Chapter 24

"Please, slow down. Don't be like your alpha!" I exclaimed while following Malik up the hike. He turned around and I stared at him for a long minute while catching my breath.

What was it with these men?

"Please." I begged as my breaths raced. My heart pumped hard and fast in my chest.

He turned around and slowed his pace up the hike. It was getting incredibly hard every day on these hikes, these runs, and—trainings. Just as it clicked in my mind, my brows furrowed in confusion. I stepped up the leap and continued while wondering.

Why was Nicholas training me? There was no other reason for all this asides from the fact I was weak and needed training, but what did he gain out of training me? Nothing.

We reached the hill an hour later and I finally got a moment to rest. For the past three days, Malik had been taking me on these trainings rather than Nicholas. He was occupied and I hoped it was not with women after last night.

"Do you know the woman who was at the house last night?" I asked Malik while brushing my hand over the grass and leaning back. Part of the sun's rays warmed me, but it was soon blocked by thick clouds.

He didn't answer.

"What are you not supposed to talk to me or something?"

No answer. I guess it was the fact that a man was killed once before when he let me leave after I had told him I was pregnant. It was the quickest sorrowful lie I could come up with and it worked. But at the cost of another man's life.

"I'm not going to tell Nicholas anything," I said, looking up at him. He stood at the edge of the hill, his back faced to me while his arms were folded over his chest. "Come on. I will die in this silence. Don't do this with me, Malik."

Nothing at all. He didn't even budge.

I blew out an irritated breath and sighed. At this point, I was only talking to myself. "It has been three days since you've been taking me for these runs. At least you can say a word to me. Every man I knew in my pack had always been terrible to me, and for the longest, I believed it was because I was a runt, and I didn't belong anywhere."

There were no lies here, just the truth. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and rested my back against the rock while pulling my knees to myself. There were only a few more minutes before he was going to force me down the hill. It was easier to descend, but still hard for me.

"I began to trust Nicholas even though he has held me hostage here, but truth be told, I've never felt safer here. No one has told me anything or done any to harm me," I continued, now talking to a wall. "I know now he isn't going to kill me even when he threatens to. Something's stopping him. I want to know more about him."

"Then talk to him." Malik finally spoke.

I rose up and away from the stone but remained seated. "He doesn't talk to me or tell me anything about himself. But you must know everything, don't you?" I asked, hoping for a better answer.

Or an answer at all.

Malik leaned, picking up the bag from the ground and tossing it over his shoulder before making his way toward the trail.

I hurried to my feet, following him. What was it with this pack wolves? It wasn't the same back in my pack. Barely anyone feared the alpha there. Many pack wolves had more superiority than him. He didn't care much either.

"Who was that woman?" I didn't stop. Maybe it was my nerves or maybe it was a bubble of jealous talking. "I know you saw her because you're always the first one to inform Nicholas about anyone coming into the house."

Malik frowned at my constant ranting. He slowed his steps and turned to me before giving an answer to my question. "Talia's one of Madam Sheryl's girls. She warms the alpha's bed every week. That is all I can say so you can remain quiet on our way down."

My lips were sealed shut at his response. I didn't know she was whore. I expected her to be his girlfriend, or something else.

With that information, I stopped and continued our hike down the hill. By the time we returned to the house, I was dozing off in the passenger seat out of tiredness. The whole night I stayed awake, thinking of Nicholas and his words and the way they were all affecting me.

I walked behind Malik as he stepped into the foyer. My lips parted and I yawned once more. Finally, the torture was all over and now I could rest for the evening. Or so I thought.

I followed Malik until he extended his arm in my direction and stopped me on my steps. Further inside the house, I heard several sounds of men snapping and arguing, even Nicholas.

My attention perked but I couldn't go inside as Malik had blocked my way.

"Don't fucking tell me what I should do," It was Nicholas. His voice was different, more profound, and far more dangerous. "I'll bury you six feet under the ground before doing anything you say."

"I'm only suggesting—"

Malik interrupted before I could hear anything more. "Go up." He stated before going inside the room and closing the large doors on his way in.

I stood there for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. What was he angry about? I started to feel uneasy, and quickly went up the stairs before slamming the doors shut.

For the next several minutes, I was in my room, biting my cheek in suspicion while looking outside the window and finding cars coming in, stopping at the driveway before going to the parking. Several of them came and then even more.

I began to hear noises from outside of the bedroom as the house became filled with Nicholas' pack wolves.

My heart jumped when I heard a knock on the door. With hesitation, I opened the door and found Malik.

"Come with me." He said in a rush.

"Where?" I tried to keep my voice steady at the panic growing inside the house. The last time I heard something like this was when there was an attack at the pack house.

I followed Malik when he didn't even respond. He took me down the stairs and in the meantime, I caught a glimpse of all the men gathered. Every second, someone walked in and the crowd became bigger and bigger. They were all men and some of them glanced in my direction when I left with Malik.

He took me outside and put me in his car before driving off.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked with tension in my words.

He drove across the roads quickly before coming to a halt near a familiar place. Madam Sheryl's house.

"Come on," he said, opening my door. "Madam Sheryl is expecting us."

I walked in with him in the same house I had stayed in before. After greeting Sheryl, Malik went back, leaving me alone here.

Sheryl sat on a black-leather sofa near the fireplace and sipped on tea while I adjusted myself over the seat nearby. There was no one in her house except for the girls that worked there.

"You'll be staying here for a night." She told me.

"Why?" I asked her, my thoughts running wild. What was happening back there? What was happening with Nicholas? Was he in danger? Or was he putting another pack in danger?

"I'm not sure either. It was a last-minute call so make yourself comfortable. Dinner will be served by six and then the lights are going to go off as tonight is not a working day."

I heard steps from the end of the hallway and turned my head to find Angel coming downstairs.

"Now, be a good girl, and don't be a trouble for me." Sheryl said before raising her hand and wavering at me to go with Angel.

The sample chapters are going to end by chapter 25. If you'd like to continue reading, you can check out Radish, where the book is published along with Patreon! xx