Aiden's POV
I woke up with a jolt, my heart racing as if I had been running for miles. For a blissful moment, I forgot where I was.
I rubbed my palms on my face wondering why my grandfather hadn't come to wake me up.
I had become used to the routine. No matter how early I tried to wake up, my grandfather would surprisingly come earlier. I used to wonder how he always managed to do that.
"What happened today?" I mumbled, looking around, hoping to see my small window but I couldn't see any familiar thing.
Then reality crashed down on me like a ton of bricks. I was still here. Still a captive.
And I had lost my tyrant of a grandfather to the war!
The cold, hard floor of the cell had done a number on my already aching body.
As I tried to sit up, every muscle screamed in protest. Being an Omega meant I healed slower than most, and it also meant I felt pain more acutely.
I could feel the eyes of the other captives on me. Some pitying, most indifferent, and many... hostile.
"Rise and shine, little Omega!" Derek's mocking voice cut through the silence. I looked up at him and saw him standing opposite me. He was behind the door of the holding cell where all male captives were kept.
"Did you have sweet dreams about being useful for once?" He asked, mischief written all over his face.
"Is he ever going to grow up and stop being childish by always bullying me?" I wondered inwardly.
Then I bit my lip, trying to ignore him. It was a tactic I had perfected over the years - keep your head down, don't engage, and maybe they will leave you alone. But it never worked with Derek. He was always on my neck. He seemed to always find joy in bullying me.
Derek was the first son of the Beta of my pack--- an arrogant sadist whose only friend was Kenneth, the Alpha's son. The other male wolves in the pack must submit to him because according to him, he was above others except the Alpha's son.
That was who Derek Haley was. Cocky, mischievous, selfish and cruel.
"I asked you a question, runt." Derek growled, briskly approaching me at where I was seated.
My wolf whined inside me, urging me to submit, to bare my neck and hope for mercy. But I was tired. Tired of being pushed around, tired of being seen as weak.
"Leave me alone, Derek." I muttered, hating how my voice trembled slightly.
I heard his sharp intake of breath - surprise, maybe, that I would dare to talk back. Then a rough hand grabbed my hair, yanking my head back.
"You forget your place, Omega." Derek snarled, his face inches from mine. I could smell his rancid breath, see the cruel glint in his eyes.
"I see you need me to remind you of where exactly is your place." He said and immediately his fist connected with my stomach, driving the air from my lungs. I doubled over, gasping, as he let go of my hair. The pain was intense, but what hurt more was the knowledge that no one would step in to help.
No one ever did.
"Pathetic..." Derek spat.
I looked up at him, still clutching my stomach, and saw the disgust in his eyes. But there was something else there too. Anger? Frustration? It was then that I realized - Derek was furious that they had put me, an Omega, in the same holding cell as him and the others.
"How dare they put you here with us?" he hissed, his voice low and dangerous.
"You don't belong here, with real wolves. You're nothing but a weak, useless Omega." He stated furiously.
Something inside me snapped. Maybe it was the pain, or the exhaustion, or the realization that we were no longer in our former pack. Whatever it was, I felt a surge of courage I had never experienced before.
"We are... we are in the same holding cell because we are all captives, Derek." I mumbled, my voice barely above a whisper but I knew he could hear me clearly.
"To our captors, we are... equal." I added, my voice rising.
The words hung in the air, heavy with implications.
Derek's eyes widened, then narrowed dangerously. I could see the rage building in him, like a storm about to break.
"Equal? You think you're equal to me, you pathetic excuse for a wolf?" He snarled as he grabbed the front of my shirt.
He raised his fist, ready to strike, and I braced myself for the impact. But something was different this time. I didn't cower. I didn't flinch. I met his gaze steadily, a calm defiance in my eyes that I had never felt before.
Derek hesitated, taken aback by my unexpected reaction. Of course, he was expecting me to cower away. The other captives watched in stunned silence, the tension in the air was palpable.
"You are... you are nothing," Derek stammered, but his voice lacked its usual conviction.
"You hear me? Nothing!" He slammed at me.
I took a deep breath, bracing myself for whatever would happen.
"We are all nothing here, Derek. We are all captives. Your father's rank, your status in our old pack - none of that matters anymore. We are all equal in our captors' eyes. " I said, my voice growing stronger with each word.
"You lowlife!" Derek bellowed. His face had contorted with rage. He pulled back his fist, ready to silence me once and for all. I closed my eyes, prepared for the blow, but still refusing to back down.
The sound of the cell door slamming open startled us all.
"What is going on here?" a deep, authoritative voice boomed.
I opened my eyes to see a tall, muscular warrior standing in the doorway. His presence seemed to fill the entire cell, radiating power and authority. Derek immediately released me and quickly took a step back.
"Nothing, just putting an Omega in his place." Derek muttered, not meeting the warrior's eyes.
The warrior's eyes narrowed as he took in the scene before him. His gaze swept from Derek's clenched fists to my defiant stance, and his expression hardened.
"Enough!" "I don't want to hear any explanations or excuses from either of you." He barked, his voice echoing off the cell walls.
Derek opened his mouth to protest, but the warrior silenced him with a glare that could have frozen fire.
"I said, enough. Fighting and creating nuisance isn't acceptable in your condition as captives, nor would it be tolerated in our pack." The warrior repeated, his voice dangerously low.
I felt a chill run down my spine at his words. Our condition as captives. It was a stark reminder of our reality, one that I had momentarily forgotten in the heat of confrontation with Derek.
The warrior's gaze swept over the rest of the captives in the cell.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you. We won't tolerate any disturbances. You're here as captives, not guests." He stated firmly.
Then, to my horror, he pointed at both Derek and me.
"You two, come with me. Now." He barked.
Derek's face paled, and I felt my own heart skip a beat.
This wasn't how I had imagined this confrontation ending.
"But he started it! The Omega should be the only one punished!" Derek blurted out, pointing an accusing finger at me.
The warrior's expression didn't change.
"I thought I made myself clear. I don't care who started it. You were both involved, and you'll both face the consequences." He maintained.
With that, he grabbed both of us by the arm, his grip like iron. I winced at the pressure, but didn't dare to complain. As he dragged us towards the cell door, I caught glimpses of the other captives' faces. Some looked shocked, others seemed almost satisfied to see Derek finally facing punishment. But most just looked scared.
As we were pulled out of the cell, I heard the heavy door slam shut behind us.
The sound echoed in the corridor, seeming to seal our fate.
"Where... where are you taking us?" I managed to ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
"To face the consequences of your actions." The warrior didn't even look at me as he replied.