Five

REMI'S P.O.V.

The further we walked into their city, the more appeared, and it only took one to throw their head back and howl before all of the other lycans did the same.

The horror of seeing that they were celebrating one of the worst and scariest nights of a shifter's life was bone-chilling.

The body beneath me trembled again, and the distinct sound of bones breaking made me look up again to find the other beasts slowly transforming back to their skin.

My jaw dropped as I looked them over. They were tall, and more muscular than any standard shifter I had ever seen, but just as scary as they had been in their lycan form.

Yet, my beast didn't shift, and the brief wave of disappointment that hit me shocked me back to reality.

No! Not MY beast.

He was my mate, but he was also one of the monsters who killed my pack members. He was the monster who had just dragged me through the forest like I was a deer he had caught.

The faster my head healed, the clearer my mind became, and I tensed as I realized the smell of blood wasn’t mine or Thesta’s. He had others on him, others that he had probably killed tonight.

I grunted as I was suddenly dumped unceremoniously on the ground, left staring up at the lycan who had taken me. 

Something that I could only assume was regret flashed in his eyes, but it was replaced with the same anger and disgust from before so quickly that I had to wonder if I had imagined it.

‘Yeah, well, back at you, buddy.’

My eyes widened as he stood up taller, still glaring down his nose at me like I was just a rabid animal that had followed him home instead of the mate he had just kidnapped.

As if he knew I was about to speak, he let out a huff and turned his back on me, storming away through the crowd.

Before I could blink, two women in simple black button-up dresses grabbed my arm and began to pull me from the ground.

At first, I had thought they were just being kind, but even after I found my feet, they didn’t release me.

“This way, wolf,” one grumbled, seemingly prepared for me to resist, because her grip on me tightened, and she began to pull me forward.

“Easy!” I hissed, more angry that my mate had just put me through hell over the past several hours just to dump me in an unfamiliar city with people who clearly hated my kind by the looks I was being given.

The woman lifted her chin and flashed her canines at me, making me press my lips together to stay silent as I was suddenly pulled through the town square.

The crowd parted as I struggled against the two women, glancing over my shoulder to try to catch one last glimpse of my mate, certain this was all just a joke or a bad dream… a very, very bad dream.

But he was gone, nowhere to be seen, and a shiver ran through me as I felt the pull coming back as if it were telling me to go after him.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, purposefully glancing at the one who didn’t bare her teeth at me as if she wanted to rip out my heart with them, but she didn’t answer with anything other than a tug on my arm to get me to move faster.

My eyes widened as we rounded the corner, and I caught sight of a giant castle built into the side of the mountain.

After seeing how hostile the pack was, I pitied anyone who ever had to cross their Alpha.

Yet, it seemed my luck hadn’t run out as I was dragged up the large staircase and into the castle itself.

I slowed halfway up, wanting to stall as I tried to figure out a plan to escape, but Toothy-Tina just kicked my feet out from under me, and they carried me up the stairs before I could regain my footing.

Before I knew it, we were in front of a set of double doors several floors up, being opened by two other women wearing matching black dresses that I realized must be uniforms.

The smell of my mate reached me, and I felt a rush of anger hit me that there were other women in his room, but the anger vanished as soon as it appeared when I realized this was his room... in the castle.

Horror washed through me as I shook my head. How high up in the pack was he?

He felt powerful. The aura around him was intimidating, but without my wolf, I couldn’t tell.

I gasped as one of the women started pulling at my clothes, ripping the shirt wide open, and I grabbed it quickly to hold it together.

“What are you doing?!” I shouted, but before I knew it, the four women had stripped me down and had shoved me in a scalding hot bath.

It didn’t matter how much I struggled against them. They just held me down as they washed my hair and body for me, their nails digging into my head and skin as I struggled against them.

By the end of the bath, I was almost too scared to move. I wasn’t sure I had any skin left from how hard they had been scrubbing.

Toothy-Tina curled her lip at me as she walked over to the closet before going through some items with another woman.

“At least this one isn’t screaming or crying like the others he’s brought back,” One of the women said while I stared at the empty tub in front of me in shock as another began to towel-dry my hair.

“It doesn’t matter, she’s still a mutt. She’ll be gone soon, too, just like the others.”

I wanted to turn and glare at them, but the pull was getting stronger, and I knew without having to ask that he was getting closer.

Still, my mind was reeling.

The others he had brought back?

I tried to ignore the stabbing pain that shot through my chest, knowing that my mate had brought others back here. But I didn’t even have time to sit with it, or the fact that they seemed to be gone now, before I was being yanked from the bathtub and something was being forced over my head.

Bile rose in my throat when I saw the blood-red negligee.

"This one is loose on her,” One of the maids said as my head was yanked back by the one who had kindly been towel-drying my hair a moment ago. I winced as she brushed through it roughly.

“The last one he picked had more curves,” she snapped.

The last one?

Pain shot through my chest from the betrayal, and I felt my shoulders fall with the reminder.

I didn’t know him. I didn’t trust him. I hated his kind.

But knowing that my soulmate had brought others here to his room, dressed them in lingerie and…

I couldn’t even finish the thought as bile rose to my throat and the pain in my chest became too extreme.

“Stop!” I shouted, lifting my hands and swatting at them as they began to pull at the bottom of it. I didn’t want to wear it, but I was also sick of them touching me even though I knew I was no match for their strength. They would just hold me down and do it anyway.

“Why do they always have to be so bothersome?” Toothy-Tina snapped, and I glared at her, but my body froze as I felt him closing in.

They seemed to sense him, too, and they quickly filed out of the room.

“This will have to do. Alpha Malric will be with you shortly,” she said just before the door slammed shut, and I heard the distinct sound of a lock sliding into place.

“The Alpha?” I breathed back in horror as I stared at the closed door, my body shaking.