Chapter 1: Caged Like Animals

Something sharp slowly pulled me from sleep.

I opened my eyes to see a stick poking me. The side of my head was throbbing. I lifted my hand and touched the side of my skull. I felt thick wetness there and my hand came back covered in drying blood.

That explained the killer headache I had.

I lifted my gaze to look at the owner of the stick.

It was a boy who didn’t look much older than me. He had blonde hair, green eyes, a full mouth, and he was wearing silk, which told me that he was either an omega or a witch. He wasn’t pale like a vampire, and alphas and betas would never dare wear silk.

Then I noticed that we were moving. I quickly sat up, making my head spin. We were in the back of a moving truck. There were two other girls sleeping beside the boy. They looked just as young. One a redhead, the other dark haired.

“Where are we?” I asked.

The boy shrugged but didn’t answer.

I was still wearing Aria’s dress. But it was now torn and dirty. It looked nothing like the white it once was.

That’s when I remembered that Aria said I was sold before they knocked me down. I could understand wanting the man and wanting to be a Luna, but why go that far?

The truck drove past what looked like a marketplace. Merchants were shouting everywhere and there were a bunch of selling stalls. I’d never been to these parts before. I always tended to shop closer to home whenever Ronnie sent me on errands. This was new territory.

My hand instinctively went around the silver chain around my neck. My mother’s cheap ring was still there. I guessed no one wanted cheap things and tugged it under the dress that now disgusted me.

Aria had looked at me like I was dirt under her shoes. If someone had warned me a month ago that this would happen, I would’ve laughed in their face. I was such an idiot. How did I not see the signs?

She was always so uncomfortable whenever Dominic came around me. She always found a reason to excuse herself. Turned out all that time she was sleeping with him, all while whispering in my ear not to give up the cookie until I was eighteen and I was claimed in front of the whole pack.

“Holy shit,” the boy on the truck beamed as the truck slowed in front of an enormous wall.

The gates were just as big, with the unmistakable mark of the dragon embedded on the metal. I think I stopped breathing for a second when the gates opened and the truck slid in.

There was no mistaking where we were.

House Vaelryth.

A kingdom I only read about in history books.

It was nothing like Attridge City or Fenrith. Most of the houses looked like double storey condos instead of towers. There were only a few towers that appeared to be flats. Every other building looked personal. Like homes of actual families. There were trees and gorgeous flowers everywhere. Green was the dominating color, but there was no mistaking that black and gray were the Vaelryth colors.

The books didn’t show how many people actually lived here. The streets were crowded, the markets were loud, and there were dragons everywhere. Some were high above the city while others sat on the roofs of buildings like they belonged there.

“Hey, wake up.” The boy started shaking the girls.

They came slowly awake.

The brunette smiled shyly and waved a hand at me. Her blue, old fashioned dress looked cleaner than mine. It looked like it was dirtied by the truck floor instead of probably being dragged like mine.

There was a big silver chain around her neck. It looked like one of those old tribal things that belonged in a museum. You’d never find Aria dead in one of those. The dress or the chain.

The fact that I still thought about her made my head hurt even more.

The truck soon entered a road lined by trees. We were going into the woods. It was obvious then just how big Vaelryth really was. The books didn’t even begin to cover it. Or maybe I’d just been ignorant.

I knew there were mountains and cliffs where dragons freely roamed. I knew there were also a few villages, the city, the palace. But that was about it.

And the rumours about Vaelryth people were never ending.

I remembered Ronnie’s boss once got a construction project with them. And Ronnie described them as cruel. He said they despised outsiders. Of course I didn’t take him seriously because why would they hire people they hate to build their bridge? It didn’t make sense.

The truck eventually left the main road and entered what appeared to be a village.

There were people everywhere.

Music played somewhere ahead and the smell of roasted meat drifted through the trees. Families were sitting under large black and gray tents, eating and drinking while children ran between them. Everyone seemed dressed for something. Most wore black and gray, and the women had the same kind of silver jewellery I noticed around the redhead.

It looked like a celebration.

There was a cage at the far end of a huge clearing, made of thick iron bars and large enough to hold animals.

Except that there were people inside. Women. Men. Most of them looked young.

At the centre of the clearing was a raised platform made from dark stone. A throne sat in the middle of it, carved with the shape of a dragon with its wings spread behind the seat.

There were guards around the platform. More stood around the cage. Most of the people in the cage didn’t look frightened.

That was the strangest part.

Like this was completely normal.

“You are a werewolf, aren’t you?” the dark haired girl suddenly asked, glaring at me.

I nodded. “Attridge.”

“Well, not for long,” the redhead added.

A muscular man appeared at the side of the truck and began barking in a language I didn’t understand. He had on a hat with white feathers, beige vintage breeches, and boots. His vest was made of animal skin. He looked ridiculous.

“Get off,” the redhead got up as the man lowered the truck door.

I hesitated. I was in no way ready to deal with whatever was coming. I wasn’t ready to accept that I was merchandise. This was probably an auction for slaves.

“He said get off,” the redhead whispered.

I still didn’t move until I was the only one left. The man narrowed his eyes at me. I quickly crawled off the back before he could consider yanking me off by my hair. He looked capable. And my head still hurt like a motherfucker.

We followed behind him.

The locals kept muttering in their native tongue. The women were gossiping and the men were watching us curiously.

“I’m Penelope.” The redhead linked her arm with mine and smiled up at me.

“Annabelle,” I said. “Anna.”

She nodded.

We followed the man through the clearing.

The closer we got to the cage, the more I could hear what was happening inside.

Someone was crying.

Not quietly either. A woman was pressed against the bars, tears running down her face as she begged one of the guards to let her out. Beside her, a young man was sitting on the ground with his knees pulled against his chest. He also wore the silver chain.

There were more of them than I expected.

Women and male omegas packed inside the cage, some sitting against the bars, others huddled together. A few were crying. One woman was shaking so badly another had her arms around her.

I stopped walking.

Penelope’s arm tightened around mine.

“What is this?” she whispered.

Nobody answered. We were clueless.

The guard grabbed my arm and shoved me toward the cage.

I stumbled forward and nearly fell. Penelope caught herself against the bars while the other girl screamed when another guard pushed her inside, followed by the boy.

The cage door slammed shut behind us.

The sound went straight through me.

I spun around and grabbed the bars. “Let us out!”

The guard didn’t even look at me.