Chapter 2 – Bound in Chains

Selene

"Drag her," someone growled, the rough rope sawing into the delicate skin of my wrists. Each step was a painful reminder that I was held captive.

"Please… where are you taking me?" I said, stumbling on the rough ground. The fortress looked larger and larger as I took each painful step.

"Shut up, omega," another voice snapped, sounding annoyed."The Alpha Lord's fortress. Consider it your final destination."

The heavy iron gates opened loudly, looking like the jaw of an ancient beast, revealing a courtyard full of werewolves. 

The eyes of some of them transformed into creepy golden eyes, looking towards me with cold curiosity and dislike. I forced my gaze downwards, watching the rough stones scraping against my worn boots.

"Just keep moving," a low voice muttered beside me. It was the guard, he held my arm in a grip that felt like iron.

Once we were inside, the fortress felt like it completely took us in. Walking through the stone hallways, every little sound we made bounced off the walls and echoed as it got darker and darker. The atmosphere had a strong, sweet smell of pine mixed with a powerful, animal-like smell that made me feel dizzy.

"Go down the stairs," another guard mumbled, pushing me a bit roughly towards a round staircase that went down into the dark. The atmosphere got colder and felt heavier, and the only sound was our boots hitting the stone steps.

Finally, they pulled me to a huge door made of iron. It made a loud, screeching noise as they forced it open, revealing a dimly lit chamber where you could perceive the lingering bad feeling of being scared and unwashed bodies. I felt so sad, like a physical weight pressing down on me. 

Several figures huddled in the shadows, their eyes were wide, hollowed out by what they had endured. They were omegas, like me. This is how my life will be now.

The guards just pushed me in, and the heavy door slammed shut behind me with a loud bang that felt like it locked me in. I walked forward, trying to see in the thick darkness. 

A woman with messy brown hair covering her face slowly came out of the darkest corner, moving like she was really tired

"Another one joins the flock," she whispered, her voice quiet and scratchy, like dry leaves moving on rocks.

 "Welcome to the Alpha Lord's kennel. Hope you brought your obedience." 

When she finally looked at me, her eyes were cold, and they looked so tired. She looked at the red marks on my wrists for a moment.  

"They weren't very nice when they brought you in, were they?"

"Where… where am I?" I choked out, my voice trembling like a pathetic sound in the echoing chamber. The terrible feeling of hopelessness was almost choking me.

"You belong here now, little lamb," another omega cut in. Her voice was younger and sharper, but the fear in her eyes was clear.

"The great Alpha Lord Voran owns us all. We're like his treasures." Her voice was sarcastic, but I could see the fear deep down in her eyes.

Elara, the first woman I saw, took my arm in a surprisingly strong grip and led me to a dark corner away from everyone else who was watching silently. "Listen," she said. "Forget about freedom. You need to understand what the rules are here...what's waiting for you." She held my arm tightly.

"What? What is it?" I asked, my stomach twisting with fear. It felt cold and tight inside, and it wasn't getting any better. You could just feel that terrible things had happened in this place.

"The first claiming," Elara’s voice dropped to a near-inaudible whisper, her eyes darting nervously towards the others. "When the full moon bleeds across the sky… he will choose someone. He always does. It’s a… tradition. A brutal and barbaric one."

"Claiming? Ritual?" My breath hitched in my throat, the words were sending a fresh wave of icy dread through me. What did she mean?

"He takes whoever he desires," Elara said, her eyes showing the pain she remembered.

"He marks us so that everyone knows we're his. He binds us to him…our bodies and souls. Even though every part of us resists." 

Her hand squeezed my arm so hard her knuckles were white. "Fight it, little one. Please, don't let him break you the way he broke the rest of us down to nothing."

A freezing, scary feeling went through me. Every word Elara said felt like a heavy weight on my already broken spirit. The Alpha Lord… claiming… under the light of the full moon. My heart beats fast and hard in my chest, like a terrified bird trapped in an inescapable cage.

Just then, the heavy iron door creaked open once more, the sound echoing ominously in the sudden silence. Everyone in the room went completely silent, so quiet that you could hear the shaky breaths of the enslaved omegas.

Everyone's head, including mine, jerked back like we'd been hit, our eyes wide with a fear that felt like it was built into us. A tall, scary figure stood in the doorway, with two giant guards next to him who seemed to fade into the shadows.

Even in the dim, flickering light from the hallway, his presence was undeniable, radiating a raw, untamed power that made the very air in the chamber crackle with invisible energy.

His eyes were dark and sharp like shiny black rocks, slowly looking at all the scared omegas huddled together. 

He paused for a second on each thin, worried face that showed fear. Then, he stopped completely. 

He looked straight at me. It was a slow, careful look that felt like someone was touching me without permission, like he owned me completely. It felt like invisible chains were already wrapping around me.

A cruel, barely noticeable smile touched the sides of his mouth, like a silent, scary promise of the bad things that were about to happen.  

My blood ran cold, and a wave of freezing fear went through me. I knew, with a sick feeling deep in my bones, that I was his chosen one.

His voice, deep and powerful, like a low growl that seemed to vibrate through the stone of the fortress. He finally broke the suffocating silence. 

"Prepare her." He never took his eyes off mine, keeping me trapped in his dark, intense stare. 

"She will be presented… at the next full moon."