Chapter 9 Alpha's Cruelty

Camila

In a flash, I ran towards Sia as the guards stabbed her shoulder. She slumped to the ground, bleeding heavily from her shoulder where the dagger was stuck.

I dropped to my knee beside her, making her head rest on my lap. I felt my heart breaking into tiny pieces as tears streamed down my cheeks.

"No, Sia! Please don't leave me!" I begged, my voice trembling. Fear crawled to my chest.

Alpha Zedex's clap and laughter echoed through the field, and the crowd quickly joined him, fueling my rage. An instant hatred grew within me. I tore out the blindfold from Sia's eyes and pressed it against her wound, trying to stem the blood rushing out.

"Why...Mila...W-Why did you kill me?" Sia struggled to speak, tears streaming down her face."Why?" she whispered, shaking her head.

"No, no, no! I didn't kill you; you're my sister!" I wailed, and seeing her groan in pain broke my heart.

Even though we weren't in good terms, even though she had betrayed me, wronged me, I, Camila, would never wish her dead. Because she was the only family I had left in this world.

"You've taken your revenge, right?" She groaned, coughing out blood as she struggled to touch her wounded shoulder.

I shook my head, "I never wished you dead, Sia," I wept harder. "I had forgiven you a long time ago." Tears streamed down my face effortlessly.

She struggled and let out a small chuckle. "I don't need your forgiveness," She said and gave up the ghost.

"Sia! Sia! Wake up." I screamed with all the strength left in me, shaking her to wake up; however, she never budged and her body was cold.

I rested my head on her body and cried my heart out. I had totally failed to protect Sia; I had failed Miss Abigail, and I had failed myself.

Alpha Zedex heartlessly raised his fingers again, ready to snap. I clenched my fist; rage coursed through my veins. I pulled out the dagger from Sia's shoulder, stood up, gently resting Sia's head on the ground, and stormed toward him. Sia's blood stained my clothes and hands.

"You bastard! You're a monster!" I spat, my voice trembling. "I will send you to hell!"

I lunged at him with my dagger, seeking vengeance for Sia and other prisoner's death, but his guards quickly subdued me and forced me to my knees. I began struggling with them to let go of me.

He chuckled loudly, his hand casually resting behind his back, his face, showing no remorse for his actions and revealing his cold-hearted nature.

With a smirk, he spread his arms and taunted, "I'm already in hell."

Leaning in, he pointed at the prisoners and threatened, "Look at them, your kind." He averted his cold gaze to me, "What if I decide to kill them all now?"

The memory of Sia's death fueled my anger, but I struggled in vain to break free from their grasp. I couldn't bear the thought of sacrificing others for my own survival, especially when I only had three years left. Was it worth fighting to live at the expense of others?

"Just kill me...!" I screamed, my neck pulsing with green veins as I continued to struggle.

He let out a dry chuckle and started to pace around me.

"I had planned to give you a horrible death, but now I've changed my mind," he said, turning to face me as tears streamed down my face. "But why should I send you to hell? When I can break you, mend you and make you my slave."

I fought against the guard to let me go, finally breaking free and collapsing to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

"It's not so simple to seek death," he said coldly. "Living will be a torment, that I will grant you for the rest of your life."

"Ughhh...!" I let out a piercing scream, feeling overwhelmed by the situation. This man was a monster, a demon disguised as a human.

He stood up and raised his finger, ready to make a deadly snap. I shook my head, tears flowing freely. I knew he wasn't making idle threats; with a snap of his fingers, all the prisoners would perish.

I knew what he wanted; however, I couldn't continue to resist when lives were at stake and their survival depended on my actions.

"I sold your ring to Ceca's pawnshop!" I shouted with my eyes squeezed shut, tears streaming down my face.

To my astonishment, when I opened my eyes, all the prisoners lay lifeless on the ground. Anger coursed through me, my fists clenched in fury. "You promised they wouldn't be harmed!" I yelled, pounding the ground until my knuckles bled.

"This is only the beginning," he warned, his eyes darkening as he retreated."Take her to the icy dungeon until you hear my command."

The guards swiftly bound me and led me away, my gaze lingering on Sia's lifeless body.

***

Alpha Zedex

I stormed into my chamber, pacing fiercely before finally standing in front of the mirror, my chest heaving with rage. I stared at myself for a few seconds, then slowly raised my hand and removed my mask, revealing my scarred face.

The right side of my face still bore the brutal burning mark from the wolf hunter twenty years ago, deep and rough with twisted flesh. It serves as a reminder of the excruciating pain I endured at the hands of humans, fueling my rage.

Zov's words, 'Mate! Protect!' flashed in my mind once again, and I angrily pushed everything off my tea table, breathing rapidly and shaking my head in refusal.

No! She can't be my mate. Never! Humans can never be my mate! I groaned, storming toward my mirror and hurling it against the wall, shattering it into pieces.

I paced around my chamber, hands grasped behind my back, my mind clouded with thoughts of the human girl. Zov would never react to her presence like that.

What happened him today? If I hadn't been able to control myself and was consumed by rage, Zov would have caused chaos.

He had never shown excitement over a mate before, as he had never wanted one due to the countless rejections from women upon seeing my mask.

This had been happening since I first set foot in Vermillion Park at eighteen, with all the mates gifted to me by the Moon Goddess ending up rejecting me and meeting tragic ends.

But what happened today was still shocking and Annoying.

'Finally, a mate!' Zov suddenly exclaimed in excitement, while I clenched my fist and furrowed my brows in confusion and rage.

'Why would the Moon Goddess play such a cruel trick on me?' I lamented in frustration. She knew how much I despised humans. 'And she paired me with a thief?' It seemed like a cruel joke that wasn't funny at all.

Mogan entered and greeted me respectfully, "Greetings, Alpha. You called for me."

I kept my eyes fixed on the window, my shoulders slumped. "I need you to go to the human world and retrieve my ring. Return to the pack by tonight," I ordered in a cold, low voice, still not turning to face him.

He nodded and quickly left. Shortly after, Grandpa entered my chamber, tapping his walking stick softly as he shook his head at the mess in the room. He settled into a chair at the tea table.

He cleared his throat, "The pack must not find out that the ring is..." His voice trailed off slowly and quietly.

"That was the ring that woman stole from me." I exclaimed, cutting him off, running my hands through my hair in frustration as I paced around my room.

"What?" Grandpa exclaimed, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping.

"Yes, Grandpa."

Grandpa started pacing around me, his face filled with concern. "You must find that ring at all costs, or we are doomed!" He fearfully held my hand tightly, his voice breaking.

"Grandpa..." I trailed off, speechless.

"That ring is our family and pack legacy," his voice low and gravelly. "Passed down through generations, the ring symbolizes our existence and power, which mustn't be known to the outside world."

An icy chill ran through my veins, as this was exactly what my mother had told me when she gave me the ring at the age of ten.

The ring possesses great powers that are connected to the past Alphas of the pack. Our ancestors formed alliances, and the ring symbolizes our covenant with the land and its people," Grandpa explained with a knowing intensity in his eyes.

I was puzzled by this revelation, as my mother had never mentioned this aspect of the ring to me. I listened closely to Grandpa's words, eager to learn more.

Looking at me with fear in his eyes, Grandpa continued, "The reason the hunters haven't discovered the Vermillion pack is because the protection barriers are created by the ring." His voice trembled as he spoke, "I pray that it never falls into the wrong hands, or we will face a grim fate. Our warriors will be slain, our women will be enslaved, and our men will endure harsh labor and cruel experiments in their laboratories. Some may die, while others will be trapped in their wolf forms forever." Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke.

My heart clenched and anger surged through me as I watched my grandpa wipe his eyes with the back of his hand. I reached out to him, and he grasped my hands tightly, crying even harder.

"Why are humans more vicious than wolves?" I murmured, comforting my grandpa as he wiped away his tears.

"Your father, Sillion, made a mistake in trusting that human. It cost us dearly," my grandpa explained.

Intrigued, I asked, "What happened next?"

My grandpa's gaze shifted. "Years ago, the human your father trusted stole his ring, leading to the downfall of our pack's protection."

"Who recovered the ring?" I inquired.

"The ring was retrieved by Taga, your father's beta, who bravely infiltrated Sarco's home in the human world and discovered he was a son of a wolf hunter. Taga killed Sarco, retrieved the ring, and gave it to your mother as per your father's instructions when she was pregnant with you."

He finished speaking and looked up at me, "If I'm correct, all the wolf hunters were following a lead on that ring."

Suddenly, Mogan burst into my room with a bow, "Our informant informed me that Ceca's pawnshop has been destroyed and the old man, along with the ring, is missing."

"No..!" Grandpa held his chest and slumped to the floor, clutching his chest tightly. His eyes slide shut.