004 A condition for freedom

OCTAVIA

I gasped and gripped my dress, my heart thumping in horror. Their eyes were on me, demanding an answer to their suspicion.

I gulped, trying to stop the rage from making a rash decision.

“You lied, didn't you?” He asked again.

The tears slowly dropped before I could stop them, and my belly turned inside out. I sucked in a deep breath and dropped to my knees, my hands clutching the leaves beside me.

“I just wanted to be free,” I whispered.

“Free from what?” The silver-haired Alpha asked.

I closed my eyes, daring not to look at him. I would definitely burn him with my eyes if I did.

If I wanted to live, I had to be on their side. Even if I didn't want to. I still had to do it for the sake of my family.

“I am a servant in the Blackwater Pack. I worked for the royal family in the kitchen. When… when the war started, I saw a chance to escape and be free,” I blurted out.

Silence descended and tension set in. I knelt there, debating whether my words were convincing enough. I couldn't even hear their breath or a single sound from them. It felt like they were holding their breath just as I was.

I suddenly felt a cold hand wrap around my arm and my heart jumped. I looked up, and my throat knotted when my eyes locked with the eyes of the silver-haired Alpha.

“Are you telling the truth?” He whispered and I nodded my head, letting the tears pour even more.

I wasn't crying because I wanted to fake it and make them believe me. I was crying because I had betrayed my family and my people trapped in the fire that ravaged my Pack.

“Get up,” he said as he stood up.

I staggered up to my feet, my head hanging low.

The cold hands of his brother wrapped around my chin and forced my head up. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the piercing eyes that switched from dark to emerald.

“What are we going to do with her now, hmm?” He hummed as he studied me like I was some object placed for sale.

I stiffened as I felt a hand wrap around my waist.

“When you served the Blackwater Alpha family, did you only serve in the kitchen?” The silver head whispered and my heart dropped.

“Yes,” I stuttered.

I bit my lips as his hand began to crawl up to my bodice.

“Have you ever been with someone?”

My breath ceased and for seconds my mind reeled. The possible reason behind their questions haunted me like a horror.

“No, my Lords,” I whispered, my voice beginning to shake.

I saw something flash across the eyes of his brother as they exchanged cunning glances.

“We can give you the freedom you want,” he continued to whisper into my ears and crash his breath against my neck. I sucked my breath in as his hand glided up to my chest and his fingers brushed against my nipple.

I closed my eyes and bit my lips harder, curling my toes even deeper as I tasted blood from my lips.

“You'll agree to our condition to join our harem,” he muttered and my belly clenched.

My eyes flew open and I tore away from his slackened hold. But as I pulled away from him, I fell into his brother's arms.

I gasped and tried to move but he held me right, pinning my body against his. I turned to look at him. To plead.

His eyes stared dark and cold into my soul as he stared down at me. While his brother had a sinister smile on his face, he had a sinister glee in his eyes.

“You don't have any chance of surviving after all,” he muttered to me in a cold voice.

Tears gathered in my eyes as I shook my head. I would rather be trapped by rogues or killed than let the men who slaughtered my family and Pack get into me.

“I will survive!” I blurted out, my words and voice carrying the weight of the rage and pain that burned in me.

Silence fell, and the smile on the silver-haired Alpha dropped. His eyes narrowed in suspicion and I felt the hands of his brother get colder with every second that ticked by.

My heart raced and regret began to draw in, eating me up. I should have stayed calm. I should have said yes. I should have hidden the pain!

Different thoughts of regret bounced through my mind as I watched and calculated their still reactions.

There was nothing to calculate. Not when they looked so vague and unreadable.

I hoped I would be saved or at least remain unnoticed. If they found out that I was the daughter of the Alpha whom they hung to rot, they wouldn't hesitate to pull the sword and chop my head off regardless of my purity and their condition.

My breath slowed as the forest grew more and more suffocating.

“Alpha!” A voice broke through the silence and I let out a breath I had been holding.

“Pardon me, my Lords, but we have to leave,” the man who had intruded earlier said.

“Straighten up and fix that look, we're leaving,” he muttered as he let go of me. I staggered back and wiped away the tears that dropped from my eyes.

“Make a space for her in the carriage,” I heard him order the man as he trudged away from the clearing.

His brother gripped my arm, his lips slanting with so much evil in those eyes.

“Come on, Octavia, let's show you what real freedom is,” he muttered and my heart sank.

I parted my lips to protest again, but before I could, he shoved me forward towards the messenger, then walked away in the same direction his brother had gone.

I knew at that moment that I had no chance against them. I was going to become their slave and give them pleasure while taking pain and guilt in return. I gripped my fist and bit my tongue.

Perhaps this was a way for me to get an opportunity to destroy them. Perhaps.

I looked back at the rising smoke from my Pack, my throat knotting in so much pain.

I would keep my word no matter what even if it meant serving their beds and losing my dignity.

“Let's go!” The messenger gripped my arm and pulled me away, leading me down the path the enemy Alphas had taken. The path that would determine if I would live to fulfill the pledge I made.