"No. No. Our daughter is not a murderer." He screamed again.
[I think it is time for you to wake up.] He heard a voice.
A smile crossed his face, the bad memories disappearing from his mind. Too fast. That is what he thought. How could Marina come back that fast?
"Be happy." He thought. That was better anyways. At least he had to see his daughter accepting her mate. He readied himself to hug his daughter. He inhaled deeply, and since he was too happy to see Marina, the pungent smell didn't register on his nose.
No one would have calmed his heart, he was overwhelmed with excitement. Alpha Fisher opened his eyes slowly and closed them while shrieking, "AAH!"
He opened his eyes again and then shut them.
Alpha Fisher float in the air. Below him, there was an endless black pit. He didn't want to think about what might be happening. The idea that he wasn't back in his chamber with his daughter didn't sit well on his stomach.
He peeked with his left eye and then shut it.
"Purgatory!" He thought.
[No. Almost purgatory.] His wolf said.
"Same difference. What am I doing here?" Alpha Fisher asked out loud. No one answered. Of course, no one would answer, he was alone.
Finally, he managed to open his eyes slowly. He took in his surroundings and when he finally registered that he was almost in purgatory, the pit in his stomach intensified.
He knew it was purgatory since he heard its story from his father before he became the alpha. The story was passed from his father to his, and his father got him from his father. It was like a tradition for the alphas to tell their first-born kids who were supposed to be the future alphas.
He hadn't believed it and since he swore to secrecy to not tell anyone, he thought he was the only one who knew about it. Hell, even Marina didn't know. Alpha Fisher planned to tell her after she accepted Alpha Rinzler and became the alpha.
Unlike on the land, his mind took longer to record what was happening. If it was not for his wolf who told him to wake up and understand that they were in a place he knew it has been closed for centuries, he would have spent the next few hours looking around.
"How long has it been?" He finally managed to ask.
[A year, century, a second.] The wolf replied.
The wolf wasn't sure. The purgatory didn't have a banner with the words, "this is your first day, welcome!" Alpha Fisher was technically doomed. "It might be a day or a minute." He thought and waved his hands around.
[What are we going to do?] The wolf asked.
"I have no idea. Marina?" Alpha Fisher called.
He listened keenly, and when he got no answer, he mumbled, "welcome to purgatory!"
Again, he waved his hand around. "AAH!" He screamed with his eyes closed when he began falling. It took forever for him to discover that they were not reaching where they were going, he opened his eyes and was blinded by a flash of light.
**
[FLASHBACK]
"No. No. Our daughter is not a murderer!" Alpha Fisher heard Luna Audra mumble in her sleep.
It has been a month since Marina killed Chandy, and yet she kept mumbling about it. It was getting harder to control her. Hell, he even made sure that the woman never left his side. The last thing he wanted was for her to fall asleep somewhere and begin murmuring something about their daughter isn't a murderer.
If Luna Audra went around and mumbled in front of everyone, the pack would start asking questions. Alpha Fisher and his proteges didn't want that.
Beta Shark took his sweet time to ensure that Chandy's family was catered for. No, their leadership wasn't dictatorial, but it was better that it stayed a secret between the people who knew what happened.
Alpha Fisher and his mate walked on eggshells around Marina. They didn't know how to treat her; it was not like anyone gave them a handout on how to handle a murderous daughter. Marina, on the other hand, continued with her life as if nothing occurred.
However, this changed when she walked on to her parents talking about what they should do to her. She went berserk and ran to the lake. High Priestess Manne followed her to the lake and asked her if everything was okay. Marina told her what she overheard her parents talking about.
High Priestess asked her not to worry and that she would talk to her parents.
"I don't want to move. I have my friends here." Marina cried into High Priestess Manne's chest. She rubbed the girl's hair while murmuring encouraging words into her ear. "It was an accident, I swear," Marina repeated.
"Was it?" High Priestess asked.
"What do you mean was it?" Angrily asked Marina.
"Nothing, sorry." High Priestess mumbled.
Too late, the damage was already done. Marina left her there and rushed back to her chamber. On her way there, she bumped into her father.
Alpha Fisher plastered a fake smile on his face, stooped low, and whispered, "you seem upset."
"You want to ship me away," Marina said and banged her door on her father.
"Marina. No!" Alpha Fisher said while knocking on the door.
**
Alpha Fisher woke up screaming, "Marina, nooooo!" The flash ended. He looked around and found himself exactly where he was at the beginning.
It was confusing what was happening because, from the stories he heard, that wasn't how purgatory looked like. He was halfway there. And no, he wasn't complaining, no one was ever happy to be sent to purgatory in the first place.
Purgatory was used to punish the supernatural who broke the laws.
Nothing crossed his mind; he was kind and caring. He listened to his pack. He respected everyone. So why was he there?
[Think and think hard.] His wolf encouraged him.
[Maybe you should be helping me instead of telling me what to do. I don't think I can stay here longer while trying to think about what I did wrong.] Alpha Fisher ranted.
When he felt his wolf retreating, he bellowed an order, [you must help me.]
Nothing.
Meekly, he uttered, "Mannequin, something is wrong."