Page 35 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

What the hell was this? Was the girl on some sort of drugs? She’d had to fight her way out of many things in her life, and a little girl like this shouldn’t have been a challenge at all. She stayed as still as possible to avoid drawing attention to herself while trying to figure out what was happening. She needed her head to stop spinning so she could defend herself.

The girls weren’t talking, just looking at each other awkwardly. It was too dark for her to see much of their expressions, but she saw a slither of light behind them. It was the doorway and appeared to be her only way out.

Jackson had warned her he was locking her in for her protection. She understood now. The people here were clearly insane and doped up.

Without making a sound, she pushed herself up and felt for the second knife in her pocket.

She thought she hadn’t made a sound. The three girls turned to look at her at the same time as if she had just yelled their names. The petite girl who’d dragged her sneered as she walked towards her.

“Look who’s awake,” she chuckled.

“What do you want?”

She tried to sound calm, but there was something off with all the girls. It wasn’t just the girl’s strength; it was how the light hit their eyes, even though there was hardly any light in the room. What sort of drugs did that to someone?

“You’ve been here one night and already fallen into the Alpha’s bed. Have you no shame?” the taller girl said as she came forward.

Alpha? Did they call Jackson Alpha? So she had been right. This place was some sort of cult, and it appeared Jackson was their leader. No wonder he felt so entitled. She hoped these girls were not sexually involved with him, too. They were still children.

She pushed herself back while putting herself in a better position to bolt as soon as she saw the chance.

“You shouldn’t even be here, never mind being in the Alpha’s bed,” the third girl hissed.

She looked more upset than the others.

“I’ll be eighteen soon, and Alpha will realise I’m meant for him. I won’t have him soiled by something as vile as you,” she continued.

Oh, the poor girls. This was getting worse by the second.

“Listen, I don’t know what you think happened, but you kids need to worry about growing up first before you try to mess with a man like Jackso—”

“Don’t speak his name!” the small girl who had dragged her snapped before she landed another hard blow across her face.

Holy shit. She saw stars, and tears stung her eyes as she was knocked several feet to the side.

What did they feed these kids? She’d never taken a punch that hard before.

Instead of staying down, she rolled, jumped to her feet and ran towards the door. But the girls were fast. One dragged her by her hair again, and the others laughed as she was thrown away from the door.

“We don’t allow your kind here. That’s a rule we’ve always lived by,” the small girl said. “In a matter of weeks, we’ll have a Queen, but all they will be talking about will be the filthy whore who ruined our Alpha’s name.”

Even though she was the one thrown around, she felt sorry for the girls. They looked like they genuinely believed what they said, that they were somehow superior. She’d read about cults like that even though she hadn’t followed many news stories. Jackson should have been behind bars, not running around staying in expensive hotels. No wonder he stayed in the middle of the forest. This was more depraved than what she had imagined. She bet these girls had never set foot outside their gates.

The moment of pity passed when the little girl kicked her with such force she felt the pain in her ribs.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she screamed. “Keep your Alpha. I don’t want him!”

She staggered back to her feet because she realised how dangerous it was to remain vulnerable. This situation was more volatile than she had imagined. No one knew she was here, and judging by how quiet it had been, there wasn’t anyone around to hear her.

“You don’t want him? The whole house heard you scream his name!”

“You’ve made our Alpha look weak, and it will be up to me to redeem his name,” the angrier girl hissed.

Maybe Jackson had promised she would be his girlfriend or Queen once she was of age. This wasn’t the time to judge the morality of that situation; she had to concentrate on getting out of this alive. That felt like where the whole thing was heading. There was so much malice in the young girls that something told her this wouldn’t be just a beat down. They were unstable and wanted to seriously hurt her.

“Once you’re gone, Alpha will be free to concentrate on the things that matter. Like keeping us safe and being with his mate.”

And that statement confirmed it.

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