Taking Charge Of Her Life

Audrey did not know where to start; she did not know what to make of her life at the moment; her head was full, and her thoughts were scattered. Her life was a mess. 

She slammed close the photo album, surprising Miranda with the unexpected behavior. Audrey stared at the closed photo album and made a decision right then. She was going to take control of her life, no more letting things and people from the past or present affect her.

 She had planned to inquire from Miranda why her mother had abandoned her at the hands of those cruel monsters, but she decided not to. She did not care anymore. Whatever the reason, she no longer wanted to find out. She just wanted to know where she was and how she got there.

"Where am I? How did I get here?" She asked in a detached tone, shifting the photo album away from her. Miranda knew she was angry. She saw all her thoughts just by touching her hands. She was going to go slow with her. She had been through a lot for the past sixteen years.

"Oh, where are my manners? Hannah?" Miranda stood from the bed and took the photo album with her. She would return it to Audrey when she was ready. A younger woman in a bright yellow colored dress that was similar to Miranda's, came through the door.

"Yes, Ms. Miranda?" She answered softly.

Audrey recognized the voice as the second one in the background when she had woken up earlier. 

"Please, prepare a delicious meal for my dear niece while she takes a bath," Miranda informed Hannah. 

"Yes, Ms. Miranda." Hannah left after that, and Miranda took Audrey to take a long-overdue bath. 

"Can't you just follow a simple menu!?" Alpha Lake threw the mushroom soup to the floor, shattering the plate and splashing the content all over the floor.

"I'm sorry, Alpha. I don't know how to make anything from your menu." Cara sobbed, tears pouring down her face like water from a shower. Her eyes were rimmed red, and her cheeks stained red from embarrassment.

 For the past week, Alpha Lake had reluctantly eaten from the Pack's kitchen. Ms. Bridget had refused to cook for him. She was throwing a huge tantrum about Audrey, and much to his dismay, she decided to send Cara to him, and not once, not even once, had she been able to prepare a single meal from his menu.

He was frustrated and hungry. He lost his patience with her today as she brought him a bowl of mushroom soup instead of spaghetti and meatballs. 

"Get out, and do not come back!" He growled.

 Cara whimpered in fear and scurried out of the Alpha's house in tears. She cursed Audrey in her head as she cried, even in death, she still held an advantage over her. She wished she was the one who watched her take her last breath, death seemed to her like an easy getaway for Audrey. She prayed she would rot in hell. 

"Don't cry, Cara, the bitch is gone. You'll get him for sure, just give him time." She whispered to herself.

 Alpha Lake slouched on the sofa and sighed. He cursed Audrey for the nth time in his head. She had successfully managed to disrupt his entire life. Nothing has been the same since the day he locked her up in the dungeon.

 Andrew had always been lost in thoughts since that night, Sebastian had stopped replying to his texts, Ms. Bridget was not happy with him, and to crown it all, his wolf had become like a sad puppy since that night; and, her two friends now looked dejected and forsaken every time of the day. 

He did not understand his wolf though. Regal had never objected to the way he treated her, but he never supported it either. Regal had always been silent like Audrey did not exist until the night he saw her wounded. He had been...detached since then. 

He clenched his fists in anger, wishing he was there when she took her last breath, that would have been so satisfying for him to watch. He wished she could die a thousand times more.

***

"Alpha! Please! I beg you!"

A hoarse voice filled with pain cried out in the dimly lit room.

A young man in a black suit was lying on the floor, his face was bloodied, and one of his shoulders was stabbed, with the knife still rooted comfortably inside it; blood freely oozed out from the stabbed shoulder, tracing the floor to the front of the black stool the Alpha was sitting on.

Alpha Lake lazily looked down at the blood and then slowly looked back at the culprit, no emotion could be detected on his devilishly handsome face.

Men in the all-black outfit roughly brought the man up and dropped him on a chair, they tied his hands behind the chair, not mind his struggles, and tied his legs on each side of the chair.

Alpha Lake quietly sat there, his calm presence emanating fear from the culprit. His white shirt was spotless and unbuttoned at the chest, it was neatly tucked into his black trousers. His handsome face looked upon the bloodied man in an unfeeling manner.

"Now, speak."

His voice was low and dangerous; he was like a predator; his cold gaze was fixed on his prey, waiting for any mistakes to pounce on him.

"I-I-I…" The man paused what he was about to say and started coughing profusely, sputtering blood cloths from his mouth all over the place.

"How dare you!?" One of the men in black raised the back of a gun to hit his head but Alpha Lake just raised his hand, stopping him.

"Talk, or I'll blow your brains out!" One of the men in black threatened.

The bloodied man felt so helpless and weak, but he knew he had to say something, he did not want to die, and he didn't want his family to die either.

"I'm sorry, Alpha. I failed you. It was me; I was the one who informed Mr. Russell about your secret warehouse; please, do not kill me; I can do whatever you ask me to do; please don't kill me, I beg you! He threatened to kill my wife, my mate! Please!" The man pleaded.

Alpha Lake was so calm, it was frightening; even his guards were scared of his silence. They never knew what was going on in his mind whenever he became like this, but they were sure it was always something lethal. He stood from the stool and elegantly walked toward the door, he paused at the door and nodded his head to his men before silently walking out of the room.

"Yes, boss!" They answered in chorus.

"No! No! No! Please! Please! Please!!!"

Bam!

A gunshot was fired inside the room.

***

'Alpha, Mr. Russell is here.' 

Alpha Lake received a mind link from Andrew. He checked the time; he still had an hour's advantage before the meeting.

 He stood up and went up to his room to freshen up. He had set an appointment with Mr. Russell to meet at his company by 2: pm, but it appeared Mr. Russell was way too eager to meet him. He wondered what the cunning human was up to this time.

He parked his black-tinted car in front of a tall skyscraper and walked into it. He was greeted by the receptionist, who he successfully ignored and went up the elevator. He was going to fire his receptionist soon. He could always sense his arousal each time he saw him. He wasn't gay and even if he was a girl, he didn't do his employees.

"Alpha, he refused to wait and went straight to the meeting room," Andrew told him as he came out of the elevator. He nodded and walked into the meeting room.

"Mr. Lake, Hello." A young man in a blue suit stood up from the chair and went to offer Alpha Lake a handshake. Alpha Lake shook him briefly and occupied his seat at the center of the table. Mr. Russell followed suit and sat on one of the chairs. 

"What can I do for you, Russell?" He asked directly, cutting straight to the chase. He knew Mr. Russell had come to check if he knew anything about his break-in to his secret warehouse.

 He did not have time to play mind games. He would deal with him in due time. 

"Well, it's about the partnership I proposed the last time. Have you considered it?" Mr. Russell adjusted his tie arrogantly. He did not want Alpha Lake to see how nervous he was, but it was too late. 

Alpha Lake smirked at him. He already saw through his act. But he was not ready to expose him, yet. Mr. Russell had been in hiding since his failed attempt to attack Alpha Lake's secret warehouse. He lay low, waiting to see if Alpha Lake found out that he was behind the attack, but he heard nothing.

 He was confident that he had escaped this time, so here he was, trying to get close enough to gain Alpha Lake's trust. If he succeeded in winning his trust completely, he could easily infiltrate his data, and it would be very easy for him to get rid of Alpha Lake, and then take over his numerous businesses. 

He hoped to convince him to accept him as his business partner. That way, he was one step ahead in achieving his goals.

"I do not partner, Russell. We can only do business the way I've done it from the beginning, but not partnerships. I do not need anyone in my business." He stared directly, looking at Mr. Russell straight in the eyes.

"Oh, seems I've not been convincing enough?" Mr. Russell asked, chuckling, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere. 

"If there is nothing else, I'll be attending to something else. My P. A will see out." Alpha Lake stood up and left the meeting room. 

He went back to the Pack to check how the full moon preparation was going. After seeing a few people, he retired for the day...hungry, and starved.

"Audrey, it's time,"

 Miranda spoke behind Audrey who was standing in front of the mirror in the bedroom. It'd been two weeks since she appeared in the Secret Coven, as her aunt called it.

 She had refused to leave the room to meet people and refused visitors too. She was now in charge of her life and she decided what she wanted or did not want to happen, as long as it concerned her.

 She felt this unexplainable surge of power within her like she could do anything now, but she did not know how to put what she felt into action. Miranda had told her that the second voice she heard was her spirit guide, and it was what teleported her into their Secret Coven.  

Audrey had questioned Miranda about everything she wanted to know about herself and she had discovered that she possessed the wolf of the moon goddess, and she was the reincarnation of Catherine, the strongest witch in history. But, those were all based on theory. Today, she was ready to go out and see what she was capable of. 

The old Audrey would have been nervous as hell as she did not know if the people of the Secret Coven would accept her, but she was done with that era; she no longer cared what people said or thought about her. She knew the whole truth or at least, half the truth about herself now, and no one was going to make her believe otherwise. This was her brave change!

"Let's go." She looked at herself one more time in the mirror and smiled. This was the new Audrey; she looked so beautiful, she could not believe her eyes.

 Her red hair was neatly combed down, stopping at her waist. She marveled at how long and beautiful her hair was, it had always been unkept and in a tight bun. Her skin was as radiant as the full moon. She scoffed when she thought of the full moon. She was Pack-less and she didn't care one bit. 

She didn't want a mate, she did not want what happened to her mother to repeat with her. Audrey took a deep breath and followed Miranda out of the door for the first time in two weeks. 

They passed through a living room that had everything in white! Four sofas were joined together, facing a rectangular white television. 

She marveled at how they managed to keep everything sparkling clean, then she remembered that everyone here was a witch. A white witch. As they stepped outside, everything seemed like it came straight out of a Disney fairy tale movie. The grass was greener, the trees were so tall and large with huge branches that grew the size of a five-year-old, with beautiful white statuses of beautiful women placed beside the trees.

 They came to a stop in front of a big house with a large double door. 

"Are you ready?" Miranda asked Audrey, making sure she was not having double thoughts at the last minute.

"Yes." Audrey nodded.