Chapter 4

Kenzie Hope

I blacked out which probably wasn't a pretty sight. I woke up on my stiff ugly couch with a pounding headache. I could see a bright light through my eyelids, but I didn't dare open them. I could feel the presence of other people in the room, but I couldn't make out who was who until they started talking. There were tingles erupting from the right side of my stomach and in two sections of my right arm. The sparks threatened to take over and I relaxed under them.

"What the hell happened?" I heard Brady yell, he was livid. The tingles on my stomach went away and I heard another voice speak.

"You will do well not to speak to your alpha that way," A voice full of honey and sandpaper spoke.

"I will speak to whoever the fuck I want, however the fuck I want when it concerns my sister, Alpha," My brother spoke and I silently pleaded him to stop. He could get himself killed if he continued. Hell, he could already be a dead man walking. I had never met the young alpha, but I heard he was just like his father, monotone and arrogant.

"Keep your tongue, boy, and go back to your room," Alpha Winters spoke grumpily. Then I felt the sparks on my stomach again.

"Move," Brady said, "I want a second with my sister."

"Fine," Alpha replied. The tingles all left and I wanted to cry, until I felt them grasp my hand.

"Sissy," Brady mumbled and I could hear the sadness in his voice. I mustered up all the energy I could to grunt in response.

"She's awake," The alpha spoke with an undertone of excitement.

"Sissy," Brady repeated, "What the hell is going on?"

"Don't stress her with questions like that," Alpha Winters snapped.

"Kenz, I need my big sister right about now."

Finally, I opened my eyes and instantly bright lights hit my pupils. I shut them just as quickly as I opened them.

"Get the lights," Brady demanded. Bad move, Brady. Although, I was grateful to see, through my eyelids, the lights go off. I opened my eyes to see Brady's teary ones. I took my tingle free hand and placed it on his cheek. Wiping a stay tear with my thumb, I smiled at him.

"I'm okay, Bubba," I spoke and was surprised to hear the roughness in my voice.

"Can you sit up," The other person in the room grumbled softly. I began to sit up on the edge of the couch. My head hurt and I remove my hand from Brady's cheek and touched it. Grunting, I closed my eyes. Alpha Winters took his hand from mine and replaced my hand on my head. Tingley feelings shot through my body instantly and I felt myself lean into his touch. My head began to feel a lot better.

"Are you okay?" Alpha asked

"Yeah, I'm okay," I replied with a soft smile. I finished sitting up and looked at the two boys in front of me. Both of them had concern written all over their features with their brows furrowed and lips twitched into a frown. I looked into both of their eyes and nodded at them individually. I stood up, using Brady's shoulder as a support and started walking toward the kitchen.

I wobbled a bit as I walked but besides that I was fine. Brady and Alpha Winters obviously didn't believe this as they stood on each side of me and watched my every step. Brady got me a glass of water once we got to the kitchen and I drank it needlingly. When I was finished, I looked at the concerned faces of the boys in front of me.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"6:50," Brady replied.

"Shit!" I said. "I've got to get ready." I rushed to my room and started changing into cleaning clothes.

"What is she getting ready for?" Alpha asked through the door.

"She has to clean the college at 7," Brady spat back. The alpha didn't reply for a moment.

"She's not going," He stated. I pulled my shirt over my head and opened the door to see the boys in a very heated glare.

"I have to go." I sighed. Alpha Winters didn't like this and growled lowly.

"What the fuck, dude?" Brady snapped.

"Brady," I reprimanded. "You do not talk to your alpha like that. I love you, but go to your room before you get yourself killed."

"Kenzie!" Brady called my name. I gave him a pointed look and he sighed in defeat. Once his bedroom door was shut, I look back toward the other male in the house.

"Kenzie," He murmured my name. The simple word off of his lips sent shivers of pleasure down my spine.

"Alpha Winters ," I replied while I cleared my throat. I took a step back and bowed my head.

"Kaden," He corrected me. I furrowed my eyebrows together. "You can just call me Kaden."

"Uh, well, Kaden, I'm sorry for the way my brother behaved. Thank you for making sure I was alright, but I have to go now."

"Kenzie," He repeated, stepping closer to me. His collarbone was where the stop of my head went and I could see his defined muscles through his shirt. I mentally swooned and my wolf howled in delight.

Mate! Mate! Mate! Lexus yelled Let me out! Let me out!

Calm down! If he sees we're crazy now he'll reject us, I told her. She whimpered at the thought of him rejecting us, but she retracted to the back of my mind and gushed at our mate.

He took another step closer and now there was no space between us. I looked up only to find him already staring at me. His eyes were pitch black and I fell deeper into his spell. His jaw flexed and then released again, like he was having an internal battle.

"Mate," He whispered, finally putting his arms around me. Tingles erupted from all around me and for a second I lost my mind. I couldn't think about anything that had every troubled me, all my worries disappeared instantly. His arms felt more like home than the apartment I had lived in my whole life. I wanted to stay there forever, but I couldn't.

"I have to go," I whisper after a moment of pure bliss. He pulled me closer and rested his chin on the top of my head. He grumbled in reply and I laughed a little. I placed both my hands on his chest and slightly pushed him, but not enough to remove him from me. His eyes were closed, probably, hopefully, enjoy the sparks on his chest.

I pushed him the rest of the way away, much to my wolf's pleas. Knocking on Brady's door, that was directly across from mine, I bid him a goodbye. I starting walking towards the front door, but Kaden caught me from behind and pulled me into his chest. His hot breath fanned on the base of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

"Stay, please," He breathed.

"I can't. You're more than welcome to stay and make yourself at home, Alpha." His breath hitched and I took that as an opportunity break free of his hold and go toward the door. He didn't try to follow me again, which made my heart sink just slightly. I didn't want to go clean, but I had to. I had to unless I wanted a beating, and, trust me, the last time that happened it was not good.

It was a few years back, maybe three or four. I was so sick that I could barely get out of bed to use the restroom. I couldn't move without feeling as if I was going to die. That being said, I did the reasonable thing and stayed home.

The next day, I woke up to water being thrown on me by guards. They dragged me out of my apartment, leaving a twelve-year-old Brady all alone. I was taken to the cells, which I thought was were only traitors of the pack resided. When we walked in, I gasped from shock and terror. There were small cells with people inside each and every one of them. The people's face were filled with broken innocence. My heart broke for them. I was taken to one of the last cells in the dark narrow hallway and shoved into the cramped space.

There was a strict schedule at the cells. I could never tell what time it was, but I knew the order of things. First, they woke us up, by taking turns beating on us. Then they fed us a piece of bread and a cup of water. Then we waited about half a day and the exact same thing would happen all over again.

I was there for, what I later found out was, two weeks. Two weeks of absolute hell on earth. When I came home, everything was a disaster. Brady told me that they had ripped up our home, taking anything of value, which was not much. They tore apart the apartment and it took a month of every spare second to put it back together. Then it took another two years for me to replace everything that was stolen or broken.

Every since that day I had never missed a day of work and I don't plan to now. Although I was a half and hour late and I feared of those consequences. My hands started to sweat from nervousness as I parked the car.

I rushed inside of the building, making sure to grab my supplies. Instantly, I began cleaning the nearest classroom, almost pretending that I had been there the whole time. I was there for only a second before Maria rushed in.

"They're here," She told me, trying to catch her breath.

"Who?" I asked, my eyebrows burrowing.

"The correctional warriors."

My heart stopped. No, not again.

"Why are they here?"

"You were late. I'm so sorry, Kenzie. I tried to cover for you." Her eyes began to water and her hand went to cover her mouth.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." I grabbed her wrinkly hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "It's okay," I whispered.

"I'm so sorry," She whispered back. I gave her a quick smile, which seemed to calm her down a bit.

"Where are they?"

"West wing, science hall."

With that, I left Maria in the dark classroom and walked toward the west wing. On my way there, I saw a payphone. Picking up the phone, I called my house phone. Brady didn't answer. I sighed in sadness and began to leave him a voicemail.

"Brady, Bubba. I'm not sure what's going to happen, but I was late and the Correctionals are here. I love you, Bubba. Please be safe. You can use the car if you can get to the college. There are some groceries in the fridge, but if you run out, you can use the emergency money. And if that's not enough, you can use the jar money. Other than that, make sure you behave yourself. I love you, Brady."

A silent tear ran down my face but I was quick to wipe it away. Regaining my composure, I continued on my trek toward the west wing. It was better if I went to them instead of the other way around.

There were three men there, waiting for me. They were all tall, muscular, and much tougher than I was. There were wearing the traditional guards uniform: a black button up shirt with a gold name tag, black pants with a belt that held their gun, taser, and baton, and a black hat that said CORRECTIONAL. They looked pretty intimidating compared to the other guards I've seen.

There were four units of warriors in our pack, and most packs. There were the inspection guards and they did the inspections, obviously. There were the correctional guards that corrected the pack when they didn't show up for work or they committed a petty crime. Then there were the criminal warriors, who dealt with large crimes, often they worked in the torture department and punished people severely. Finally, there were border patrol warriors, who ran the border and guarded the pack.

Generally, the guards and warriors were very nice people, unless they were on duty. When they were on duty, the nice men became terrifying, blood sucking creatures. They were horrible people who no one wanted to get mixed up with.

One of the correctional guards saw me and smiled sickly. The other one saw this and laughed humorously. The last one took my arms roughly, put me in handcuff and pushed me towards the treacherous cells.

Fuck, My wolf mumbled.

Fuck is right, Lexus.