Geo
The whipping lasted for 10 minutes, yet my suffering extends up until now, hours after that. My hands and feet burn at the latch of silver on them and my back hurts more as the wounds caused by the lashes stuck to the fabric of my clothes.
"Here, eat." The same guard that whipped me said, kicking a tray of berries towards me, treating me like a dog with that action. I looked at the berries and can already tell that they're overripe, so I paid them no mind. I'd rather starve than eat that. The guard didn't force me to eat though, he just left me alone and attended to the other prisoners who were complaining about the food.
Fatigue started to take a toll on my body, so I laid on the bench, hoping that I would catch a wink of sleep. But it's hard to sleep on a cold and hard surface with my whole body aching. I tossed and turned, whimpering every time my wounds would be grazed until I just can't take it anymore and fell into oblivion.
"Open the door." A familiar feminine voice stirred me from my very uncomfortable sleep, and then I heard a lock, a cell door screeching open, and then I felt a soft, warm, and comforting touch on my skin. I opened my eyes even if they feel really heavy and saw a blonde girl with ocean blue eyes looking at me with a worried expression on her face.
"Geo..." She muttered as she wrapped her arms around me. "What did they do to you?" She exclaimed when she saw the blood stains on my back.
"Ven. What are you doing here?" I said weakly as she helped me sit up, not caring that her skin also came in contact with the silver chains that binds me.
"I kept my word. Here, have some." She said, opening a lunch box that has bread, chicken, and beef inside. The smell filled my nostrils and my stomach stirred. It's been a long time since I had a decent meal like this. Food is scarce when you're a rogue living in the mountains after all. "I'll feed you." She added when she noticed that my hands are tied.
She cut the food piece by piece and fed me. Even if the food is slightly cold, her action warms my heart and I just can't help but ask, "Why? Why are you doing this Ven?"
She put the box down and opened a bottle, placing it near my lips and I didn't hesitate to drink the cold lemonade. "You need the energy. It's the least that I can do to help you. I can't change protocols. They'll still hurt you as long as you are detained, I can only help in lessening the pain, I can't make it go away." As if on cue with her words, I felt my wounds slightly healing. There must be something in the drink...
"I mean, why are you helping me? You don't have to do this you know? You already repaid my saving your butt from those attackers by not letting them kill me. You already gave me an opportunity to live, it doesn't have to be convenient for me though." I said.
"You don't really know?" Something shifted in her expression as she closed the bottle and resumed on feeding me the food.
"Is there something I need to know?" I asked, really confused.
"Doesn't it speak for it all? The sparks? The instant connection? Didn't you feel it when we were out there? The kiss..." Her voice faltered as my heart skipped a beat at her words.
She likes me? "I felt it Ven..." I started off softly. "But even if we feel that way, we're too different to be together. Maybe when we're out there, we're free to do whatever we want, choose whoever we wish, and feel whatever we feel, but look at us now. We're not caught up in a storm anymore, and this is our reality. You're a pack nobility while I'm a criminal rogue. We can't possibly pursue our feelings, can we?" It really hurts me to say all of those and the dejected look in her eyes broke me.
"You're not a criminal. They haven't passed judgement on you yet." She murmured.
"Even if I win this case, what would that make me? Do you think it would really make me deserve you?" I pointed out and I caught a single tear rolling down her cheek. My breath hitched at the sight and decided not to speak anymore. Why am I pushing her away?
"Just let me help you." She said, offering yet another bottle once I finished all the food. This time, it's water, not lemonade. And I guess I can't really turn down her offer because my hands are tied, literally. "Listen, I don't have much time, the guards will return soon."
"There's one right there you know?" I pointed at the guard standing by my cell door.
"The princess has her way of bribery you know." He smirked and I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"I have to, I can't risk knocking him out, like what if something bad would happen, this is still a dungeon after all. I just have to resort to other ways so that he'd let me do this." Her answer shocked me.
"You're gonna get in trouble with this!" I exclaimed. I mean, I didn't know she has to go through the lengths to do this.
"Don't worry, I can handle myself." She smiled and gave me a kiss on the forehead, before she can pull away, I quickly moved my face to get a peck on her lips. God I just have to taste those lips again. I don't know but it just feels so natural with her. "I have to go now." She said as she packed her things and hoisted her backpack behind her.
"Be careful Ven." I said.
"I will." With that, she exited the cell and the guard locked it.
"And how are you going to avoid security?" He asked as they started walking away.
"I have my ways." Was the last thing she said before dashing off.
"How lucky of you to have the princess wrapped around your fingers. That meal she brought you smelled delicious." The prisoner on the cell beside me openly stated.
"Yeah, she's clearly smitten by you. She must be experiencing Stockholm Syndrome." The one across from me then cackled.
"Man! Why didn't that happen when I kidnapped her aunt?" The man beside me retorted and they laughed.
These creatures are horrible! And sadly, I'm one of them now. I mean, didn't the other say kidnapping an elite is also his case?
And as for having her "wrapped around my finger" and clearly "smitten by me", I don't really know. But I do know that the feeling is 100% mutual. I just can't deny it anymore, I like her. Heck, I'm falling for her. And why wouldn't I? She's beautiful, smart, kind, and she just makes me feel so comfortable. But it scares me. This feeling scares me especially because I can already see the struggles that we have to go through if we actually get together.
"Shut up mutts!" The guard said, effectively silencing them whilst I remained seated in my cell, not minding them at all. With my wounds slowly healing, thanks to what Ven gave me, I laid back down on the bench and tried to sleep the night through, hoping that something good would happen in the morning.
I was jolted awake by metals loudly clanking with each other and groaned along with the other prisoners as the guards shouted for us to wake up. I sat up on my bench, feeling actually light, as if I wasn't even tied up and whipped. I have a feeling that Ven actually placed something on the food and drinks that she gave me last night, or else I wouldn't be this energized.
"How's everything here?" Alpha Archer's voice resounded in the corridor and I immediately gritted my teeth. There's something off about that guy, especially the way he acts towards Ven. I'm not jealous or anything, I just have a bad feeling about it.
Who am I kidding? Maybe I'm a little bit jealous then.
"Everything's fine Alpha." The guard who was here last night when Ven came, answered confidently. Alpha Archer then walked towards my cell and pouted.
"Are you sure? Why is the princes’ scent all over this cell?" He said in a low yet menacing voice. Man! Did Ven forget about this little detail?
"Alpha, how well do you know the princess?" The guard asked and Alpha Archer just looked at him confused. "Right, you don't know her that much. She's that rare kind of golden wolf that has a scent that would linger in a place for a while, and she was here yesterday afternoon, remember? The dungeon isn't really well ventilated, so her scent as well as other people's scents wouldn't really disperse here so quickly." Came his reasonable explanation which the Alpha bought. Thankfully, the other prisoners didn’t oppose of it either, I mean they saw everything and all but didn’t contradict the guard’s words.
"What's your name?" Alpha Archer asked him, out of the blue.
"Carson." He answered.
"You're right Carson, she's indeed a rare golden wolf and I can't wait for her to bear my pups. Our union would produce one of the strongest werewolf that would ever exist. Don't you think?" He dreamily said and my jaw tightened. For some reason, I want to punch the daylights out of him for even thinking that he can touch Ven. No way! Only I could ever hold her close. "Anyways, you!" He suddenly pointed at me. "The elders are ready to meet you in court today."
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