46

ELEANOR
The drive to the Crescent Pack is unsurprisingly quiet, the air peaceful but filled with an anxious energy, radiating from the girls who are still very unfamiliar with the idea of leaving the pack in its totality for whatever reason, myself included.
Everyone looked tense, except for Jasmine and Clara. I could see the excitement on their faces as they stared outside the window of the moving bus, taking in everything they could with their faces glued to the windows like an excited toddler.
To them, this was a huge step towards freedom, and as much as I wanted to share the same sentiment, I couldn’t shake off the dreadful feeling that something could go horribly wrong.
The fear of failure and its consequences sat above my head like a thick cloud, causing me to bite my lip nervously as I fought back the imagery conjured up by my very restless mind, one painted red, with the blood of my friends and every single one of my pack members, with me at the very middle of it, hopeless, alone and helpless.
My intrusive thoughts were cut short by the feeling of a warm hand placed over mine, and I lifted my head to find Jasmine staring back at me with concern written all over her face. I tried to give her a smile, but the sense of dread weighed too heavily on my body for it to be anything more than a grimace.
I let out a sigh, and when my eyes trailed towards the window, they widened in surprise to find the vehicle to be no longer in motion. On studying my surroundings better, I find the bus to be empty of the other girls, everybody tightly grasping their bags.
“We’ve arrived?” I asked her, and she nodded. I hastily got to my feet and grabbed my bag, the one that had been given to us during the course of our journey after it was announced that Zane, that bastard, had included the slaves as part of his souvenirs, should Easton find them pleasing enough, and this bag contained all sorts of accessories that we were to beautify ourselves with, in hopes of catching Easton’s eyes.
It was a fleeting thought, but I’d imagined such a scenario. I would be lucky to be taken right out of Zane’s hand and into Easton’s as that would do wonders for our plan if it were to go through, but Jasmine, Clara and my name being exempted from the list of potential souvenirs reminded me just how ugly my luck had always been.
Who was I kidding? There was no way in hell that Zane would just let me leave. Alliance or not, his own ego and disturbing sense of ownership and possessiveness would never let him forgo his toy so easily, especially not when he was so hellbent on breaking and keeping me for himself. Even if he were to grow tired of me, he would rather just kill me to get that one last victory and pleasure from holding my fate in his hands. Another involuntary sigh escapes my lips at my own thoughts as I follow the line of girls exiting the bus with Jasmine behind me.
As my feet touched the ground, I took in a long drag of the air outside, desperately craving a whiff of some air that wasn’t tainted by Zane’s pungent scent or the putrid smell of pain, suffering and death, which had slowly become my norm. I wondered if the air here would feel different in my lungs, and it was.
This was what it felt like to take a breath of fresh air. The air was clean and crisp, and the light breeze seemed to carry the old air with it, only to renew it with even cleaner, crispier air. It didn’t take long for me to decide this to be a place I wouldn’t mind staying at, but such wishful thinking could only go so far. I knew the chances of me ever staying here were a solid zero to none.
Even if I managed to escape his clutches, Zane would never stop until I was found. A pack relatively close too would be one of the first places he would search. There was no getting away from Zane, and there was no freedom until his painful and merciless death. I planned to oversee every step of the way.
“Hey! Eleanor. Look at me,” I heard Jasmine’s voice, and I blinked back to reality, meeting her eyes that were scanning all over my face. “Are you okay? Eleanor, I want you to know that if you really don’t want to do this, then you don’t have to, okay? If there’s enough doubt about this plan in your heart to make you not want to go through with it, then I trust you. You don’t have to speak to him. Staying alive is more important than this whole plan and as long as we’re all alive, I’m sure we can find another alternative, so just …. try not to look so constipated or Mark might begin to grow suspicious. Smile like we’ve been instructed and speak only when spoken to. Can you do that for me?” Jasmine coaxed gently, and I felt my eyes begin to well up with tears.
“B- but… you… you need me. This is important too, and if this fails, we might lose our only ticket to freedom.” I replied in a sad whisper as the tears threatened to fall.
“Yes, we need you, but more importantly, we need you alive. So let it go today if not for anything but to ease your nerves. I’m sure we will be granted another opportunity soon, and when that happens, we won’t miss it, I’m sure.” she assured me, and there was a small squeeze around my fingers that provided me with some comfort, and I replied with a smile and a muffled hum. Her words helped, but the unease that sat heavy in my chest was nothing if not stubborn.
The shrill sound of whistleblowing draws our attention, and we quickly fall into a neat, uniform line as instructed. After a brief address and a few minutes to accessorize, we began to march into the pack house with Mark leading the way, our heads staying down the whole time. Soon, we were met by Easton’s beta, who said his greetings before taking the lead this time and directing us to where the meeting would be held.
I could feel my heart thumping as we drew nearer to the hall where I would no doubt see Easton for the first time since our first ugly encounter. I wondered if he would notice me amidst all the other girls and, if he did, how he would react. Would he still be sour about how our conversation had ended with my blatant refusal, or would he await with open arms like he’d promised despite my rejection?
Various scenarios featuring all the different reactions to expect continued to play in my head until the grand doors are pushed open, and my heart screached to a loud halt when the first thing I laid eyes upon in the vast room was Easton, perched on his bejeweled throne, eyes narrowed into focused slits as he followed the movements that filled the room as girl after girl trooped in.
His eyes finally reached me, and I hurried to avert my eyes quickly enough to wonder if I had imagined the excited glint in his eyes in my nervous haste.
Mark snaps his fingers, and we immediately fall into formation in front of Alpha Easton. I could feel his eyes on me, it was either that, or I was going crazy imagining those heavy eyes following my every move until I got to my position before we all bowed animatedly, “Long live Alpha Easton,” came the chorused greeting and Mark had a proud smile at the first successful activity, standing with his chest puffed up.
“I must say, your Pack grounds are indeed glowing with evidence of great care and evident growth, Alpha Easton. I am here on orders from Alpha Zane, who wishes to show his appreciation for your agreement to the long-awaited alliance between both flourishing, powerful packs by signing the truce of goodwill into place. We’ve come bearing gifts, hand-picked by the Alpha himself with consideration for your pack and….. personal needs.” he recites before snapping his fingers just as we’d dropped the baskets and all the other girls scurried into another line without Clara, Jasmine and I who had been earlier informed of our exclusion from this segment.
“Whichever girl, or girls, you find appealing enough is yours to keep, a gift from the Alpha and effective the second you take your pick,” he announces, presenting the girls to Easton like the commodities they’d been sadly reduced to. It was an arrangement I wished I could be a part of for once in my life, but I could do nothing but sigh as I forced my head into a deeper bow, listening to Mark drone on and on about how flexible and adaptable all the girls had been trained to be for whatever purpose he could need them for.
Despite having not raised my head for the better part of their conversation, I could still feel Easton’s eyes nailing me into my spot in the room as if waiting, like a predator, silent in the hunt, waiting for its prey to make that one mistake that would mark the end of its existence. I was a ball of nerves at this point, and I could feel myself break into an anxious sweat.
I knew I had offended him during the entirety of our last meeting, but here I was, shamelessly finding my way back to him when I needed something from him. It was wrong, and I did not feel good about having to do this either, but I needed him. I couldn’t do this without someone powerful on my side, and I knew of no one else besides him.
As an alpha, I knew I would be quick to pick up on anything he could afford to teach me just so I didn’t end up a headless corpse before I could make Zane bleed to death at my feet. I needed him, so desperately.
“I see….” he finally spoke for the first time since our entrance, and I felt my breath cease, my head lifting unconsciously to watch him push out of his seat and stalk closer. There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere, and my knees all but gave out as his pheromones seemed to waft off him in angry waves. He had an aura surrounding him that I’d never felt from any other Alpha.
There was a kind of fear and authority his presence commands that I wondered just how I’d missed it entirely on the night I deemed him a weakling and rejected him. What had changed? Could it be owing to the fact that I am a stranger now? Here, in his home and territory, where he held all the power?
I felt a cold chill run down my spine as he strolled the length of the hall until he passed Mark, passed the line of girls offered to him and stopped just a hair’s length away from the arrangement consisting of just my friends and I. If it was erratic before, my heart was now pounding violently against my ribs, loud enough in my ears that I feared he would hear it too.
“I’m flattered to see you have prepared so much. Makes me glad that I thought ahead, too.” He started again, still backing the rest of the room, and I could tell I wasn’t the only one holding my breath at this point. “There’s a banquet organized in the ballroom, a feast to celebrate our alliance, and as my guests, every one of you is invited. Everyone….. except for you, Eleanor,” There is immediately a loud ringing in my ears as my name drops from his lips like a bomb, my heart dropping with it as I froze in mortification.
“I’m sorry, Alpha Easton,” I heard Mark interject after a heavy pause. “I guess I should have mentioned it earlier, but the girls in that section, especially Eleanor, are exempted from this arrangement. I’m deeply sorry for the misunderstanding. She is specially instructed to serve at my right hand for today, but I’m sure any of these other girls would do just fine for wha-”
A low rumble, similar to what would be described as an unamused chuckle is heard which has Mark pausing immediately, “I doubt you went through all the trouble just to have the truce be called off over a disagreement.” he drawls in a low voice, and I swallowed hard. There was no way this was happening.
“Alpha Easton, you have to understand-”
“I’m sure you’re aware of the fact that Zane wouldn’t hesitate to kill you if this alliance falls through because of a slip-up from you. Your life is worth more to you than this slave’s, no?” he turned to regard Mark this time, and I wondered why him calling me a slave stung a little, but I quickly brushed it away. I probably deserved even more than that.
“Besides, Zane’s not here right now, and if you won’t tell, I won’t either.” he shrugs, almost playful before his words take on a more serious tone. “Now go. Enjoy yourself, and you have my word to not touch or harm her,” he assures, and Mark, visibly conflicted, looks between Easton and I a few times before taking a few hurried steps towards me.
Bowing his head to reach my height, Mark’s gaze falls hard on me, and I swallow as he begins to speak. “Make one mistake and I swear we will be leaving from here with your head and dismembered body in those baskets instead,” he grits out into my ear and all I could do was nod stiffly at the threat before he pulled back with a wide smile that had my stomach twisting into unsettling knots. “I’ll see you at the feast then,” he says before swiftly turning around and being led away, taking the rest of the slaves with him.
I could feel Jasmine and Clara’s worried eyes on me as they fell behind in line with Jasmine resorting to shooting me an encouraging fist that did nothing to ease my scattered nerves as the door shut behind them.
“Leave us!” he ordered, and the room cleared out in the blink of an eye, leaving me alone with him, feeling caught with nowhere to run to. I could feel my palms begin to sweat as my hands started to shake.
Unshed tears begin to blur my vision, and my body starts to shudder in fear and anticipation. I forced my fingers into a fist, reminding myself of that night of our first encounter. I shouldn’t let him see me as the weak one now, I should continue with that brave font.
Easton finally turns to look at me when the huge doors are pulled shut. There’s a smile on his face as he nods at me, “Shall we?”