Chapter 5: Dog and wolves

Clink... clink... clink…

The high-pitched sound of clinking dishes woke Aurelia.

With heavy eyelids, she opened her eyes and gloomily looked in the direction the sound came from.

In front of her was a bowl of food—if that was what it was supposed to be called. There were many small, dried brown balls inside. With squinted eyes, she crawled toward it with a heavy, tired, and weak body, grabbing one small ball and holding it between her thumb and index finger.

As she figured out what it was, she let out a humourless laugh before throwing it right at the face of Robert, who immediately glared at her.

“You bitch!” he shouted, his voice booming and echoing inside the dungeon, but Aurelia did not even flinch at his tone.

Her jaw clenched as she looked him dead in the eye and said, “If you are not going to treat me with respect, at least do not treat me like a goddamn dog!”

Aurelia’s voice was calm, but the tone was so full of anger that the once-cold dungeon suddenly felt freezing cold.

The food served to her was dog food.

What made it worse was that it was obviously leftovers, evidenced by the small furs visible on the food upon closer inspection.

With glaring eyes, Aurelia grabbed the entire bowl and hurled it at Robert, which made him even angrier. He harshly slammed his hand against the metal bars, creating a loud, high-pitched noise. Werewolves were sensitive to noise, especially unexpected high-pitched sounds that made their ears ring in pain for a while.

“For a captive like you, you really got some nerve!” Robert said, consumed by anger.

His face was starting to turn red while his hands clenched into fists. Not yet satisfied with shouting and letting loose harsh words, he shakily pulled the cage keys from his pocket, itching to physically hurt Aurelia.

After a moment, Robert successfully opened the cage and, without wasting any time, sprinted closer to her, grabbing her arm tightly and yanking her up to stand on her own. Her legs gave out, however, and she ended up hanging limply from his grip. It was no surprise that a bruise would soon appear on her arm.

She guessed she just had to be thankful they were werewolves, or else that bruise would likely leave a permanent mark on her flawless skin.

Aurelia wanted to cry at the way the wolves below were treating her. She was a well-respected princess from above, but in her current state, she thought even dogs were treated more humanely than she was.

“You are nothing but power-hungry wolves from above; you are not worth our time and resources!” Robert shouted at her as he slapped her hard.

A tear fell down her cheek as her vision dimmed and she passed out.

Meanwhile, Alpha Claudius was deep in the forest where a group of werewolves was training under Julius's leadership.

He stood on one side of the clearing, his back leaning against a wide tree trunk as he watched how they used nature to their advantage.

Today was the weekend, and every weekend Julius allowed the pack members to draw partners to duel in hand-to-hand combat.

‘To be a strong wolf, you need to have a strong foundation... and that is your human form.’

That was what his father had always told him as a pup while he trained, and he kept that motto alive throughout the entire pack as a reminder, which was why this battle always took place as part of their training.

“Wolves and nature are one. We all cohabit with each other. Learn to navigate your way and utilise every resource you have!” Julius shouted, staying in the middle of the battlefield as he began throwing knives at high speeds in every direction.

“An enemy won’t just attack from one direction. Be alert at all times. If those knives were silver, those who got hit would be dead or fighting for their lives!” Julius added, causing Claudius to smile as he observed their training.

All of the wolves paid close attention to Julius's words, starting to use the leaves, sand, dirt, and trees to their advantage. They also grew much more alert to their surroundings, so that when Julius threw the next batch of knives, only a few wolves were grazed by them.

Claudius looked at Julius and smiled before giving him a thumbs-up. Afterwards, he headed back to the packhouse and walked straight to his office, located on the second floor just beside his bedroom. He seated himself in his swivel chair as his thoughts drifted back to the moment they had first laid eyes on Aurelia.

He had been running fast toward the aqueduct back then when the scent of lavender and roses suddenly mixed and reached his nostrils.

It was intoxicating.

He had known right then that the she-wolf who fell into the water was his mate… a replacement he could not accept… He wouldn't have…

Anger had filled his mind, but the vision of her nakedness in front of another man had enraged him so much that he had shouted back then.

He sighed as he returned to reality, averting his eyes toward the moon painting hanging on the wall across from his desk.

He looked at it intently as if speaking directly to the Moon Goddess before he spoke, “You are too cruel... I need no replacement, and I will show it to you…”

Determination and anger laced his voice.

He was staring at the painting when Lester, his wolf, suddenly felt uneasy, though he did not voice what his problem was.

Claudius called for him to speak, but he heard nothing except Lester’s whine.

His brow furrowed in confusion when his office door was suddenly bombarded by loud knocking.

“Come in, Fabian, before you break my door!” he shouted, certain of who it was based on the scent he picked up.

Fabian's his Beta, the person he trusted most alongside Julius.

Fabian had been busy handling other matters during the storm, which was why Claudius was surprised by how urgent his Beta looked, knowing he had already succeeded in the mission he had been assigned.

“What is the matter?” he asked.

Fabian caught his breath before speaking again, immediately capturing Claudius's attention. “I just came back and got curious about the humoured captive, so I visited the dungeon. She... she lost consciousness… Are you trying to kill her?”

“What?” Claudius asked in shock as he sprang up from his seat.