Deprived (Daughter of an Alpha Book 2)

by Kaitlyn Taylor

  She turned away to walk towards the rest of our group, Gavin following behind her. I sighed deeply as I attempted to remember every single part of what I had just experienced with Declan. I was interrupted again only this time I welcomed the warm hands that dropped on my shoulders.

  “Don’t worry,” he whispered up against my ear, shivers racing down my whole body. “We can play later.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that,” I warned him before we followed the fairies towards our group of rebels.

  With how much chaos Malachi has been causing, the Alphas have stationed guards every five feet of the fence surrounding each castle. I grew annoyed by this back in Vampire Territory and I had a feeling Nova was about to find out just how irritating it actually is. We usually did not have to sneak off castle grounds the same way here at Werewolf Castle than we did back when we found Malachi’s cottage. The fence had a gate that we could actually open without leaving any evidence behind that would tell the guards someone had gone through there recently. What turned out to be a problem was that there were two guards on each side of the gate ready to stop us from going up the mountain.

  “The Alpha did not mention anyone leaving Castle grounds tonight,” the bigger of the two guards said as they stood on the other side of the tall iron bars.

  “We’re just going for a walk,” Nova assured him, which technically was the truth. We were going to walk up to the top of the mountain like we had done many times in our lives.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Nova, but the Alpha gave us strict orders,” the guard looked at her with begging eyes. “We are not to let anyone in or out without telling him first.”

  “You realize I out rank you, right?” Nova finally snapped taking a step forward towards the guard. The guard was not afraid of her because of her size. She was much smaller than he was and probably struggle if they actually dueled it out. No, this guard was scared of the consequences that would come his way if he hurt the Alpha’s sister.

  “Gentlemen,” Roman said as he took a step forward, motioning for Nova to stand behind him. “I assure you, that we are just going for a walk and if there is any problem I will deal with the Alpha myself.”

  Everyone knew who Roman was by this point so that meant everyone knew that he spent pretty much every day with the Alpha. If anyone was going to be able to get a word to the Alpha, it was going to be Roman. The guards seemed to be much more serious with the Alpha’s second in command and this bothered Nova. I could see the blood boiling under her skin as they took Roman’s word for it but not hers. I do not blame her for being mad about it, but this was the world we lived in. Not only are we considered the weaker sex, but we are also the mysterious daughters that no one can wrap their heads around. We might as well be mythical creatures, like mermaids or something like that. We had so many obstacles in front of us and we always overcome them, but we still get no respect. It would change with time. I would make sure of it. That did not mean we were not going to suffer through a little more judgment and mistrust from the Councilmen and the guards though. They would probably stay the same no matter what facts were put in front of them. Luckily, the ones who will replace them when they finally die off bring a lot more hope for Medova. They will make much better Councilmen than their fathers.

  “Alright,” the guard agreed. “You can pass. But if the Alpha comes to question us I will be sending him your way.”

  “I would expect nothing else,” Roman bowed his head slightly, thanking the guard silently. “I promise you that no retaliation or harm will come to either of you.”

  As they opened the gate, we began to walk towards them, one by one making it to the other side. Nova paused right next to Roman and glared at the two guards who had clearly pushed her to the point of no return.

  “I still out rank you,” she snarled. “I may not be the Alpha, but I have Alpha blood in me and you would be wise to remember that.”

  “Yes, Miss Nova,” both guards hesitated before speaking. They each bowed at the waist as a sign of respect for her, which made her feel better, but it did not ease the anger. She refused to speak as we walked away from the fence surrounding the oversized building she called home. By the time we reached the top of the mountain I knew she would be back to her normal self, but she needed the hike up to calm her down.

  Just as we reached the bottom of the mountain, Deja and Gavin started a fire in their hands to give us some light now that the sky was pitch black. Somewhere along the lines, the werewolves carved out a path that circled the mountain all the way to the top. I am not sure how they did it, but it has been used ever since and I was extremely grateful for it. I had climbed a mountain before, but it was much easier to walk up the stable path. At the top, there are two different paths you can take. If you go off to the left it will take you down a path to the rest of the mountains. This is the path the giants used to take to get to Werewolf Territory before the cart paths were made. If you go to the right it leads you in to the cave, which eventually leads to the cliff of the mountain. This is where the girls and I would start a fire and sit around it and just talk or say nothing at all. It was relaxing even when we were silent. Actually, it was more relaxing when we were silent. Whenever we talked there was no relaxing to be heard of.

  Deja and Gavin were in the front of the group leading the way. Since they had the fire they got to make the rules even though it was my idea to go up to the mountain tonight. I probably should not take credit for that yet. It could turn out to be a bad idea. The night is still young after all and we had a bad habit of finding trouble. Declan positioned himself so that he was walking on the side with the edge and I was up against the mountain. There was a small part of me that was really annoyed by it but the other part of me thought it was sweet. Looking behind me and in front of me at Deja and Gavin, I noticed the same pattern.

  Halfway up the mountain I looked out over all of Werewolf Territory and saw the lights coming from the different villages. The one closest to the Castle was still lite up as if no one had gone to bed but the other villages slowly started losing light the higher up we went. The thick tree tops covered any cottages that hid beneath them and it was actually kind of comforting to see how calm the territory was. With Malachi still out there, I always wondered whether the villagers were safe. The fact that he had shown himself in the village the other night was cause for concern for me. I wanted this to be over with before anyone got hurt but until we knew where he was there was no way of accomplishing that.

  Somehow Declan sensed the tension coming from my body and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He pulled me into his side so that I could wrap my arm around his waist, making sure that I did not leave his side. It bothered me that he knew what I needed to make me feel better. It made it harder to fight whatever was going on between us. I could make it simpler and not fight it at all but there was no fun in that. I knew what would happen in the end but that did not mean I could not be a little stubborn and play a few games before we got there. The warmth of his body was nice since it was so cold out here especially since we were getting closer to the top. I should have grabbed a coat before we left the Castle, but I did not want anyone stopping me and questioning me. I never where coats inside the Castle and even though we were in Werewolf Territory all of the staff at the Castle knew me just as well as they knew Nova. It would get back to the Alphas that I was wearing a coat inside the Castle and they would figure out that I was going outside. I did not need to deal with that.

  Deja and Gavin lit their other hands with flames and I knew we had finally reached the tunnel that would lead us to the fork in the path. It was colder inside the tunnel. Declan tightened his grip on me but not because it was colder. The path began to narrow and soon there would only be room for us to walk one at a time. Declan softly pushed me forward so that I was in front of him and Nova was behind him. Gavin’s muscular back was now in my face as we reached the fork. Deja led us to the right, going into the cave where we could walk two by two again. I shivered the
deeper into the cave we went, making Declan pull me into his side again. I was really regretting not bringing my coat. It was all I could think about now. I knew it was going to be cold, so I should have found a way to bring my coat without anyone seeing it. Not my best move.

  The cave started to widen as we came up to the ledge that was open. We could see all of Werewolf Territory from here as well as small parts of Vampire and Sorcerer Territory. It was the most beautiful view I had ever seen, and I was so jealous that it was here in Werewolf Territory. Vampire Territory did not have views like this. It was beautiful in its own way, but it did not compare to this.

  “Look, someone made a fire pit,” Juda pointed out as she walked up to it. In the middle of the ledge was a circle of rocks with sticks and thicker pieces of wood laid out in the middle. The sticks were partially black from whoever had used them for a fire, but I felt like they could still be used to keep us warm if the fairies would light it already.

  “The wood is still hot,” Gavin said as he bent down to examine the burnt pieces. “Whoever built this pit was just here.”

  “They brought sticks and wood all the way up the mountain?” Declan asked releasing his grip from around my waist. I suddenly felt how cold it actually was when he let go of me. My expression begged him to come back to me which made Kota giggle. She was all over Nathan the entire time we walked up the mountain and still she was leaning her back against his stomach, his arms wrapped around her. It was kind of annoying.

  “They must have known the ledge was here,” Nova suggested acting like it was no big deal that a random fire pit was sitting on the middle of the ledge. “Can we use it?”

  “I think so,” Gavin answered before he whipped his hand in the direction of the fire pit. Deja followed his movements and together they lit the fire that I had been silently crying for. It started off tall and wild, but Gavin and Deja calmed it so that it was a normal fire meant to keep us warm instead of setting the mountain on fire. The ledge seemed so much smaller now that there were ten of us here. It might as well be fifteen with how big the guys are. They take up the space of two people. There was enough room for all of us to sit around the fire but that was about it. It did not upset me though. If anything, I felt this internal warmth within my chest as I thought about all of us there together.

  I sat down next to the fire and hovered my hands over it, trying to warm myself up. Declan sat down next to me and did the same, the rest of the group following our lead. Kota sat down next to me and could not help but ask her how she felt now that she was bound to Nathan.

  “It only feels like he’s been there all along,” she told me. “I never thought of myself as someone who felt like there was something missing in my life but after we were bound I realized that I was missing something.”

  “Do you think it will be that way for all of us?” I asked quietly hoping Declan was not eavesdropping on our conversation. I did not need him thinking about our own Binding Ceremony. I am not over my stubbornness yet and I do not need him getting his hopes up.

  “I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I only know what happened with Nathan and I. Who knows what will happen between you and Declan?”

  She saw my eyes widen and she finished what she was saying, and she just shook her head and smiled, “Why do you fight it so much? It’s one thing to want to be independent and stand your ground but being bound to Declan does not mean you’re going to lose that.”

  I glanced over in Declan’s direction. He was turned towards Juda and Hudson and he seemed to be having a conversation with them. I was really hoping that he was focused on them and not Kota and I. Nathan did not seem to be listening to us. He was talking to Nova and Roman while Deja and Gavin seemed to be in their own little world. One minute they looked like they were bickering and then the next they looked like they were completely infatuated with each other.

  “I’m just looking for a sign, Kota,” I told her without thinking it. I had never come to that conclusion before, but the second Kota questioned me it was like it just came to surface and left my mouth before I could stop it.

  “What kind of sign?” she asked.

  “That it’s the right thing to do,” I replied shocking myself more than Kota. I had no idea where that had come from but the second I said it I knew it was complete truth. That was my fear and it was stronger than my stubbornness.

  “You’ll never know if you close yourself off,” she said sternly. “He adores you. Give him a chance before you shut yourself off to the idea.”

  “I am giving him a chance,” I argued. “Just because I’m not all over him the way you were with Nathan does not mean that I’m not.”

  “I’m not telling you to have sex with him,” she barked back at me. “I’m just saying he’s a good guy and you should treat him better.”

  “Thanks, mom,” I muttered under my breath.

  I turned towards the fire again and let the heat hit my chest. It felt good at first but the longer I face it the more it actually started to feel like it was burning. I did not turn away from it though. I leaned back a little bit but not enough to where the heat no longer hurt.

  “I’ve never been to that tavern,” I heard Nathan tell Roman. “We’ve been to the one just on the border of the two territories though.”

  “The tavern in the Castle village is where the Castle gets their ale from,” Roman told him. “I’ve gone with them to pick up the shipment a few times. It’s a nice place for a tavern.”

  “I want to go to the tavern,” Nova said inserting herself into the conversation.

  “Not going to happen,” the guys said in unison. It was actually weird to hear them all talk at once.

  “What makes you think any of you can tell me where I can and can’t go?” she spoke angrily through her gritting teeth. “I’ll leave this mountain right now and go to the tavern you’re talking about.”

  “Nico would kill me if he found out that I knew you were going to the tavern and did not stop you,” Roman said, almost like he was pleading with Nova to forget about the tavern all together. He clearly did not know Nova well enough. Once she got an idea in her head, there was no stopping her. He might as well just join her to make sure nothing bad happens to her. I doubt anyone would actually go near her once they found out she was the Alpha’s sister, but he would be in less trouble when Nico found out about it.

  “I’ve never been to a tavern before,” she whined. “I want to go so I know what you’re talking about whenever you guys bring it up.”

  “It’s an establishment that sells ale,” Declan explained in a low tone.

  “I think you’re forgetting about the pretty girls who are serving the ale,” I pointed out trying to get him to glance my way.

  “Not all of them are pretty,” Hudson murmured.

  “And not all of them actually serve ale,” Gavin added.

  “I still want to go to the tavern,” Nova said. Roman sighed dropping his head backwards, looking up at the dark sky.

  “You like getting me in trouble, don’t you?” Roman asked although I caught the smile he was trying to hide. His intention was to be serious, but he liked this side of Nova, so it was hard to portray that.

  “Why should anyone get in trouble?” she turned away from him looking across the fire pit at me.

  “I’ll go with you, Nova,” I said, once again, without thinking.

  “No,” Declan shot his head in my direction. Now he wanted to look at me.

  “Who’s going to stop me?” I glared at him with the intention of telling him who was boss, but his light blue eyes hypnotized me. They were beautiful as they shined with the fire. I heard Kota chuckle again and I wanted to face her when I flipped her off, but my gaze refused to leave Declan’s.

  “I could just tell Levi where you went,” Declan said breaking the trance that I was in.

  “You’re going to tattle on me?” I shouted. “How childish is that?”

  “About as childish as you are when you refuse to follow the rule
s,” he snapped back. There was something attractive about this side of him. I had never seen it before, but I liked it. He had never spoken to me like that or anyone as far as I knew so even the rest of our group was thrown off by it. I wanted more of it but not in front of the others. I did not need them chiming in and defending him when I went too far.

  “I’m going to the tavern,” I said as I stood up back onto my feet. I started walking back towards the cave when I found Nova at my side. I was expecting Declan and Roman to be right behind us attempting to get us to come back to the fire pit but instead they stayed where they were. Juda and Deja joined us just as we reached the tunnel and by the time we were back on the path, Kota was with us, too. Nathan would eventually be by Kota’s side because they are annoyingly in love right now, but I had no idea what the others would do.

  “Why do I get the feeling you enjoyed the way Declan spoke to you back there?” Nova asked. “Neither one of you should talk to each other like that.”

  “It was nothing,” I assured her. “It’s not like we were fighting.”

  “No, but it did seem like you were both trying to embarrass each other,” she countered.

  “That was not my intention, but I see how you got to that conclusion,” I continued to walk down the path, a nervousness filling my stomach when I realized I was having a hard time seeing. Deja eventually pushed through to the front so that she could light the way. It would be a terrible tragedy if one of us feel off this mountain. Just as I predicted, Nathan was by Kota’s side, both of them looking into each other’s eyes as if the rest of us were not here.

  “Where are the others, Nathan?” Deja asked from the front of the group.

  “Pouting,” he answered without turning away from Kota. I am seriously going to vomit over this mountain.

  “Are they coming with us?” Nova asked with a little too much pleasure in her tone.

  “Don’t know,” he said much quieter this time. Nova, Juda, and I turned around to see what made him change his tone and I suddenly wished I kept looking forward. How do two people walk and make out at the same time? I do not have the coordination for that. We are on the side of a mountain and they are going to just make out like we are on flat ground? They are going to fall off and then somehow it is going to be our fault. Juda and Nova laughed while I rolled my eyes. We were coming up to the bottom of the mountain where we saw a light very similar to Deja’s waiting for us.