Chapter 6

Claw ordered we all be thrown into the dungeon, and even though I fought hard and shouted, they had thrown us in the dungeons anyway.

I sat in the dark cell that evening, my heart racing as I worried about Martin. How was he faring? Was he alive? Was he sick? Had he woken up? Were they torturing him?

I had heard about what other packs did to intruders. This area was their territory, and since both I and my man had ventured into it, they had every right to kill us.

I got up from the floor and banged against the prison's bars for the tenth time, shouting at the top of my voice:

“Claw! Claw! I demand you bring me to Martin! I must see him!”

The guards were already tired of my shouting, I could see it in their annoyed faces and grumbles. They could easily shut me up, yet they didn’t want to hurt me because of the possibility I could be one of them and also their Alpha's mate.

Claw had brought me to the prison himself. I remember him carrying me over his broad shoulders as I yelled and smacked everywhere on his body, yet he had not budged, instead chuckled and said he found my actions cute.

Cute? I was struggling for my life and that motherfucker thought me cute!

Dropping me inside the cell and locking it afterward, he'd turned to his guards and said:

“She is not hurt. Watch her closely and ensure she doesn't escape. This one's a crafty one, you see. But I don't want a single scratch on her body. She is going to be here for a few days to teach her not to be a bad cat.”

“Who're you calling a cat?”

Claw turned to me and smirked;

“Or should I say, Wolf?”

I rolled my eyes at his words.

“Come to think of it. You’re an omega, right? I'm quite curious to see what your wolf looks like. Or do you have no wolf form?

“I'm never giving you the honor of showing you my wolf form even if I could, motherfucker!”

“Don’t speak to the Alpha that way!” the guard behind him bellowed.

Claw had left quickly afterward and I had not seen him since yesterday. I had not seen my brother either! What was keeping him? He had told me to keep my head low and play along yet he'd not even come to see me once! Did he even care about me?! He has still not explained how he was alive after all these years!

I sat on the floor and thought about Martin. My sweet boyfriend. I missed him so much.

“I'd best get some sleep. There's nothing to do.”

I lay in my cell and drifted to sleep, my mind drifting to the past and how I had first met Martin.

$$$

My life had been full of suffering after my mother and brother's death. My useless father remarried to another woman who already had two sons from an earlier marriage.

The woman showed me hell, maltreating me to the point where I felt like I was not human. Her sons were also monsters who abused me severely, just because my mother was no more. Yet my father did not care. I was practically invisible to him. I think it was because I was an Omega, the lowest class in the hierarchy of werewolves.

It was also why my stepmother could get away with mistreating me. The suffering in that house was so unbearable that I contemplated suicide and was about to do it, but Martin saved me.

It was the day of the festival, where the top packs of our society gathered together. However, my father and stepmother did not deem me worthy to attend it so I was made to stay behind.

I climbed the guardrails of my father's mansion. I could see how far the ground was from below me, and I immediately imagined my body hitting the ground, the force separating the parts of my body.

'How good it would feel, and there would not even be anyone to stop me.'

Yes, there was no one around. My family, and my neighbors, had all left for the festival.

I, on the other hand, had not gone and was not even thinking of doing so.

So if I threw myself from the third floor, where my room was located, and landed on the ground, a mangled mess, no one except the night guard would find my body. And that would be in two hours when the night guard came over for his work.

I wondered what would happen next. What the reaction of the night guard would be—shock, panic, resignation.

He would immediately call the werewolf cops, and they would bring men who would cart away my body.

Just like that, I would die. My life would end, and I would not have to deal with clinical depression and being a suicide manic anymore.

Just the thought of the series of events that would occur after made me excited. I stepped on the guard railing again and was about to step down when I felt big, strong arms encircle my waist and pull my back, preventing my suicide attempt.

I did not struggle. My mind was elsewhere, and I was concerned with other things. I felt my feet touch the ground, and afterward, I realized somebody had just saved me. The arms still lingered on my waist after dropping me on the floor.

"Are you alright? What are you doing?" a deep voice spoke to me.

I was surprised at how deep this man's voice sounded. Who was he, and why did he save me?

My eyes landed on the arms around my waist.

"Why are these still here?" I asked, not very friendly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Martin apologized and took his hands off me. And I could feel him stepping away from me.

"I was just worried that if I left you, you would return to the guardrail and try to kill yourself."

I turned and finally saw the face of Martin. I was mesmerized by how handsome he was.

My eyes left his face and trailed his body. He looked good and had kind eyes.

Martin waved his hand around my face.

“Hello?”

I finally snapped out of it.

“Oh, sorry. I…”

I stopped to think about what to say. I didn't want him to know I was admiring his beauty. I could tell he was not an Alpha. A Beta perhaps?

“I just zoned out, sorry. Thank you for saving me,” I said and turned to leave.

“Would you like to go somewhere? You don't look pleased. Can I take you somewhere?”

I stopped and looked back, surprised.

'Is he asking me out on a date in this situation?'

“To do what?” I asked quietly.

“To lighten your mood. You don't look like you’re too happy.”

I turned my back to him and continued walking like I had not heard what he had told me.

But then I stopped and looked back. Martin was still standing there. I returned to the spot I had left. His eyes were kind and sincere, so I agreed to go with him.

“Good. I know a nice place where you can have a lot of fun. There is a festival occurring not far from here. I saw it on my way driving here. Would you like to go?”

“Yeah. Sure,” I replied.

I knew the festival he was talking about. The girls who I trained with had been talking all about it. Of course, none of them were friends with me. They all hated me for being an orphan.

“ So if you want to come, follow me,” Martin said and led me to his car, which was parked outside the house. I stopped and asked him why he was there in the first place. I was not about to follow someone who might be a kidnapper or an assassin.

Not that I cared about my own life, but I wanted it to end with my own hands and my terms.

I agreed to go with them and got into his car. I fastened the seatbelt around my chest as Martin entered the car.

“What's your name?” I asked as he started the engine.

Martin looked at me and smiled.

“ Martin.”

$$$

Martin drove me to the carnival. I was a bit overwhelmed by the lights and the brightness around them. The people were making several fireworks that illuminated the sky. The sounds of the fireworks exploding in the sky, as well as the excited screams and shouts of the people, were overwhelming to me. I was used to a gloomy and dark atmosphere, part of the reason I kept the blinds of my window down and used the dimmest bulb to illuminate my depressing room.

Martin stepped out of the car, came to the other side of it, and opened the door on my side. It was as if he had detected my reluctance.

He held out a hand to me.

“Come on. Let's go have fun,” he said.

I still did not understand why such a handsome man was trying to make me happy. Did he know me from somewhere, and I had just forgotten him?

'Perhaps it's because he saw me try to kill myself.'

I took his hand and stepped out of the car. He led me through the crowd of dancing people. All donned different types of costumes, cool and weird.

The noise and light bothered me, but I said nothing and tried my best to show it lest I upset Martin who was trying so hard.

He brought me to a shop where they sold roasted beef and fries. He bought some for me, and I ate. He took me to a side of the carnival, where there were not many people and it was a pleasure ride, but the one with plastic ponies spun around repeatedly.

“Here, let's sit,” Martin said, gesturing to an empty bench right in front of the spinning group of ponies.

“Thank you,”

I looked around, observing the events of the night. I and Martin did not talk. They sat silently, watching the events unfold while eating the beef and chips.

I started to calm down a bit, and the lights and brightness were no longer a bother to me.

There were celebrations, including parades, public street parties, and other entertainments, combining some circus elements.

The people wore elaborate costumes and masks that allowed them to set aside their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity.

I would have worn one too, but I knew it didn't matter.

People rode the spinning ponies in front of me. Children, teenagers, adults, and grown men were riding the ponies with reckless abandon.

One fat man riding a red-haired pony fell off the pony and landed on his back. He yelped in pain, and I burst into laughter.

Martin looked at me in surprise. He didn't know I could laugh as I had not even smiled since he'd seen me. He looked at the source of my laughter and saw that it was a fat man who had just fallen off a plastic pony he shouldn't even have been riding in the first place. He chuckled. It was worth my laughter, though.

At least now, he knew I was not wholly gloomy, and there was hope to make me happy.

He wanted me to have fun that night so I would not go back and kill myself after he left me.

He would not let anyone kill themselves under his watch ever again. Even if he had to do things, he shouldn’t do it for a stranger.

We decided to ride on one of the pleasure rides.

The ride soon started, and it was the best time of my life. I had never felt so much thrill, so much excitement in my life before. I loved every part of it. I kept yelling loudly and happily as they rode. Martin enjoyed the ride too. We had a lot of fun on the roller coaster and got off afterward.

Then we went to a shop where they sold beef, ate, and discussed for some time. They spoke for hours, and at that moment, I felt like a person.

“Thank you for this,” I said to Martin that evening, the moon shining brightly in the sky and illuminating our faces.

Martin just smiled at me and placed a hand on my cheek.