Delphine had been walking for hours now. She was tired, hungry, and lost. The scorching sun had no mercy on her, not helping her situation at all. Delphine groaned in thirst as she wiped away the sweat that had gathered on her forehead. “Maybe I should never have left,” she found herself saying.
A bird sitting on the branch of a tree, a few feet away from her, let out a loud chirp as if in reply. She eyed the bird, still moving forward. Hours passed, and her legs were already wobbling, her breathing was slow and heavy, and her sight was cloudy. Delphine stopped to take a rest under the shade a tree nearby provided but felt herself going down to the ground before she could take a step. She tried to get up, but her muscles were too weak. She gave up, accepting the darkness she sensed coming.
Delphine found herself standing in a field of red roses. The sun was nowhere to be seen, just clouds. The wind blew softly, and it was in this Delphine was sure she heard her name being called.
She knew this voice.
“Mum?” she called out loud. Looking around, she began walking through the fields. “Mum!” She called again but got no response. “Where did she go?”
“Delphine,” her name came like a windy whisper. “Wake up,” the voice said. She knew that voice; it was her mother’s.
“Mum, show yourself.” But no reply came back. Delphine let out an angry grunt, stomping her feet hard on the earth. Just as she did this, she felt a new presence around her. This was not her mom, it was non-threatening, but still, she didn’t trust it—not yet.
“Delphine.” This time the voice was male, strong. Delphine didn’t need to question; this was definitely the voice of an Alpha.
She was being moved. That was the first thing she noticed; she could feel the strong arms of a man holding her upper body part up as they dragged her. She opened her eyes slowly, thinking the earth was moving, then slowly realizing that she was the one.
“Who do you think she is?” a voice asked. Delphine tried to see who had spoken but couldn’t raise her head high enough to see the face. “She’s waking up.” They slowed down and she could feel their eyes on her, but that cloudy feeling was still there, her head felt heavy. “Fuck, I think we’re losing her…” The rest of his words were lost.
The next time Delphine came up, it was on a cold floor. She opened her eyes quickly, the room was dark, she could hardly see anything. Sitting up slowly, Delphine looked around the room, there was no one in there with her, but a click coming from what she suspected to be just outside the door could be heard. “Hello?” she called, coughing immediately, her throat was dry. She swallowed, hoping her saliva would help, but the action only brought her pain. “Is anybody there? Please, I need water.”
For a while, she couldn’t hear anything, and she wondered if she was heard, or if there was even someone out there. “Ple-” She was about to call again when the unbolting of the door froze her words. Someone was unlocking the door. Delphine scurried back, going closer to the wall behind her. “Who is there?”
The door was slowly opened, Delphine could see a small figure standing there. She blinked, as her eyes tried to adjust to the light to see properly, soon she found herself staring at a young lady, who didn’t look much older than Delphine herself.
“Good, you’re up. I was getting tired of waiting for you,” the lady said, walking further into the room.
“Who are you?” Delphine asked, trying to get to her feet. Luckily this time she succeeded, though she had to rest against the wall for support.
“I should be asking you that,” she told Delphine. “You are the one who wandered in here.”
Delphine looked confused, she looked down at her hands, it was then she noticed she was in chains, she wondered how she hadn’t noticed it before. She looked back at the young woman who was eyeing her with wary eyes. “Where is this? Why do you have me in chains?”
But she wasn’t given an answer to her question. Instead, the lady turned to walk away. “You will be here for a while… Food and water will be brought for you. We don’t want you to die in our hands… yet.”
“Wait!” Delphine called, alarmed. Her voice came out really rough and scratchy, she coughed, massaging her chest. “Let me out of here, please. I don’t want to be in here. Just let me go, you’ll never see me again.”
“Sorry, little one, I can’t do that,” the girl said. “Your fate will be decided when Alpha Damien comes back.”
“Alpha Damien?” Delphine’s eyes widened in surprise. “You guys are also werewolves?”
“I have said too much already. Food and water will be brought in shortly, also try not to make too much noise. You will only be draining your energy because no one outside the cell can hear you.” With that, she shut the door. Delphine was quiet as she heard the retreating steps of the woman, slowly she went down to sit on the ground.
When Alpha Damien comes back.
Delphine didn’t want to be here when that happened. From the last experience she had with her last pack’s Alpha, she wouldn’t be surprised if this ‘Alpha Damien’ had an even worse character than Rachel’s father. She brought her knees closer to her chest, hugging herself tight as she wondered what awaited her.
It wasn’t long till the door was opened again, it was a girl this time. Delphine wasn’t sure because she couldn’t see the face properly, but the girl was smiling. Delphine watched cautiously as the lady approached her, setting the food a few feet before Delphine. “Hi,” she said cheerily like she and Delphine had been friends for years. “Here, eat,” she said. Then she looked around the cell. “It’s going to be dark soon, I’ll be back with candles so you won’t have to sleep in the dark.”
“Thank you,” Delphine muttered. “Uh… how long will you hold me here?”
The girl shrugged. “I really don’t know, but Alpha Damien will be back soon. The pack is preparing for his arrival, it is he who will decide if you should be set free or… Well, I trust he will let you out of here.” Delphine wondered what the girl was going to say before, but in fear, she decided it was better she didn’t know.
“Okay.” She was tired and didn’t have the strength to speak anymore. She eyed the plates before her, but not moving to eat or drink.
The girl laughed as she stood up. “Don’t worry,” she said. “It isn’t poisoned or anything. You should eat to at least regain some of your strength. You look poorly fed and you need to add some color to your cheeks.” Delphine wasn’t surprised that the girl could see her state clearly, her wolf eyes could see clearly in the dark, unlike Delphine who was straining her human eyes.
“I didn’t think it was poisoned,” she lied. That was exactly what she had been thinking.
“Will it make you feel better if I took a bite… though I just had a late lunch, and I’m full. But if it would make you feel better, I’ll take one spoon.” After she had taken the first spoon, Delphine waited to notice any changes, when she saw none, she dove quickly for the food, eating like a starved animal. “So, what’s your name?”
Delphine looked up at the girl, her mouth full. She wondered why she was still around trying to make small talk with her. She swallowed, taking a sip of water. “My name is Delphine.”
“Delphine,” she muttered. “I’ve never heard of the name before. Where are you from? Or which pack were you from?”
“Uh…” Delphine didn’t know how to answer the question. ‘Somewhere,” she found herself saying. “I mean… uh, I’m sorry, I can’t remember.”
“You can’t remember the name of your pack?” she asked. “Did you hit your head somewhere?”
“Uh… no—I mean yes… I did. I did hit my head somewhere… I must be suffering some memory loss of some kind.”
“Sorry about that. Anyways, my name is Lila. I’m Daciana’s second. I have to leave now, I have an errand to run.” Delphine nodded, not looking up, she could feel Lila’s eyes on her, she braced herself for another question, but Lila didn’t say anything and instead walked out.
Delphine pushed the food away, laying back to think about everything that had just happened. Everything still felt surreal to her, but somehow the little conversation with Lila calmed her a little. Lila seemed like a nice girl to her; she just wished every other person was as nice.