce. I feel like I am falling.

"Sebastian, I need help," Julian calls up the steps.

Alpha Sebastian rushes to his sister's side. He scoops me up before I can protest and carries me up the stairs. He takes me to the first bathroom he comes to and sets me down in the tub. "I insist that Julian helps you bathe, okay? I do not want you to get hurt, little wolf," Alpha Sebastian says.

"Yes, sir," I say, looking up into his beautiful, sweet eyes.

Julian comes into the bathroom as Alpha Sebastian leaves. She helps me undress and turns on the water. The water that runs over me turns black as it goes down the drain. I cry as I watch the water. The nightmare is over. It is finally over.

"Let it out. I cannot imagine how you are feeling, little wolf," Julian says as she helps me scrub the dirt off my body.

I look at Julian and cry. She rubs my back as I scream and cry.

"Let it out," Julian says.