Chapter 3: Please Take me Away from Him!

In the morning I woke up to Royce staring at my face and poking my mouth while laughing. I giggled. And tried getting up when I felt my normal back pain when I sleep in a bad position (which is pretty much any position). I let out a grunt and a whine while grabbing quickly at my fracture stop on my spine. Alfie jumps up from a deep sleep and jumps over a now extinguished fire. He grabs my shoulders and helps me up slowly. I let out a few more whines which alerts Doc and he also runs in the room. He sees me getting help from Alfie to sit down while I'm holding my back. "What happened?! I thought you said she was ok Doc, you looked her over yesterday. You must have missed something!"

"I didn't see any other injuries, I swear! If I did, I would have fixed them!"

"It's ok guys, this is an old injury. I broke my back two years ago in an accident, there is nothing you can do to help it."

"Wait, a broken bone! Why didn't you tell me? Since I come from a family of doctors, we have the ability to see inside your body to see any broken bones or internal injuries. We will help you up so you can lay on the storage spot. I will examine your back and find the source of the pain. I will do whatever I can to fix it." They helped me up from the couch and to the table, where I laid down half on my side and half on my stomach so he could see my back.

As we were walking towards the table, I told Alfie to play with Royce, so he doesn't get into anything, and because Royce seemed to like Alfie from the start. Alfie turned into his true form and with Royce on his back he ran around the extinguished fire while Royce laughed and held onto Alfie's black fur.

I felt a warm hand pull my sweatshirt up and touch my lower spine. I turned back to see Doc with his devilish eyes closed, but I could see them moving around, searching for my fracture. He moved his hand up slightly and stopped suddenly. I heard a gasp as he whispered, "I found the problem. I can fix it." I looked away to check on Royce and noticed he was starting to walk towards me, and Alfie was back in his human form chasing him.

Just then I heard a low growl and Alfie gasp, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Get off of her!" I turned to see long fangs coming from Doc's mouth as he was leaning down to bite me, his menacing eyes staring right at mine. I jumped up from the table, I grabbed Royce and ran towards Alfie. I nudged my face into his chest with Royce between us, crying. He was shaking just like I was, but Alfie appeared calm. I could hear his heart, but it told a different story, it was beating a mile a minute.

"If we change her, she will heal and won't be injured anymore. That it an old wound in her back and isn't healing properly. We need to turn her."

"You didn't even ask her first?! You don't know if that's what she wants!"

With tears in my eyes, I looked up at Alfie just as he looked down at me, "Please, take me away from him!" instantly he picked me up bridal style and carried me and Royce out of the cave. Back into the village, he asked me if I wanted to go back to his cave now since I didn't want to yesterday. I had this feeling of complete trust in him, so I just nodded while holding Royce close and keeping my head hidden in his chest.

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At his cave, it was much more bare than Doc's. There was just a fire pit and a nest of animal skins and leaves, but it looked comfortable. Once inside he set me and Royce down onto the nest and started a fire. Just as the fire ignited, Royce's and my stomachs growled at the same time. "Oh, sounds like you guys are hungry, good thing I have a few carcasses salted in the cold part of the cave, so I don't have to go out to hunt. I'll be right back so I can go get one." I grabbed his arm before he could turn away. I didn't want to be alone, what if Doc came back? He smiled and held his hand out, "Ok you guys can come with, but you don't need to be worried in here. Nobody will come into my cave without an invitation, I am the Alpha." He let out a chuckle and started walking into the darkness, but I couldn't move.

Still holding his hand, I said, "Alpha?"

"Yeah, why do you think Doc called me Alfie? That's my given name from when I became Alpha."

"So, what's your real name?"

"I wasn't given one." I let out a soft 'hmm' and we started walking into the darkness. Every few steps Alfie would turn back and make faces at Royce in my arms to make him laugh. It worked every time and made me chuckle under my breath. After a few more steps, I couldn't see anymore. All I could see was Alfie's beautiful golden eyes shining bright. I held his hand tighter and he followed suit. Soon we were at our destination and Alfie slowly let go of my hand as if it were agonizing to lose my touch. My stomach turned as he let go of me and I yearned for him to touch me again. I needed his touch. I could hear him grunt as he picked something heavy up and I felt his arm nudge me, telling me to grab it so he could lead me back to the fire. I complied and we walked back to the front of the cave.

A short distance before reaching the fire, he stopped and smelt the air with his head raised. He smelt someone near the entrance. My chest tightened as I figured it was Doc. Alfie set up a tripod to roast the meat that appeared to be from a deer and looked at me in the eyes. Without him even moving his mouth I could hear, "Sit down by the fire and I'll be back in a short while." I nodded and me and Royce sat on the nest watching the deer meat cook in the fire. I could hear talking but I didn't recognize the voices except Alfie's. I furrowed my brows; I slowly got up from the low nest and walked with Royce towards the entrance. I could see many people outside of his cave and Alfie arguing with them. I climbed down from the high entrance of the cave and Alfie turned to look at me. His eyes looked of concern as once again he talked without moving his lips, "I thought I told you I'd be back soon?" I shrugged and came down behind him anyways. Looking out into the crowd, all of the men were attractive. They all were shirtless; I could see an ocean of pecks and bulging shoulders. As I was looking at each man's face I noticed that there were only two colored eyes in the whole group. Most of the men had green eyes; they were the ones that looked similar to Alfie in build but a little smaller. They were a few inches shorter and didn't have as much muscle tone, but still looked strong. The other men had blue eyes. Those men were more muscular than Doc, but definitely couldn't take on any of the green-eyed men in a fight. They were about my height, 5 foot 5, had a flat chest, barely protruding ab muscles, and arms that looked like they might have just started working out. The blue-eyed men were also very young. They looked to be in their teens while the green-eyed men appeared to be in their 20's or 30's. It was like I was in a movie. I had never seen so many attractive men in one place before, and it was overwhelming.

The men were talking over each other saying things like "If she doesn't have a current mate, then she needs to have a choosing tournament." and "I want to be in the choosing tournament." I had no idea what that was, but it didn't sound good. Was I going to have to fight in a tournament? Is it dangerous? I latched onto Alfie's arm; the jaws of life couldn't even release my grip from Alfie. He was the only thing standing between me and tens of snarling, drooling men.

"ENOUGH!" the ground shook as Alfie barked at his men. Upon hearing the loud voice Royce started crying. His bottom lip pushed out and a loud cry started. Alfie turned around and his face instantly transformed from having the brightest glowing golden eyes I had ever seen with furrowed brows and fangs hanging from his luscious mouth, to a soft concerned appearance; his eyes dimmed, brows curled up, and his fangs retracted. He lifted me into his arms with Royce cuddled into my embrace and jumped into his cave. At the entrance he turned around slightly; he finally broke the deadly silence with a soft, "The choosing tournament will commence tomorrow when the sun is at its peak. Now, disperse." With that, his men slowly went their own directions as if they were defeated. The blue- eyed men looked at Alfie holding me in his arms and lowered their heads, while the green-eyed men held their heads high with pride and went to prepare.

Deeper inside the cave, I sat down as Alfie pulled the meat off of the orange fire. It was perfectly cooked, but looked different than I was used to. He broke small chunks off for me and Royce and nodded his head to tell me to eat. He walked into the cave and came back with a pile of animal furs, many leaves, a bushel of branches, and vines. He sat down on the other side of the fire and started connecting branches in a 90˚ angle with vines. "What are you doing? Aren't you going to eat with us? There is plenty left for you to eat, we don't eat much."

He looked up at me with bright eyes and said "I'm making railing for a nest for Royce, then I will make a nest for you. His nest will go here," he pointed to a spot 120 ˚ from his bed, "and your nest will go here." he pointed to a spot directly across the fire from his bed.

I felt a pit in my stomach and instantly lost my appetite. 'What if Doc comes back while he's sleeping, he'll never wake up in time. I know he said nobody will come into his cave, but Doc was brave enough to nearly bite my in front of Alfie, he would definitely be brave enough to come into the cave at night.' I thought.

In the middle of my thought, Alfie looked up from the nearly finished 'pack-n-play' looking piece. His eyes dimmed and his brows curled up again. Without moving his lips once again he said "You know I can hear your thoughts, right? Would you feel better sleeping somewhere else? I could make a new fire further into the cave if you'd feel more…"

"No!" I said out loud, "That's too much trouble. Would it be ok if I sleep in your nest with you? And Royce can have his nest right next to that? I just feel like the further away I am from you, the more I get this gut feeling that something is going to go wrong, or like I… Never mind"

"Like you feel lost." He said matter-of-factly; it's like he knew exactly what I meant, like he felt the same way.

"…Yeah… I'm sorry if I have overstepped. If you don't feel comfortable, I would be ok sleeping where you had originally planned. I don't want to make you uncomfortable in your own home." I knew I had overstepped by asking a man to sleep with him in his bed on the second day I had known him, I just felt as if I had known him forever. I felt like I connected with him on a deeper level and I didn't know how to explain it. I had never really had a healthy relationship before; was this how you were supposed to feel?

"You can sleep in my nest with me. I am not uncomfortable with it at all, as long as you are content, then I am as well. Now, for tomorrow, you need to choose some 'guardians' or the choosing tournament. Did you see any males in the crowd that you would like to guard you?"

"'Guards'? Am I going to be attacked?! What is this 'choosing tournament' everybody is talking about?"

"A choosing tournament happens when a female doesn't have any living mates. The female sits on the top of a steep hill; the males who want to become her mates need to fight each other to get to the lower platform- 10 feet below you- where your guardians stand. They will be the ones that hold off the rest of the males from getting past. If any get past, they go on to the next round and fight to the death with your guardians. If you want to save any from facing death to become your mate, you may do so and allow them to mate with you. The guardians you chose are the ones you find the strongest, and the ones you want to be your mate the most. So, did you see any guardian-worthy men out there today? The men with blue eyes are the omegas; those will not be strong enough to be a guardian for a female of your level. The men with green eyes are the betas; they are one level below me- the alpha- and would be much better choices." He looked down during his last sentence.

"What about you? Can you be my guardian?"

He jerked his head up to meet mine, his eyes glistened instantaneously, and he raised one side of his lips. "Yes, I can be your guardian if you would like." He finished the walls for Royce's pack-n-play and placed them around the soft bed he had made for him. Alfie got up from his seat and tip-toed over to me and a now sleeping Royce. He slowly and carefully grabbed Royce and placed him on his new bed.

By now it was completely dark, and crickets were chirping outside the entrance of the cave. The moon was the biggest I had ever seen. It covered most of the visible sky and was a light blue in color. I must not be on Earth anymore, but I was starting to get used to the idea of staying here in this cave for the future. I was so dazed by the beauty of my new moon that I started to doze off. My eyes slowly closed, and I could feel my head getting heavier. I started to lean backwards when I felt a pair of warm, soft hands catch my falling back. I leaned into them and let out a soft 'mmmm' as I was carefully lifted off the ground and placed onto the soft bed. A warm body snuggled next to me and I felt a giant fur blanket lay softly over our bodies. I slowly started to release my body weight and sunk into the darkness.