\[Elise’s POV\]
I stare at my dear sister as she sits there, completely useless and weak. Why her? Why was she the one who was blessed with the ultimate alpha command? She was nothing! She was a weak omega who was abused all her life.
‘Abused or not, they still kept her,’ Anna, my wolf, reminds me, making my anger spike even more. ‘They threw us away and kept her!’
Biting back the growl that wants to escape, I narrow my gaze on Denali before shifting it back to triumphant.
“What is this alpha command you’re speaking of?” She asks Alexander, pissing me off even more. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you don’t,” he chuckles, shifting me off of himself so he can get up and walk over to her.
When he kneels in front of her and presses his hand against her chest, I have to fight the urge to attack. Why was he touching her? He was mine! And once this was all over, Rosco would be mine too. He was my mate, and I would be damned if any other bitch got him!
We needed to get rid of Nadia. She wanted what she shouldn’t have, just like my weak sister. Didn’t they know that they should stay away from things that weren’t theirs?
“I’m sure you have an idea,” Alexander says, snapping me out of my head. “From your expression, I can tell you’re lying, but even if you don't, I don’t mind elaborating. The ultimate alpha command works on every single wolf of every rank. The sole possessor of the command is meant to be the leader of all wolves, and their word is the ultimate law.”
Grimacing, I once again try to determine why that bitch was allowed that privilege over me. We were born to the same parents. We shared the same blood. Why the fuck was she gifted with the command? It wasn’t fair!
As these thoughts swirl in my mind, painful memories that I was sure I had forgotten begin to claw their way up, and before I can even stop them, they begin to wash over me.
Once again, I find myself curled up in that alley, surrounded by those men who meant to capture me and do what they wanted. This was just after I escaped my abusive foster family. Back then, I wasn’t aware of my heritage since I lived in a human world where wolves shouldn’t have existed.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw someone shift into a wolf. It was shortly after I was brought to Alexander’s family's prison. I was thrown into the cells with the rest of the children and women who were brought here for auction. It was during the full moon that it happened. Someone was making a commotion, and as the guards came to try to calm her down, she did it. She turned into this terrifying creature that shouldn’t have existed.
I was terrified and wanted to get far away from such a thing, but that ended up getting me beaten. By the time I was returned, I was bloody and broken and too out of it to give two shits about the monster that shared the same space with me.
It was shortly after that that I shifted myself, and when Alexander discovered that I possessed alpha blood, he saved me. He brought me out of the cold and terrifying darkness and showed me kindness that I never knew. He was my savior, and because of that, I was more than willing to do whatever it was that he wanted, but little did I know that he would ask me to help him track down another woman. Not only another woman, but my twin sister.
The first time I laid eyes on her, all I could think was why did he want this particular woman. She was nothing more than skin and bones, covered in scars, and looked like she would die at any moment. There was nothing special about her, so why did he want her and not me?
It was only after that that he confessed what he knew about our heritage. However, that didn’t make me feel any better; if anything, it made me hate her more. This pathetic woman was the one to inherit the alpha command that made her a natural-born leader.
For years I followed her, learning about her daily routines, watching her get treated like the omega she was by her family and pack, and even watching her hate herself until that day she climbed to the top of a tall waterfall.
As I watched, I knew exactly what it was that she wanted to do, and I silently urged her on, but I knew if she died, Alexander wouldn’t be happy. That was why, when I saw her jump, I knew that I had to save her, and I did just that.
Of course, Alexander took credit for saving her, and that began their love. I fucking hated it. Watching him play the perfect boyfriend for her. I don’t know what made me more sick—seeing him show kindness to another woman who wasn’t me or just how damn gullible she was falling for his shit.
And when I didn’t think things could get worse, that bitch Anastasia got herself involved, becoming yet another notch in Alexander’s bedpost and even snatching him from my dear sister. Though I was happy that he dumped my sister like a ton of bricks, I was pissed that another woman was clinging to him.
The kicker was that my sister ended up getting married to a powerful man and even started to live a happy life away from all the abuse she endured her whole life, while I was left to continue to suffer! And when Alexander forced me to continue to spy on her and even make nice with Nadia so that she could help us split up the happy couple, I was ready to just say fuck it and do things my way.
Who knew that my dear sister would overcome each and every obstacle thrown her way? It was fucking frustrating, and that’s why Alexander decided to have me finally reveal myself and pretend to be her miserable sister, but the day we met, I saw it in her eyes. She didn’t trust me and probably had an idea of what I was up to. This complicated things which led to such extreme measures.
“Go on,” Alexander says as I snap out of my own head. “Dig deep. I’m sure you’ll find it deep down in you. Or should I resort to extreme measures like before to get you to bring it forth? Don’t think I forgot what happened back in that room.”
“You’re mistaken,” Denali argues, earning herself a slap and then Alexander to grab her chin and squeeze. “I don’t…”
"You're a horrible liar, Denali,” he growls, digging his claws into her flesh. “You used it back then, and I know you can use it again. And if I have to fucking torture you until it comes out, I’m more than willing. You are going to help me become the ultimate leader of all the wolves, and there is no fucking way I’ll let you off until you do.”
His man-handling makes me feel slightly better, but that feeling is quickly ruined as he grabs Denali’s shirt and begins to slowly use his claw to cut it open.
“How about we start here?” He asks, giving a broad grin. “It was this that got you to use it before, so I assume it will work again.”