3. Chapter

Corin

By the time training began, my back had turned into a single, throbbing nest of fire. I had tried to wash the blood away with ice cold water stolen from the kitchen, but my shirt inevitably stuck to the fresh wounds. With every step, I felt the fabric tear at the thin scabs that had barely begun to form after the ten lashes.

I had to go to the training grounds. The joint training of the Silver Stone and Brown Stone packs was mandatory for everyone who was not bedridden. This “cooperation” supposedly maintained peace, but in reality it was nothing more than a display of dominance.

I stood at the edge of the field, trying to stay at the very back so I wouldn’t be noticed. The air was heavy with testosterone and raw wolf energy. Then they arrived.

The warriors of the Brown Stone pack marched in like a conquering army. Mason led them. He was tall, broad shouldered, and surrounded by a dark aura that seemed to swallow the afternoon light. A scar ran across his face, and dark tattoos covered his arms, coming alive with every movement of his muscles. They called him the Cruel Alpha. At least, that’s what people whispered behind my back. They said he would tear out your throat before asking your name.

“Line up!” our trainer barked. “Paired combat today.”

My stomach clenched. If anyone touched me or threw me, I would pass out from the pain.

“Corin, you’re with Lumi,” the trainer pointed.

Lumi stepped forward with a murderous smile. She knew exactly what had happened to me in the back courtyard. She had heard the whip crack and was now eager to finish what the guards had started.

“What’s wrong, mongrel?” she whispered as we faced each other. “Does your back still hurt? Let me help massage it a little.”

Lumi didn’t wait for the signal. She charged at me. Instinctively, I tried to dodge, but my back seized up and the world went dark for a split second from the pain. Lumi took advantage of it and kicked me hard in the stomach. I collapsed to the ground, the air ripped from my lungs.

“Get up!” the trainer shouted.

I tried. My hand sank into the mud, my body shaking. Lumi loomed over me and planted her foot on my shoulder, right where the lashes had begun. A sharp scream tore from my throat, one I couldn’t suppress.

“Enough!”

A voice cut through the field. Deep, rough, and absolute.

The pressure on my shoulder vanished. I looked up, and my heart nearly stopped with fear. Mason stood in front of me. He was so close I could smell pine and rain on him, mixed with something wild and animal. He bent down.

“Get away from her,” Mason snarled at Lumi. Lumi went pale and backed away without a word. No one dared argue with the Alpha of Brown Stone.

Mason looked at me. His eyes were not like the others. There was no disgust in them, but something else I couldn’t identify. A dark, intense focus.

“Get up,” he said quietly.

“I… I’m fine,” I stammered, trying to pull away from him. I was terrified of him. I had heard the stories about his pack, about his cruelty. I was sure he would be the one to teach me a lesson for being so weak.

Mason didn’t back off. He reached out and took my arm to help me up. When his skin touched mine, a small electric shock ran through me. I stifled a moan as the movement pulled at the wounds on my back.

“You’re bleeding,” Mason stated. His voice rumbled like something deep underground.

“It’s just a scratch,” I lied, my heart pounding in my throat. I wanted nothing more than to escape his presence. He was enormous beside me, his aura crushing everything else.

Suddenly, Mason stepped behind me. Before I could protest, he placed his large, hot palm on my shoulder blade. Not roughly, but firmly. I felt my soaked shirt shift against my wounds. I shivered at the touch.

“Ten strikes,” Mason whispered near my ear, sending a chill down my spine. “Martha’s work?”

I didn’t dare answer. I just stared at the ground and waited for the blow. I was certain he would laugh at me or kick me too, proving what happens to a half blood.

“Look at me, Corin,” he commanded.

Trembling, I lifted my gaze. The scars on Mason’s face tightened. Rage burned in his eyes, a fury that made me want to scream and run, yet somehow I knew it wasn’t directed at me.

“Are you afraid of me?” he asked, his fingers brushing my neck for a brief moment, where my hair ended.

“Everyone is afraid of an Alpha,” I whispered.

Mason fell silent. He studied me for a long moment, as if he could see straight into my soul, as if he knew all my secrets. Then he suddenly let go.

“Go to your quarters. You’re done training today,” he said coldly, though his eyes still burned into me.

“But the trainer… the Alpha will punish me if I leave,” I protested weakly.

He shook his head.

“I am the Alpha on this field while I am here. Tell them I sent you.”

I turned and almost ran from the field. I could feel his gaze on my back until I reached the walls of the house. Why did he help me? Why did he look at me like that?

I thought Glacier was the only one who cared about me, but Glacier wasn’t even there today. Mason, the Cruel one, stood with me in the mud instead.

But that changed nothing. Mason was a monster, and I was just a half blood everyone wanted destroyed.