Claimed by the Alphas

LORELAI

I hugged the bucket in my cell, my gut tightening, retching as it tried to bring something up, but there was nothing in there.

I hadn’t eaten proper food in days. I had barely slept, my skin was clammy with a fever, my mouth dry. I was covered in dirt and scrapes from trying to dig, kick, and scream my way out, but nothing had worked.

I was fading.

For all my winter born powers, I couldn’t escape a simple human cell, and it was getting to me. I wanted to push out, use my shadows that swirled around me, but I knew they had the most important job of all—keeping my baby alive.

I clutched my stomach, tears stinging in my eyes as it ached. I needed to stay alive, I needed to for my baby, and yet each day got harder and harder to do so.

My shadows hugged my stomach, pumping a life force into it that I didn’t get the luxury of using, but it was getting harder for them too.

I had no sustenance, so they were running on empty.

I had no idea how much longer I could keep us alive. Especially when the humans were not being humane about any part of my capture.

I was a traitor to them. I had picked werewolves over my kind, and apparently that made me worse than them.

They didn’t care if my child survived, and if I didn’t have immense power writhing beneath my veins, I doubted they would have kept me barely alive for so long.

But I had hope. Hope that I would somehow get out, that my alphas would find me.

I hated relying on that. I hated facing the fact that I was a damsel in distress, a role I had never wanted to be in, but the humans were so damn good at making me feel helpless.

They’d get what was coming to them. I knew my alphas wouldn’t stop hunting until they found me, and if I was dead the humans were going to regret every decision that had led them to this point.

They thought the wolves were savages, beasts, and yet they gave us to them every year to take our virginity? Risked their anger by taking me from them?

They hadn’t seen savage yet, they hadn’t seen the true beasts that hid beneath the skin, but they were going to. They had just given the wolves every excuse to unleash it.

I hoped they did.

Assholes.

All my life, humans had treated me like shit because of when I was born, and they wanted loyalty? Fuck that and fuck them.

I pushed the bucket away and hauled myself up, my knees shaking as I used the stone wall as leverage. My head spun, and I grimaced. Even a few sips of that potion would be really nice right about now.

My stomach turned in agreement, and I winced at the pain that filled my abdomen. I tightened my hold on the stone wall and cleared my throat, coughing up spatters of blood that had been coming out the last day or so.

It was hard to keep track of the days in my cell, but I was pretty sure it had been at least three. It felt like a year.

I shuffled closer to the tiny blanket in the corner, intent on trying to get more than a couple of hours sleep, when a rush of power filled me.

I gasped, my eyes going wide as I clutched my stomach. It was adrenaline, power, love all in one, and I knew in an instant what it was.

Kai.

I latched on to the feeling, chasing it, trying to catch more of it.

The link in my mind wavered. My head pulsed, aching, but I didn’t care, I wanted to feel it again.

I clenched my eyes shut to stop the dizziness, my heart racing as I forced my brain to feel the link deeper, connect with the strand of power it had found.

I passed out.

***

I woke with a headache that had me cursing out of a dry mouth.

I heard the clank of my door opening. I lifted an eyelid, peering out to see a man of thick stature coming in, wearing my father’s army uniform and a belt of weapons.

I quickly rustled through my brain to find the power or the link that had been there before, but there was nothing.

Dejected, I shuffled into a seated position against the concrete wall and watched the man put down a tray of food that looked about as food-like as the vomit I had been bringing up the last few days.

I grimaced, knowing I needed the energy whether I wanted to be picky or not. I went to shuffle forward, and he smirked.

I hesitated and inspected the food. “What is it?” I murmured, and he grinned.

“Does it matter?”

I rolled my eyes and inched closer.

“Any water?” I tried my luck, but I should have known I’d ran out of that the second I had been captured.

The guard chuckled and nodded. “You want a drink? I’ll give you something to drink. Here,” he said, then undid his pants, pulled out his tiny, limp dick, and pissed all over my food, the spray aiming for me.

I sucked a breath in between my teeth and shuffled back, only just getting out of the way in time.

My heart sank as I looked at the soaked bread that had been the only salvageable thing on the plate, and I almost cried.

I looked away as he laughed a booming laugh.

“A meal fit for a traitor,” he spat over the tray as I glared at him, pursing my lips, refusing to cry in front of him.

“Fuck you,” I whispered, and he laughed harder, kicking the plate at me, overturning it on the dirty ground.

“Oh, maybe later. Teach you how to take a man for a change.” He winked, and my stomach heaved.

I turned my head away just as the door opened again. I peered over at him, thinking he was leaving, but it wasn’t him.

Another guard came in, this one much cleaner, taller, leaner. He was fit, with a trimmed beard and mustache, and a head of curly brown hair.

He looked at the floor where my food was, his nose scrunching up, before looking over the other guard, who was tucking his dick back in with a smirk.

“Rog, take a break,” he bit, and Rog hesitated, glancing over at me before leaving.

I would have been excited, but I had no idea how this new guard was going to go. He would either be nice or he would be worse, and I didn’t trust my luck not to do me over like that.

The man bent down in front of me, his eyes a startling blue that stood out against his dark skin.

“Lorelai?” he asked, and I nodded warily.

He handed me his satchel of water from his belt. I looked up at him with wide eyes before snatching it off him and downing half of it in one go.

He smiled—a friendly smile, one that made me hand the satchel back with a sheepish look.

“Thank you. Sorry, I drank a lot of it,” I murmured, and wiped my mouth, soaking up the hydration. I still didn’t know whether to trust him.

“I’m Vaughn,” he said, and I nodded once.

He looked over his shoulder at the closed cell door, then grabbed a muesli bar from his pocket. He handed it over.

I looked at it nervously. Things were rarely free. I’d give a lot for the water I had just consumed, but I wasn’t sure I was willing to pay the price for food.

“Why are you helping me?” I asked, not taking the bar.

“Because I’m not an idiot. I know who you are to the alphas, which means they will find you, and they will rip through us to do it. I am asking for your mercy when that happens.

“My girl is also with child. I would hope to be there for the birth of it, and I would hope that if she was ever in this position, someone would help her too.” He shrugged and pushed the bar closer.

I took it. He wasn’t wrong. My alphas were on their way, they had to be. I knew that now after feeling what I had felt earlier.

They were on the hunt, and they always found their prey.

“Thank you. I’ll remember this,” I said, and bit into the bar, almost moaning at the decadent texture of it.

“I beg that you do,” he said, then stood up.

“Are these homemade?” I wondered, craving interaction after being so isolated for days.

He smiled and nodded. “My girl. She likes baking. I’ll bring you some when I can for as long as you are here. But there have been whispers of the wolves, so I doubt it’ll take long.”

I nodded in thanks, my mouth too full of the best muesli I’d had in my life to answer until he was almost at the door.

“Bring me water and food to sustain me, and I’ll make sure the wolves spare you,” I promised, and he smiled before making a quick exit from the cell and locking the door behind him.

I finished off the bar, then leaned back against the stone, closing my eyes. I finally felt somewhat okay. It wasn’t much, but it was more than I’d had in a while, so it was enough to sate my waning body.

I went over to my corner and pulled the scratchy, dirty blanket over me, curling into myself as I leaned my head on my arm and tried to drift into sleep.

It wasn’t as comfortable as being able to lie down, but that hurt like a bitch. The baby hated it, like it was squashed or something. Either way, I had learned very quickly to sleep sitting up instead.

Despite having no way of actually knowing if it was true, I sensed the day was getting darker, and I had almost fallen asleep when I felt the rush again.

The adrenaline burst inside me, making my head spin. The link wasn’t strong, and I quickly shut my eyes and chased it in my mind. I had to make sure I connected this time.

I drew on my shadows, pulling them up from my stomach enough to push down the link. It was hard and they were resistant, but as long as I kept them inside me, they were somewhat agreeable.

The link was weak, but it was right there. The essence of my alphas was right there. I could almost taste them.

Desperate to feel that connection again, I strained the fuck out of my brain and my shadows, pushed past the weakness, and latched on to the strand of power pulsating there.

And then I could feel them. Kai first, his connection was the strongest, the most angry, but then the other two were there. My body filled with strength and love as I grinned, tears streaming down my eyes.

“Beautiful,” Derik whispered.

“We’re coming for you, Little Human. Stay alive,” Kai said.

Brax’s shadows suddenly pushed down the link. I moved mine to meet him, sighing as they filled me, making me stronger, helping mine caress my stomach with vitality and life.

But I was still weak, my body still lacking every kind of nutrient, so holding on to that link was making my head swim, my skin bead with sweat.

“I don’t know how long I can stay awake to hold this link, so please tell me you’re close.”

“We’re close. We’ll find you. Just stay connected and we’ll find you,” Derik promised, and I smiled weakly, laying my head on my arm and savoring the feelings radiating through my body.

Their emotions, their love, their souls were all helping mine replenish.

“I miss you,” I breathed.

“We’ll have you soon, all of us,” Brax promised, and I knew they were close.

I could feel them.

After days of nothing, I could finally feel them. I wasn’t sure why or how, but I was grateful because I had a feeling I didn’t have long before my human body betrayed me and succumbed to the weakness.

“We won’t let that happen,” Kai growled, and it made me smile wider.

I had missed having them in my head more than I thought. I couldn’t quite find the energy to fully get into theirs, but they were going to be here soon, so it didn’t matter.

They were my alphas, and they had turned into the feral, savage beasts the humans were so afraid of.