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Annabelle's PoV

I could hear the week protests of my parents through their gags but they fell on deaf ears. I couldn't watch one more second of anyone getting hurt because of me, I just couldn't.

I looked into the eyes of Matthew as he grinned down at me "now was that so hard to say?" He mocked.

I glared at him from my spot on the floor, I had never hated anyone as much as I hated him right now, and coming from me and what I have been through, that was saying something.

"Tsk tsk tsk" Matthew tutted at me sarcastically "is that any way to treat your new mate and Alpha?" He questioned with is eyebrows raised.

My glare turned into confusion as may brain registered what he had just said. "Alpha? I thought Parker was the Alpha of your pack?"

Matthew shrugged "that sorry excuse of a wolf was not fit to be an Alpha".

I frowned, my confusion only deepening with his explanation.

"That little pup had such small dreams when it came to dealing with you. Do you know what he wanted to do?"

He stayed silent for a moment, maybe waiting to see if I would answer his rhetorical question, but when I didn't offer anything up he sighed before carrying on.

"His big plan was to kill you, just kill you and that was it. I mean how small minded is that? It's a good job I challenged him and killed him when I did otherwise this thing between you and me wouldn't be happening right now" he laughed.

"But... but why take me and stick me with the Leftens if he was just going to kill me anyway? That doesn't make sense" I questioned, my last attempt at stalling him.

He sighed as he took an old rag from out of his pocked and started to mop the blood off from his knuckles. "He said that he was going to wait until you were twenty-one so that the Goddess was most aware of your presence in this world, or something like that anyway. Then he was going to kill you and your mother in front of her during a blue moon" he sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"Have you ever heard the saying 'attacking a village from the outside in will weaken it but not destroy it, but attacking the village from the inside out will make it implode?'" He asked as he looked down at me.

I shook my head but remained silent, hoping that he would talk long enough for Jax to get here.

He shrugged, seemingly unfazed with my lack of knowledge. "I heard it in a film one and have never looked back. You see killing you and your mother in front of the Goddess would weaken her for sure, but give her enough time and she will find some random distant relative of yours and pass the gift onto instead. Now my plan means that she will have to withdraw her touch from your family line all together and that's something that she definitely survive" he chuckled.

"So you not only want to destroy my life and kill everyone I love but you also want to kill the Moon Goddess herself? All because you think she see's you as week?" I questioned, not believing my ears.

"Bingo" he smiled.

Never did I think that there would be a time that I missed Alpha Parker and his plans. Getting killed sounded so much better than having to reject Jax and live my life mated to this monster.

"Now, we're going to have to start planning the ceremony soon, don't want you getting any ideas and getting away from me now do we" Matthew stated as he started walking towards the door, where my chains were buried into the stone. I knew I wouldn't be seeing my parents any time soon so I managed to whisper a quick I love you both to them in their semi-conscious state before I was dragged out of the room by my silver chains in Matthews hands. Sorry Alpha Matthews hands.

I was dragged through the tunnel of the underground cell block, to where I presumed I was going back to me cell, but when we walked past the door with Sebastian outside I frowned. Where were we going?

My confusion only grew as Alpha Matthew lead me to a set of stairs that lead up. The more steps we took the lighter the corridor got, and I felt a moment of happiness at the thought of seeing sunlight again It was short lived though as Alpha Matthew swiftly tugged on my chains, obviously not liking the fact that I was dawdling.

"You will be staying in my house tonight, fully guarded before you get any ideas. If we are to be mated, I can't have you looking like... that" he said as he looked back at me, disgust at my appearance clear as day on his face.

I stayed silent, not knowing how to respond. Of course I was a state, that's kind of what happens when you keep someone captive in a room for god knows how long without so much as a shower or even a toilet.

I sighed as we finally made it into the open. Fresh air. I took in as much of it as I could, my lungs feeling as if they were starved of oxygen the whole time I was down there. Up here the air smelt clean and fresh, not like the stuff down in the cellars that smelled like damp and blood.

Once I was satisfied with my intake of fresh air I started to take in my surroundings. At first I thought it looked like any other pack, people were walking around the territory, getting what they needed done. It was only when I looked closer that you realised that everything wasn't as happy as it appeared.

Everyone that was outside and doing their daily chores were walking around with their heads down cast, with not so much as a morning greeting passed between two friends. There was no sign of affection between the mated coupled, walking around town with their hands at their sides and even the children weren't laughing and playing like normal kids would be.

It was like someone had sucked the life out of everyone living here.

It was then that it dawned on me, these people who were under the command of Alpha Matthew, were as much of a prisoner here as I was. I wonder what happened here that made them so... lifeless.

"When we arrive you are to get straight into my shower and wash that filth off of your skin" he demanded. "I will then send someone in to help you get ready. You are to be ready by 12 o clock where someone will collect you and bring you out to the front of the house where we will perform the ceremony. Do you understand?" He questioned, his tone leaving no room for questions or objections.

I looked up at Alpha Matthew and took in the fire that was blazing in his eyes, he was not messing around. I gave a subtle nob, not wanting to anger him in anyway, before walking the last few steps towards his house.

I don't know what I was expecting when I walked in, maybe some form of dungeon with red and black being the key colour scheme, but what I actually saw surprised me. The space was light and open, with the fire place roaring in the centre of the open plan living room and the counters in the kitchen so clean they shone like a second sun.

"I usually have some of the women come in and clean my house, but now I have my mate I don't think they'll be needed any more" Matthew commented as he quickly dragged my through the house, barely giving me a second to take in my surroundings. "It is your job to make sure this place is cleaned from top to bottom every single day, if you miss something there will be... consequences. Understood?" Matthew finished his little speech as he rounded on me and looked me straight in the eye.

The intensity of his eyes unnerved me and so I looked away before nodding my head in understanding again, it was just like being at the Leftens house all over again.

"Good, now when we have company over you are to remain silent and invisible. Unless I call on you you're to stay out of my way understood?" It really was like being back at the Leftens house, well at least I've had years of practise. I nodded my head again, making sure not to use my voice and potentially angering him.

When Alpha Matthew was satisfying with my compliance, we walked through a door that was on the second floor of the building, me trailing behind him with the chains still wrapped tight around my wrists.

"The bathroom is through there" he said as he pointed to a door on the far side of the room "make sure you shower properly; I don't want you embarrassing me by smelling like that during our ceremony" he sneered as he looked at me up and down again, his nose turned up at the mere though of my stench.

I could only nod again, not knowing how else to respond.

We stayed in silent for a few moments as Matthew stared at me in an uncomfortable way. "In a few hours' time Annabelle, you will be my mate" he growled as he stalked towards me.

I cowered back, in fear for what he would do to me, but sighed in relief as he unlocked the silver chains that were clasped around my wrists. The skin was blistered and bruised, with blood oozing out of the many welts that had popped, but even through all that pain, it was still sweet relief when they were finally off.

"Get in the shower, you have twenty minutes" were the last words he spoke to me as he stalked out the door, leaving me by myself in this unfamiliar room.

When I stepped out of the bathroom after a much-needed shower I startled as I saw a woman in her late forties or early fifties standing in the corner of the room, patiently waiting for me. She didn't utter a word as I stepped out of the cloud of steam, she just stood there with her head bowed and her hands clasped in front of her.

"Umm...hi?" I muttered uncomfortably as I waved an awkward wave in her direction. She again ignored me and instead wandered over to the vanity that was sat on one side of the room and gestured for me to sit down.

I did so gingerly, not really knowing how to react to the woman who refused to speak to me or even look me in the eye. Was this how I acted when I first escaped the Leftens? If it was, I pitied the woman for going through whatever she has gone through to made her act the way she did around people.

I tried to make her feel a little more comfortable, even though I was pretty terrified of this whole situation myself, by introducing myself. Maybe if she knew who I was she'd feel a bit more at ease around me.

"I'm Annabelle". I waited for a response as I came and sat down in front of her but I still got no response, all the woman did was pick up a hair brush and gestured for me to turn my head around so that she could brush my hair.

Giving up trying to talk to her I did what she asked and turned my head around so that she could brush my hair.

As we sat there in silence my mind started to drift, I pictured Jax and my parents and Xavier and all of the rest of my new pack, all sitting around and having a picnic with smiles on their face and the sun bouncing off their sun cream covered skin.

I prayed that Jax would get to me in time, that he would come charging in with the rest of the pack and save the day, but if he didn't I still would change the decision I made. Sure I was going to miss them, more than anything, but I was doing this for them, so that they could live a life free of torture and constant fear that Alpha Matthew would be right round the corner at every turn, waiting for me.

I tear up as I continued to think about what I was losing, but mentally scold myself, I couldn't have second thoughts about this plan now.

I was feeling so much better than I was half an hour ago, a good shower and being away from silver did wonders for both myself and my wolf. She was finally free now the silver was off us and she was working over time to try and fix everything.

I frowned as I felt something stirred in my brain, something I had never really felt before. It was like someone was poking my head from the inside, trying to tell me something. I frowned and closed my eyes, trying to relax my brain so that I could figure out what was going on.

After several minutes of frustration, I finally had a breakthrough as a conscience slipped into my head. I tentatively reached out to it but jerked back in surprise when I felt the foreign conscience respond by reaching back. What the-

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