Playing The Alphas

Chapter 93: The Sister’s Game

SAMANTHA

The summons arrived at dawn.

A servant handed me a folded piece of parchment sealed with crimson wax. The seal bore the Cunningham crest—a serpent coiled around a crescent moon. My hands trembled as I broke the seal and read the words inside.

"Join us in the gardens at noon. We wish to get to know you better. Come alone. —Serena & Kylie"

I stared at the parchment. My stomach twisted into knots. The Cunningham sisters wanted to get to know me better? That was a lie. They wanted to torment me. They wanted to break me. They wanted to remind me that I was nothing and they were everything.

"Miss Samuels," Joanne said from the doorway. Her voice was tight with concern. "You cannot go."

"I have to go."

"You do not have to do anything."

I folded the parchment and tucked it into my sleeve. "If I refuse, they will find another way to punish me. At least this way, I know what I am walking into."

Joanne shook her head. "You do not know what you are walking into. Those women are dangerous. Everyone says so."

"I know."

"Then why are you going?"

I looked at her and I forced a smile that did not reach my eyes. "Because I have no choice."

*****

The gardens were beautiful. Too beautiful. The flowers were arranged in perfect rows, their colors so bright that they almost hurt to look at. The fountains sparkled in the sunlight. The hedges were trimmed into the shapes of wolves and moons and stars. Everything was perfect. Everything was artificial.

The sisters were waiting for me at the center of the garden. They lounged on silk cushions, sipping wine from crystal glasses. Serena was wearing a gown of deep crimson. Kylie was dressed in pale blue. They looked like goddesses. They looked like demons.

"Ah, there she is," Serena said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "We were beginning to think you would not come."

I stopped a few feet away. I kept my head high. I kept my hands steady. "You summoned me. I came."

Kylie smiled. It was not a warm smile. "We did not summon you. We invited you. There is a difference."

"Is there?"

"Oh, yes. Summoning implies power. Inviting implies friendship." Serena tilted her head. "We want to be your friends, Samantha."

I said nothing.

"Come," Serena said, patting the cushion beside her. "Sit with us. Let us talk."

I hesitated for a moment. Then I walked forward and I sat on the edge of the cushion, keeping as much distance between us as possible.

Serena laughed. "You do not trust us."

"Should I?"

"Probably not. But trust is overrated, is it not?"

Kylie leaned forward. Her eyes were dark. Curious. "We have heard so much about you, Samantha. The princes. The blood. The beast. You are quite the celebrity."

"I am just a slave."

"Slaves do not get penthouses," Serena said. "Slaves do not calm beasts with their blood. Slaves do not have princes fighting over them. There is something special about you. And we want to know what it is."

I did not answer.

Kylie’s smile widened. "We are not your enemies, Samantha. We are simply... curious."

"If you were not my enemies, you would not have summoned me here to play games."

Serena laughed again. "Games? What games? We are just having a conversation." freewebnoveℓ.com

"You are trying to intimidate me."

"Are we succeeding?"

I did not answer.

Serena waved her hand. It was a small gesture, almost careless. But something happened. A vine from the garden suddenly shot forward and wrapped around my ankle. It yanked me off the cushion and I crashed to the ground with a gasp.

The sisters laughed.

"Oops," Kylie said. "Clumsy girl."

I tried to stand. The vine tightened. It squeezed my ankle so hard that I cried out in pain.

"Please," I said. "Stop."

Serena tilted her head. "Stop? We have not even started yet."

I struggled against the vine. It would not budge. It was like iron wrapped around my skin.

"I have always been able to control plants," Serena said casually. "It is a gift. A family secret. My mother could do it too. And her mother before her."

Kylie nodded. "I have a gift as well. I can see people’s fears. Their darkest secrets. Their deepest nightmares."

She looked at me. Her eyes seemed to bore into my soul.

"I see your mother," Kylie said. "I see her in a dark room, crying for you. I see your cousin Amanda, laughing on a throne that should have been yours. I see the lizards. The needles. The blood. I see the way you scream at night when no one is watching."

I felt my blood run cold. "How do you know those things?"

Kylie smiled. "I see everything."

"Let me go."

"Beg," Serena said.

"What?" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"I said beg. Beg me to release you."

I looked at her. Her eyes were cold. Cruel. She wanted to humiliate me. She wanted to break me.

I would not give her the satisfaction.

"I will not beg," I said.

Serena’s eyes narrowed. Her fingers twitched. The vine tightened and I felt my ankle burn with pain.

"Beg," she said again.

"No."

The vine tightened more and I could not hold back a scream. My vision blurred with tears. My body trembled against the ground.

"Beg," Serena said. "Or I will break your leg."

I opened my mouth. I was about to speak. I was about to say the words she wanted to hear.

Then Kylie raised her hand. "Enough, sister."

The vine released me.

I gasped and I scrambled backward, clutching my ankle, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

Serena frowned. "Why did you stop me?"

Kylie shrugged. "She is no fun if she breaks too quickly."

The sisters laughed.

I stood up on shaky legs. My ankle was bruised and swollen but I could still walk.

"This is not over," I said.

Serena raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You may have power over vines and fear. But you do not have power over me. I am not afraid of you."

Kylie’s smile faded. "You should be."

"Maybe. But I am not."

I turned and I walked away. My ankle screamed with every step but I did not stop. I did not look back.

The sisters did not call after me.

But I felt their eyes on my back. I felt their laughter in the air. I felt their hatred burning into my skin.

I walked until I was inside the palace. Then I leaned against the wall and I closed my eyes.

My ankle was throbbing. My heart was pounding. My mind was spinning.

They had powers. Real powers. Magic that I did not understand.

And they were not done with me.

I opened my eyes and I looked back toward the gardens.

The sisters were standing together, their eyes glowing with an otherworldly light.

And I heard Serena’s voice in my head, clear as if she were standing beside me.

"We own you now, little wolf."

I felt a chill run down my spine.

And I knew that this was only the beginning.