Cameron
The room was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop on to the hardwood floor. All attention was fixated on Trenton and Ariel, who both looked dazed as they stared each other down with widened eyes.
"This is bad," Scott muttered from beside me. "This is so, so bad." Tearing my gaze away from them, I looked down at Scott, who was sitting with his leg propped up on the floor.
His leg was crushed a year ago, when he talked back to Lucius one too many times.
Lucius, using his freaky powers, levitated a large rock and smashed it down on Scott's leg. Ever since that day, Scott could only walk so far before collapsing to the floor. And without his werewolf's ability, it was next to impossible for him to heal his leg except if you counted Ariel's Spirit power.
However, that was something Scott refused to allow, especially knowing that it would make Ariel weaker than she already was.
"Tell me about it," I murmured back, turning my attention back to Trenton, whose attention was riveted on Ariel.
That crabby son of a bitch.
Throughout the years I've known him, he was always one to keep to himself. He had an ego the size of Manhattan and would love to show that he was better than the rest of the world.
He always rubbed me the wrong way and I hated the disrespect he showed to Ariel, when all she has ever done was help us in this fucked up hell we were thrown into. Without her, we wouldn't have lasted a month here and I'm sure the bastard knows it as well.
However I'm also sure he would rather die than admit it. He was a misogynist pig, and in his pride filled mind, he truly believed that he didn't need anyone's help in the world. Especially help that came from a girl.
And now this happened.
"What is wrong with you?" Leon raged, pushing his way into their circle and placing himself in front of Ariel. "What the hell did you just do, Trenton?"
Trenton stayed frozen, and didn't even blink at his question. His face was blank and he made no move when Leon gripped his shoulders with his hands, and shook him hard.
"I'm talking to you," Leon yelled, pushing Trenton back in rage. "Answer me, Trenton. What the fuck did you just do?"
The repeated question seemed to finally pull Trenton out of his trance as he blinked and took a few steps back. He cleared his throat before answering in that cocky tone of his.
"What a stupid question, Leon. It's pretty obvious what I just did. And if for some reason, your eyesight is degenerating, then I'll be happy to tell you what just transpired, bloodsucker."
"Trenton," Arlo warned, shaking his head at him. "You're asking for trouble right now."
"I marked the princess and claimed her as mine," Trenton gloated with a smirk, but there was bitterness in his voice. Bitterness that Leon obviously did not register nor care about.
As soon as his words were said, Leon pulled back his fist and smashed it against Trenton's jaw.
Trenton looked momentarily shocked for a second, before his eyes narrowed into slits. "You're going to pay dearly for that, bloodsucker."
Before I could even blink, the two of them were rolling around the basement floor, punching and kicking each other, as curse words rang out.
Arlo quickly jumped in and dragged Ariel, who still looked shell-shocked, away from their fight. I didn't even want to know what was going through her mind. It was just one thing on top of another for that poor girl.
"You guys need to stop fighting. Do you really want to be the reason for Lucius or his father to come downstairs?" Arlo asked harshly to no avail. They were both in their own little world and I knew that if I stepped in, I would be at the receiving end.
No fucking thank you.
"Oh for God's sake," Scott mumbled, rubbing a hand across his face as we watched Trenton give Leon a brutal kick in his stomach. "When will they ever grow up?"
Despite the tension in the room, I had a sudden crazy urge to laugh at his statement. He was the last person in the room who had the right to say that.
If Scotty learned to keep his mouth shut a long time ago, he wouldn't be sitting on the floor, with an injured leg caused by broken bones.
"What the hell?" Orion gasped, slamming the bathroom door shut from the corner of the basement. He took one look at the scene and growled when he saw Leon and Trenton rolling around the floor, throwing punches at each other. "What are you two idiots doing now? Having some sort of love fest?"
Those words seemed to snap the two of them into shock and disgust.
"Fuck no," Leon shouted, getting off the ground and leaping far away from Trenton's reach. He wiped the blood off his hands and walked to Ariel, before crushing her into a hug.
"Don't say such stupid things, Orion," Trenton said, but his eyes followed Leon and I frowned when I swore I saw anger enter his eyes.
"I wouldn't say such stupid things if you didn't do those kinds of things in the first place,"Orion said, sounding a bit calmer now. "What the hell even happened? I left to take a shower around ten minutes ago and you guys were all asleep. Now ten minutes later, all hell broke loose. Anyone want to explain?"
"Stop talking to me like you're my father," Trenton mumbled, but other than that, he remained quiet.
Figures.
Bastard opens up a can of worms and then keeps quiet as if he had no part in it.
"Ariel, why is your neck bleeding?" Orion questioned, looking accusingly at Leon. "Damn it, Leon. Didn't you say you would only bite her in the wrist and only when you're on the verge of death from hunger?"
Leon shook his head and glared at Trenton, who for the moment, was staring blankly at a wall. "Ask Trenton why her neck is bleeding. I'm sure the bastard would love to tell you what happened."
Orion looked confused as he watched Trenton for a second, before turning his eyes on me. "Cameron?"
"Trenton marked her," I said, getting straight to the point. "He went bat shit crazy in a millisecond and sank his teeth into Ariel, claiming that she's his mate."
"What?" Orion paled, moving towards Ariel with long strides. He took her away from Leon's arms, who seemed reluctant to let her go, and moved her chin to the side.
"God damn it," Orion growled, no doubt seeing the huge mark on her skin. "Shit. What the hell did you do, Trenton?"
"Stop asking me the same question like a bunch of idiots," Trenton said, raking his hair with one of his hand. "I marked her. Okay? M-A-R-K-E-D her." He spelled it out slowly for his own amusement, but that only seemed to anger Orion more.
"I can see that, Trenton!" Orion snarled in reply, his hands turning into fists at his side.
He stood face to face with Trenton, and grabbed the collar of his shirt before giving him a hard shake. "But by doing so, you also signed your death warrant. Didn't you stop to think what the consequences of your actions were going to be?"
Trenton bit his lip, trying to maintain his cool, but when Orion angrily repeated the question, he blew a fuse. "Damn it all! I couldn't control myself," Trenton finally shouted, and I was shocked to see him finally lose his composure for the first time ever.
He shot Orion a dark look, but his eyes betrayed him. He knew he messed up this time and regret was evident in his eyes. "My wolf, who was dormant for the last few years, suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The only thing my wolf kept repeating in my head was to mark her. His voice was a mantra in my head."
Trenton turned to slowly look at Ariel, and sighed. "So I marked her. I marked her as mine."
"Fuck,"Orion said, also surprising us with his curse. He took a step back and stared at Trenton in horror, pinching his nose to calm himself down. "Ariel...she really is your mate, isn't she?"
"I guess today is my sixteen birthday then," Trenton said, fixing the invisible collar on his shirt. A sad look entered his eyes as he walked toward Ariel. "About four years have passed since we got kidnapped. Funny, isn't it Ariel? It feels like a lifetime have passed already."
He stood in front of Ariel whose attention was fixated on the ground. "You don't even want to look at me, mate. Why is that, Ariel? Aren't you going to talk to me?"
"Leave her alone," Leon said angrily, but stopped when Ariel placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Undo it," Ariel instead said, speaking for the first time she was marked. She stood in front of Leon and turned her head to stare up at Trenton. Her eyes looked panicked and sweat was beaded on her forehead. "Trenton, undo it now. Reject me and take away the claim. Now."
Trenton regarded her for a long moment before shaking his head in answer. "No, princess. I'm not going to do that. Not now or ever for that matter."
"Why the fuck not?" Leon growled and looked at Trenton as if he was stupid. "All the time we spent in the basement, you made no effort to care for Ariel and her well being. You said so yourself that you didn't give a fuck about her. Why the sudden change in attitude?"
"Because she's my mate now," Trenton said, giving him a machete grin. "That simple fact should answer your question, bloodsucker."
"Then I reject you," Ariel shouted frantically. Her wild declaration rattled me when I saw absolute fear enter her eyes. "I, Ariel Weston reject you, Trenton Warren, as my mate."
Her voice sounded hysterical and tears shone in her eyes as she rushed out the words.
"Ariel, calm down," Arlo said quietly, looking startled himself from her wild panic. "What's wrong, Angel?"
"It doesn't work that way sunshine," Trenton said, not looking dazzled all by Ariel's hasty rejection. He gave her a smirk, but there was no humor behind it. "I marked you and there's no going back. And as an Alpha and your mate, I reject your rejection."
"What are you doing?" Ariel whispered hoarsely, looking at Trenton in abject horror. "Do you know what you did? Do you know what you're asking for?"
Her questions confused me and I was taken back on how quiet Orion got all of a sudden. He looked pale and his eyes were squeezed shut and I knew at that moment, he knew something the rest of us didn't.
"I do," Trenton said seriously, losing his smirk. His face was solemn as he regarded the rest of us in the room in silent. "And even though most of them here don't know what's going on... or better yet, want to pretend it's not happening, then let me make it clear for you cowards. It's happening all right. Isn't that right, Orion?"
Orion paled, but looked away from Trenton from what I saw was shame and regret.
"Trenton don't," Ariel pleaded, shaking her heads frantically from side to side."You have to reject me. Please, Trenton. We don't have much time."
"And what a great segue into my next line of questioning," Trenton said, raising his arms to the air. He placed his hands on his hips and stared Ariel down."Tell us, Ariel. Why are you so desperate for me to reject you?"
"Trenton, stop," Orion said, but Trenton shook his head, and ignored his command.
"Answer me, Ariel," Trenton said, sounding pissed. "Why do you want me to reject you so bad?"
"Because you hate me," Ariel said, sounding unconvinced herself. "You hate me and it's never going to work out."
"Nope," Trenton said, shaking his head without missing a beat. "Try again."
"Jason," she replied weakly, a tear splashing down her cheek. I wanted to comfort her. I really did, but I knew that if I did, I would never understand the truth of what's going on.
"Bullshit," Trenton called out, without blinking an eye. "Your relationship with Jason died a long time ago. Four years ago, in fact. Don't tell me bullshit about you loving Jason. That's just a fantasy. A dream. Something that'll never fucking happen and you're old enough by now to know it."
Fucking bastard had no filter.
"Trenton, please stop," Ariel pleaded, hugging her arms around herself. "Reject me. You have to reject me, or else..."
"Or else what?" Trenton said, crossing his arms over his chest before answering his own question. "He'll kill me, right? Isn't that what's going to happen, little mate of mine? Lucius will kill me if he finds out that I'm your mate."
Dead silence bestowed on the room as everyone gaped at Trenton's remark.
"But why?" I asked, sounding perplexed. "Why the hell would Lucius want to kill you. He doesn't care for Ariel other than the fact he can use her for her powers." The words sounded sour in my mouth, but that was the cold hard truth.
"And that's where you're wrong," Trenton said, giving me a levelled look. "You can't be that naive to think that our little Ariel is still innocent as she once was."
It took me a moment to understand the hidden message in his statement but when I did, I felt like I was sucker punched.
My mouth went dry and I heard Scott release a sharp breath from beside me. My stomach churned and I tasted bile on my tongue, finally realizing what he was getting at.
"That's enough," Orion yelled, glaring holes at Trenton. "You've done enough, Trenton. How the hell do you know about this, anyway?"
"I overheard you and Ariel talk a while ago," Trenton said grimly. "Kind of hard to forget afterwards. It just sticks to your mind."
"Ariel," Leon whimpered, looking haunted and broken. His pitch black eyes held tears in them."Is this true? Does Lucius, does that bastard, touch you? Does he hurt you in that way?"
He made a grab for Ariel's hand, but she side-stepped him and grabbed Trenton's hand instead. It was obvious that her mind was elsewhere.
"What're you doing, Trenton?" She asked hoarsely, her height barely grazing his chin. It was weird to see them face to face this way. Ariel and Trenton hardly talked to each other and if they did, it was only to fight with one another.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Trenton whispered back, but his eyes were solemn and filled with dread.
"It looks like you're trying to get yourself killed," Ariel screamed, raising her voice at the end to a shrill. "Is that it, Trenton? Is that what you want? To die? Answer me!"
Trenton stood frozen as Ariel slammed her tiny fists against his chest. Tears were rolling down her eyes as she repeated her words to him. "Is that what you want, Trenton? Do you want to die? Because if you don't reject me, if Lucius sees this mark on my neck, he will kill you! And he will kill you painfully slow."
"And that's what I want," Trenton said coldly, calmly grabbing Ariel's hands into one of his own. His answer shocked all of us and I couldn't help but pale from his words.
What happened to the cocky son of a bitch that I knew years ago? Or even yesterday. He was the last person in the room I expected to want death more than captivity.
"What?" Ariel hoarsely said, her eyes widening even more. "B-but why?"
"Have you lost your goddamn mind?" Scott shouted, looking at Trenton as if he was crazy. "Why would you want to get yourself killed?"
"Why?" Trenton laughed menacingly before taking a step back. "Again with these stupid questions, Scotty. The better question is why the fuck not?"
"What're you talking about?"
"What the hell are we even living for, Scott?" Trenton asked darkly, a crazy look entering his eyes. "I can't deal with this shit anymore. What the fuck am I living for?"
"You're talking crazy, man," Scott said, sounding flabbergasted.
"No, I'm talking sense for once in my life. Fuck," Trenton said, his teeth stretching into a wide grin. He looked completely insane. "I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out. Realizing you're my mate, Ariel, awoke me up from this lunacy I was living in."
"Figure what out?" Jesus. He was having a mental breakdown.
"Our life is literally encompassed within these four fucking walls. I have no point in living this life any more," Trenton gleamed, laughing harshly."We're never going to be free from Lucius' clutches. And I'm not looking forward to living the rest of my life in this hell-hole."
"You don't know that for sure," Ariel said quietly, giving him a pleading look. "Our future isn't set in stone. Anything can happen, Trenton."
"It's been four fucking years, princess," Trenton snorted, giving her a look. "No one is going to save us. Fuck. Maybe they're already dead. Who the hell knows what's happening outside?"
"Our family and friends are there. You have to believe that," Ariel pleaded, but even I heard the note of uncertainty in them. "They're waiting for us, Trenton. And if you choose death, then that means you're giving up on them."
"No, not us," Trenton replied, shaking his head with a bitter grin. "Don't include me in your "us", princess. No one is waiting for me out there."
"What're you talking about? Of course they'll wait for you."
"True. But I don't really give a shit about those idiots from my pack. There's only one person I want to see there and she's not waiting for me," Trenton replied, his voice sounding on edge.
"Who?" I asked, wondering what he was sputtering on about now.
He was the one who was babbling on about how much better his pack is from the rest of ours. And now... he's calling them idiots?
"I was a fuckup and she paid the price," Trenton murmured, ignoring my question. "And she's gone now. The one I wanted as a mate." He gave Ariel a sharp, almost desperate look. "Not you, but her. My wolf realizing that you're my real mate, princess, made me understand something."
"And what's that?" Ariel asked quietly, flinching from the intensity of his gaze.
"Seeing you as my mate made me see the truth," Trenton laughed, his voice sounding hoarse and rough. "Charlene and I are history now. We were never meant to be together and you being my mate reiterated that point."
"Then reject me," Ariel whispered, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "If Lucius sees your mark on my skin, he'll kill you. And then, you'll never get to see this girl again. If not for me, then for her. If you reject me and if we ever escape from this place, then you'll get to reunite with her again."
"Oh, I will," Trenton declared, his voice dull again.
Jesus, his mood swings were starting to scare me.
"You'll reject me?" Ariel asked, hope clear in her voice.
"No, that's not what I meant," Trenton said, tugging at his hair. "I'll reunite with Charlene again and me not rejecting will make that happen.
"I-I don't understand," she murmured, shaking her head. "If you don't reject me, you'll die."
"Yes," Trenton said, a gleam in his eyes. "And that's when I'll reunite with her. We might not be mates in this world, but maybe in the afterlife we will be."
"You officially lost your mind," Leon said, staring at Trenton with a frown. "The punch I threw at you must have damaged your brain cells."
"Are you saying," Ariel gulped, her voice overtaking Leon's. We all stared at Ariel, shocked at how pale she got. "Are you saying that Charlene...that she-"
"She's dead," Trenton said, humorlessly, giving all of us an exasperated look. "Took you long enough to figure it out, didn't it? Charlene's dead. And now, with your help Ariel, I can finally be with her again."
Everyone kept quiet after his declaration. It was too much. Four years and Trenton finally lost his marbles. No one knew how to break the silence, but moments later we realized we didn't have to.
"I'm so glad to hear that," Lucius said, causing everyone in the room to go into shock. We all quickly turned towards the staircase, shocked by his sudden appearance. He was wearing a suit and not a hair was out of place on his head.
"Oh yeah?" Trenton said coldly, giving him attitude. "And why's that?"
Lucius smirked at him, but a dark look entered his eyes when he saw the mark on Ariel's neck.
"Because for once in your fucked up life," Lucius grinned again, showing off his pearly white teeth. "You get your wish, Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack."
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Just a side note: Some characters from this story will have their own story soon :)
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