Cruel Alpha, Season One (Wolves of New Eden #1)

6. The Breaking

6

The Breaking

Annalise

It feels as though time is in a vacuum. With no windows, no way of telling whether it’s day or night—or let alone how many days or nights—the hours just seem to run into each other.

One after another after another.

Until I begin to feel the chilled hands of insanity creeping up onto my shoulders.

The only time anyone comes down here is to bring meals or to usher me to the restroom blindfolded, with my hands and feet bound the entire way there and back. This was done for the express purpose of making it impossible for me to know where I am and how to escape. But what I do know is that I’m at the end of my rope, questioning whether I’m willing to cave to the alpha’s demands.

I want out of this cell more than I want my next breath.

The door creaks in the distance, and I’m on my feet, devising a plan as footsteps click and clack their way closer. My fingers encircle the bars, and I’m breathing like a caged animal, desperate to be set free.

First, I see a silhouette, but it looks nothing like the masked guards who occasionally visit for feedings. Then, the spread of a long, flowing dress has me backing away from the bars mere seconds before an all too familiar scent surrounds me.

Aunt Geneva.

She steps closer and strikes a match, lighting a lantern she holds into the air, using the dim, orange light it emits to get a better look at me. It’s been several days since I’ve looked into a mirror, but I’m certain I look about as bad as I feel. She confirms this with the gasp that leaves her a moment later.

“Dear gods!” she whispers. “What have they done to you? My dear, sweet girl.”

She reaches to touch me through the bars, but I recoil. “What have they done to me? This is your doing!”

Her eyes narrow and the softness in them fades. “You cannot possibly believe this is my fault. What did you think would happen when you disobeyed? And am I to understand that you ran away?”

She clicks her tongue at me like I’m some wayward child in need of correction.

“Are we really pretending your greed and affinity for titles and social status aren’t the cause of me being here?”

Huffing in frustration, her eyes soften, and she somehow manages to make them water a bit. She swipes the single tear that threatens to spill over her lashes, dabbing at her eye with her finger before her flawless makeup is ruined.

Of course.

“Annalise, we’ve discussed this, and I explained that I had nothing to do with the agreement your uncle made with the alpha. If I’d been there, if I’d known, I would have insisted that they consider your feelings.”

I can’t resist the eyeroll when she lies straight through her perfect teeth.

“How convenient,” I scoff. “It’s so easy to say what you would’ve done now that the matter has passed, but I think we both know where your loyalty lies, Aunt Geneva. It isn’t with family. It certainly isn’t with me. Which leaves the one thing you care about more than keeping up appearances. Money.”

She gasps like a damsel in distress again, seemingly offended by my words, but they’re so true even her eyes give her away.

“You can’t possibly believe that.”

A laugh slips and my head tilts. “You can’t possibly expect me not to.” My hands gesture toward the bars, and I glance around my new home. “Maybe it’d be clearer if you spent some time here.”

Her lip quivers like I’ve wounded her, but I’m not moved.

“You’re upset,” she says. “And I can’t blame you for that. We had no idea you’d be treated this way. Look where he’s keeping you for heaven’s sake.”

I’m not buying her act. I’ve come to learn she’s a master of deceit, and I’m convinced this is merely another display of that.

“Alpha Caspian reached out this morning. In fact, he sent an official messenger of the High Chamber to our front door, if you can believe that,” she says.

There’s a twinge of excitement in her voice. I imagine the gleam that must’ve been in her eye when she answered the door to receive the alpha’s messenger, salivating over how jealous her neighbors must be at the sight of someone of such importance paying her a visit.

“The letter stated that you’ve had a tough time adjusting to your new accommodations, and he urged me to have this discussion. His hope is that I’m able to… sway you.”

My brow furrows. “Sway me?”

She steps closer, and I’m still leery of her.

“Yes, dear,” she says. “When the alpha asked for you, I won’t deny that there were certain benefits to such an alliance, but… I’m afraid I’ve only recently learned of the consequences.”

Air rushes into my lungs as my breathing quickens. “What sort of consequences?”

Her gaze lowers to the cement beneath her expensive shoes, and her gloved hand tightens around the handle of the lantern.

“If you continue to refuse the alpha’s kindness, he’s promised he’d have our heads. Our entire family, Annalise—mine, your uncle’s, and both your cousins.”

I don’t move, feeling torn between two realities. One where my aunt and uncle’s home has been warm and inviting to me for so many years, filled with fond memories and what I believed to be love. And another where I’m filthy, standing in a cage, because I’ve been given to a man I don’t love or even like, all for this “family’s” financial gain.

And yet, she still considers the alpha’s treatment of me a kindness.

Gripping the bars again, my hands shake, staring at my aunt through new eyes, as if only seeing her for the first time. She meets my gaze, and I believe she misreads the look I’ve cast on her, mistaking it for sympathy.

“Please, Annalise, I beg of you. I understand that you have so many questions, so many feelings surrounding your circumstances, but… if there’s still an ounce of love in your heart toward us, please consider my words.”

The next moment, we’re plunged into silence. I’m doing as she asked, considering her words, considering whether the alpha would actually make good on his promise. But then I look around at this cell, remembering his vow to keep me locked inside it until I was ready to comply. Which means the answer to this question, and any other question regarding his willingness to inflict pain and discomfort to assert his authority… will always be yes.

The tears return to Aunt Geneva’s eyes, and I hate that my stupid heart lurches at the sight of them. If I were colder, if I were ruthless, I’d immediately turn her away and let her get what she has coming. But in her eyes, I see so much of my mother. They’re two totally different women, in too many ways to name, but there’s this small part of me that feels like letting her go would feel a lot like losing my mother all over again.

So, because of this one simple fact, she might be spared.

Maybe.

“I’ll consider it.”

The first reaction to my answer is shock, maybe because she thought I’d just cave, give in easily. But then, she seems a bit relieved, knowing my character and that it’s not likely I’d allow the alpha to mutilate my family. However, she sickens me. If I agree to this, agree to be Caspian’s mate, my misery will grant Aunt Geneva freedom and undeserved riches.

“Okay,” she says softly. “I trust that you’ll do the right thing.”

I have no response, because she deserves to be shitting her pants right now, wondering if I’ll continue to resist, ultimately resulting in her death. It’s tempting, but I already feel myself beginning to cave, beginning to accept my new place in this world.

It’s become crystal clear that I’m a pawn.

A bargaining chip.

A token.

And at the risk of being unladylike, I must be frank. My life, this whole situation, fucking sucks.