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I ask you to please leave me a review Join me for King Kellen's adventure in the third book: More plot twists, romance, and mythology links coming your way. I hope you enjoy this bonus chapter, a little taste of the upcoming book.***The Gladiator Wolf King - Book 3 OUT NOW and completed********The Gladiator Wolf King
Chapter 1 – Waking Up
KING KELLEN
I opened my eyes, a nauseating feeling rose from my stomach right up to my throat.
My stomach was sloshing and my vision was blurry. I blinked twice, adjusting my eyes to the dark; the only light was from a low-hanging bulb, a dim light that was swaying to and fro, not helping the churning of my gut.
The smell of salty water and damp rusty mold hit my nose. I gagged as the scents curdled my stomach even more. My whole body ached and I went to shift my position, only to be met with the clanking sound of chains and resistance at my wrists.
Holy hell, either, I had the worst hangover in history and Mike left me tied up somewhere dumb again, or …
I didn’t get to finish my thought as the bang of something metal, large and sliding, disturbed me. “Mike what the fuck…” My dry throat rasped out but was cut off by the sound of a deep menacing chuckle.
“Ahh, you are awake. I was told to watch you. Darius, we got one awake, sort it out, ya?” I couldn’t focus on his face, but I could smell his stale and pungent scent of wine and bread and make out the shape of a man’s round gut and stained white shirt. His voice was hoarse and his accent one I hadn’t heard before.
“Argghhh!” I yelled as I felt my back rip open, when out of nowhere the lash came, tearing through my skin. I felt the deep cuts open immediately and the sting of wolfsbane seep through the gashes.
“Argghh!” I cried out again, this time, two quick whips, and the lashes they left were agonizing.
I wasn’t in silver but I had no strength to break the chains, try as I might. I couldn’t stand on my own even before they lashed me.
I twisted in agony. What the fuck was this? I opened my mouth to ask what the hell was going on, who they were, or to command them to let me go. But the brutal lashing came again.
I reached out for Conri, my wolf, but I was met with silence. Whatever I had been drugged with had knocked my wolf out.
This could seriously not be happening to me.
The last thing I remember was… what? I closed my eyes, screwing them shut. What happened to me? Think, think, Kellen.
Crack!
Another lash wracked through my body and I clamped my jaw tight, gritting my teeth together, trying to bear the pain and not cry out. I couldn’t give them the satisfaction.
Whoever ‘they’ were?
“Let me go and I will spare your lives” I heavily breathed out. The whooshing in my stomach churned again and bile rose. I began spewing, my stomach contents, splashing to the floor and hitting my bare feet, where my toes barely touch the metal floor.
Where the fuck were my shoes? Where the fuck are my clothes? All I had on was a pair of black boxer briefs.
I remember we won the battle of Riocht. Mathias killed Orion.
Lamia, her emerald green eyes flashing in my mind, became queen. They became king and queen, they were crowned.
My head was becoming fuzzy again. My lips sooo dry and the smell of my puke made me want to vomit again.
Crack!
“Arggghh” I yelled out, the whips force taking me by surprise. Who were these idiots? Did they not know who I was? Didn’t they realize they were going to die for this?
“Easy Darius, this one’s worth a lot of money. We wouldn’t want to deliver him half dead now, would we? Jack wouldn’t like that. Got a lot of money riding on this one.” The stale-smelling man said, breathing his rotting stench of a mouth right by my ear. “Right little prince? You will make fine entertainment.” He laughed and then moved away, his footsteps clanging against the metal floor.
I remember leaving Riocht, hugging Lamia goodbye. I would see her soon. Mike left with me, we were in a car, and we stopped.
That’s where it gets hazy again.
The whip came down again and again; I lost count of how many times I felt the bite on my back and the sting of the wolfsbane. Blood ran down my torn skin, the red liquid dripping onto the metal ground beneath me, its coppery smell mixing with my bile and the rusty mold.
Thoughts and images of Lamia flitted through my head, focusing on something other than the pain. I smiled at her image until my thoughts shifted.
Is this how she felt, lost, confused… When she woke up in the dungeons of MacTire?
The smell of the salty water, coupled with my empty stomach, made me queasy and dizzy. I tried to look around at my surroundings, but my sight was becoming a blur again.
I felt the sweat bead on my forehead and felt the crack of another lash opening my bareback even more. The pain was heightened by the wolfsbane and the fact that my wolf was AWOL right now.
I need to remember what happened to me.
I called to my wolf again. Nothing. I opened my mind to Lamia and the other three Knights. Nothing. I tried to feel her, sense her but I was met with nothing.
I had no energy to cry out again, so I hung there as lash after lash tore me open. They didn’t stop until I passed out.
Or at least when I passed out I didn’t feel it anymore. So much for going easy on me.
“Lamia” I whispered her name on my parched lips, praying she heard me as my eyes fluttered and closed, casting me back into darkness.
The next time I woke, it was with a bucket of saltwater being thrown over me, the salt, stinging the lacerations on my back that had not healed yet.
“Wakeey, wakeey, little prince” That gravelly voice pierced my eardrums, his attempt at singing the words just made the throbbing in my head and wounds feel much more intense.
I felt the chains tighten, the cuffs pulling taut on my wrists, then loosen and my body crashed to the floor, crumpling in a pile of aching limbs. The sickly stench of the man surrounding me and my head still swaying with dizziness wasn’t helping.
And again I emptied my stomach, what little was left in it.
At least now I wasn’t hanging, but the sloshing of my stomach became worse. I blinked my eyes a few times trying to rid them of the saltwater. Slowly my vision became clearer and I took in my surroundings. I was in a metal box with cages. The walls were painted in a dim blue, the paint peeling to show the dank metal beneath.
I was on a boat, caged in the hull of what I assumed was a large ship of some kind.
What the fuck has happened to me? And more importantly, where the fuck was I going?
I opened my mind yet again, envisioning Lamia, then Mike, Hunji, and Rhett.
‘Goddess damn Conri!’ I yelled in my mind at him, when I couldn’t even create a link. What the fuck did they do to my wolf?
I was starting to realize I was not in a good situation, as if the whipping wasn’t enough of an indication, to begin with.
I was more worried that my wolf might not come back.
I had no idea how to get out of this situation either, and who the fuck was Jack? The name wasn’t ringing a bell. What the heck did this guy mean ‘worth money’?
At this point, I was confused, tired, hurting, and frustrated. I needed to figure this shit out and a way to get out of my current situation, and fast!
*****
For three days, they bought me food, if you can call it that. Although I didn’t expect them to bring me anything and I really shouldn’t complain considering the situation I was in.
I had yet to feel Conri stir in even the slightest way. That didn’t stop me from trying to reach out to Lamia or the other guys whenever I found the strength to try. And even though I knew my efforts were in vain, I still held out hope.
They had to be looking for me. I knew they would. I just couldn’t understand how I got here. My memories are still blurry. I can remember leaving Lonely City with Mike and I remember we stopped at some rundown diner… and that’s where everything goes blank.
They gave me porridge. I knew the disgusting watery substance that tasted like bland glue was laced with something that was keeping my wolf at bay. I just didn’t know what.
I ate the gluey food, only because if I had any chance of getting out of this mess, I needed food to keep up what little strength I had.
At least now, I was coherent and could think straight. Despite Conri, my wolf's absence, I could at least form a thought.
I knew I was in a large cargo boat of sorts. The smell of the saltwater that surrounded me and the dizzy swaying I would feel now and then from the lurch of the boat told me I was in open water.
Where though?
It would be frivolous to try and escape while in this metal box. Who’s to say if I did manage to get out of this cage, that I wouldn’t be stuck, my efforts wasted, just to find out I was in the middle of the ocean?
And if I jumped into the ocean, my chances of survival were slim. No one could last in the wide-open waters, not for any extended amount of time. I would either drown or get eaten by some creature.
I let out a low growl of frustration, the growl sounding weak without my counterpart to fuel my anger at being in this goddess-forsaken situation.
I would have to wait until we pulled into a port or somewhere, wherever my final destination was.
By the fourth day of being held in this 10x8 cell, I had refused the porridge. I would rather go hungry if there was a chance of getting my wolf to come back. I would need him, more than the food, if I planned to escape anytime soon.
Refusing to eat earned me another 20 lashes, they were painful but I endured them. Not giving them the satisfaction of hearing my pain, I bit my cheek and remained silent. Gritting down each throbbing sting as the single tail whip doused in wolfsbane, cracked against my open wounded back.
The lacerations from the first whipping hadn’t closed up completely, and the lashes I received this time, opened them all up again.
The man ‘Darrius’ as I had heard him called, laughed after the last blow he administered. “You must be a strong ‘un, to take this kind of beating. Jack said you were exceptional and to not take any chances. Look at ya’ now though,” He came closer to me and bent to my level. His disgusting hot breath so close to my face made me sick. I could taste the smell of his rotten teeth.
“My name is Kellen Moon, Alpha of the New Moon Pack, and King of the werewolves. There has been a mistake.” I had tried several times to get these men to listen to me. Each time I was met with laughter, made fun of, they jeered at my title.
“I’m a king! Look at me! Not so high and mighty now eh? ” the fat stale smelling one mocked in a childlike taunt, his feet kicking my legs from under me.
“A weak wolf with no future, not sure where you came from, but where you’re going you will wish you had died on this boat. Wished we ‘ad fed ya to the sharks.” He cackled as he left my cage.
The click of the padlock and his retreating footsteps left me back in silence. Save for the odd call of a gull or the straining sound of the creaking hull as the waves lapping at the side of the boat.
Saliva mixed with blood, strung from my mouth as he left me there hanging. My arms were held high by the metal chains, and my knees bent barely touching the cold metal floor. I didn’t have the strength to stand up. So I let the chains take my weight, causing the cuffs to bite into my already raw and bleeding wrists.
On the fifth day, the loud and invading blow of the boat's horn woke me from another blackout. I blinked my eyes open, straining them towards the door of the hull. I could see a streak of light shining through from somewhere.
That one beam of yellow warmth lit up the dank hull and I wished I could reach out and touch it, feel the sun's warmth radiate on my skin. I closed my eyes and imagined I was by the lake, lying out on the mossy rocks, the sun beating down on me.
The Horn blew again, startling me from my daydreaming. I hear a commotion from above then the thump and clank of footsteps coming down metal stairs. In no time the bald, dirty fat shit of a man, with the same stained white shirt, came through the hulls door that was opposite my cage, followed by Darrius and a large burly looking man.
I lifted my nose to scent the new guy. I could get no scent from him, except for sweat and alcohol. If I had to take a guess, by his size, I would say he was a bear shifter. He wore a bright and menacing smile on his face.
“Prince-ee!” He beamed like we were old friends. “So sorry you had to be locked up like some dangerous rogue or criminal, but ya know, we gotta do what we gotta do!” He smirked “We don’t want you running away before we can get you to your new home now, do we?”
I looked at him puzzled and without amusement. Who the fuck was this guy? Was he the one running the show here?
As if reading my mind, he clicked his tongue and narrowed his blue eyes at me. Folding his hands behind his back, he stepped closer to the cage, leaning in. “I’m insulted that you don’t recognize me, but not to worry. I’m sure your little Queen would recognize me, all the times I fucked her while in the dungeons of MacTire. A nice piece of pussy that one. Wouldn’t you say so?” His mocking voice was berating and I let out a low growl.
The man laughed at me and clicked his tongue again when I pulled and shook the chains. Realization dawned on me, that this was one of the men that violated Lamia for days, 3 years ago when she was kidnapped and held at MacTire.
If I had my wolf, we would have broken free from these chains, from this cage and I would rip his heart out without mercy.
“Jacks the name and trafficking is my game, and you Prince-ee, are going to make me a lotta money.” He introduced himself and gave me a mock bow. That stupid, condescending smirk was still plastered on his face.
He turned away and began to walk out of the hull, not before calling back to the man named Darrius. “Get him in the cuffs, we dock in 30 minutes. Oh and just in case, give him a little extra of the Cartbanamol serum. Don’t want him wolfing out on us.”
LAMIA I looked out the window on the top floor of my castle, yes, my castle, taking slow sips from the crystal glass that held the dark thick rum, my drink of choice tonight, as I pondered over the past two years and how far we had come. Two years ago, Travis and I left the Golden Circle pack in the dead of night to come back to MacTire (which literally meant wolf in ancient Gaelic). With the help of Alpha Greg from the Crescent Moon pack and my Uncle, we had found out this castle was once the home of my ancestors. It was once upon a time home to a king and queen from the old world, who had been overthrown by humans and the pack massacred by hunters. It was strange coming back to the place that was the cause of all my nightmares, nightmares I still had to this day of the bear shifters torturing and sexually abusing me. I curled my lip and took another slow sip of my drink. The thick barrel-tasting liquid curbed the growl that threatened to escape my lips. I hated bear shifters and
LAMIA “Fuck me, Alpha!” I whispered, and that was all it took. He growled low and deep before capturing my lips in a hungry and bruising kiss, only pulling away when his hands traveled under my shirt and lifted it from my head. Once gone, he returned his mouth to mine, plunging his tongue in and tasting me. I met him stroke for stroke, as I moaned into the bruising kiss and let my free hand run up his naked chest while the other gripped his hair tightly, pulling him to me hard. He lifted me by the ass and my legs wrapped around his waist on instinct, his eager lips trailing down my jaw to my collar bone, softly nipping at the skin and finally reaching the hardened bud of my nipple. I gasped when he took the peak into his mouth and sucked. Biting and sucking hard, the pinch of pain only heightened the pleasure and had my pussy weeping. He threw me on the bed, quickly peeling my leggings from me, and climbed back over me. He greedily sucked in my other nipple, paying it the same atte
LAMIA “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I growled at the now-shaking guard. “Why on earth would you lock a child up in a dungeon? What possible threat could she be?” I was fuming. “I – I’m sorry Alpha, I – I…” The guard stuttered in fear. “You are relieved from your duty, go report to your captain and tell him what you did. Maybe he can smack some sense into you.” I pointed to the stone stairs that lead up to the dungeon doors. He scuttled out of there as quick as lightning. I shook my head, dumbfounded at the idiot. Travis chuckled next to me, “A little harsh, don’t you think?” I scoffed. “Harsh you say? What fucking idiot locks a child up?” I motioned to the tiny figure cowering in the corner of one of our cells. I pressed my thumb against the keypad and the cell door slid open. “Please, please help me, help us Alpha.” The little girl cried. I moved slowly into the cell so as not to scare her any further and took a seat on the floor next to her. Travis stood by the door, he
LAMIA It had been a week since we had discovered the mutilated Clan across the river. It had hit everyone who was there hard and it was an image that was tough to get rid of. There was an unspoken disquietude around MacTire, a wondering of if we would be next. I was confident in our warriors though and assured pack members that if we did fall under attack, they would surely be sorry. It seemed to ease the minds of some but not all. Every time I heard Petra running the halls of the castle, I was reminded of how she had lost her whole life, her family. Sometimes at night, I would wake from my own nightmares to hear her muffled sobs. For a ten-year-old, she was dealing with the aftermath quite well, despite that everything and everyone she had known was gone. I sometimes wondered if the magnitude of what happened to her Clan had really sunk in, but then I would hear her cries in the night and each night I would go to her. Mrs. Brown had become her permanent caretaker, but I felt myself
MATHIAS I took a sip of the dark liquid from my crystal glass, savoring the taste on my tongue before swallowing it and gulping down the rest. I leaned down to set the glass on the table beside me, spying the female I had ruined not 20min ago slumped over my couch passed out, tears still streaked her face from the beating she had taken from my cock. Her small and tight pussy had torn and bled when I fucked her hard and rough chasing my own release. Over and over again. Never feeling satisfied. When her screams of pleasure had turned to painful moans and sobbing and she could take no more of me, passing out while I relentlessly fucked her from behind, I tossed her down, still not finding satisfaction. A better man would have taken pity on her, but not me. Here I stood, in all my glory, looking out of the floor-to-ceiling windows that adorned my penthouse apartment at the top of the casino I owned and mostly lived. The lights from the city far below glistened like twinkling stars. Gi
LAMIA There was a good chill in the air and snow had already begun to settle on the mountaintops. Soon, our lands would be subject to the harsh winter once more, covering the lush greenery with white powder. I could already smell it in the air; a fresh scent that would wash away the crops and freeze the ground, making way for spring and new beginnings. I shifted into my wolf and stalked to where the tree line was, as soon as I was under the cover of the trees I let Inanna take over. ‘Let’s run in beast form’ her excitement coming through. I agreed and she stood up on our hind legs and we morphed into my beast, a form that was more Lycan but still a wolf. In this form, we can run faster, jump higher and see farther. I took off at high speed through the trees, bounding over fallen logs and sporadic rocks. The thrill of running in this form gave me renewed energy. I didn’t often get to let loose as my beast and it was riveting, to say the least. Pack members had often seen me in wolf
LAMIA The tension in my office was high as Rhett recounted his knowledge and findings of the creature that attacked the borough they visited along with a colorful image of the massacred borough they stumbled across. It sounds a little morbid but we began comparing notes on what we discovered with the small bear clan and the mutilated bodies Rhett and his team came across. Luckily, Rhett had the foresight to take pictures as evidence and was able to describe the creature that attacked them in great detail; A lithe humanoid with grey skin, long claws, and muscular legs. He described its face as distorted with deep crimson eyes and pointed teeth, like every one of them was a fang and its nose was almost none existent, just two holes instead of a protruding nasal cavity and its cranium was larger where the brain would sit, and narrowing down to the jaw. What he was describing sounded an awful lot like how humans used to describe aliens way back when they thought they were real. Little g
MATHIAS So here I was three weeks later going back to our prison cells, because of another fucking wolf! This time it was a rogue my men had captured after a small attack rogue wolves had attempted on the outskirts of my territory on a smaller Clan of bears. The last wolf was still fucking sitting there. He was so calm and collected and had an eerie confidence about him. I had decided if he didn’t give us answers he would be sentenced to be executed on the next full moon. Next week was the winter solstice and my Kingdom was holding a celebration, so I had opted for the following full moon. Why a full moon, because werewolves worshiped them so much. They pretty much planned their whole lives around full moons and it would be a kick in the teeth to the Delta wolf we were holding for his death to be held that day. I had been informed that the Delta Wolf had been taking his daily punishment well. I really didn’t like that cocky son of a bitch and, more so, I didn’t like that he refused