4. (Slave. 401).

OLENA 

"You better behave in there." Alpha Ronan warned. "Try to run, and I swear, you will be cut into pieces. Don’t bother crawling back to Crescent Pack, scum like you isn’t even worth the dirt under our boots."

He then pushed me from the truck as I fell to the ground, the gravel scraping my hands. Without saying a word, I got up and started walking, ignoring the pain in my hands and the tight feeling in my chest.

I didn’t even try to cry. There was nothing left in me. The tears were gone, dried up like everything else. And even if they came, what good would they do? Nothing was going to change.

Up ahead was a huge building. It wasn’t just a mansion, it looked more like a castle. Its black walls seemed to grow taller the more I looked up with large towers. The whole place was painted in black, which was quite unique.

“Work faster!”

A rough, impatient voice shouted from the front. I couldn’t see who it was, everyone’s face was hidden by the darkness, so we just walked faster and kept going.

“Damn, they all look so hot,” one man muttered.

I turned my head and saw two men staring at us with disgusting smiles, their eyes roaming over our bodies. I quickly looked away, feeling sick to my stomach.

“The one with the silver hair… just hope you don't cross my lane,” the second man said with a sneer.

I didn’t need to ask who he meant. My silver hair made me stand out too much. I glared at him, my eyes full of quiet anger. They just laughed like it was all a joke.

We walked into the castle as the entrance stood a woman in a flowing red dress. Her makeup was perfect and bold. Next to her was another woman, tall and huge, with a blank expression. She looked more like a bodyguard than a friend.

“Welcome to the Lycan Kingdom,” the woman in red said. Her voice was smooth. “As you all know, you’ve been sold as slaves. So behave yourselves. If you cause trouble, you’ll end up in our dungeon and trust me, it’s worse than the werewolves’.”

She walked around us slowly, arms crossed, her heels clicking on the shiny floor. When she stopped in front of me, she looked at me more closely.

Then she rolled her eyes and moved on.

What was that?

“You will serve all high-ranking officials—Betas, Zetas, Elders, Lycan leaders, warriors, guards, and mistresses,” the woman in red announced. Her voice echoed through the large hall.

Ok. That didn’t sound like something I couldn’t handle.

“You must wake up at 4 a.m. to start your duties,” she went on. “The rooms must be spotless before the officials wake up.”

Four in the morning? Even Crescent Pack gave us until six. This place doesn’t just want obedience, they want to break us.

Everyone started whispering. They knew that was way too early.

I hesitated, then raised my hand. She saw me right away, her eyes narrowing.

“Yes? Do you have a question?” she asked, sounding cold.

“Isn’t that... a bit too early?” I asked, trying to keep my voice polite.

The stiff woman beside her suddenly snapped, her voice sharp. “How dare you question the rules!”

My heart jumped as she stormed toward me, her glare fierce.

But the woman in red raised a hand, stopping her.

“Wow. Who’s the loudmouth?” she muttered with an eye roll, stepping back.

Then she slowly walked toward me as her face turned serious.

“You do realize,” she said, her voice low but more threatening, “that questioning the rules has consequences?”

She leaned in slightly, her smile cold. “You could be executed for that, silver-hair."

It felt like someone had poured ice water down my spine. My body went still, cold from fear.

“I-I’m sorry,” I stammered, bowing my head quickly.

“Gosh, there’s no way I’m the one stuck dealing with these fools,” the woman in red muttered under her breath. She scratched at her hair in frustration and turned away, her heels echoing as she walked off.

I watched her disappear through a set of tall doors, leaving us behind with only the stern-looking woman. Her eyes stayed locked on me as she took a slow step forward.

She cleared her throat and spoke, voice flat and loud enough for all of us to hear. “Before we take you to the slave quarters, if any of you brought a Moon Goddess statue, or anything related to her—books, chains, pictures, anything throw it out now!”

There was a pause. Then, one by one, people began tossing their items onto the floor—small trinkets, carved symbols, even tattered pages.

I stared, stunned. What kind of place bans worship? What kind of law was this?

“Lycan Abraham would kill you himself if he sensed it on you,” the stern woman said coldly. “So show some respect. I know how obsessed werewolves are with her.”

I tightened my grip on the small chain hidden in my palm. The tiny Moon Goddess statue dangled from my mother’s pendant. Please, Goddess, don’t let them take this from me.

All around me, others looked heartbroken as they dropped their sacred items onto the cold stone floor. But I couldn’t do it. I held the chain tighter, thankful I hadn’t worn it around my neck like I first planned.

“Before we move,” the woman barked, snapping us out of our thoughts, “you’ll each be given a number!”

She turned to the first girl in line. “Three-nine-three.”

My eyes widened. Three hundred ninety-three? That meant there were at least that many of us here.

The numbers kept going up and then pointed at me with her bat.

“F-Four-zero-one,” I said quickly.

“Now let’s move!” she shouted, turning sharply. We followed in line, quiet as shadows. 

We stopped in a hallway, surrounded by dark, shadowy rooms.

“Open your hands. All of you,” the woman ordered.

My heart jumped. Goddess… what now?

Panic rose in my chest. The chain was still in my hand, the pendant warm against my skin. Should I hide it? Swallow it?

Then I spotted it, a room to the left with a window slightly open. I didn’t think. I quickly threw the chain through the gap and took a shaky breath.

When she reached me, she gave me a suspicious look. Her eyes narrowed as she tapped her bat against my hands.

“Open up.”

I slowly opened my palms. They were empty.

“Your mouth.”

My breath caught. Was she really going to search my mouth? What kind of place is this?

I opened my mouth, trying not to gag at the thought. She didn’t hesitate and shoved her hand inside like she was digging through a drawer. I gagged but stayed still.

“I knew you were hiding something,” she pulled her hand out with a grimace and continued to walk.

Disgust twisted in my gut. I nearly spat on the floor.

She probably noticed how tightly I was holding my hands earlier. Thank Goddess I threw it in time.

Few minutes later, we were finally given our rooms if you could even call them that, in what they called the slave quarters. The beds were just thin mats on the cold floor. The walls were so thin you could hear every whisper, every sob, even every breath from the next room.

After the stern woman left, my heart pounded as I slowly stood and slipped out of my room.

I had to go back and take the chain, what if they sweep it out in the morning?

I moved quietly, retracing my steps. I remembered exactly where I’d thrown it, the room with the open window.

Please, Goddess. Let it still be there.

I took a deep breath and moved forward into the empty hallway looking for the room.

“Yes, this is the room,” I said to myself as I stepped inside and quickly closed the door behind me. I turned around as the darkness surrounded the room.

I couldn’t help but I turned on the light. My breath caught in my throat.

Wow.

The room was beautiful. Huge. The bed alone was massive—a king-sized one, with black bedspreads and a mix of black and gold in the chandelier above. It looked like something out of a luxury magazine.

Black walls, black tiles, black skies… It’s like the shadows here don’t just follow you, they swallow you whole.

I started searching. I had to find the chain, the furniture, under the bed and on top. But no matter how hard I looked, it wasn’t there.

Boom!

That sound snapped me back to reality. I turned to my left and froze. Two people were standing at the door. My heart jumped into my throat, it felt like a heart attack.

One of them said something that made me wrap my arms around myself. So many perverts in this place.

I stood up quickly, bowed my head, and was about to slip out when someone else entered the room.

“What?” the person exclaimed.

Shit.

I looked up and saw her.

The lady in red.

Her eyes scanned the room before landing on me. Her voice rose in shock.

“What are you doing in the Lycan King’s room?”

My mouth dropped open as I looked around in horror.

No… No, this can’t be. The King’s room? I backed away slowly.

I was dead. I had to be.

But for some reason, I felt like someone was watching me. My body tensed, trembling under a strange, intense gaze I couldn’t explain.

“I apologize for this. I’ll handle it,” she said, turning to bow her head toward someone behind her.

I didn’t dare look up, but I could feel the weight of his presence. He didn’t say a word, just a growl that made me trembled. It seemed like he just walked away.

“Come here, you stubborn brat!” she screamed, yanking me by the ear so hard it felt like it might tear off. Then threw me to the floor without a second thought.

“Take her to the cell! Let her see for herself how cruel that place is,"