Destined for the Alpha King

"It was a long time ago, over thousands of centuries ago, the King of the wolves– the Alpha over all Alphas– and his wife were blessed with a child by the moon goddess. They finally had an heir to the throne, after so many years of waiting. The only issue was, their child was a Lycan. The Alpha was indeed stunned, he began to wonder why the moon goddess had blessed them with a Lycan rather than a regular wolf like the rest of them. The child was named Ares.

Ares was born with deadly powers, with distinctive features such as a slanted scar that ran from his left eyebrow down to his right cheek. Growing up, he developed into a troubled teen who was short-tempered and had glowing red eyes whenever he was enraged. A few years later something so terrible happened –" Nana paused, her eyes flickering between Ama and I.

This was the part that always had me filled with anticipation. This wouldn't be the first time our Nana had told us this story. It was a rule made by my forefathers that every descendant of theirs must know this. Just like before, I could see my younger sister, Ama, shaking her head in disagreement with what was about to come.

I looked back at our Nana and she smiled, her wrinkles creasing further.

"The Alpha and his luna were murdered by wolf-hunters, human wolf-hunters. And all hell was raised between the humans and the wolves. Now the owner of the throne, and the king of the Alphas over all, Ares had enough power to extinct half, if not all, of the human race. But he didn't, instead, he went after the people who murdered his parents. Indeed he was a man with a heart after all. But that didn't end his hatred towards humans, no, instead it made him loathe them further. He, therefore, brought about a new rule; no wolf under him would be mated to a human. The aftermath of defying his rule was death and if was merciful enough, they would be sent into exile." Nana smiled grimly, her eyes became hazy for a minute like she just recollected a distant memory.

Looking beside me, I could almost see the fumes coming out of Ama's ears. Ama was strongly against dictatorship, she never quite believed the tales Nana told. But for me? I could never get any word out, I always listened with rapt attention whenever Nana told this particular tale as though my life depended on it, not wanting to miss out on any detail.

"This is bullshit, Nana! Why did he do that? That was uncalled for. He can't go against the moon goddess or whatever they called her. I don't believe in any of the crap but I know for sure that mates are destined for each other, just like soulmates. Again, I think Ares was an ass."

Ama was sixteen but had the foul mouth of an angry seventy-five-year-old lady. No one liked to get on her bad side.

Nana and I watched with smiles on our faces as she got ready to stand up and storm off like the other times we were told this tale.

"You haven't listened to the best part yet," Nana announced, halting Ama's movement.

This was the first time she had ever said this. It had mainly ended with when Ares made the new rule. I watched eagerly as Nana grimaced. This wasn't normal, she was supposed to be smiling, rather, she looked pained.

"The moon goddess and other moon deities came up with a solution to tame Ares. The moon goddess blessed him with a mate. Of course, legends have it that he still hasn't met her –"

"Is that the best part?" Ama questioned dryly, looking about ready to bolt.

Nana smiled. "No. But Ares was blessed with a human mate."

Ama's face blossomed with a smile.

"This makes so much sense! Where can I find the moon goddess? I need to kiss her feet." She declared.

Ama groaned after some seconds, "I have to go to bed. I have a chemistry quiz tomorrow."

She gave Nana and I a kiss on our cheeks before walking out of our small living room.

We've both been living with Nana ever since we lost our parents when I was just four years old and Ama was barely a toddler. Immediately Nana had come to our rescue and taken us in, she lived in a small town, called Lake-town, which was mainly surrounded by tall trees and shrubs. The houses here were not as big as the ones in the city, no, the ones here were generally cottages, cabins, and a few vintage homes, with just one public college which I attended, one high school which Ama attended, one hospital where Nana worked as a nurse part-timely and a lot of other 'ones'.

I looked back at Nana to see her gaze already on me. "Akira, do you know what a mate means?"

I slowly shook my head.

"Every human has a mate. Even supernatural creatures such as Lycans and werewolves all have destined mates, chosen for them by the moon goddess. A mate feels every flicker of emotion running through their other half and they will always want to be close to their mate."

I nodded my head slowly, still not understanding where she was going with this.

"I want you to know that the moon goddess has a purpose for everyone. Ares might seem brutal but all he needs is a mate to love him for who he is and teach him the art of forgiveness."

I frowned, "But Nana-"

She promptly stood up, making me pause. She walked over to the little cushion I was seated on before bending down to smoothen the bangs over my forehead. The streaks of grey on her hair shown in the dim moon light filtering into our little sitting room.

"Hush my grandchild, for soon, the truth shall prevail," Nana said, her face stern and her voice serious.

I watched, confused, as her attitude swiftly changed. "Come on! I'll make you some tea." She was smiling in a heartbeat as she joyfully walked into the kitchen.

After making us both some tea Nana retired to her bedroom, mumbling about how much knitting she had to do tomorrow.

I sat quietly In the living room, listening to the crickets chirping. After a few minutes of pondering on what Nana said, I stood up and walked to my bedroom.

My short legs led me to the little bookshelf in the corner of my room and I wasn't alarmed when the next book I picked was a book about Lycans.

~

"Your smoothies always taste so good, Akira." Eve moaned, taking another sip of the cup of smoothies.

Nancy and Josh both nodded in agreement.

"Buuuuuuut, her Nana's cookies are the best! Can I get that?" Josh countered, his green eyes fluttering cutely.

I nodded, a smile on my face as I quickly wrote down his order. It was a Friday afternoon and my friends decided to visit my Nana's little cake shop, where Ama and I helped out.

"By the way, have you thought about it yet?" Josh suddenly raised and they all turned to look at me expectantly.

I placed the little notepad in my front pockets and lay my hands on the flat surface of the wooden table, before giving Eve my full attention. "Thought about...what?"

Eve looked at me like I was crazy. "Don't tell me you forgot!"

"If you don't want to go to the party, all you have to do is say no, Akira." Nancy snapped, drawing in the last bit of smoothies through her straw.

My face quickly flushed at her accusatory tone.

Eve gave her a warning look before glancing back at me with a pitiful look on her face. "The party, Akira. The one where all the cool kids will be attending."

I loved Eve to death but these days all she wanted to do was be with the cool kids. Although Nancy has a hand in her sudden change of heart.

She had always been the most outspoken one out of the both of us, I was the meek and timid one. Eve was a blonde with beautiful blue eyes and an outstanding slim figure, she was breathtaking. She usually had guys flocking all over her anytime we were out together, which was usually a good thing since I never really liked any form of attraction and had always loved living in her shadow.

"I don't think I will be able to make it, Eve. My Nana had warned me about how young girls and guys of our age are mysteriously going missing. I d-don't think I can take that risk, guys." My hands instinctively went to the edge of my apron, and I suddenly began to feel little.

They all looked at me dumbfounded.

"I told you she wouldn't go." Nancy grinned maliciously. "After all, she is nothing but a scared little virgin."

Unshed tears filled my eyes at her words. This was exactly how I envisioned this conversation to play out and I was so not prepared.

Eve tugged my hands down, clasping in tight in her palms. "Come on, Eve! It'll be fun, I promise. Besides, Josh and I will be there to protect you."

Nancy quietly snickered at her last sentence. My palms suddenly became sweaty and all I wanted to do then was run to the back room and cry.

I swallowed the huge lump lodged in my throat before replying with a phoney smile. "Alright then. I'll go. What time is it?"

Eve gave me a large grin, showcasing her straight, pearly whites. "Not like you had a choice, I would've dragged you there myself if you said no. I'll pick you up by 7."

I gave her a curt nod, right when I turned to walk away, Nancy harshly gripped my wrist.

"And please, for the love of God, Akira, dress sexy. No more grandma gowns." She sneered looking at the length of my gown with distaste.

I frowned as she released my wrist, listening to Eve chastising her as I walked away from their table to the counter.

"What happened?" Ama asked immediately she saw my face.

She looked down at my left hand cradling my right wrist. Her eyes flashed with anger at the red and angry bruise looking right back at her. My skin was pale so it was easy to bruise.

"Don't tell me that bitch did that to you."

Ama and Nancy had never really liked themselves ever since Nancy became friends with us, or Eve rather.

"I don't think she meant it," I answered softly. Looking down at my gown, tears filled my eyes again. I had always had a thing for Victoria Era vintage gowns which I always got from the thrift store a few blocks away. This particular gown wasn't even as long as she made it up to be.

Ama gave me an unbelievable look. "Oh, please! That girl hates your guts and you know it."

I gave her a reassuring smile. "I know. I can take care of it, I promise."

"I have to go. Duty calls," I announced, nodding towards the older couple that just stepped in, brushing off the unsure look she gave me.

Soon, it was six pm, Ama and I locked up the shop and headed home. Occasionally talking about everything and nothing as we took the short trek to our home.

"I have about forty minutes to get ready for the party."

"Yup, you're lucky you have me as a sister," Ama smirked as she unlocked the door, my legs already wishing for a break after a long day.

Immediately we stepped into our home, a familiar sense of comfortability washed over me, making me release a huge breath.

"Come on! Go freshen up so I can dress you up." Ama shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I pouted, " I don't want any of your short dresses, Ama."

She quickly gave me the stink eye. "You don't have a choice. You have to prove to fancy Nancy that you're not stuck-up."

Although I wanted to tell her that I didn't have to prove anything to anyone, I ran to the bathroom to shower as fast as possible.

When I was done, I called Ama and we both started raiding my closet for an outfit worth wearing to a college party going to be filled with frat boys.

Ama groaned some minutes later, clearly frustrated at the clothes in my closet. "Where the hell did you get all these dresses from?"

I looked at the lumps of clothes on my bed and smiled. "From Loki's thrift."

She shook her head at my response before dragging me to her room right opposite mine.

I slowly stepped towards her closet filled with sparkly dresses, mini skirts, and crop tops. Although they were pretty, I didn't have enough confidence like Ama to put them on.

Shuffling through the hanging clothes, she brought out a short black silk gown, with a dropping neckline. She had a huge smile on her face as she looked between me and the dress.

I quickly shook my head, stepping back. "Nope. I'm not wearing this."

Ama scoffed, pointing at the towel wrapped around my body. "Get that off and put this on. This gown is at knee-length, Akira. It's the longest thing I own."

With a sigh, I dropped the towel to the floor and begrudgingly put the dress on. Of course, it was a bit of a hassle since I was a lot curvaceous than Ama. The gown hugged my torso and hips tightly, making me look slim, but at least I could breathe. The black colour made me appreciate my pale skin for the first time and the contrast between my pale skin and the black dress was indeed beautiful.

Ama lowly whistled, looking at me from head to toe. "You don't even have makeup on yet and you already look so damn hot."

I narrowed my eyes at her, with a huff I tug the gown down to my knees a little.

"Don't you think it's too short?" I pouted, walking to her closet to find something longer.

But Ama wasn't having it, she dragged me to sit on the pink chair in front of her bright pink vanity dressing mirror.

She did my makeup as quickly as possible, making me shut my eyes close while at it. Seeing as we had not much time left, we both opted for something simple.

I opened my eyes when she was done and I almost didn't recognize myself. The mascara and the smoky black eyeshadow made my dull blue eyes pop and the pink strawberry lipgloss made my lips look fuller. My red hair was curled and it flowed down my neck in thick vibrant waves.

I released a huge breathe when I stood up, turning to face Ama who looked astonished.

"You look beautiful." She simply said, an adoring smile on her face.

I gave her an air kiss, turning to go find some shoes to put on. But Ama stopped me with a tug on my wrist, a look on her face as she stared at my small feet.

"I have just the right shoes for you." She said, bending at the foot of her closet to search for something.

She came out with a pair of black strappy sandals.

"I don't want to hear a word from you. You're wearing this and it's final." She snapped immediately she saw the look of disagreement written all over my face.

I quickly put the shoes on, briefly admiring my small feet as they fit perfectly. I rushed to my room to pick up a small black purse before walking down the stairs with Ama.

"There's spaghetti in the oven. I'll be back before ten." I told her.

She snickered. "Sure."

Right as I was about to ask her what she meant, a knock resounded on the door.

"That's them, I have to go." I promptly said to her, leaning to kiss her on her cheeks.

"Love you!"

I dashed out the door, and I was met with the face of Eve. She looked stunning, with a short black leather skirt, pink crop top, and black heeled boots.

"Wow, Akira." She breathed out, looking short of words for some seconds. "You look fucking hot."

I blushed, thanking her as we both walked to her father's Jeep.

"Wow, Akira, I never thought you would brush up this good," Nancy said, immediately I slipped into the back seat right next to Josh.

I didn't know if what she said was a compliment or an insult but as soon as she sent me a nasty look, I figured out it was the latter.

"You look beautiful tonight, Akira. I mean, really beautiful." Josh whispered right next to my ear.

I shivered uncomfortably at our proximity and I gave him a grateful smile before looking out the window, taking in the trees and cool breeze.

"We're here!" Nancy shrieked almost an hour later as Eve parked in front of a huge house. The huge building was right outside the border of our small town.

We walked into the building, the loud bass of music made the entire floor vibrate as a sensual song blasted from the speakers.

The strong stench of alcohol assaulted my nostrils and I fruitlessly tried to avoid brushing against the bodies gyrating on the dance floor, while the lustful gazes coming from the frat guys made my skin crawl.

Eve dragged me to a corner of the room and asked me to stay put like I was going to go ahead and introduce myself to people.

I nodded and watched her walk to what looked like a makeshift bar, my legs tapping the ground and following the beat.

A hand tapped my shoulder, scaring the living daylight out of me. I sighed in relief when I realized it was Josh. He already had a cup in his hand which he took a sip from.

"Hey!" I smiled, shouting over the loud music. "Where's Nancy?"

Josh shrugged with a grin on his lips. "I don't know. Probably in a room with a guy."

I laughed, knowing he was telling the truth.

Eve suddenly appeared with two red solo cups in both hands, she abruptly shoved a cup in hand and the alcohol spilled a little.

"Come on, Akira!" She screamed. "Dance, fuck the rules, and live wild!" She was already sounding like she was on the verge of getting drunk.

I shook my head at her tipsy words, taking a small sip of the alcohol and immediately, I winced at the bitter taste.

I looked back at Josh to find his gaze on my cleavage. I quickly cleared my throat, snapping him out of his daze.

"Do you wanna dance?" He suddenly announced, looking around the crowded room.

I took a rather large sip this time around before I nodded, needing a little boost of confidence from the alcohol. I didn't know why I suddenly needed to prove something to myself.

I followed him into the hot dance floor and we found the perfect spot. Josh and I spent the next thirty minutes, laughing, dancing, and grinding on each other, our bodies were drenched with exertion as I took in our environment.

With his arms wrapped around my torso, Josh leaned in to whisper against my ear.

"Wanna go get some air?"

I nodded desperately, blindly taking his hand I let him lead me upstairs before we walked through a balcony door.

"You have no idea how much I needed this. Thanks." I breathed out to him when I felt the cool breeze against my warm skin.

I turned to look at him, wondering why he suddenly became quiet, but I was, once again, shocked to find his gaze on me.

My confusion heightened when he unexpectedly laughed, leaning his hands against the metal railing as he looked at the forest ahead of us.

He abruptly turned to face me, and his fingers began to reach for my hair. I watched as he twirled a single strand of my hair before he tugged, hard.

I gasped, my eyes brimned with tears at the intense pain.

"W-What are you doing, Josh?"

He used his other hand to grip my arm tightly, making me stand still.

"Isn't this what you want?" He sneered, jerking me closer to him.

I whimpered, all efforts to tug my arm out of his grip turned futile. I looked at the doors, desperately hoping and praying for someone else to step in.

"I d-don't understand you, Josh. Please don't do this." I begged, my tears were already pouring freely.

"Shut it!" He seethed, his other hand snaked up to harshly tug my hair.

"You know, I've had this huge crush on you ever since I set my eyes on you. But you were always the naive Akira, I had to keep my feelings hidden." He violently yanked the strap of my gown down.

"But I just realized that our naive Akira isn't as naive as we thought. I just had you grinding all over my cock some minutes ago. What does that make you?" He taunted and his hand moved to squeeze my breast roughly.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Josh!" I sobbed, trying to calm him. "Let me go and we can talk about this maturely."

"That makes you a slut, Akira. A fucking slut!" He mocked tugging my hair harder as he dismissed my cries of pleas.

His words struck me like lightning, I suddenly realized that if I didn't get myself out of this situation, Josh was going to do something terrible.

Using all of my strength, I shoved him off me and slapped him on his cheek, hard. So hard, my palm began to throb.

"I fucking hate you!" I cried out, quickly running out of the balcony.

I ran downstairs, my mind a mess as I tried to find Eve. The looks I received from other people weren't unexpected, my hair was strewed, I had black streaks of mascara running down my cheeks, the strap of my gown was not in place and my boob was almost hanging out of my gown.

"Akira!" I heard Eve shout behind me, I turned back to see her looking at me with wild eyes, beside her was Nancy, who – perpetually– looked bored.

Eve quickly ran to me.

"Are you okay? What happened?!" She asked frantically, her eyes searching my body for any form of injury.

"I'm fine. Josh tried to -" I sobbed, unable to complete the sentence. Instead, I appreciated the comfort of Eve's warm hug.

"I'm so sorry, Akira. This is all my fault." She whispered as her hands rubbed my back in soothing motions.

"It's fine. I have to get out of here, can you give me a ride home?" I asked.

Before she could reply, Nancy raised her hand. "But we just got here."

"She was almost raped, Nancy!" Eve shrieked, looking at her with hatred. "If you wanna stay here, stay. But I am not a bitch like you."

"Let's get out of here, Akira." Eve tugged on my hand and we started walking out of the house, with Nancy storming behind us.

We reached Eve's car and as she brought the key out, Nancy snatched it away from her hand and threw it into the bushes.

"Let's see how you get home now." She smirked before she strutted off, leaving Eve and I standing with our mouths opened.

"That fucking bitch!" Eve gasped. "I can't believe she just did that."

Eve walked to the path where the keys may have landed with her phone torch.

"It's not here. And I can't risk it, this place might be full with things I can't begin to imagine." She said, walking back to me, typing furiously on her phone. "I'll call Henry to come get us."

After a few tries, Henry finally picked up the call. Eve rambled off the address and I gave her a look when she mentioned a gas station before ending the call.

"It's a gas station I saw while driving us here." She stated, answering my unasked question as she started walking.

"Where are you going?!" I shrieked as she continued to walk into the dark street, her heeled boots clicking loudly on the concrete floor.

She turned to give me a dry look. "To the gas station, Akira."

I gave her a ridiculous one. "We're two beautiful young girls walking in the middle of a dark and deserted street. What do you think is going to happen?"

Eve giggled. "Stop getting scared, Akira. It's just a three minutes walk."

With a defeated sigh I walked after her, rubbing my arms as the wind became harsher.

"I left my purse in your car, earlier." I suddenly said, walking faster to meet up with her quick pace.

"I know. Nancy is a grade-A bitch, I can't -"

Quick movement behind the thick bushes beside caught my attention and I interrupted her.

"Did you see that?" I whispered, stopping to look into the forest.

"See what?" Eve asked. "Akira, I understand your fear but we have to keep moving."

"We have to call the cops, Eve. There's someone here." I declared, turning to face her.

When I looked behind her, there was someone there, a huge male figure, looming behind her and something glinted in the moonlight when he raised his hand.

"Eve, duck!" I screamed, but before she could make any attempt to duck, he harshly grabbed her and pierced something against her neck, a dangerous smile on his face as she became limp.

"Help! Someone please, help!" I screamed into the darkness just as a rough palm clamped over my mouth and I felt something prick the skin of my neck.

As I slipped into unconsciousness, I realized two things; it wasn't just one man and they weren't humans.

I woke up with a throbbing head. My body was aching and I was bruised, long purple bruises on the side of my thigh like I was dragged against gravel. My stomach was grumbling for food and my right heel was missing.

I quickly sat up from my spot on the cold floor and looked around, I realized I was in a cell, a cell in what looked like a dungeon. There was not a single window in sight, only a huge iron door.

It suddenly clicked to me that we were kidnapped. I was scared thinking about the shock my sister and Nana would be going through by now.

A broken whimper had me turning my neck. Someone was here with me. And I only hoped it was one person.

I crawled to the side of my cell and whispered. "Eve? Is that you?"

I heard sniffling before a croaky female voice responded. "I'm Lenny, I think your friend was taken to the other dungeon."

I held onto the cell railings that separated us. "My name is Akira. Do you have any idea where we are and who took us?"

She moved a little and I realized she was shuffling closer to me, whimpering as she did so.

"We are in the Coldcrest pack and we were taken by the shapeshifters."

I frowned, confused. "Shapeshifters? Coldcrest pack? What does that mean?"

Lenny sighed. "I also don't know what they are. But what I do know is, these people are dangerous."

"How many days have you been here?" I softly asked.

"Four days. You and your friend were brought here two days ago."

I couldn't believe it. I was knocked out for two days.

I quickly shook my head. "You said these people are dangerous. What people?"

"The people who whipped me." She replied, coughing a bit.

My heart stopped, "W-Whipped you? Jesus Christ, we have to get out of here."

"We can't. I tried to, but it's impossible."

She sounded like she was crying.

"W-Was that why they whipped you?"

"Yeah. This isn't the first time either. I was whipped once when I refused to be their human slave."

I was terrified. I couldn't imagine the type of pain she was in. I had a feeling that being whipped twice in four days was a different type of pain.

"And now?" I slowly asked.

"I called their Alpha's mistress a whore." Lenny replied and I could hear a smile in her tone for the first time.

"What do you mean by -"

The huge iron door was roughly pushed open, halting my next question. I watched as two tall and massive men, walked in, smirks on their faces.

"Who are they?" I whispered to Lenny.

"Guards." She swiftly answered as they got closer.

"Are you ready to behave now, Lenny?" The biggest one out of them asked a whip in his hand. His stare was cruel.

"Fuck you." Lenny harshly whispered as he walked to the front of her cell.

"It would give me such great pleasure to watch your little human cunt tear into two as I thrust deep inside you." He said, with a disgusting lust-filled tone as he opened the gate to her cell.

He did not just say what I heard him say. I was suddenly pissed on her behalf.

"You're fucking disgusting and you make my stomach want to spill its guts out," I spoke harshly, and immediately, both heads spun in my direction. I was shocked at my behaviour, it was rare for me to cuss.

The second guard walked to the front of my cell. "Oh look, the second bitch is up. Humans are so weak and pathetic, you were knocked out for two days."

"Let us go." I spat out, my hands clenched themselves tightly, I didn't know where this profound courage was coming from.

They both laughed like I said something silly.

My cell gate was suddenly thrown open.

"Come on. The both of you, get out!" One of them shouted. His voice booming around the vast dungeon.

I looked beside me to find Lenny slowly walking out. I immediately copied her actions and I walked out of my cell.

My arm was grabbed harshly by one of them and he began to tug me out of the door. I struggled to walk with just one heel.

I looked back to find Lenny out too. Now that there was light, I took a good look at her. She had shoulder-length midnight black hair, with the prettiest honey brown eyes and caramel skin.

"Hi." She smiled, sending me a small wave with her free hand.

I chuckled at her antic, sending her a small wave of my own.

"This isn't time for some girl-on-girl action," The man beside me grunted, a lustful grin on his face, "You have all the time in the world for that, humans. Get moving!"

I watched, stunned, as his black eyes flashed blue for some seconds.

"What the hell -"

He harshly tugged me up the short flight of stairs. Fire torches hung on each side of the wall.

Once at the top of the stairs, I was tugged to the right hallway while Lenny was tugged to the left.

"Hey! Where are you taking her to?" Lenny yelled, trying to set herself free.

"She needs to take a bath and change. She stinks." The guard next to me answered, his nose twitched.

He collected the whip from his colleague and without waiting for her reply, he began to drag me again. We made a sharp turn to the right and we walked down another flight of stairs.

Taking a few more turns, it finally occurred to me that where we were was enormous. With grand stairs and ancient paintings hung on the walls, it was breathtaking and I knew I haven't seen the rest of the house yet.

We passed a few other guards and slaves, whose eyes were downcast, we passed through a large kitchen with several other maids who engaged themselves in one activity or the other.

Soon, we arrived at a door, a maid was standing there with another maid attire draped on her arm. Her head was bowed and she stood in a submissive stance.

The door led the three of us to what was a backyard. It was broad, with a large fountain right at the end of it and a vast field to the left. After the fountain, was an endless land of tall trees and forests.

We arrived at the foot of the mountain and I was roughly pushed to the ground.

"Come on! Take your dress off." The guard barked at me.

I waited for him to burst out in laughter and tell me it was a joke and I could go home. I waited for him to tell me that I was being punk'd and Nana and Ama were behind the cameras watching me.

But it never came.

I suddenly cracked up, fully realizing that this was real. I didn't know what was funny but I laughed.

"No."

He turned beet red at my answer. "No?"

"No. I won't take off my clothes. Get me the fuck out of here." I rose to my full height and folded my hands, a sham smile on my lips.

The sudden smirk he gave me, chilled me to the bones but my stance didn't falter.

"Well then, I guess you leave me no choice but to whip you."

That, that made my facade falter, I snapped my gaze to the maid beside me, but she gave me none of her attention. "W-What?"

He couldn't possibly think of whipping me, could he? I looked around to find out that we had the attention of other guards and maids close by.

He beamed. "I have always enjoyed mixing pleasure and pain. But I must say, the pain I inflict on innocent humans as you gives me so much pleasure."

He looked at the maid beside me. "Hold her down."

The next few seconds were a complete blur to me. The next thing I knew, she bounded both of my wrists with her hand. I was shocked at the amount of strength a feeble girl like her had.

The guard harshly ripped my gown into two from the back, baring my back and ass to him. The only thing stopping my breast from the eyes of others was the front of my gown.

I heard the sound of the whip in the air before I felt it and it burned. I screamed nonstop in anguish as he whipped me three more times in the same spot. All attempts to free myself from the maid's grip were futile and all I could do was stand there and take it.

By the time he was done, my face was red from all the tears and pain and the throbbing in my head intensified.

The maid gently steadied me and I watched with blurry eyes as the guard glared at her.

"Bath her and give her what to change into. When you're done, take her to Yelena who will assign her duties to her." He barked out the order before storming off.

She pursed her lips and inhaled before loudly exhaling. She softly helped me out of the gown and my heel, leaving me in just my black pair of panties.

I wrapped my arms around my chest– inwardly cursing myself for refusing to wear a bra– as she walked me to the other edge of the fountain, which was far from the leering eyes of others.

"Wait here." She ordered before walking away. I looked into the forest, a few metres away, wondering what would happen if I tried to run away.

I shivered when the feeling of being watched washed over me, I quickly looked back at the mansion and my eyes caught a glimpse of a retreating figure in the shadows of the window right at the top floor of the building. My cheeks flushed at the thought of someone watching me.

"This should help for now."

Carla's voice startled me and she looked at where my gaze was before looking down at me.

I looked at her hands to find her holding a washcloth and a small bottle of oil.

"This is for your wound." She announced, shaking the bottle of oil.

She giggled when she saw the sceptical look on my face. "Don't worry, it's safe. You aren't the first girl to be whipped."

Her smile warmed my heart and I felt the need to introduce myself. "I'm Akira."

She made me sit on the tiled edge of the fountain and I winced at the chilliness. "I know. Your friend told me about you."

I gasped, surprised. "Eve? I thought she was placed in the other cell."

She nodded as she placed the washcloth in the water before wringing the water out. "She was, until last night. She isn't as stubborn as you are."

I chuckled, the chuckle turned into a whimper as she placed the surprisingly soft and warm cloth on my back. The water from the fountain was also warm, immediately alleviating the pain on my back.

"What do you mean?" I asked her desperately trying to choke back a sob as she gently wiped the cuts on my back.

"She didn't put up a fight. Unlike you and the other girl." She responded, wringing out the mixture of blood and water from the cloth.

Eve was the fiercest one out of both of us. I was confused as to why she hadn't put up a fight.

"What's your name?" I asked, recalling that I forgot to ask her name.

"Carla." She smiled.

She added a black substance to the washcloth and when it began to lather, she started wiping the makeup off my face.

"That's a beautiful name," I murmured with my eyes closed as she rinsed the dirt off my face.

She finished washing me up in silence and I gently changed into the maid gown after she applied the oil on my back.

It was a black dress with white trim, with a full skirt. She then gave me a pair of simple black loafers and styled my red hair in a loosed ponytail.

Once I was dressed to her content, we both walked to the house with my ripped dress, thong and heel long forgotten.

~

Madam Yelena was a short greying older woman, with a permanent frown etched on her face. After Carla had introduced me as 'another' new maid, she had looked at me with a scowl on her pouty lips before shoving a; broom, mop and metal bucket in my hands and assigned me to the Beta's mistress bedroom.

Each cleaning maid had to go with a guard just in case they wanted to try anything funny. Those were Madam Yelena's words.

After long and strenuous hours of scrubbing the bathroom and thoroughly cleaning the bedroom, I and two other girls of my age were asked to trim the trees in the garden before I was finally shown my room.

It was a small room, with a twin post bed, which meant I had a roommate. I looked around for her belonging but I found none.

It didn't take long for me to fall asleep, although the mattress was hard and the sheets were cold, I drifted off within minutes, with Eve in my thoughts.

A few minutes into my sleep, I felt someone lightly tap my shoulders. "Wake up, Akira, Madam Yelena wants to speak to us." A familiar feminine voice spoke.

I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes. My head pounded hard and I was thirsty.

"Heyyy." I yawned with a smile when I saw Lenny.

She grinned back, it almost felt like all that happened was a nightmare until she spoke.

"Thank heavens we're roommates. We have to go."

I quickly followed her to the enormous kitchen, where all the maids were gathered and madam Yelena was already speaking with a scowl on her face.

She was talking about the annual ball coming in a few days and how we needed to please the Alpha with our arrangements when I heard someone gasp beside me.

"Akira!" Eve's girly voice rang through my ears.

My eyes filled with tears and I immediately rushed to hug her.

I quickly rambled off questions to her, mainly about what the hell we were doing here.

And she answered them all in one breath, allowing me to ask questions and giving me the right answers.

"So you're telling me that werewolves are real, ninety percent of the people living here are werewolves and this is a 'wolf pack'?" I asked dryly, my arms folded across my chest.

Although she answered my questions as well as she could, I still thought she was lying, none of it was making sense.

She nodded.

Lenny and I stared at her like she was out of her mind.

"And their Alpha is the infamous Alpha Ares?"

She nodded, once again.

"So Nana's stories were true?" My jaw was almost touching the ground.

I had occasionally told Eve about the stories Nana told Ama and I. The thought of Nana and Ama had my heart clenching and my eyes teary.

"Why the hell are you still calm? I can't stay here, Eve!" I whispered, looking around the whole place. And in my peripheral view, Lenny nodded in agreement.

Eve looked at the floor, then I knew something was wrong. "My father is a werewolf and was a member of this pack, he was among the wolves who were exiled." She exhaled loudly. "Look, I want to leave, but I can't. If I get caught trying to escape, my punishment will be grave because I am a werewolf."

"What?!" I cried out, gaining the attention of the girls closer to us.

Madam Yelena suddenly interrupted us. "Except you all want to be whipped by the guards, again, I strongly suggest you shut up."