Scarred Alphas

Chapter 63

I stand on a table in the

middle of a dining hall. A huge room with multiple dining tables. My wrists and

ankles are in shackles.

Kanda, Sheril and the other

contestants that won stand

with me also shakled. They took us here directly after the fight. I can tell Kanda is having a hard time standing

since she is hurt but she does

her best.

We are displayed like

trophies for Zao’s

amusement. There are all

manner of people here.

Some look–and act― like

savages, others look like well–established people.

They told us not to speak or we would be punished

but…since when has

punishment stopped me from speaking my mind?

The people here come

around to our table to get a

good look at us.

“Not a scratch on him…” One

of the spectators mutters

looking at one of the men

that stands with us.

A big chunky round fellow steps in front of Kanda with a big smile. His big round rosy ch*eks pucker up. “My Nubian goddess! You made me so much money today!”

The man is excited and in a

very good mood. He holds cup up and nods at Kanda,

and then he drinks.

“I was not expecting a double team. It was quite exciting.”

Two men speak looking at

Sheril and then at me.

“How long do we have to stay

like this?” I whisper to the

girls.

“They will get us back soon, especially because Kanda and one of the guys are hurt. Just hold on a bit longer.”

I am not sure I can hold on, I

am about to explode on

these people. They are disgusting for what they are doing here.

“At least we are not them.”

Sheril says looking at the poor women who were brought to entertain the men in a more s**ual way —also prisoners and among them is

Lia, the girl from our cell.

Two men suddenly stand in

front of me. They look up at

me, studying me.

“What a curious sight.”

“Indeed. The mask makes

her…mysterious. She looks dangerous. I like it.”

“You like it?” I ask.

“Oh yes…” He responds. “I wonder what those eyes look

like.”

“Why don’t you come closer? End your curiosity.” I slowly

lean down. Tempted, the

man gets closer.

“Can you see?” I ask him.

“No. It is just dark.”

“Get closer.”

The moment he does, I

swing my head down and hit

him with the metal mask

right on the nose.

Oh, it hurts me too but not

as much as it does him. He

pulls back with his hand on his bloody nose.

“How mysterious am I now?!”

I shout.

One of the guards swings a

stick that looks like a baton

and hits me on the back. It

hurts but it is not the worst

that I have taken.

I hear Zao laugh along with a

few men near him.

“I told you all not to get too close. They bite.”

“Dumb ass. Sticking his hand in a cage filled with rabid dogs.” The voice is familiar

and quickly brings my blood

to a boil.

Oliver stands in front of me.

He holds a cup up with a stupid smile. “That look is

good on you.”

He is right…I suddenly feel

like a rabid animal.

“So you are back?” I ask with

clenched teeth.

“I am. Couldn’t resist to

watch you fight.”

This man has no idea how

much in danger he is. If I were loose, I’d kill him on the spot. I suppose I can still hurt him though.

Without giving it a second thought, I jump on him. My shackled hands go around

his neck where I hold him in

place and sink my teeth into the first thing I can find. As I do this, he turns his head

and I bite his ear off.

Literally, when I am pulled away by the guards, half of his ear is in my mouth. He screams and holds his side, watching me spit the chunk of meat on the ground.

“I WILL KILL YOU!” I

scream.

Zao claps and laughs.

“You need to cage her!”

Oliver shouts at him and the

people around him that also laugh.

“What did you expect would happen?” Zao asks. “You

spoke of that man sticking

his hand in a cage filled with rabid dogs but you entered the cage that you put her in.” Zao claps again. “Take them

back.”

Unlike the others, I have to be pulled and carried away because all I want to do is get my hands on Oliver.

I don’t calm down until we

are taken to the barrack

rooms to change back into our white rags, and then we

are taken back to our cells.

“This can’t stand. We need to

get out of here!” I start to feel a desperate need to escape. It

has just been a few days but I

feel like Colt and the others

will never find me.

This makes me feel sick to

my stomach.

And how am I going to survive another fight? I was

lucky in this one. If Sheril

hadn’t shown up when she did, I would have been dead.

“We’ve all tried. It is nearly

impossible.”

“There has to be a way.”

“You are just going to make them angry.” Kanda says

resting on a piece of rag on

the floor.

“Let them be angry.” I

mutter.

Sheril leans on the bars of

the cell next to ours. “Mike

Tyson over here doesn’t give

a shit. You can tell that much

and I’m with her.”

Kanda laughs and then I think bout it and laugh too.

“Dude, your kind can heal but you can’t regrow b*dy

parts. He’s going to be

walking around with half an

ear for the rest of his life.”

Sheril says and starts

laughing.

That night, I sleep just a tiny bit better knowing that Oliver is going to remember

me for the rest of his life

every time he looks in a

mirror.

In the morning I am filled

with sadness. I miss Colt. I

miss waking up with him.

We are not mates but I have

a bond with him

nonetheless. I love that man

and I miss him so much.

My thoughts start going to a dark place, wondering if I’ll ever see him again. If I never

do, will he ever know what happened to me? Will he look for me until he gives up hope? Will he miss me?

I quietly cry in the corner hoping no one notices.

The next two days are filled with mostly rest and

sickness. The food here is

horrendous. And rest is all

we can do in these cages. I guess you could say that we are a bit lucky to be in this particular cell because from

where we are, I can see the market so it is just a bit

entertaining. It is always

filled with people, even at

night. Many of the people

also come to see us. It is like

we are animals in a zoo.

I still can’t get used to the food they give us. I am always feeling sick. It tastes disgusting.

“What are they doing?” I ask

Kanda, watching two guards

going around the cells with a

clipboard in hand.

“They are choosing who is

fighting again tonight.”

“Again?! So soon?!”

My stomach turns.

When they get to our cell, one of the guards points to

the girl who sleeps in the corner. All she does is sleep,

eat, and shit. She doesn’t

converse with us and I don’t

even know her name.

“That one has done nothing

for weeks. Put her on the

list.” The guard then looks at Kanda and then at me. “They will fight too.”

“What?!” I shout. “Me too?!”

“Yes!” The guard yells and

walks off. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

No…not again…I suddenly

visualized the fight I was in. I

start to feel hot and shaky.

“I…I don’t…I…” I turn around

and run to the latrine where

I empty the contents of my

stomach.

Lia pats my back. “It’s okay. Breath. You did it once, you can do it again.”

“That was luck. If Sheril

hadn’t been thrown in, I

would have been dead.”

Victor’s lessons also saved

my life. I sit against the wall and wonder how they are all

doing. My life suddenly did

a one–eighty and completely changed again after I had gotten used to my father and his pack. Now I’m here.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

I survived all these years. I survived a raging river as a child that killed my mother. I survived a pack that hated me and nearly killed me many times. I survived my father and stood up to him

and his cruelty. I can survive

this too, I must.

I touch the sides of my head.

The bolt wounds have

healed. They don’t hurt anymore. I can’t even feel it and I have gotten used to the

mask and my limited vision.

“Kanda, where are you from anyway?” I ask her, looking for conversation.

“Kenya. I was part of a pack near a city called Nairobi.”

“Pack…what… are you?”

“A werecat. We are very

different you and I…our

kind. All we have in

common is that we can shift

and heal fast. Our packs

consist of only five to ten

people. We are not as strong as your kind–though we are still strong—but we are very fast and agile. Our bodies

can twist in ways that yours can’t.”

I nod. This is all very

interesting.

“How did you end up here?”

“Our pack was attacked by poacher hunters.”

“Poacher?”

She nods.

“Hunters who hunt

supernatural beings for the

sport of it and what they can

gain. I was brought here and

sold. I don’t know what

happened to the rest of my pack.”

“Don’t confuse them with us.”

Sheril says. “Our hunter

society is there to preserve peace between all of us.

When we hunt, it is usually those who have gone crazy on a killing spree. At least that’s what usually happens.”

The guards suddenly stand in front of us again but this

time with Zao.

“This one?” The guard points

at Kanda.

“Yes.” Zao says. He leans in to speak to Kanda. “I will be taking your metal collar off during the fight so that you

can shift. Your kind is rare

but I want to give them a

taste of wonder. I have

powerful people coming to

see the fight tonight. We are putting on a show on this one. If you all play your rolls right, you’ll get to dine with us tonight instead of just being displayed.”

I roll my eyes watching them

leave.

As if that was a reward.

We all decide to rest. I sit

leaning on the wall from the latrine watching people

come and go, waiting for tonight.

A while later, we are taken to the cages in the middle of the market just like before.

There are so many more prisoners than before. So many of us are fighting.

I am scared, I really am. I don’t want to fight someone who knows how to fight because they will probably

kill me and I also don’t want

to fight someone who

doesn’t because I don’t want

to kill them. What if is

someone like Musa? Her

screams still haunt me. I am

sure she did nothing to

defend herself. She most

likely didn’t know what to

1. do.

I almost gasp myself out of existence when I see a

familiar face in the crowd of

the market.

“What the hell? What is it?”

Kanda asks startled.

“I know her!” I squeeze my ch*eks through the cell bars.

The mask won’t let me go

any further but these bars

are not silver so they don’t

hurt me.

“Honora!” I scream.

The closest guard hits the bars with his baton causing

me to jump back. I lean back

to the bars and notice

Honora–the witch who

helped me with my dreams with Ezra–looking in my

direction. She heard me. She

looks at me with curiosity

but I don’t think she can

recognize me with this mask.

I wave at her but then she is

gone. A group of people gets

in the way.

“No…”

I desperately look for her but I can’t see her anywhere.

“No…” I move around trying to look through the crowd. “No, please…where are you?”

I hit the bars knowing that I lost my chance.

“Who…was it?” Kanda asks.

I turn and slide down the

bars, feeling defeated.

“Someone I know…” I

whisper.

“You know me?” Someone

suddenly whispers from

behind me.

I turn to see her.

“Honora!”