Chapter 2 - The Alpha’s Domain

The man, whose name I later found out, was Blake, had acquired a blanket with which to cover me. He had guided me outdoors to a tarmac road lined with woodlands that were giving up in all directions. Dusk was drawing in quickly, and the sun was nearly halfway set. Shivering beneath the blanket, I started to take in my surroundings. The view was stunning as the leaves started to turn to shades of burnt orange and brown, giving the impression that the lab was situated directly in the center of the woods.

As it had been ten years earlier on the day they had stolen me from my father, it was fall time.

I could still not remember the majority of my memory, even though it felt like I had just woken up from a long nap.

Blake was frantically texting on his phone when I glanced at him. "I can't seem to remember everything," I muttered. "Is that normal?"

"Oh yeah, that's normal, it will be this way for a couple of days, maybe even weeks," he said, maintaining eye contact with his phone. "You'll get them all back eventually."

With a nod. I inquired, "Is he nice?" a little while later.

"Who?"

"The alpha...is he a nice guy?"

Is he going to hurt me?

Blake burst out laughing. I was having trouble understanding what it meant.

"Well, you're on your way to finding out."

We were being approached by a black van, so I was unable to ask any further inquiries. A man wearing a long silk gown in a navy blue color stopped just in front of me and looked directly at me. He was not friendly in the slightest, nor did he smile. He appeared to spend much of his time in the sun because of his dark skin and thick, twisted black beard, which covered most of his face.

When he introduced himself to us, he was even larger than Blake and loomed over the two of us with a broad back that waved a shadow. He, too, shared Blake's exact tattoo.

He gave the dress to me and then virtually ripped the rear van door off to show off the dark leather interior, saying, "Get in the car and put this on."

Blake nodded at me, seemingly reassuring me. Abruptly, it occurred to me how many other girls had been in my shoes. I snatched up the dress and went inside the van. I waited for them to close the door before putting on the silk dress. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window. I touched it, and it felt soft and lovely. I looked into my own eyes more.

Upon first glance, I thought I was stunning. Brown hair, with waves, fell around my shoulders and terminated at my midback, resembling velvet. Sharp jaw lines, a robust chin, and big, red lips that tremble. I thought, My eyes are so large. Large, olive-green eyes filled with frightened tears. Even in the reflection, it felt as though I was hanging on to something strange when I raised my palms to touch my own cheek.

I couldn't help but think, maybe this was more than just waking up from a nap. A tear began to fall down my cheek. I licked it away as soon as it touched my lips.

The burley man had jumped in via the driver's door, causing the entire vehicle to vibrate when the hit occurred. I gasped.

During the whole ride, he remained silent. I wondered what was in store for me and spent the drive staring out into the endless forests.

I had been buried for a decade; what might have become of the village? I pondered whether my father was still living and whether I would discover the village and discover him snuggled up on the living room sofa with the television remote in one hand and a hot drink in the other.

I recalled that my father used to watch repeats on a brown sofa. He would tell me all about them and comment, "It's unfortunate that this was popular during my time."

What does a father do for a living, I thought to myself? Did I go to school, had siblings, or a mother?

I ran out of things to say. Just like Blake had promised, I told myself, the memories would come back. It occurred to me that we had left the forest behind and appeared to have entered a town. It appeared to be a supermarket store as we were driving by. I saw that many of the shoppers were coming and going, and they all appeared to have the same tribal tattoo.

We eventually came to a street that went into a suburb. Huge mansions separated by kilometres, beautifully maintained with tall, towering trees and plants, and driveways that brought to mind the wealthy individuals in the movies my father used to show me. I was astonished to see how different these houses were from the village I grew up in.

Is it the kind of house he plans to show me?

The houses vanished as we started to travel higher. As I looked towards the front of the car, I saw even more exquisite landscaping lining both sides of the road. I could see a huge house, twice as big as the other ones we had gone by, at the very top of the hill. It was composed of beige bricks, as I could see as we got closer. Now that the sun had almost completely set, chandelier lighting gave it a new lease on life. Huge plants hung over the entrance gates, hiding most of the house from view. The van stopped outside the doors.

"It's me," the hefty man said, his first words since the start of the journey.

A huge fountain was visible in the center of the driveway when the gates automatically opened. When we pulled up to the front entrance, I was astounded to see two older and younger women standing there. My heart began to race as the automobile came to a stop. The driver opened the door a wide distance, giving me space to exit. If not for the ample illumination provided by the mansion, the area outside the car would have been completely dark.

I felt like the women were waiting for me because they took hold of my arms.

The older one walked me ahead to the entryway and said, "Hello there. How was your trip?"

"It was good," I said in answer.

Their arms were exposed behind the voluminous sleeves of their white dresses, and I could not help but notice this. No tattoos.

Even more stunning was the interior of the mansion. The white and black marble floors felt chilly under my bare feet. There was an interior water fountain as well as several enormous chandeliers to greet me. Given the almost nonexistent ceiling, it was difficult to determine whether this house had three or four levels based on the gold spiral staircase. Like a huge, glittering serpent, the steps encircled the chamber. The younger woman giggled at the sight of my stunned expression.

"Been sleeping for a long time, this one, hasn't she?" She chuckled.

"Tessa, stop it!" She seemed to be saying to herself,

"They didn't even bother giving you shoes, those monsters," as the older woman nudged the girl and guided me toward the stairs with an elbow.

I was finally able to ascertain that there were three storeys as we ascended the magnificent staircase.

"This is the last room down this hall," the woman nudged me onward, "and it's also where the master sleeps."

"Master? "Alpha, do you mean?"

With nervousness, she nodded. Did she fear for my safety?

A large corridor decorated with enormous mirrors and artwork led to a set of black doors at the end. The younger girl opened the door and saw a bedroom bigger than most apartments. From the first look, it was clear that the resident was a guy; a bed that appeared larger than a king was embraced by black silk sheets, and one wall was solely dedicated to shelving and closet space. Big, empty cardboard boxes were arranged in front of the bed.

"Will I share this room with the alpha?" I asked myself as I turned to face the women observing my reaction.

"Yes, he stays out most nights and doesn't always come home, but he knows about your delivery and I'm sure he'll be back tonight to meet you," the elder woman said softly, as if she was afraid to speak too loudly for fear of hurting me. With curiosity, the younger girl, Tessa, was observing me.

Her eyebrows sprang up in a nasty way as she continued, "You must think you're so much better than us,"you got chosen to be a doll while we're over here slaving for the brutes."

"Tessa, stop it!"

"Do you think that all you gotta do is look pretty and make him a baby, you just wait and see, he's gonna ruin you like he's ruined everything, you won't be so pretty for long-"

"Let's go, out!" The older woman took Tessa by the arm and led her to the door; after she was outside, she turned back to face me.

"I'm so sorry about her, she's been in a mood since her father died a few weeks back."

Without knowing what to say, I just nodded abruptly. Biting my tongue, I longed to inquire if they were human, if they were one day villagers like i was..