Enslaved By The Alpha

~KANE~

Maya is in my arms. My Maya. My mate. The woman I've been looking for since the day I lost her. Everything makes so much f*****g sense now.

I never connected with the witch because she was disguised as Maya. This entire time she was playing all of us for damn fools. And we all fell straight into her trap. If Maya hadn't remembered who she was, would I have never known I had her with me all along? I was fighting myself, fighting my feelings, and I didn't need to. If I had just listened to my heart, I would have made the right decision and had her in my life.

I did choose her in the end, but I took too long to do it. All of the signs were there. Everything about her always reminded me of Maya. It always made everything so damn complex. And now I knew why. Now I knew why I couldn't let her go. She still didn't look like her, but now that I knew she was my mate, my love, I couldn't believe how stupid I had been this entire time. She loved me even though she couldn't remember who I was, she chose me every step of the way, and it took me forever to do the same. Every time I keep thinking that I can't disappoint myself any more than I'd already done and each time I find a way to prove myself wrong.

I look down at her, and I can't believe how f*****g lucky I am to be blessed with a mate like her. She will always be too damn good for me. Always. I'll never deserve her, but I'm never letting her f*****g go again. She will always be mine. Only mine. And I will kill anyone that tried to separate us again. I was done letting her slip through my fingers. I was never letting it happen again.

My eyes fall to her tummy, and everything inside of me freezes. This meant... I can hardly breathe. Was it true? Was it really possible? Were they also still in my life?

My babies were alive. Alive? They have also been with me this entire time. Twins. My mate was pregnant with twins. I wasn't about to have just one baby in my life, Maya was blessing me with two.

The joy I felt at that realization was something that could never be put into words. I couldn't wait to pull her aside and tell her everything I needed to. Everything I've wanted to say to her since the beginning. Everything that I've kept inside of me all this time. And now I had even more to say after finding out the truth.

She wasn't saying anything to me. She hadn't said anything at all. Only because her brothers were trying to kill me did I find out she was Maya. I'm not sure when she knew this for herself. I'm not sure when she was ever planning on telling me. I'm just happy that I know now. I wouldn't blame her for keeping the truth from me.

I could never give myself entirely to her as Giselle's maid because I always thought I was betraying Maya. Now that I knew she was indeed Maya, I didn't have to worry about that anymore. I could give her my entire heart without any regrets or fear of hurting anyone. I could finally love her the way I've always wanted to. And this was such a big blessing. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

We're now inside the helicopter, and I gently place her down even though I want to keep her close to me. I knew she was too worried about Roman to think about anything else. I didn't want to interrupt her even though I was dying to kiss her and hug her tightly. Dying to love her the correct way. And now that I knew I had to let her go again, I was close to losing it. I didn't want her to go. I didn't want her anywhere near that witch.

Everyone is in a mess. The tension in the atmosphere was intense, and it would remain this way until the baby was brought back home safely.

I didn't want to think about Maya entering that abandoned castle and facing that dreadful woman. She'd hurt her too much already. But I knew that none of us could stop these women. Their motherly instincts had kicked in now that Roman's life was in danger; nothing and no one would be able to prevent them from doing this. They would be prepared even to fight their mates to get to him.

And no matter how much we hated the idea of putting our mates in danger, none of us would stop them from doing this.

"Atticus have informed my brothers that we need their help," Arthur tells us. "They will examine the area before our mates are sent in. We will have an idea of how much we must fight against."

"Our brothers have also been informed already," Isabella tells Lucy and Eden. "They will also come to help."

"The packs will meet us there," Austin says. He's trying to remain calm, but no one can stay sane when their child's life is in danger. I knew that if my babies were in trouble, I would be losing my f*****g mind trying to get to them. They were trying to stay positive, but no one could confirm whether Roman was still alive or not.

That witch didn't have a heart, our chances were not looking very high.

"Paige Snow will be there," Isabella adds. "She's helped us defeat one witch before; she's willing to help us again."

Paige Snow. She was the witch that had helped defeat Marianne, the sister of the witch that was trying to destroy our lives.

It was good that they were bringing Paige. We needed another witch there. It was always difficult to kill a witch without the presence of another. At least, a witch that was as powerful as this one. If she were alone, it would have been easier to get rid of her, but I knew it wouldn't be that easy. She wasn't stupid. She'd been smart this entire time; everything went according to her plans from beginning to end. She wouldn't make this an easy fight for us. She was desperate to get her revenge. I knew what it felt like to be blinded by your thirst for revenge. I was like that once before. But I don't think I would ever have put a baby's life in danger to get what I wanted.

"We will be landing soon," Atticus informs us. His wife, Autumn, is beside him. He didn't want her to come with us, but she insisted that she wanted to be there when Roman was brought home safely. This was supposed to be their honeymoon party, but they were also with us.

I was just grateful that Griffin wasn't here. The man got on my last nerves. He pissed me off. I almost lost my mind when I saw him with Maya. I expected him to fight me for her, but now I wasn't sure he'd wanted her. Was Maya behind it? She gave him so much attention, and maybe that was to push me over the edge. And if it was her plan, I'm happy that she did it. I needed that extra push to realize that I could never live without her. Never.

~MAYA~

We'd just landed. There was no more time to discuss any plans. The vehicles were waiting for us. We would park near and then walk towards the abandoned castle.

We would meet Arthur's brothers there. They would inform us how many men were waiting to harm us.

So far, everything was going how we wanted it to. But we were becoming restless. I could see that each second away from Roman was slowly killing both my brother and Lucy on the inside. "Ermanno!" Lucy shouts as she runs to her brother. He hugs her to him.

"We're going to get him back." He promises her. "No one is going to hurt my boy."

The rest of her brothers take turns hugging her and assuring her that everything will be okay.

I remember wishing to have a family that loved me when I couldn't remember my past. This entire time I had one, and they were still protecting me without knowing it. Along the way, I even made new friends who were already like family to me. Gabriella was one of them. I owe her plenty.

I was lucky. I always thought Maya was blessed to have people that loved her so much when I didn't know that I was her.

I will never take them for granted. I would love them even more than they love me.

Lucy's father walks towards us next. She breaks down when he hugs her. Behind him is Paige. She walks with a radiant power that is difficult to ignore.

"Do you think she will harm my baby?" Lucy asks her. "You have visions. You see the future. Can't you tell me if he's safe?"

She gives her a sad smile, "I'm sorry. I cannot answer that question." She apologizes. "Morgan, as we call her, is a powerful witch like her sister Marianne was. And as you can see, she is also very clever. You have to do as she says. Exactly as she says to ensure that she doesn't harm him. She plans to kill everyone involved in her sister's death, including me. She knows getting Roman involved would have all of us there; everyone that she wants to get killed. She has plenty of friends who are witches, vampires, and werewolves. We must be prepared for anything."

Lucy looks distraught. I hug her to me. She was always there for me when I needed her, even when she didn't know I was Maya.

"We are going to get him back, Lucy. I promise you we are." I assure her.

I don't care what we had to do to get him back. We would.

"When I get my hands on that witch, she's going to wish she never lived!" Austin roars.

"Make sure you give me a chance to make her pay as well," Kane growls.

"I think we all want our revenge." Isabella hissed.

"She messed with the wrong family," Lucas adds with fire in his eyes. This is the most dangerous I've ever seen them look.

We all jump into our vehicles next and are on our way. Our hearts are racing; it's loud and pounding.

We are thirsty for revenge. She's messed with us too much. Anyone that spent this much time plotting to harm us always got what they deserved in the end. This time would not be any different.

I'm very aware of Kane looking at me. He hasn't stopped looking at me since he discovered I was Maya. I know that there is plenty he wants to say to me. And there is also a lot that I want to tell him.

It doesn't take us long to reach Arthur's brothers.

"How bad is it looking?" Austin asks them.

"f*****g terrible." Ace answers. "That place is a death trap. There are at least six witches surrounding the place. If they're anything like Morgan, we're in for a dangerous fight. Are you sure sending your mates in there is the right thing to do?" "This isn't open for any discussion." Lucy snaps. "We're all going."

I nod, "we are."

Ace sighs; the men are even more tensed than they were before. "She has an army out there. Both vampires and werewolves. Enemies. Plenty of them. Keep your guards up at all times. The moment one of you slips, everyone will fall. There isn't room for any mistakes."

"We will walk from here," Lucy says to the men. "We don't need you to follow us. If you do, it's putting my baby's life in danger. For his sake, please keep your distance unless we call for help."

I can see that they are reluctant to let us go, but they eventually nod their heads.

I gasp when Kane pulls me in for a kiss that weakens my knees, "come back without any scratches. I need you to be safe."

I nod and walk away before I lose my will to leave. I want nothing more than to stay in his arms. I kept reminding myself that it was only a matter of time before I got my wish.

"Are you girls ready?" Isabella asks us as we near the castle. "I'm ready to kick some spell casting a*s."

I shook my head at her words. But we were more than ready.

"Let's get my baby back," Lucy shouts.

One by one, we all walk inside the castle. The door was already open and waiting for us. Surprisingly there wasn't anyone outside, but it was probably a trick set up to fool us.

"There is no need for us to be quiet or slow," Gabriella says. "She's already expecting us."

"Should we race to the top then?" Eden asks. "I don't hear a baby's cry. It could be a good sign or a bad."

It was true. The good being that Roman wasn't being harmed. The bad being that the worst had already happened.

From her words, we're no longer walking but now running. Our desperation has increased incredibly.

"Roman!" Lucy screams as she runs. "Romannnn!"

All of us stop moving when a baby's cry rocks us from where we stood. It was Roman. He was alive!

"ROMAN!" We all shout at the top of our lungs as we follow the sound of his continuous gut-wrenching cries.

I slam a door open and rush inside with everyone behind me. And then we see him. The blasted witch is holding him. But she isn't the only one in the room. There are at least six other witches and one person that stands out to me.

Anna! My knuckles tighten into fists. Did she have a part to play in all of this? I've always hated her since the beginning. Nothing would stop this woman from digging her own grave. Kane should have never spared her life. She lived to make all of our lives miserable. "Are you surprised to see me?" She asks me with a wicked smile. "I've been by Kane's side all this time. Making him want me instead of you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demand from her.

"Who do you think was the fake Maya all this time?" She asks. "It was me. And I enjoyed every moment of it. Being loved and protected by your entire family, including Kane. He even shouted at you because of me. That must have hurt. Your mate couldn't recognize you without your face. And your brothers, who you love more than anything else in this world, practically chose me over you. It's a pity. Your life is such a joke, Maya. It shows that anyone could have taken your place at any time, and no one would notice the difference."

My blood runs cold at her words. This entire time we were wrong; it wasn't the witch. She had sent Anna to do her dirty work for her. And who better than Anna? The girl was already obsessed with Kane; she would do the job well.

Is she that paranoid to believe that Kane didn't choose me in the end? He was only conflicted because she looked just like me. He couldn't stay away from me even though I looked nothing like his mate. She's just trying to get under my skin; I couldn't let her words affect me this much.

I knew the truth, and that was all that mattered.

"GIVE ME MY SON!" Lucy shouts at Morgan.

Roman turns to look at us after hearing his mother's voice. My heart breaks when his cries get louder, and he stretches his arms towards her.

We were relieved that he was still alive and appeared unharmed, but his life was still in danger. We would only feel at ease when we have him out of this castle. The plan was to give him to Gabriella. She would take him and escape while the rest of us stayed back and fought. Since she was a hybrid, it would be easier for her to get away.

"He may look okay on the outside," Morgan says with wickedness in the depths of her eyes. "But he is not on the inside. I've put one last spell on your family, him, to be exact. No matter what, your son will never be able to recognize his mate. She would be in front of him, and he will not know it. Because of that, he will never be happy when he's reached the age to have a mate. He will be miserable for the rest of his life."

Lucy screams at her words and, within seconds, shifts into her snow-white wolf. Isabella and Eden are behind her, protecting her from the other witches. Lucy bites down on the witch's hand, who in turn screams.

Roman is released from her hold, and Gabriella moves swiftly to catch him. Before anyone can react, she's already out of the room. Now that he was out of here, we could fight more freely. Lucy pushes her head back and howls to alert the men that Roman is out of the castle.

Freya and I are the next to shift into our wolves. And I know who I'm going for.

Anna's time was finally over. I will not sit back and let her hurt Kane or me anymore than she'd already done.

She screams when I lunge for her neck. I wasn't wasting any more time. I wanted her out of our lives for good, and I wanted it now.

I bite down harder on her skin, ready to rip her head off her body. What I'm not prepared for is the sharp pain that enters my head. My wolf pushes her head back and cries in pain. I'm not the only one; we all are. They're hurting us. And it's not one of them. All of the witches are focusing their power on each of us. I've experienced this before, from Marianne. This time it was much worse. There were plenty of them; it wasn't just one witch attacking us. It meant that we were in trouble.

I'm trying to fight it. I have to fight it. For the sake of my babies, for Kane, for everyone that I loved, I had to do this.