Alpha Alden

Chapter 14

~Kezi

The sound of dull buzzing and faint clicking greets me into consciousness.

It takes a bit of scrambling for me to realise what has happened. I feel marvellous, as if untouched by any harm. As my eyes crack open, I’m reminded of the harsh white ceilings, and the crisp sheets that cover my body. Sitting up is difficult, the amount of tubes wrapped around me near ridiculous.

Everyone in the room turns, noticing my movement. Cian is gone, a distant memory in the back of my mind. Now, instead, I’m looking at a nurse, a doctor and Alpha Alden.

“What’s going on?” I question. They all stare at me, beguiled.

“You’ve awoken, finally,” the doctor said, while the nurse scuttles over to check my vitals. Alden simply watches me, as if he can’t believe I’m sitting here right now, alive. I can barely believe it either, Cian’s words ringing in my mind. I survived a heart attack, and only because of that little blue pill he fed to me.

Despite that, I won’t thank him. The only reason he wants me alive is so he can use me for his own gain. I’m curious about how much money my life earns him, although I doubt he would tell me.

“You suffered a very severe heart attack,” the doctor explains, waiting for a shocked reaction. When it doesn’t come, he continues. “We are surprised your survived. In fact, you have made such a miraculous recovery we don’t see there being any issues in your future.”

That’s a relief.

I have a lot of questions, but not for the doctors. Actually, I have a lot of accusations. Alden stands against the wall, watching as the doctors untangle me from the tubes and explain that I’ll need to come back tomorrow if I feel any different. Right now, I feel fine, as if I just woke from a twelve hour slumber.

When the doctor and nurse leave the room, Alden comes closer to me. He doesn’t sit next to me, simply standing a few feet away.

“What happened?” He asks.

I look up at him in disbelief, unable to comprehend that he had just asked me that question. Despite looking genuinely concerned - and perhaps a little suspicious - I could swear he was joking.

“You tell me,” I say, my tone harsher than I wanted it to be. I may be infuriated at him for his sick practice of forcefully removing brands from our skin, but he’s still an Alpha. And I would be foolish to speak disrespectfully to an Alpha. “You’re the one who ensured this medicine was created. Am I the only one who has nearly died from this?”

Alden swallows uncomfortably. “We have had two victims to reacted badly out of the many that have taken it. Both didn’t make it.”

“Well that makes me feel better,” I mutter sarcastically.

Had it not been for Cian, there is no way I would have survived. Part of me thinks I should questions him more about those wonderful pills, although I’m sure he wouldn’t inform me. They are something immortal, surely. Something like that would be impossibly to obtain otherwise.

“Naturally, I’m curious as to how you’re sitting here in front of me, alive...No, thriving, as if nothing ever happened to you,” Alden says. His tone is accusatory, assuming I know something he doesn’t. That’s exactly the case.

I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear, thinking of a diversion. “So you don’t care that I’m alive right now?”

As I say that, I feel foolish. Of course he wants me alive. The mark of my back suggest Time wanted me for something different the rest of the travellers. And he wants to know what that is. That’s absolutely the only reason why my life means anything to him.

Alden falters in his speech for a moment. I wonder if there is anyone in his life he truly cares about. His family are dead, so does he have anyone else?

“Anyone’s life means a lot to me,” Alden says carefully, eyeing me as if I was monitoring his response. “I’m just covering all my bases.”

I’m not going to tell him about the pill. That’s for sure.

“I’m not sure how I survived, but I’m happy I am. So either you let me go, or I’m going to spread that I nearly died because of one of your medications, and cause hysteria within this entire place,” I say simply, happy about my rather devious plan. Avia will be waiting for me outside. I need to find her again.

Alden tucks his hands neatly behind his back, a half smile to accompany a slight chuckle. “You truly are cunning, aren’t you, Kezziah?”

I shrug.

“Well, if it so interests you, everyone here turned themselves in. They wanted their brands removed, because Time had played them in ways they want reversed. You’re the only one I’ve had issues with,” Alden tells me, pronouncing the word issues with care and precision.

I narrow my eyes, trying not to looked shocked by that. Yes, Time is wicked and deserves a worthless life in the ground, but his brand is not one I would put my life at risk to get rid of. No matter what he did to me. He must have truly done these girls dirty. Or perhaps they never received the threats that I did when it came to my brand…

“Why do you care so much about this? Seriously?”

I snap, finding myself irritated that I’m the only one with a backbone in this place. “Like, my well-being should mean nothing to you.”

Alden sighs deeply, thinking. “You were in danger. And the fact you didn’t hand yourself intrigued me.”

For a moment I’m not sure how to react.

“I know you don’t want to be here, but I can assure this is necessary,” Alden sighs, “and Time is truly a cruel immortal. He cares for no one but himself. I’m trying to find a way to remove the brands and free people from him. And it’s not just about that. It’s also about putting an end to what he is doing all together.”

My mouth keeps shut as I think about this. If there is anyone who wants Time gone out of everyone’s lives, it’s me. However, after the way Alden forced me here, and nearly killed me, I can’t bring myself to trust him. Not yet.

“If you let me see your brand, to sketch and study it, we would be so much closer to finding out how to put a stop to it,” Alden says softly, waiting for an explosive reaction that never comes.

I simply shake my head. “I can’t do that.”

Avia always taught me to look out for myself. To not trust anyone involved in this. And I don’t, and I won’t. At least not without a reason to. Alden can let me leave my room and give me special privileges, but when I look into those dark navy blue eyes, I see a man too intelligent to let a girl get in the way of this.

He will find out a way to get to it, and I’ll find out a way to keep him away from it.

Alden doesn’t press me anymore, knowing it’s pointless. Instead, he holds his hand out to me, ready to help me off the bed. I don’t take it though, instead making a point of standing myself. A sign to him that I don’t need him to make it through this. My brand will be gone by the time I show it.

Returning to my room, I’m anxious. After what had happened, I don’t know how to feel. Having pills shoved into my mouth or salves spread across my skin is now something I can’t brush off. My life is at risk, and if Cian decides he no longer needs me, I could be dead.

However, as I push into the door, I see something in my room that makes all my other issues no long important.

Standing by the sink, examining the surface, is a dark figure, back turned to me. There is nothing normal about them, the way they stand, the way their fingers so gently brush over the surface of the bench. Darkness seems to seep from him, slinking around his legs and down to the floor, pooling into a shifting black mist.

The door, from behind me, swiftly closes, and I hear the lock click. Keeping me in here, with no hope of getting out.

He turns around, and my heart falls right to my feet. I should have seen this coming, it was inevitable, and now I feel foolish for not preparing. But how could I? There is no protecting myself from an immortal like this.

Time leans back against the bench, a feline smile gracing his features. “I think we need to have a little talk.”