CHAPTER 2

ELIRA

I scream at the top of my lungs as Mom is dragged out of the room by the chains that hold her. My throat feels raw, my voice cracking with emotions that threaten to rip me to shreds.

Some guards wrap their arms around mine and lift me off the floor with one hard jerk.

“Let me go!“ I yell, struggling against their hold. “Let me go!“

They don't. They just continue to pull me in the direction of the hunting field that sits to the back of the manor.

I kick and cry the whole way, but I'm no match for the guards. Zeta wolves are known for their incredible grip and strength, and that's why they are mostly recruited into protective units.

By the time we make it to the field, Mom is already standing against a wooden frame, the chain replaced by ropes thick enough to hold the metal frames of the manor gates in place.

“Please… please, don't do this.“ I cry, my heart imploding on itself as I watch the guards take either side of her with lit torches.

The tears flow faster now, leaving a burning trail down my face. My sobs rack the night air, full of pain and anguish.

“I beg you, please… I will do anything, just… please…”

If anybody can hear my pleas, they don't act like it. Not a single one of the elders look in my direction, they all take their place behind the Alpha.

The full moon rises overhead as if summoned. Its bright blue glow a bull's horn that signifies my mother's suffering. Just as the moon sits in the center of the sky, Alpha Kael nods once and the guards light the hay at her feet up.

A loud scream bubbles out of my throat as Mom lets out a deafening cry filled with pain. The fire erupts quickly, eating away at hay and then moving upward to catch the hem of her dress before it starts to lick at her skin.

Heat suffuses the air as skin melts over bone, leaving my mother's cries drifting through the air as her life slips away from her grasp.

Somehow I break free from the hold of the guards around me and run. Straight in the direction of the frame that holds my mother's rapidly withering body.

I jump at her, ready to die alongside her if need be, but that doesn't happen. The guards catch up to me and grab hold of me, pulling me away from the flames.

“You can't do that!“ One of them scolds.

“Let me go! You don't get to choose if I live or die.“

Deafening silence splits the air as Alpha Kael's quiet voice travels through the space.

“They might not have a say in whether you live or die, but I do.“

All gazes seem to lock on me, and my tear-filled eyes turn to his. “Do you think this makes you any more powerful? Huh? Do you think the world will bow at your feet simply because you killed an innocent woman in the most inhumane way possible?“

My voice breaks as I cry out. “You're nothing but a psychotic loser who needs an army to carry out his depraved desires in the guise of punishment.“

“Elira!“ Gamma Leo scolds, his foot stomping on the floor in agitation.

Alpha Kael holds up a hand. “Let her speak.“

“I curse you, Kael. I curse you and all that you love. You'd better kill me now, because if you don't, my life will be the biggest demise of you and Rage-Claw.“

Collective gasps ring out across the fields, those present reeling in shock at my audacity. Maybe if I had been more observant I would never have fallen for this demon.

“Elira Vanz, you are bold. But you have no power.“ Alpha Kael spits out slowly. “You want to be an enemy of Rage-Claw?“

“Every Vanz is. You said that yourself.“ My voice is steely and laced with venom.

“Then I choose to keep my enemies closer. You are now a private slave for Kael Storm. The least one of the servants in Storm manor, and the most unworthy one of the wolves in the whole of Rage-Claw.“ He pauses and shoots me a sinister smile.

“For every form of rebellion or disrespect you show, your punishments double. An attempt to escape is equal to tenfold of what you usually will receive as punishment. Elira Vanz, I will make your life hell so much so that you will beg for death. You cursed your Alpha, so I will be your doom.“

A heavy weight settles over me as his words hang in the air between us. He just made a pact to torment me.

His slow steps bring him closer to me as he descends the elevated podium where he and his elders were standing.

As he reaches me, he orders for his guards to let me go. “Release her.“

They let me go instantly.

He snakes an arm around my waist and pulls me flush into himself. My body connects with his in a way that sends heat waves descending over me so quickly that it fills me with disgust.

I hate this man! I hate this man! I hate this man!

His lips pull into a knowing smile. “You don't hate me, Elira. But believe me, I will make sure that you do. And before that happens, you will hate yourself, and you will hate the ways that you crave me. I will show you what suffering is, and I will show you pain. Then I'd take you through hell over and over and over again, until death starts to seem like a romantic idea, but is far from your grasp.“

Anger churns in my guts, forcing me to push away from him with a violent shove and slapping him hard across the face.

“If you don't kill me now, I will kill you. And I will take my sweet time doing it.“

His eyes flash a dangerous shade of red, and before I can form a single thought, his body is wrapping around mine instantly just before his teeth sinks into the skin at my neck.

A cry tears out of my mouth as pain races through me.

His voice booms in my head even though he doesn't physically speak. “You're mine!“

And just like that my limbs grow weak. I struggle to keep my eyelids open, but darkness hurries up to meet me.

The last thing I remember is hearing Gamma Leo ask, “Did you just mark her, Alpha?“

And then… darkness.