2. The Great Hunt

The first scream suddenly broke the silence.

For one horrifying second, I thought the Lycan King had finally arrived.

My head jerked up before I could stop myself, but I caught the movement just in time and lowered my gaze back to the floor. The soldier's threat was still fresh in my mind. I wasn't stupid enough to risk having my guts turned into dog food.

The scream came again and I knew immediately that it had come from one of the girls in the crowd.

A knot formed in my stomach.

We had all been holding on by a thread since arriving here. Some of us were just better at hiding it than others. It was only a matter of time before someone broke.

Unfortunately for her, she had chosen the worst possible moment.

Through my peripheral vision, I saw the big, scarred soldier lunge into the crowd. He reached down and fisted his hand into her long, blonde hair.

The girl wailed as he jerked her upward and dragged her across the floor like a sack of grain all the way to the front. Before she could even catch her breath, he released her hair and wrapped a hand around her throat. Then he lifted.

Her feet left the ground instantly. Panic flashed across her face as her legs kicked helplessly beneath her and her fingers clawed desperately at his wrist. She was gasping for breath.

The soldier didn't even seem to notice. Then again, judging by the look on his face, he probably did. He just couldn't have cared less.

His gaze swept over the crowd and his lip curled in open disgust.

​"I don't recall giving any of you permission to make noise," he snarled. "But perhaps I overestimated the intelligence of such... worthless creatures. Did I not imply that you were to keep your filthy mouths shut? Or is the concept of silence too difficult for your little brains to grasp?"

He tightened his grip on the girl’s throat. She made a weak, gurgling sound.

"Let this serve as a lesson," he sneered, looking directly at the section where the girl had been sitting. "This right here? This is what happens when you don’t listen. Let it be a lesson to the rest of you sniveling sluts. Disobedience doesn’t get tolerated in the Ironfang Pack. Not from the likes of you."

The likes of you.

I knew exactly what he meant. To him, we weren't women who had been ripped away from our homes and thrown into an unfamiliar territory. We weren't daughters, sisters, or pack members. We were the unwanted. The discarded. The Lycan King's property.

I looked at the girl still gasping in his grip, then down at my own trembling hands. I forced my eyes to stay on the floor.

He threw her down hard. Her body hit the floor with a sickening crack that echoed off the walls. I flinched even though I wasn’t the one who got tossed. ​The girl didn't scream this time. She went completely still and her body crumpled in an unnatural heap. For a heartbeat, I thought she was dead. But then I saw her chest hitch. Tears streamed silently down her face, and she bit her lip so hard it turned white, muffling any sound of agony.

The soldier spat on the floor next to her.

"You’re lucky His Majesty doesn't want his new stock damaged before the games even start," he smirked. "If it were up to me, I’d have ripped you apart for the headache you've given me. Now crawl your sorry ass back into the crowd before I change my mind and finish the job anyway."

The girl began to crawl. It was a slow, agonizing process. Her left leg trailed behind her at a sickening angle, clearly broken. Every time she shifted her weight, she winced and her eyes fluttered as if she might pass out, but she didn't make a sound.

I wanted so bad to go to her and help her up or at least whisper that it would be okay. My hands twitched against the floor but I stayed put.

The last time I tried helping someone who was getting punished, I ended up with a broken jaw and two shattered legs. And because of my sickness, because I didn’t have a wolf to heal me fast, it took months before I could even sit up without crying.

It had been seven months now and I still walked with a limp.

The healers back home had taken one look at me and decided their medicine was better spent elsewhere. Remedies were reserved for warriors, ranked wolves and people who actually mattered to the pack. Not a sick, wolfless girl who contributed nothing.

The girl finally made it back into the crowd. When she dropped on her knees, I saw her face clearly. She looked young. Far too young to be here. Far too young for whatever fate awaited us beyond these walls.

For a brief moment, her eyes met mine. Terror stared back at me from them. Then she looked away so quickly as if she couldn't bear for anyone seeing the fear in her eyes.

The soldier wiped his hands on his pants like touching her had dirtied him. Then he pulled out a little black notebook from his pocket, flipped it open, and cleared his throat like he was about to read the weather.

"Listen up, all of you, " he announced. "A message from the King himself. Out of the hundreds of the pathetic dregs we gathered, the eighty of you have been chosen as the lucky candidates to participate in the Great Hunt. Consider it an honor. Most females never get this close to real power."

Lucky?

We were prisoners and this asshole thought we should feel lucky? My stomach twisted so hard I had to swallow twice to keep from throwing up. I risked a tiny glance sideways at Mirabel. Even she looked like she wanted to say something rude.

"The rules are simple," he continued, pacing back and forth. "In a few minutes, you will be released into the Northern woods. You’ll have a head start to get as deep into the trees as your little legs can carry you. Then, the players will be released. These are Alphas and high-ranking warriors who have paid dearly for the right to hunt you."

He paused, letting that sink in.

"If you are caught, the hunter who finds you claims you. You become his property, his servant or... whatever he desires. However," he chuckled, "if you are fast enough or clever enough to make it to the markers at the far edge of the forest, you win your freedom from the hunters. Instead, you will be hand-delivered to the capital, where His Majesty, the Lycan King, will personally decide your fate."

A low murmur broke out, despite the threat of violence.

I felt a hysterical laugh bubbling up in my throat. I had to bite my tongue again to keep it down. So that was it? Those were our choices? It was like running from a rabid dog that’s already foaming at the mouth, only to trip and fall straight into a tiger’s open jaws. Either way, you’re torn apart.

Getting grabbed by some alpha meant you’d spend the rest of your life as his toy; probably beaten, used, and tossed aside when he got bored. But making it to the end and letting the Lycan King decide? That felt worse. Way worse.

I’d seen how his men treated us already. If this is how the soldiers acted, kicking women around and calling us bitches and sluts, then their king had to be ten times meaner.

Rumors said he was immortal and nothing under the sun could kill him. What chance did I have against that? At least with a regular alpha there was a tiny sliver, maybe one percent, that I could fight back, maybe even kill him in his sleep if I got lucky. But the king? No. I’d rather take my chances with one of his hunters than end up alone in a room with that monster.

I wasn’t going to let any of us make it to that far ridge. We’d stick together, run and find a spot deep in the woods where we could hide or... or something. I didn’t know what yet, but I wasn’t handing us over to the king on a silver platter.

The soldier snapped the notebook shut.

"You’ve got ten minutes once the bell rings." He said. "Run fast and maybe you will last longer than the last batch did. The Alphas are waiting outside, eager to play. Any questions? No? Good."

A heavy, bronze bell began to toll from the tower above us. The sound vibrated through the floorboards, rattling my teeth.

"Ten minutes," the soldier shouted over the ringing. "That’s all you get. Ten minutes before the Alphas are released to sniff you out. I’d suggest you start moving, unless you want to be claimed right here on the dirt. The clock starts the moment the gate drops. Use it. Run. Hide. Make it fun for them."

A massive metal shutter at the far end of the warehouse began to move upwards, revealing the dense, dark wall of the forest. A collective gasp swept through us.

​"Run!"