Chapter 6

Kestrel’s POV

My wrists feel heavy and numb from supporting my weight against these chains for what I believe to be hours. My heartbeat is erratic. One second, it’s too weak, and the next, it’s pounding at a threatening pace.

I’ve been bitten, marked by the beast.

I glance down through my blurry gaze. The sight of my feet causes me to sigh in relief. It didn’t work. It couldn’t have. Otherwise, I’d be screaming in agony by now, wagging a tail I can’t control… or possibly dead.

The sound of laughter pierces my eardrums, causing me to wince in pain. There’s no one in sight, yet it sounds as though people are laughing directly inside my head.

“I need to get out of here,” I mutter to myself, breaking into a cough as the foul, decayed stench of the cell becomes overwhelming.

Day two… maybe it’s day three.

I’m not sure anymore. No matter how desperately I try to convince myself that the animal’s bite last night did nothing to me, my body says otherwise.

I tug at the chains around my wrists. “Get me out of here!” I cry at the top of my voice. “I swear on all things dead, when I get out of here, I’ll rip every one of you to tatters, starting with that asshole you call an Alpha King!”

My throat burns, my eyes burn, my very flesh burns. I scream again, desperate to escape this cell, but most importantly, my rapidly transforming body.

The bite mark on my neck burns, and my voice cracks as I realize, “It’s happening. The shift. I need help. I need to get out of here while I still can.”

“Aww, is our little pup scared?”

My eyes snap up, darkening at the sight of one of the Alpha brothers, Zane.

“Oh, look how bright that mark is.” Axel smiles triumphantly. “Damn, it almost looks like a mate bond.”

“Imagine she’d turned out to be that dick’s mate? I would definitely have gotten the throne,” Zane says, his eyes never leaving mine as he scrutinizes every inch of me.

“I’m older than you, remember?” Axel points out.

Zane licks his lips, immediately changing the subject. “She’s quite the beauty.”

“I know that look, Zane. I don’t think it’s a wise idea.” Axel takes a step back.

“Well then, be on the lookout for me. I just want to have a little taste.”

My blood boils. “Come near me, and I’ll make sure to pound the life out of you.”

Zane pushes open the cell gate. “The only pounding happening here today will be me wrecking that tight ass of yours.”

“Shit,” Axel exclaims.

“What?” Zane frowns, turning towards him.

“Father is here.”

The Alpha King.

My body trembles with a newfound fear. It’s in this moment that I pick up the sound of confident footsteps.

Soon enough, two guards rush in and loosen my cuffs. I would fight, but for some reason, I feel incredibly weak. The most I manage is to stand on my feet with my head held high as I’m dragged out into the hallway.

The Alpha King steps forward. His dark robe sweeps across the floor behind him, his piercing golden eyes seeming to sink into my soul.

I clench my fists when I realize that the heavy breathing in the room is coming from me.

“Kneel.”

It’s a calm command.

I prepare for a beating when I catch the anger burning in the King’s gaze at my disobedience. Suddenly, it hits me.

I’ve read about this before… an Alpha’s aura.

But it only works on their kind, not humans… not hunters.

My knees buckle as the force of his silent command slams into me like a brick.

My chest tightens under the suffocating pressure as I gasp. But that’s not all. My hands crash against the cold stone floor, and my forehead meets the icy ground.

I bow.

The room erupts with laughter. The sinister sound is sure to haunt me for the remaining moments of my life.

On my knees like an obedient dog, shame threatens to consume me as a single tear slides down my cheek.

What have they turned me into?

“Look at this,” I hear Zane sneer.

Then there’s the sound of footsteps circling me.

“She kneels so beautifully. Maybe she’s meant for it.”

His words disgust me, but I remain silent. Who knows what the Alpha King will force me to do next?

“Let me keep her, Father,” he continues, and my heart nearly stops at all the dark implications hidden in his heavy tone. “Just for a while. I’ll tame her. Break her in.”

Break me in? Haven’t you done enough?!

“Lift your eyes,” the Alpha King commands.

Just like before, I obey against my will. He’s watching me with an unreadable expression.

Footsteps alert me again.

This time, something strange happens. Before seeing him or even hearing his name, I already know who it is.

Knox.

It’s something in the way the air shifts. The immediate, bewildering warmth that rushes through me.

It feels wrong, yet it doesn’t prevent my heart from stuttering. I want to look away, but I can’t.

He looks taller than I remember, dressed entirely in black.

“Crawl to your master,” the Alpha King says, surprising everyone. “To your owner.”

The room falls silent.

Or maybe it’s just the remnants of my world crashing down around me in that moment.

He wants me to crawl… to him? The bastard who has poisoned me. The monster who has turned me into one himself!

“No,” I whisper, furiously suppressing my hot tears.

Pain shoots through my jaw as I crash to the ground. I glare at the guard who just kicked my head, blood coating my tongue.

“You will do as commanded,” the idiot says.

I’m about to spit out a sharp reply when Knox’s voice causes the entire hallway to fall silent.

“I don’t want her,” he says, a slight wavering in his tone.

Zane grins. “Then let me have her.”

My body immediately turns cold.

Without hesitation, I get onto my hands and knees and crawl towards Knox.

No matter what Knox is… Zane is worse.

I’ve made my choice. My arms tremble, my knees bleed, but I keep going because I’ll take the monster who hesitates over the one who doesn’t any day.

By the time I reach his shiny black shoe, I bow, feeling every ounce of my dignity slip from my shoulders.

I hate this, but I must survive.

“You are next in line, Knox. Learn to take responsibility,” the Alpha King states, a hint of annoyance in his tone before storming off.

Zane snorts, following his brother and father out.

Then the hall is empty, and that’s when Knox steps forward.

In one swift, painful movement, his hand grips my hair, forcing my head back.

His gaze is wild with hatred and murderous intent.

“I didn’t ask for this,” he seethes, “but now that you’re mine…”

“Ugh!” I groan as his grip tightens.

He finishes slowly, ensuring I understand every word of his message.

“…I’ll make sure you wish you weren’t.”