001 Long Waited Guest

In a dark cell, a man was hung in chains, blood dripping.

"Any last words, rogue?" A guy with a smirky face taunted, chewing the address as if it was a heavy insult. He trailed the whip in his hand along the muscled stomach of the man hung in chains, smirking even brighter when the rogue's body shivered slightly as the rough thong grazed through some of the deep cuts.

"Some." The rogue rose his head with a sneer, not the thin sweat on his nose nor the blood dripping from his jaw could dim that taunting grin, "Like how you imagine lynching me would go well with your good Alpha?"

"That's your last words?" The smirky guy let out a short laugh, but it didn't prevent him from swinging the whip again, leaving another scarlet stripe on the rogue's chest.

"Well, I AM a curiosity-driven person." The rogue curved his lips, taunting.

The smirky guy rose the whip yet again, and the rogue quickly added: "Wait, wait, okay, so, I do want to know who is it that's taking my life. Will you indulge me this question at least?"

The smirky guy bared his yellow teeth in a pleased grin, obviously taking the rogue's change of tone a sign of weakness: "You are aware of the name Hogan of the Pisces Pack, right?"

"Ohh, the famous family of the betas?" The rogue rose his eyebrows with a shocked look, and that satisfied the smirky guy very much.

"That's the one! And you are speaking to the heir of the Hogan family, Nate Hogan!" The smirky guy answered with plain pride.

"Now puzzle me this, Nate Hogan," The rogue said with a genuine face, "Why are you so proud when your family is famous for never having an Alpha born among the heirs even with all the wealth you scrap from the poor?"

"How dare you, you filthy rogue!" Shameful anger turned Nate's ear burning red as the whip shivered in his shaking hand, "You will suffer before I grant you the sweet taste of death as a relief!"

Nate hooked a finger through a little ring stuck out the side of the rogue's stomach. It's a standard torture method -- cut a deep wound on the stomach of the prisoner and stick an iron brush with a ring on one end in the wound. A wound like this heals within hours, but it's the pulling out the brush that hurts the most because the flash would grow around the wire bristles, and pulling on the ring would usually tear out pieces of flesh.

"Beg and I'll let you die quickly." Nate threatened viciously, adding forces to the ring. The newly healed wound breached open instantly as the flesh tore apart slowly.

The rogue clenched his teeth and bore the pain in silence.

"Say you are sorry!" Nate shouted hysterically, riping the iron brush out of the rogue's stomach. Blood gushed out as pieces of flesh hung over the terrifying wound.

"Sorry you can't handle the truth," The rogue hissed under his breath with that annoying grin as if no pain could reach him, "Heir of the beta."

Nate let out a growl at the rogue's words and punched him right over the torn open wound. The rogue's arms stiffened instantly, leaving the chains jingling around.

He clenched his teeth but a suppressed groan still escaped his lips.

Nate smirked: "And here I thought you are made of iron, Knight the rogue...or should I say, former heir of the Knox family, a bloodline of Alphas?"

The grin disappeared from Knight's face.

"How did you know?!" Knight growled.

"Ohh yeah, I know all about your history and that weak father of yours!" Nate smirked viciously, "The famous Knox family who lost their whole pack to a rogue attack! Your father must be proud of you for turning into a rogue--"

"I'll kill you." Knight cut Nate off coldly, those blue eyes shone the light of death, "You will die at my hands, Nate Hogan."

"Holy shit! I'm scared! How are you gonna do that when you are chained to the fucking wall?" Nate burst into laughter and so did the three men following him in the dark cell.

Knight glanced at the window that was half-buried underground. He couldn't even see the sky from there, but at least he could tell it was nighttime, and it was pouring heavily outside.

"No more words? Didn't think so." Nate lifted Knight's face with his whip tauntingly, and Knight didn't even land his eyes on Nate's face again.

The cell fell into silence with only sounds of whipping and the slashing of flesh rising from time to time.

But serene was not the theme of this night, at least not at the prison of Pisces Pack--

"Alpha Raven! Why are you suddenly here tonight?!" The guard sitting at the entrance of the prison jumped up when Raven appeared on the doorsteps.

Raven frowned slightly at the guard: "What's wrong with me patrolling the prison?"

"I mean, just...no one notified me that we are expecting you is all!" The guard stammered, putting on a forced smile over his shocked face.

"I'm aware that they caught five rogues yesterday," Raven took a deep breath as he headed in, suppressing the impatience growing inside him, "Does my explanation please you, Gamma...?"

"Jeremy, the name is Jeremy, Alpha." Jeremy bared his neck at Raven quickly as he accompanied Raven while suddenly rising his voice, "The rogues newly captured are this way, Alpha!"

Raven paused in surprise at Jeremy's basically shouting voice. He turned and stared at Jeremy for a few seconds before a realization look crawled onto his face as he exclaimed under his breath: "Goddess forbids! Don't tell me it's Nate again!"

Raven doubled toward the cells, sniffing the air slightly as he did -- the bloody smell in the air got heavier and heavier as he went deeper.

"Alpha! Please wait for me, Alpha!" Jeremy kept on shouting behind Raven, his voice echoed around the empty gallery of the prison, turning the cold air even more creepy.

"Shut the fuck up, Jeremy! I know you are trying to warn Nate! Haven't you done enough?!" Raven wheeled on Jeremy with his eyes glimmering -- he used the Alpha Aura, and Jeremy shut his lips together tight in the middle of his shouting, having only a muffed grunt out, not able to utter another word.

Raven finished the last few steps in quietness hastily before he kicked open the heavy rusty door to the deepest cell--

Nate had a creepy laugh on his face as he stuck a still glowing red iron on the wound in Knight's stomach, gaggling. All the four men turned in Raven's direction in shock as Raven glared back at them. The sizzling sounds of the iron-burning Knight were the only thing breaking the silence until--

"Took you long enough, Alpha Raven." Knight rose his head with a bright grin, his eyes fell on Raven tauntingly.