Chapter 6
The betrayed Luna
Thorne lowers the windscreen, gazing outside the field of trees as the car runs along the road. He thinks back to the woman who now sat in the third car following him back to the kingdom. He thinks back to the emptiness of her Hazel eyes. Traitor, she was called.
“Thorne.” The familiar voice of his beta draws him out of his reverie. He blinked twice, turning the windscreen up again. He glanced at the man driving, eyebrow quirked up.
“I’m here.” He replied after a beat, meeting the man’s eyes through the mirror. “You asked for her specifically.” The beta says casually. Thorne hums, he did ask for her specifically. He doesn’t do that but he also doesn’t meet his maté every day.
“I did.”
The beta doesn’t say a thing after that, only concentrating on his driving. Thorne leans back against the chair, slowly shutting his eyes close as he thinks back to the pack they just left. Something about that place called out to him earlier and he went. Maybe his subconscious knew something would happen. It did happen, though.
“Alpha.” The beta calls out again after some minutes of silence. Thorne opens his eyes, meeting the man’s own eyes through the mirror for the second time.
“We found him.” He says and Thorne nods, leaning back against the chair again, his l*ps lifting into a small smirk. It didn’t take as much time as he thought it would.
Minutes later they arrived at his kingdom. He didn’t like to call it a pack. A pack is for the smaller ones, like the one he just left. He’s been alive for years and has accumulated way too much wealth, he built himself a damn empire.
He gets down from the car, taking one last look at the other three cars that pulled up behind his car. He would address his concerns with the woman but for now, there were more pending things to do. Thorne began to walk into the large mansion he called his home. The main pack house. He’s joined by the beta.
“Where is he?” He asked, still taking longer strides, his beta keeping up with him.
“Your chamber. I thought it would be more fitting.” His beta replied. Thorne nods, pleased. He doesn’t waste any more time, immediately walking towards the chamber. There was not a single soul roaming the house, they had been warned beforehand of the danger of
Effer
coming in his way, especially at this time. Thorne pulls the door open, stepping into the place where the man had been kept, already tortured beyond words. He was held in chains, his white t–shirt had now been splattered with blood, his face swollen and burst, mouth filled with blood he could barely lift a muscle without spilling blood.
This is exactly how Thorne liked it. The guards all bow in respect as soon as they see him. He walked gracefully to where the man was held, smirking a little at the pitiful state of the man who had once had his pride hung on his shoulders.
“P–p–please don’t kill me.” The man stammered painfully.
“How long has he been here?” Thorne asks, sl*pping his hands into his pockets. “An hour, sir. You said we should torture him as soon as we find him and..”
“I know what I said, you don’t need to recite it to me. You have an hour, make sure he has life sl*pping away from him, break his legs so he has no way to run to them throw him with the dogs. They need a feed after all this time.” He instructs the guard whose eyes widen dramatically.
“A–Alpha, he’ll be alive.” The guard stutters fearfully. Thorne paused, eye slowly raised as he looked at the man before him. He hissed out lowly, about to speak when the beta jumps in.
“He’ll be fed to the dogs as you’ve commanded.” The beta is quick to say. Thorne nods, looking back at the man whose low whines can be heard, he takes a step closer to the man and leans closer to his ear.
“In your next life, you learn to obey rules. They are there for a reason.” He leaned back, nose scrunched in disgust when the man tried to plead for his life again, a little of his filthy blood flicking to Thorne’s cheek. The man hissed out in disgust as he was immediately handed a handkerchief.
“Take out at least two of his teeth for that.” He spat out, lifting his eye to the rather sympathetic guard, waiting to see his reaction. He rolls his eyes when he sees the guard tensed and uptight.
“If you don’t act accordingly, you’ll be next on that chain begging for your life.” He says, more motivation for them. Thorne walks out of the chamber with his beta, Nathan beside him.
“They’ll be even more scared of you now,” Nathan says and Throne shrugs, a smirk on his l*ps.
“Good. That’s what I am aiming for.” He says, halting in his steps to look at the beta.
“The ones we just got. Where did you keep them?” He asked and Nathan quirked his eyebrows. It’s unusual.
“The regular place they are always taken to. The slave quarters.” He replied, watching the surprising conflict in Thorne’s eyes.
“Do you want me to do anything about them?” He asked carefully. He’s still a little confused as to why Thorne asked for the woman he did, especially after hearing she betrayed the little pack she was in.
Thorne nods, his l*ps palmed into a thin line. “Bring them to me after they’ve been cleaned up.” He instructs, not missing the way Nathan stiffened. It’s so unusual for Thorne to want to see the offerings afterward but this.
Nathan bows, “Of course. I’ll get right to it.”
Natalie is dragged out of the van, she squints hard, trying to adjust to the bright light. She grunts when she’s pushed to walk. Should she be happy she’s left the Silver–rain pack or should she be worried she’s in this strange pack?
“Hey, you have to keep up. I’ve heard they can be extremely ruthless.” Someone whispered quietly to her. Natalie grunts back in response, turning just a bit to see who it is. A brown- haired lady stood behind her, wrists tied with a rope. She looked neater than Natalie after all she’s been chosen as an ‘offering‘ to the Lycan king. Natalie watched with hooded eyes as a man led them towards a small house.
“I wonder if they are truly as wicked as I’ve been told. Ever since I was chosen as one of the wolves to be offered. I’ve tried my best to get information so I know where it is I’m heading.” The girl continues to talk even though Natalie doesn’t reply.
“So far it looks like they’re tame. I expected worse.” She continues and Natalie pleads internally for her to stop. How can anyone even talk this much when they’re here facing whatever this is?
“My name is Katherine. What’s yours?” The girl whispers again. Natalie sighed internally, almost opening her mouth to talk when they heard the man leading them speak, his voice raised with disapproval coating his tone. Natalie freezes, not daring to look up and see if he has caught them. If he had caught her. Is this how she would die? She’d die for opening her damn mouth? Is this how her life would end?
“You’re not here to discuss your life issues. Focus on what you’re here to do so you can live.
his eyes piercing the offenders.
Natalie swallowed hard, her palms clammy with sweat, she managed to look up and surprisingly the man wasn’t talking to her or the Katherine girl. Instead, his anger was directed at the two boys who were low trembling with fear.
The man straightened his back, his eyes taking over the rest of them and finally fell on Natalie. He took a hard look at her, his eyes filled with disgust towards her. She knew it, she looked horrible, filthy, and disgusting compared to the others.
“Come along and be quiet. This isn’t a vacation center.” He turns and begins to walk again.
Natalie falls into step behind the man, her eyes darting around the unfamiliar surroundings. The air is thick with tension, and the silence weighs heavily on her, broken only by the occasional whimper from one of the boys.
“What’s your name?” The girl whispers after some seconds and this time, Natalie is certain she’s after her life. She wants to see Natalie’s lifeless b*dy. Natalie opts to ignore her, stopping only when they step into the place. It looked bigger on the inside than it did outside. They all stood in a straight line, waiting for the man’s instructions.
“The women will have a room to theirselves and the men will have the rooms to theirselves too. Clean up
and look presentable after which you will be briefed about the pack and addressed.” The man’s voice boomed through the place.
“You have an hour to get in order.”
Natalie wrapped her arms around herself, her b*dy trembling with so much intensity she didn’t think was possible. She could feel the tears brimming but didn’t have it in her to cry anymore. It was like she had exhausted every cell in her and now. She sat in the corner of the room, arms wrapped around her trembling b*dy as she tried to regulate her heartbeat. She doesn’t notice the person walking towards her until it’s too late.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said all of those things back then. I was just excited.” The girl says and once again Natalie is reminded of the girl who had almost gotten her buried the first minute she stepped out of the van.
She nods, hoping it is enough acknowledgment for the girl to leave her alone and go talk to the other girl in the room. She doesn’t leave, instead, she kneels to Natalie’s level, placing her hand over Natalie’s knee. Natalie flinched involuntarily at the contact, immediately
her hand.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. You can go- clean up.” She says, eye raking over her very wound–inflicted b*dy. Natalic nods, looking away so the girl would get it. She didn’t want the familiarity the girl was trying to bring for her. She wanted nothing more than to wallow in misery and regret the life choices she’s taken.
“We have less than an hour.” The other girl speaks up for the first time, drawing Katherine’s attention to her.
Natalie stands up and goes to the bathroom, she slowly pulls off her clothes, thanking the goddess there wasn’t any mirror in the bathroom. She took out the bowl from the bucket and mindlessly poured the water on her b*dy, swallowing every whimper that threatened to escape her mouth. She stepped out of the bathroom some seconds later, wearing the same torn and worn–out clothes she’d had for days. She’s thankful when the other girl doesn’t try to speak to her. She had no idea what she was doing in the pack. She wasn’t even supposed to be here. Back then when the council had declared their punishment for her was to be sold. She had made up her mind. She’d rather join her pup if this was her fate but now, here she stood, even though her life doesn’t belong to her anymore.
They’re all rounded In the same place. This time around, it wasn’t just the six of them but rather hundreds of them. Natalie is stunned at the number of slaves the Lycan king has gotten from his annual offerings. She gulped fearfully as she looked around, not a single soul had a smile on their face. They all looked battered, pathetic, and exhausted. They looked like her.
“Oh, my goddess. I didn’t realize we were this much. Is this how their pack has been able to stay afloat for years? I wonder just how many packs he has under him to be able to get this much of us for just one year.” Katherine whispers in her ear again. Truly, Natalie wondered briefly just how powerful Alpha Thorne was.
The murmurs die as soon as the man who had led them to the house surfaces, his face had grown impossibly fiercer, and his stance was that of a predator. He looked very bit of scary, his muscles seemed like they would tear out of his clothes, and he looked much taller than earlier. His eyes raked through the lots of them.
“You will all be briefed about the rules of the Darkwater pack. Mistakes are not accommodated here. We do not cajole laziness and certainly do not embrace it. Each and every one of you will be responsible for your lives. Failure to adhere to it will be death.” A series of gasps course through the crowd at the last sentence. They’re quick to shut up, no one daring to say a word anymore.
Natalie watched as a woman stepped up, standing in the same place the previous man had been, her hands seemed to shake slightly and Natalie wondered why. The woman starts.
“Dark water stands as the earthly embodiment of the goddess’s will. Within the shadowed depths of its name.” Natalie tunes out, she sees that even more men have joined. The same ones she saw standing behind the alpha all stood still as though listening to an anthem as the woman spoke on.
The woman finally stops after reading the last bit and the previous man steps up again. “We will be assigning you to your various roles. You will be under your masters who will train and nurture your capabilities. Those that fail will remain servants and see to the needs of their superiors. We have accessed each and every one of you and found suitable roles. Step out once your name has been called so you can be assigned.” The man instructs.
“Oh, they assign us to different roles? This doesn’t sound as bad as I heard. I truly hope I get kitchen duties. They get the best gossip.” Katherine says and Natalie desired the urge to give her the eye. Her life has not just fallen apart but it has also crumbled and yet Katherine is daydreaming about being assigned to the kitchen for gossip.
Natalie sighed internally, she could feel her strength quickly sl*pping away. She managed to stand on her feet for hours now and she’s starting to feel it. She blinked twice to keep the dots from covering her vision. Natalie watched tiredly as they began to call out names.
About thirty minutes had gone by and they were still calling names.
“Anna Flair.” Natalie blinks twice in shock when she hears the name. Anna, the same girl Natalie shared the room with earlier. The third girl amongst them. Anna steps out from her side and walks up to where the man is. Natalie watched in quiet anticipation where she would be assigned to. The man doesn’t even get to start talking when the whole room goes tense at the entrance of the Lycan king.
Thorne stepped into the hall, his aura screamed power and authority. The pack members immediately bowed their heads upon seeing the Alpha. Beside him stood a tall woman, Her long, flowing blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders, With a svelte and slender figure. She was beautiful, no doubt.
“Oh, that’s his fiancée, Frances Willow. Isn’t she gorgeous?” Katherine whispers In a more lower tone even though Natalie still hasn’t replied to any of her talks.
Thorne looks at the gamma and nods for him to continue. The man clears his throat and looks back at the slave before him. “You are assigned as a healer’s apprentice.” He says.
Natalie held her breath as she waited for the next name to be called. She silently hoped the Lycan king would leave soon before her name was called so she wouldn’t get to.
“Natalie Sinclair.” Her name is called, but not even her prayers are answered. Natalie gulped the pile in her throat, her knees had weakened already, and anxiety coursed through her veins. She takes a shaky step out of the line and walks towards them, shaking internally like she’d been drenched in ice–cold water.
Natalie stood before the gamma trembling and hoping she didn’t look as pathetic as she felt. She clutched tightly the sides of her tattered dress, biting hard on her dry chapped l*ps as she waited for his verdict.
“You are..”
“She comes with me. She’s mine.” Thorne’s deep voice resonates within the walls of the hall. The entire hall goes silent at his words in shock.
Natalie snaps her head towards the Lycan king, her eyes meeting his in an instant, shocked. He stared right back at her, his eyes had seemingly gone impossibly darker, pulling Natalie into an abyss she didn’t want to leave. Natalie doesn’t fight it this time, the black dots appear in her visions as her knees give out. She falls to the ground with the Thorne being the last thing on her mind.
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