Chapter 5: Keeran Nightwind

Raven’s Point of View

As soon as I stepped out of the car, I was awed by the large mansion before me. It was much larger than my previous pack and the design of this mansion/pack house was far more ancient than mine. I would have stuck staring at how magnificent this house was if only I had seen it in a normal situation. 

“Move. We don’t have all day, miss,” said the man who had fetched me after the auction and flew me on the jet all the way to Scotland. 

I followed the man, he was intimidating and felt like he always meant business. I was already exhausted since I haven’t slept a wink and the alcohol which I drank last night was still in my system.

“You need to see the Elders first before meeting your owner. If you want this ‘talk’ to go smoothly, I suggest, you respect them otherwise you’ll be executed on the spot,” the man saisd which made me swallow hard.”

The man entered a door, which I followed  despite the surroundings spinning in my eyes. The alcohol had a wolfsbane in it, just a few drops. When the  wolf drank it, it was supposed to numb and get them drunk but since I was in a situation I never wished for, I was fighting the effects of the damn alcohol. 

Three older men were seated before me. They looked wise, white haired and all but I could see they were studying me. Thanks to the grumpy man, I wore decent clothing. 

“Young one, tell us about yourself, what pack were you and what do you do?” Said the man with a bald head. 

Should I answer them? The grumpy man said I should respect them. 

“My name is Raven Knight. I’m from New Zealand. My mother is Asian and my father is a native of NZ. I recently got my medical license.”

“Hmm,” one of them humm. “You looked drunk.”

“I was out partying when uhh…when I was kidnapped,” I answered straight. 

One of them chuckled. 

“Sorry about that Raven but since our Alpha had purchased you, you belong to him now. So, we want to make clear to you that you are just the Breeder for him. And just to make you aware, my nephew has a quiet reputation, Raven. I hope you can handle him.”

“What exactly is a breeder?” I asked. The word stuck in my mind. 

“It is exactly what you expect. Produce an heir,” the long haired old man said. “Alpha Keeran is cursed, never to have a mate. That's your purpose, to be his breeder. So-” he stood up and walked towards me and before I could even move, I heard a clicking sound around my neck. “That’s a brand, a brand you belong to our pack and no one shall touch you except Alpha Keeran. 

It was a choker with a gold pendant, a ‘breeder’ alphabet. 

That one word hit harder than the mere fact I was kidnapped and auctioned. 

“I’m not anyone’s breeder,” I said, anger started to build within me. 

I had never known such a practice existed and I never heard a wolf that has been cursed to be mateless. 

The old man who said it, looked like every other Elder I’d seen, draped in brown wool, all serious and slow-moving like he hadn’t cracked a smile in a decade. 

“It's time, Ernest. Brand her to seal everything.”

He walked toward me with a branding rod glowing red-hot at the end, and I was shocked. 

Hell no! I wouldn’t let them! I’ll stand my ground. I’m not anyone’s womb let alone anyone’s property!

Two men moved behind me, they firmly turned my head to the side and pressed down on my shoulder. My shirt was already tugged down to expose the target area. I flinch. They kept me kneeling as my breath started to become rugged. 

The moment that rod touched my skin, I screamed. The smell of burnt skin made me want to vomit. My eyes were already tearing up from the smoke curling around my face and the bile rising in my throat. Incense was supposed to help, but mixed with burning flesh? The pain came and went as my skin started to heal leaving  the “owned” words on my neck. 

“You are now exclusive to Alpha Keeran.”

I didn’t bother trying to hold the tears back this time. A symbol, marking me as a breeder just like that. My body became property. My destiny was sealed in scar tissue.

“Take her to her designated room,” one of the elders said and then looked at me. “Alpha Keeran was still at his business meeting. He won’t be home until tomorrow. Rest and prepare when he’s home.” 

The two men dragged me out of that Elders’ room. We exited the pack house. And went in a direction I’m not sure it led. I wanted to fight back but I was too weak to even lift a finger. 

A woman was already waiting outside a story house. She was a kind-looking woman but I knew better not to trust her. 

“I’ll take her here, gentlemen,” she said. 

The two men nodded at her and they gave her my weakening body. She then guided me inside. 

“This is Alpha Keeran’s private home. You will be living here with him until you get pregnant. The first floor would be your room, and the entire space is yours. The second floor belongs to the Alpha. He doesn’t want you to wander there. You must stay on your floor unless he tells you to come up,” she said as she opened the door. “This will be your room. You have to rest now. You seem like you haven't slept.”

“Yes, I didn’t sleep a wink after I was abducted and auctioned,” I said, wanting to scream it before her, but I forced myself not to. 

The woman looked at me sympathetically. 

“I’m Erica. I’m the Alpha’s personal cook and cleaner. I’ll be here just to cook and clean every day. I hope we get along.” 

After washing myself, I looked at the mirror and saw the choker with a breeder pendant and a small scar with the words owned made my blood boil. One minute I was happy and excited to go home after receiving my license, and then the other, I found out I was cheated on, got drunk, kidnapped, auctioned, and now standing inside my Alpha who bought me a shis breeder. 

“Damn it,” I yelled. “How did everything become like this?”