The Alpha's Gamble - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

MADELINE
A hundred thoughts spun through my head at once.
From the second Noah sent the mind link telling me to come downstairs, I knew I was done for. I knew they’d have to punish us somehow, an eye for an eye, and all that, and we took a lot of eyes.
Having Volokov be the one responsible for my punishment almost felt fair. I did start it, even if it was to protect Logan. But they wouldn’t care about that. I still threw the first punch, provoked people I knew stood no chance, and the slaughter began. Tension rose in the Alpha’s office.
Logan stood frozen beside the desk, petrified. I hoped he didn’t blame himself. He shouldn’t. He probably didn’t. Did Logan even care about anyone other than himself and his brother?
My first instinct was to say no. I was in this alone, and the worst part wasn’t what Volokov had planned for me. It was seeing my mother standing behind her Alpha, calm and composed as if none of this mattered. She didn’t seem to care that her only daughter was about to be sentenced by the world’s most ruthless, inhumane beast.
In fact, she looked happy, and calm, like everything was going according to plan. God I wish I could slap her across her face and cause her as much pain and fear as she had caused me my whole life. I wanted to slap the little smile away, I wanted to watch her eyes double in fear from the hatred in mine and see how her face turned the same shade as her pink blush. The anger grew day by day. But at least if we could handle this amongst ourselves, it wouldn’t be on my record and the Aburn Academy would never know.
A burst of air pushed up behind me, and I felt something warming my back, an energy stronger than even Jack’s. It filled the room, and I couldn’t help but want to turn around and see what it was. It was dark, strong, and feral, and everyone felt it. Slowly, they turned their heads, searching for the source. But I didn’t dare. For the first time, I was afraid to look at him. Noah had cleaned up our messes twice now. He was done. It was over, and he needed to let things unfold the way they were meant to. If he did something stupid to ruin this now, the charges could end up on my record, and I was fucked.
“Volokov, the floor is yours,” Jack said, his voice carrying a slight reluctance. Holy shit, the way I held my breath when Volokov grabbed the chair and rose to his feet. I fought tooth and nail to keep my heartbeat calm and steady. The last thing I needed was for him to know how terrified I was. I didn’t want him to have too much fun with this. But then again, maybe the rumors were all false. Maybe he wasn’t the heartless maniac people said he was. Maybe he wouldn’t crush me under his foot. However, the shadow that loomed over me from his size, and the way he looked like he could pick up Logan and use him as a dumbbell, made it hard to believe that somewhere inside that mountain of muscle was a beating, bleeding heart. Please, please don’t be a tyrant.
Please don’t kill me before I’ve had the chance to live.
“You’re not eighteen, right?”
“Right,” I said, clearing my throat to get rid of the shake in my voice.
“Then you haven’t heard of the Ember Ring, have you?” Jack drew a breath and lifted his head. His eyes slowly shrank to match his son’s. I could feel Noah behind me, his aura shifting in anger, growing stronger with every passing second.
“I have not,” I said.
“Volokov, no,” Jack muttered, shaking his head.
“I decide,” Volokov said, pointing at Jack before turning back to me. He cocked his head, and a smile, oddly warm, spread across his face. His eyes glinted with a strange joy. Where was he going with this?
What was the Ember Ring?
“You will fight my warrior in the Ember Ring. The festivities take place two months from now, and you will be the Obsidian's chosen fighter. That is how you will pay for the lives you have taken.”
A swift hand on my arm pulled me around and I was shifted behind Noah as he got between me and Volokov.
His eyes glowed beautifully, I saw their reflection in Volokovs eyes, but his face…it wasn’t anything I had seen before.
What shocked me most was not that Noah interfered, he had a habit of getting in between things that are none of his business: what shocked me was that I didn’t fight him on it. I stayed put, allowing him to shield me from a terror that would haunt my nightmares forever.
“That is my demand,” Volokov said and stretched his back.
“No.” Noah challenged his decision, the one that the Alpha himself had bestowed on Volokov. Fuck, should I say something? I should, but what…fuck, I grabbed the side of my head and fisted my hair. I covered my ears and closed my eyes when the voices screeched like demons in the night that kept me awake and swore to never let me forget.
Useless
Weak…weak…weak!
Now everyone dies and it is on you
Now everyone leaves and it is on you
Now he leaves and it is on you
Ha-Ha-Ha!
STOP!
Someone grabbed my hands and peeled them from my hair. When I opened my eyes and looked at Noah’s soft face, I also noticed the blood under my nails, the skin that had lodged in my nailbeds and Noah gently picked the broken nail that was stuck in my hair.
Everyone looked at me. Stop looking at me.
Volokov smiled gently and his shirt stretched around his arms.
“What will it be?”
“I said no,” Noah growled and faced him.
“And I said stop,” I said, much more gently than I would’ve wished but the authority was gone, so was the sass and the condensation, the sarcasm and snarkiness I had relied so heavily on.
“Stop. He’s right, I threw the first punch, I started the fight,”
“And I ended it,” Noah seethed and got in my face, but I didn’t cower because I wasn’t afraid. Because he wouldn’t hurt me, he was trying to save me, for some ungodly reason he cared, and I needed to stop that to.
I stroked his arm and stepped aside, I wanted to face Volokov, not cower in the corner like a frightened child.
Noah’s fingers painfully dug into my arm, and he jerked me back.
“Don’t you fucking dare.” His raven black eyes displayed the entirety of his rage, but this wasn’t his decision. His father made the call and Volokov was following through.
Now I had to do my part.
“It’s not up to you,” my voice was stern and unyielding.
I pulled my arm free and walked up to Volokov.
“It’s a deal,” I said and reached out my hand.
A dark chuckle rumbled from him, shook his chest and my hand disappeared into his when he sealed the deal.
But Volokov didn’t let go, he tightened the grip, and my fingers cracked from his strength before he pulled me in.
“This will be fun,”
Noah’s growls echoed against the walls and shook everything that wasn’t pinned to the spot. He grabbed Volokov’s hand and twisted it, pushing up against his power and that was the first time in a long time that I was terrified for someone else's life.