Chapter 2

Kyra's POV:

‘Where am I?’ I thought, slapping a hand over my mouth to muffle my screams as my heart pounded and confusion flooded me.

Footsteps suddenly thudded from the front of the carriage and a man descended with a lantern, the warm glow cutting through the darkness to reveal that I wasn’t alone in the carriage. Several other girls lay chained in the cramped space, some asleep or unconscious, others awake and shivering violently, their eyes wide with terror.

Their mouths weren’t gagged, yet no one spoke so the silence was thick, broken only by the creak of wheels and the soft rattle of chains.

I turned to the man with the lantern, my voice shaking as fear clawed up my throat. “Who are you? Where are you taking me? Please, let me go!”

“Shut up.” He growled, already turning to leave.

“No, wait!” I cried louder, panic rising. “Let me go! My father is the Beta of Respawn Pack! He’ll make your lives miserable if you don’t release me right now!”

Suddenly there were more footsteps then another man appeared beside the first, his face hard in the lantern light. “Why the hell hasn’t that noise stopped yet?” The first man pointed the lantern straight at me. “It’s one of the three girls we bought from Mr. Johnson and his wife.”

The second man scoffed, looking me over with cold eyes. “Oh, she’s a loud one. We haven’t had that in months. Well, why don’t we add her to the list of girls we’ll be selling to Alpha Mason for his banquet. Once she’s there, I doubt she’ll be able to afford making so much noise again.”

‘Alpha Mason?’ The name echoed in my head as my mind spiraled.

Alpha Mason, the Alpha of Bloodhound Pack who kept sex slaves and barely let them live a year because he killed them whenever he needed to vent his rage.

They were going to sell me to him?

My stomach dropped, terror flooding every vein as the reality sank in. In four days I was supposed to stand beside Killian in front of the entire Respawn Pack, dressed in white and gold, finally becoming his Luna, and his wife. Instead, I was here, trapped in a carriage, headed for a fate worse than death.

‘How did everything go so…?’ My thoughts paused when I noticed that the two men had started climbing back toward the front.

“Wait. Please don't go!” I called out, voice cracking. “Please, take me back home. My father will pay you ten times whatever Alpha Mason would give you for me. Just take me back!”

They turned back around, then burst into loud, mocking laughter that echoed through the cramped wooden cage.

“I’m not joking!” I insisted, leaning forward as far as the chains allowed. “My father is truly the Beta of Respawn Pack. I am Kyra Nightingale, the future Luna of Respawn Pack. I’m Alpha Prince Killian’s betrothed. You have to believe me!”

They glanced at each other and laughed even harder.

“This isn’t our first rodeo, girl.” One sneered. “And it's not the first time a slave claims she’s some rich, important lady just to wriggle free. If you were truly from a noble family, you wouldn’t have been wandering the streets alone. You’d have had guards, security, or a maid watching over you.”

Tears burned my eyes and I tried to sniff them back, but they spilled anyway as I kept begging. “Please… I’m telling the truth…”

Their faces hardened. “Keep running that mouth and we’ll kill you right here and dump your corpse in the forest for the wild beasts.”

I shut my mouth instantly and curled into myself, knees drawn tight to my chest. The rest of the journey passed in heavy, terrified silence.

I knew we had reached Bloodhound Pack when the carriage slowed at a stretch of forest. I stretched my head as far as I could through the gaps in the wooden slats and watched one of the men hand a paper to the border guards. They barely glanced at it before waving the entire carriage through.

My stomach twisted on realizing that buying and selling girls like livestock seemed to be normal unlike back home where Father had worked hard to make purchasing slaves illegal. But poor merchants had started selling their own daughters or kidnapping others, and Bloodhound Pack, under Alpha Mason, was one of the biggest buyers every year.

The carriage suddenly rolled to a stop in front of a massive mansion with a royal emblem on its gate, then took a sharp turn to the back gate. We were yanked out roughly while the men spoke with more guards. Then the other guards marched us down into the dungeons and hurled us into a cell already holding several girls.

I stumbled, fell hard onto the cold stone floor, and crawled into a dark corner, pulled my knees to my chest, and tried to think but I still couldn't figure out a way to survive this place, or how to reach my father. By now he would be tearing Respawn Pack apart looking for me, especially with the wedding less than three days away.

And Killian… how badly would he miss me? How much pain would my disappearance cause him?

My thoughts spiraled even more as we stayed in that damp cell for an entire day with almost no movement until two maids finally appeared with stuffed buns the next afternoon to give each of us one, then they left.

When evening came and still no one had returned, I crawled over to one of the girls who had already been here when we arrived. “How long have you and the others been here?” I whispered.

“Five days.” She answered quietly and I ran a shaky hand through my tangled hair, thinking aloud. “Are they waiting for a specific number of girls… or a certain date?”

The girl shrugged while another leaned in, voice trembling with fear. “I overheard the night guards two days ago. They sounded really excited about Alpha Mason’s banquet tomorrow. Maybe that’s when they’ll bring us before him.”

A third girl wiped tears from her eyes and chimed. “I have heard tales about his banquets before I was brought here.”

All the girls slowly gathered closer as she continued in a hushed tone. “His banquets are different every year. Last year, he gifted a beautiful slave to every wealthy merchant who attended.”

Murmurs of sadness rippled through the cell while I wondered with dread what he would do differently tomorrow when a guard suddenly appeared, banging his baton against the bars. “What’s going on in there? Separate!”

We scattered immediately and I curled back into my corner, shaking as I whispered desperate prayers. ‘Moon Goddess, please save me. I want to go home. I want to marry Killian. I want to be the perfect Luna my father raised me to be and have three beautiful children. Please… don’t let it end like this.’

I repeated the prayer all night until the next afternoon when the maids returned with more buns but this time around I turned my face away. Still, it was shoved roughly into my hand, causing my anger to flare as I threw it across the cell.

A sharp kick from one of the maids to my ribs knocked the breath out of me and I sat there holding back my tears. After they left, another girl asked if I was eating mine and I shook my head.

She darted forward, snatched the bun from the dirty floor, and retreated to a corner while others begged for pieces. She ate it slowly, tearing into it with desperate bites and my mouth watered painfully. My stomach churned and growled so loudly I pressed my arms against it, trying to hold the hunger in.

Hot tears spilled anyway but I clamped a hand over my mouth to muffle the sobs. I had never been this hungry. Never been treated so horribly. Back home, beautiful dishes were always laid out for me to choose from, even though Mrs. Shelby, my etiquette tutor, always told me to eat like a lady. Now I craved a single dry bun stuffed with poorly stored vegetables, and I had thrown it away like a fool.

Regret burned as I curled up tighter, willing myself to sleep through the hunger until a rough kick to my side jolted me awake. I gasped, eyes flying open to the dim light of the dungeon cell. Before I could even sit up properly, strong hands grabbed my arms and yanked me to my feet. The guards were already inside, pulling the other girls up aggressively, their voices sharp and impatient.

“Move! All of you, out now!” I stumbled forward, and noticed that the chains around my ankles had been removed so my heart hammered with confusion.

My mind was still foggy from a night of restless, fear-filled half-sleep. ‘What is happening? Where are they taking us?’ I wanted to ask, but the guards’ hard grips and cold expressions kept the questions locked in my throat.

I stayed rooted in place, confused and terrified, as the guards stepped out, leaving two behind to herd us. One of them turned back and yelled. “You! Move!”

“Where… where are you taking us?” My voice trembled as he drew his sword halfway out of its sheath. Fear shot through me and I rushed out of the cell without another word.

They marched us out of the cell and through the damp corridors without a single explanation. Then, they shoved us into two massive carriages that rumbled out through the back gate of the packhouse and deep into the forest. The journey felt endless, the wheels bouncing over uneven ground until we finally stopped in a vast clearing surrounded by thick trees.

The guards pulled us out roughly and lined us up in a straight row. I stood there, legs shaky from hunger and fear, blinking against the morning light, still trying to make sense of it all.

The heavy thud of approaching hooves dragged me back to the present and I turned my head just as a group of men rode into the clearing, fifteen or more of them mounted on powerful horses. They looked so noble, dressed in fine riding clothes with bows and quivers strapped to their backs.

For a brief, foolish moment I wondered if this was some kind of rescue or official procession but then my eyes locked onto the man at the center.

He sat atop the largest black horse, radiating a dark, suffocating aura. Cold eyes, middle-aged face carved with cruelty. Something inside me knew instantly that this had to be Alpha Mason. The rumors had not lied; he looked every bit as ruthless as people whispered.

Before I could process another thought, a horn blared loudly across the clearing, making me flinch.

A man stepped forward from beside the riders, his voice carrying excitement. “Welcome to Alpha Mason’s hunting ceremony! The prize for the man who hunts down the most girls before sunset would earn a seat on Alpha Mason’s council. If Alpha Mason himself wins, then…

My ears began ringing as the words echoed horribly in my head. ‘Hunts down?’ They were going to hunt ‘us’.

I shook my head frantically, refusing to believe what I had heard. I turned back to the men on horseback. These noble-looking men in fine clothes with proud posture couldn’t possibly do something so vile.

But then the announcer turned to us and read the rules clearly: “You will be given a head start to run as fast and as far as you can into the forest. Those of you who survive until sunset will earn the right to live, by joining Alpha Mason’s harem as his personal slaves. Those who do not survive, your corpses will be fed to the Alpha’s dogs.”

My heart sank like a stone into deep water. ‘How am I supposed to survive this?’ I had spent my entire life inside my father’s packhouse, protected, trained only in etiquette and Luna duties. How was I supposed to run through the wild forest? Where could I possibly hide? What was I going to do?