PROLOGUE

   The room seemed to shrink around me suffocating any sense of hope I had left. Shadows danced maliciously on the walls accentuating the unknown horrors lurking in the corners. The air turned heavy and stale as if it carried the weight of my despair.

    My tear-stained face glistened in the dim light that managed to penetrate the room's oppressive darkness. Trembling, I wrapped my arms tightly around myself desperate for a glimmer of warmth and comfort. But all I found was the cold hard reality of my situation.

     He moved closer his presence suffusing the room with an unsettling aura. His eyes gleamed with a sinister intention stripped of any trace of empathy or mercy. His face was weathered etched with cruelty and malice as if it had borne witness to countless acts of torment and suffering.

    "I am certain you know the reason why you are here tonight. I hold the key to your freedom," he sneered brandishing a small tarnished key in his gnarled hand. "But freedom comes at a cost my dear. You must pay the price of what your father did."

    The words hung in the air like a poisoned chalice filling me with trepidation. Fear coiled around my heart constricting it in a vise-like grip. My mind raced searching for a way out of this nightmarish reality. But every avenue led to dead ends trapping me further in this twisted game.

     His voice dripping with sadistic pleasure shattered the silence. "Now, take off your clothes."

    Summoning every ounce of courage I could muster I lifted my head and met his gaze with defiant determination. "You can't treat me the way you want. I will find my own path to liberation. You cannot break me."

    He stared at me momentarily taken aback by my defiance. But a twisted smile slowly crept across his face revealing his true delight in the suffering of others. "Oh my dear you underestimate the power I possess. The game has only just begun."

    "I do not want to do this. Just let me g..."

   "Enough!" His strong, bold, harsh voice made me shiver as he barked. "Take off your clothes, now!" He said, but I didn't say anything, nor did I move.

    "Pl... pl.. please help me. I don't know wha.. what.. I haven't done this before, your highness." I stammered, pleading for mercy as my confidence suddenly disappeared again. This was Alpha Alexandros, who doesn't care about what you want. He just does as he pleases. I just couldn't allow this man to do anything to me.

    "Do you think I care? I brought you here as a fucking breeder. I don't care if you're a virgin or not, do you get that?" He said as he started to move closer. The closer he moved, the stronger his scent became which was on one hand weakening me. "You are here to face the consequences of your father's action, I would like it if you could cooperate."

   He grabbed my jaw and pulled my face closer. I could barely see his face but his eyes couldn't stop glittering in the dark. "You have a very soft skin. Is it soft down there too?"

   I wanted to push him away but I knew I wouldn't dare. He pulled my head up and locked his lips against mine, licking and sucking my lips at the same time. My heart pounded as I tried to pull away, I was already losing my breath and when I couldn't take it anymore, I kicked him.

   "How dare you!" 

         FEW WEEKS AGO

     As I sat in front of the vanity, Cleo gently brushed my long ebony hair weaving it into an intricate braid. My eyes wandered to the window, curious about the sudden commotion outside. Cleo was my handmaid and I call her Meemaw at times, but she was more like a mother to me, because she was the one who took care of me after my mother passed away in child birth. She had been protecting me and making sure nothing was wrong with me, but today, I could see fear in her eyes.

   "What do you think is going on outside?" Cleo asked me, also trying to peek out through the window but before I could voice my concern our peaceful moment shattered.

   The door burst open revealing a towering figure. His broad shoulders and chiseled features immediately commanded attention. In an instant my heart raced and fear coursed through my veins. Cleo and I exchanged panicked glances unsure of who this man was or the purpose of his intrusion.

    "I apologize for the intrusion milady," the stranger spoke with authority. "My name is Kristen, the beta of the alpha king. I have been commanded by the alpha of all alphas, Alexandros Crimsons, to bring you to the palace as a slave due to your father's betrayal." He said coldly, focusing on me.

   "A slave? What do you mean by a slave?" I asked. Even though he 

    My heart sank and a chill washed over me. I tried to process what he was talking about, but the words hung heavy in the air crushing my hopes and dreams. As far as I know. My father, a loyal servant of the kingdom had apparently turned against the very ruler he once admired. The pain of his betrayal tugged at my heart but there was little time for mourning.

   Fear crept into my eyes and Cleo looked at me, while I silently pleaded for reassurance. She squeezed my hand gently, her voice low but full of determination.

    "We won't go without a fight." She declared, defiance lacing every word. As far as I could remember, Cleo never learned how to use a sword or fight with one in my presence, so why was she trying to act heroine here? I tried to signal her but she wasn't looking at me. "You'll never take her as a slave. I won't let you take her."

    Kristen smirked, his posture oozing with superiority. "Don't be foolish. Do you really think you stand a chance against the might of the Alpha King?"

   Despite how menacing his gaze was, Cleo stood her ground refusing to back down. "We will resist until our last breath. Our loyalty lies with our pack. I will not let you take her."

    With a swift movement, Kristen clamped shackles around our wrists connecting us together and she went calm immediately.

    Cleo and I stood numbly as shackles were placed on our wrists binding us together. With no choice but to comply, we were swiftly escorted from my room stolen away from everything we knew. As we left our beloved home behind a sense of dread settled like a heavy cloud upon my shoulders.

    "Where is my father, Mr.? I want to meet him. I am sure you must have misunderstood it, my father can't do such a thing. My father can't betray his highness." I told him, but he wasn't saying anything. As I walked along the hallways, I saw many of our guards wounded and some were even dead and I wondered how someone could be so cruel. One side of me believed that my father didn't do this and the other side of me doubted it.

    "Your father is where he is supposed to be. I don't know what you believe, but your father was caught red handed conspiring with outsiders to kill the king. He deserves to die and guess what?" He said, after keeping quiet for a long time. I could see that resentment and anger in his eyes as I looked up into his eyes.

   He frowned at me, "You will also pay for the your father's deeds." 

   I didn't say anything to that. I could still see that anger and I wouldn't want him to vent it on me at that moment. We eventually got to the end of the hallway where there was a carriage waiting for us there. Cleo was asked to move aside, and he pushed me into the carriage.

   "Why would you push me like that?" I yelled, almost raising up my hand to slap him across the face.

    "Will you keep quiet? I have been trying to keep my calm, don't provoke me. And what even make you think you deserve mercy? You should be glad that you are being taken to the palace on a carriage." The man said again and looked away immediately.

    "Oh really? Do you think I am a pauper? You are just a mere Beta, so you can't know how it feels to have the blood of an alpha running through your veins." I said without even thinking. I was so provoked that I didn't realize I had started to insult him. He looked at me one last time while he tried to suppress that anger that was obvious on his face. He looked away and didn't say anything. The carriage started to move but the man was still there, right beside the carriage. I tried to peek, to find out where my Cleo was but I couldn't see her anywhere. Was she walking?

    "Mr? Why am I in the carriage that is fit for two people and my Cleo is walking? What's going on in your head?" I said again, but I wasn't even expecting a response.

    "This is the king's order. We can't go against it, so sit right there and enjoy the ride." He said calmly without looking back and that was when I realized that my words touched him so badly. Maybe I should just remain mute, till we get there. I thought.

    The journey to the king's palace was a blur of harsh words rough handling and the cold sting of reality. We arrived at our destination under the watchful eyes of towering guards and entered the formidable palace walls. Never before had I felt so small so insignificant.

    I was led through stark hallways and winding corridors until we reached a dark and forbidding dungeon. The iron bars groaned as they were pulled apart revealing a dank gloomy cell. I was still tied but I could walk.

   "Can you do me a favor please?" I asked the beta, who was looking all around the area, trying to correct some guards.

     "What is it?" He said, his voice cold again.

   "Can I meet Alpha Alexan... whatever you called it? I need to talk to him - It does seem like he doesn't understand my father. I need to make him see that."

     "Is that all?" He asked and I nodded. "Unfortunately, you can't see him." 

   He signalled to one man, who ran towards him and bowed his head slightly. "Yes, Beta Kristen?" And then, there was an indistinct chatter between the duo. I looked around where I was, I could see some people bleeding, some of them were seriously being beaten and I wondered if this is how I was going to be treated as well. Just as I was about to ask the beta what would happen next, I caught a glimpse of that figure, there was this fiery aura around him and before I could look back to confirm what it was - He was gone.

   Who or what was that?

  "Throw her into the cellar!"