Alpha Eyes (Alpha Eyes: Book 1)

Chapter 25

My neck ached something fierce. The rest of my body burned, every muscle tingling with something I couldn't pinpoint. When I tried to move, my limbs refused to respond. I cracked my eyes open and let the room come into focus. It took a second before everything came flooding back to me.

"Welcome back, Alpha."

I flinched as the voice assaulted my ears. How was this happening? Why weren't my alpha instincts kicking in? Where was my wolf?

"I'm sure you must be confused," my kidnapper continued. "Let's see if I can help clarify it for you. Get her up."

I shrieked as two sets of hands grabbed my upper arms and hauled me off the floor. I'd been robbed of any energy with which I could have fought back. Lifting my head, I found myself staring into chocolate brown eyes for half a second. Those sharp eyes stared out of a longer face with strong bones. His slightly shaggy brown hair fell on his forehead and over the tips of his ears.

He'd stand about six feet tall, if I had to guess. He had a strong build, broad shoulders, and enough muscle to hold his own in a fight. With no definable scent, he was unlike any rogue I'd met before.

"Put her in the chair," he growled to the hunks holding me up.

I sagged like a limp doll as they dropped me into a cushion-less wooden chair. One crouched and set about strapping my ankles to the legs of the chair. The other one worked at strapping my wrists to the armrests. They made quick work of their duties, clearly knowing how to secure a prisoner. Once they finished, they retreated to the shadows.

From the looks of it, they'd taken me to some sort of storage building with one large main area with a few smaller side rooms. My chair sat right in the middle of the large, cement floor room, leaving little chance to escape. Even if I had my alpha power, I didn't know where I was and they could catch me again before I made it back to the pack house.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" the brown-eyed man grabbed a second chair and planted it several feet in front of me. He casually sank into the chair and crossed his arms across his chest.

I slowly lifted my head to met his gaze. Talking was far better than beating, so I could handle this. If nothing else, I really wanted to know who this jerk was and what he wanted. He seemed cocky enough to share his identity, and possibly his motive.

"I'm not in the habit of being on a first-name basis with rogues," I mumbled. "Forgive my ignorance."

He sat up a bit straighter, his jaw tightening around some lash-back comment. Several breaths hissed through his teeth before he chose to say something. "I should have known that you'd have the alpha level pride. All right. Allow me to introduce myself."

I nodded my consent. "Please do. I'm not going anywhere."

"What do you know about your family?" he snapped.

That made me jerk to attention. "What about my family? That's a very broad question."

"Did your mother ever tell you about your brother?" He leaned back in his chair and watched my face for a reaction.

"I'm an only child," I answered. "My mom died when I was sixteen."

My abductor scratched his chin for a second, much like Daddy used to do when he was pondering something. "I see. Well, this should be an interesting conversation. For starters, my name is Zeke. In case you didn't pick up on it, I'm the leader of this pack."

"Well, Zeke," I drawled, "your 'pack' is more a band of rebels. You don't have much organisation going on here."

"It shouldn't have been a problem," he snapped, jumping out of his chair. "I was supposed to inherit the power of the alpha from my father when he died. You can imagine my surprise and confusion when nothing changed for me after his death. It turns out I had another family member standing between me and my rightful inheritance."

We stared at each other for a minute as he let that implication set in. I tipped my head to the side and processed what he'd just said. He should have inherited the power of the alpha? How? The only possibly way he could receive alpha power would be if he was...

My jaw dropped just a little as he touched my shoulder and something sparked across my skin. How was this possible?

Zeke smirked and took a step back. "It's good to finally meet you, Sis. I've heard a lot about you."

"You're my...brother?" I squeaked. "How? I don't remember mom being pregnant ever."

"From what I've been told," he began in explanation, "our parents only wanted one child, the ultimate heir to receive the full power and glory of the pack. When they discovered that I was on the way, they decided to give me to someone else. As soon as our mother could no longer hide her pregnancy, she took a little trip to visit her sister."

"I remember her taking a trip," I whispered, slowly digesting the fact that my parents had hidden a sibling from me. What was wrong with two children? If I had been the 'ultimate heir,' why had Daddy sheltered me so much?

"Yes," Zeke murmured. "She stayed with her sister until she'd given birth. After passing off her son, her heir, to strangers, she went back to her perfect life in the pack. In all these years, she never once came looking for me."

"I'm sorry that you weren't part of our family. Is that why you kidnapped me? Revenge?"

He chuckled, a deep-chested sound that made my skin crawl. He would have made a great creepy villain in a movie, only this was real life. I had a feeling I was facing my own villain, and there'd be no grandiose rescue any time soon.

"Revenge?" he echoed. "No, Sis. I don't want revenge. I just want what's rightfully mine."