Robin had been watching Blue and Jared from behind the wooden fence, their hushed but excited chattering lightly filtering towards her ears as they stared up at the branches of a tree. It looked as if they were debating how to climb it to reach a bird nest.

Jared, a pretty tough-looking boy for his age, was twinkling his dark brown eyes at Blue who was staring up at him the very same way. It was nice to see Blue finally smiling, especially when she had fought so hard the first few weeks she was taken…

Robin could only faintly remember that early morning when Ron had emerged from the trees, carrying with him the girl in his arms, unconscious and limp. At the time, they were further up north where it was usually colder, and it horrified her to see the girl barely even clothed in the cold. She had scratches all over her legs, most likely from running and being dragged around, and the tips of her fingers and nose were a frightening blue. Blue had more meat to her bones then, and that slowly died away as the weeks went by, and so did the glint in her eyes. That did not mean she stopped trying, though. She had made many attempts to escape, biting whoever went near her to trying to sneak out the door whenever Ron had opened it. But they were all fruitless, and her cries after every attempt always tore at Robin’s heart.

Blue had been young, so so young.

Robin couldn’t even remember how long she had been there herself. Years, yes, but exactly how many were lost to her. She had buried those thoughts deep within the back of her mind that she could only recall faint moments….

The yellowing leaves of the trees framing overhead, and the distant dark rocks that glinted over a cliff. And there was the fog in her mind, so heavy and thick, as she was cradled closely to someone’s chest. She was somewhat smaller then, and felt even smaller in the arms of her captor.

In the distance, over the edge of the cliff, was a village…

And there were screams….

Bloody screams….

There was that feeling in her chest again, that dark and suffocating feeling that threatened to make her collapse into herself. Something was calling to her, a deep and echoing call that she just couldn’t make outright. It was trying to tell her something important, she knew… but all she could feel was the crippling hatred she had for herself.

The panic was setting in, and without realizing, she was leaving the gate and going down the path she and the Alpha had taken on their way there. The Alpha, Quinn, and Jill were still inside, chatting about important things. They hopefully would not mind if she were to walk around a bit…..

Just to walk…

Just to breathe…

She had walked and walked until she was at a point where she could not see Blue and Jared through the trees, and she sat herself down behind the trunk of a fallen tree. It was lined with moss and growing little flowers that she gently touched with her fingertips. Breathing in, she let out a small smile as the earthy smell entered her senses.

She carefully tried to unlace the shoes she was wearing and managed to pull them off. Placing them neatly beside her so as not to get them dirty, she allowed her bare feet to finally touch the soft dirt and grass, and she sighed. She even wiggled her toes just to bury her feed into the soil a bit further.

Robin did not know why but it always felt nice when she did that, like with her bare feet on the ground, she could just run away to a cliff, take off….

And fly.

But before she could try to do just that, her solace was shattered by a loud voice that ricocheted violently between the trees. With a start, she stood to her feet, her head whipping to where the source of the distressing sound seemed to come from. Seeing nothing, she brought her hands to her ears to try and block out her mind, the whispers in her mind.

She did not know if it was a trick of the eye, but the woods had gone much darker… much much darker.

Why is it that those trunks were suddenly looking like bars…. Endless bars to create an impenetrable cage?

“Robin!” The large arms that wrapped around her torso made her scream out loud, and she wiggled and kicked, only imagining Jan… Jan…. Jan… and his wicked arms. But the arms only tightened around her, firm but not enough to hurt, and the chest behind her back exuded a familiar warmth. It was that warmth and the scent that calmed her enough to finally stop struggling.

“Robin,” the Alpha had his cheek pressed against her head, his shoulders shaking so violently that it shook her as well. “It’s me. It’s just me. I’m sorry.”

With deep breaths, she allowed herself to finally stop crying and simply lay in his arms that were holding onto her with fear… but what kind of fear? Was he scared she would disappear?

“I-I wanted a moment of silence, I’m sorry,” she tried to explain herself, realizing why he was so worked up. He had probably looked for her and realized she had gone. She should have at least asked, but she felt too worked up to think rationally then. “I’m sorry.”

“I was worried, Robin. It’s not yet safe out here by yourself. Next time, you tell me first please,” his pleading tone was enough to break Robin, and she immediately nodded. It meant he knew that that man was still out there. How much more did the Alpha know?

Her nod was enough for him, as his shoulders relaxed and he let out a sigh. Even so, he did not let go of her, instead, bringing them down back to the ground with her tucked neatly into his lap.

Feeling greedy, Robin allowed herself to enjoy his touch whole-heartedly, clinging onto the shirt he wore with her tiny fingers. At seeing her dirty feet, she heard the Alpha let out an almost incredulous chuckle, as if he was not able to help it. She peered up at him, somewhat bewildered.

“You really did not like those shoes, did you?” the Alpha was murmuring lowly as he brought a hand to rest near her ankle where the dirt marks had started. She turned red, feeling embarrassed that he caught her looking like this, but the warm smile on his face as he looked amusedly at her feet shut her up. “I’ll get you some of those slide-ons… do they call those flip flops?” the Alpha continued, his voice quiet as if he was starting to mutter to himself. His brows were wrinkled deep in thought.

“I like being barefoot, Alpha,” she whispered, not sure what to say to his ramblings. She did not know what slide-ons or flip flops were, but it was likely something that was worth money. As much as she wanted to go shopping, she was scared of him using his own resources for that. Anyway, she really did like being barefoot.

He only shot her another smile, the crinkles in the corner of his eyes showing. “I know, but I think you would like to wear some shoes on some occasions. I’ll let you pick ones you like, I promise.”

“But-“

“Shh…” and for the second time that day, he placed another gentle kiss to her forehead which had the butterflies in her stomach churning and fluttering about. “Let me spoil you. In return….” He adjusted them both so he rested his back against the fallen log, laying his head back and closing his eyes. Robin resisted the urge to reach up to his face that looked beautiful in the sunlight. “Sing for me. Your voice last night was beautiful.”

Beautiful….

Her voice was beautiful….

When had Jan ever told her that without any malice?

“Are you sure, Alpha? I might not sing good enough, I-“ Robin’s words faded as the Alpha opened one eye and raised a brow at her, a growing smirk on his face. “Now don’t lie, Robin. You sing beautifully… like a bird.”

Bird…

The word made her freeze as memories of Jan entered her mind, like a haunting melody. His songbird, Jan always said. His broken little songbird…

But she was the Alpha’s now, this dark and beautiful Alpha. Could she be his songbird now? The thought did not bother her as much as she thought it would… It did not bother her at all.

And so she sang a sweet and fluttering song, watching the Alpha who had settled comfortably with a smile on his face.

She couldn’t help a smile of her own.

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