Chapter Three – The Alpha’s Mercy

Zoe’s POV

As I followed Damon through the dark forest, every step felt agonizing with pain and maybe regrets. My body throbbed with pain, my wounds protesting calling for help, but I gritted my teeth and kept moving without fuse. Weakness was a luxury I couldn't afford not here not now, not in the ruthless territory of the Nightfang Pack.

The air thickened as we walked, the trees moving overhead, casting shadows that covered us. I sensed eyes on me dozens of them. Hidden wolves watched from the darkness, patiently stalking, waiting for command. The scent of power and dominance hung heavily in the air, oppressive and stifling. I had stepped directly into the lair of monsters, home of monsters actually.

And their Alpha was guiding me towards my fate.

Nightfang’s packhouse stood ahead, looking like a fortress dark, foreboding, massive. My stomach twisted with anxiety. My father’s pack had been formidable, but nothing compared to this one.

“Alpha.”

A man emerged from the shadows as we reached the entrance, tall and broad-shouldered, with eyes that radiated authority and command. His gaze was on me, narrowing in distaste.

“Who is she?” he questioned, disdain evident in his expression.

Damon kept walking. “A stray.”

The man’s expression darkened at that. “A stray?” His eyes flicked back to me, suspicion showing within them. “She smells of rogue filth.”

Rogue. The term hit me like a blow. That’s how they would perceive me from this moment on.

A woman’s voice cut through the tension. “Why is she here, Alpha?”

Turning my head slightly, I saw a tall, striking woman with ponny hair and sharp, predatory dagger eyes. She stood with rigid authority, arms crossed, eyeing me like a piece of meat.

“She’s weak,” Sienna sneered. “Not worth the effort of killing.”

My jaw tightened, but I remained silent and composed.

Damon finally stopped and faced them. “She’s staying here.”

Silence fell, shock evident among the group.

“What?” the man growled. “You’re allowing a rogue to stay with us?”

Damon’s golden eyes filled with danger. “Are you questioning me, Kade?”

The man Kade quickly turned away, hands clenching into fists. “Of course not, Alpha.”

Damon turned to Sienna next. “She’ll earn her place here. I want her trained and disciplined. No one in my pack is useless.”

A slow, sinister smile crept onto Sienna’s face. “Oh, I’ll ensure she learns so well.”

A wave of dread washed over me.

Damon’s gaze turned cold as it met mine. “Step out of line, and you’ll regret it.”

I straightened, trying to project confidence. “I won’t.”

His smirk was fleeting. “We’ll see.”

****

No room was allocated for me; I was put in the lowest quarters of the packhouse a cold, void space beneath the main building where only the lowest-ranked Omegas resided. The air was thick with the scent of sweat, dirt, and despair,and rotten boots.

“This is where you belong now,” Sienna said, not having left my side since Damon’s command.

I finally learned her name Sienna. Clearly, she reveled in her power as the Beta female of Nightfang.

She held my arm, drawing me forward without Mercy. “Listen well, stray. You’re nothing here. To eat, you’ll have to work for it. To live, you’ll obey. Step out of line, and I’ll ensure you suffer.”

Suppressing my anger, I acknowledged, “Understood.”

Sienna’s nails dug into my skin. “Good. Now, let’s see if you’re worth keeping.”

I was dragged outside into an open clearing where several lower-ranked wolves gathered altogether. Some looked on with pity while others chuckled at my misfortune.

“Training begins now,” Sienna said.

Before I could brace myself, a fist ran shot into my stomach.

Pain erupted. My knees buckled, but I fought to remain upright. Another blow followed, this time to my ribs. Sienna grabbed my hair, yanking my head back.

“Fight back you bastard,” she said. “Or are you really as weak as you seem?”

I couldn’t not yet. My body wasn’t prepared for this.

But Sienna didn’t care. She pushed me into the dirt, delivering a brutal kick to my ribs. “Pathetic.”

Laughter surrounded me.

I clenched my fists, swallowing anger and humiliation. I wouldn’t give in. I couldn’t afford to.

I pushed myself up, my vision wavering and blurry. “I won’t lose,” I gasped.

Sienna smirked. “We’ll see about that.”

The next blow sent me flying into darkness.

I regained consciousness body in pain.

Every inch of me throbbed with pain and agony, my skin ablaze from bruises and cuts. My lips cracked, my throat soared. A faint metallic scent lingered in the air.

I wasn’t on the dirt anymore; I was in a dimly lit space with a hard floor beneath me.

“You’re still alive.”

I struggled to focus my eyes, and there stood Damon, arms crossed, his golden gaze unreadable.

I attempted to sit up, but my muscles protested painfully. “Barely.”

His expression didn’t change. “You lasted longer than I expected stray.”

I offered a bitter laugh. “Glad to meet your expectations.”

Damon moved close, his intense gaze locking onto mine. “You’ll suffer here,” he stated flatly. “They won’t go easy on you. You’ll wish you had died in those woods.”

I maintained eye contact, unwilling to back down. “I’ve already lost everything. What more can they take from me?”

For a brief moment, something flickered in his expression an almost curious intrigue but it vanished quickly.

“You have three choices,” he said. “Break and die. Run and be hunted. Or survive.”

I swallowed the bump in my throat. “I choose to survive.”

Damon smirked as he stood, leaving me alone in the dark, his words settling over me like a heavy shroud.

I had chosen to survive.

Now, I simply had to make sure I wouldn’t regret that choice…