4

ELEANOR

“Get up, the alpha wants you right now,” I heard the voice of the guard from outside the door. It was the moment I'd been dreading ever since he promised I'd be called again to satisfy his sexual desires. I kept holding it in, kept reminding myself that it would be over soon, even though I had no idea exactly when or how it would end.

The sight of him makes me sick to my stomach, to the point I felt like passing out whenever I was in his presence. Other than the flitting look of lust, his eyes held nothing but hatred, unexplainable anger, and bloodlust. Nothing ever seemed to please him as he always had that unimpressed, calculative look. But despite the turmoil of nerves he set loose in my stomach, I wasn't going to let him see it, I wasn't going to give in to him. I now have a goal and I will not stop until I attain it.

I wondered how Clara was fairing right now at the hands of the beast who bought her. I wondered if she was facing the same fate as I was or if she was lucky enough to have a slightly more humane buyer. Oh, how I would give anything to be able to see Clara right now, to make sure she was fine or just see her face for a brief moment. She was now the closest thing I had to my family and it was the same for her too. As much as I hated thinking about it, I hoped she'd obediently serve whatever monster she was sold to until I could get her out of this nightmare we'd found ourselves in.

“Hey! Can you hear me?” the guard's voice called out again.

“Yes, I’m just getting ready” I answered him, turning to look at myself in the little mirror he had them put in the dungeon so I could get decent before going to him whenever I was called upon. I looked nothing like the girl I had been before my life went downhill. The smile on my face was replaced with sadness and anger, dark circles taking their place on the undersides of my eyes, I looked haggard and empty, a shell of who I'd been, thanks to that monster.

I was denied food and water as per his order, but was still made to constantly satisfy his neverending sexual hunger. It was a surprise I hadn't dropped dead yet, having to endure his animalistic stamina and coming back to sleep on the cold hard floor afterward. At this rate, I doubt I would be able to put up with whatever he had in store for me tonight. The lack of food and water was beginning to get to me. I didn't have any more strength left in me.

I tapped at the door to inform the guard that I was ready and he quickly pulled it open. In the next second, I was cuffed and my legs chained just like he'd instructed them. I came to the conclusion that he derived some kind of sick pleasure from seeing women weak and at his mercy, if how fast he grew hard at the sight of me bound and helpless was anything to go by.

The guard leading me today was better than all the others I've encountered and I was grateful for that as he allowed me to walk at the pace my weak body allowed. He must've noticed how frail I looked because he ended up helping me get my steps in.

When we got to his quarters, the guard let go of me before he knocked lightly on the door, informing the alpha that he'd brought me. I heard his voice come from inside, ever so authoritative, asking the guard to let me in and when he opened the door, he gently pushed me with a silent call of 'good luck'

He was sitting on the sofa when I walked in, his chest bare but his lower half was covered in black pants. In front of him was a set table, the delicious smell of food hitting my dry nostrils before my eyes could scan the wide array of untouched food that lay on the table. I swallowed a thick glob of saliva in order to prevent myself from drooling as I practically ate up the food with my eyes, but my stomach disagreed with me by making a loud rumbling sound that made him scoff.

“Eat” he suddenly ordered, and my brows nearly hit my hairline as I stared dumbly at him.

“Huh?”

“I said eat, don’t make me repeat myself” he repeated, and I blinked.

“What is going on? Did you perhaps…. poison the food?” I couldn't stop the curious thought from escaping my lips.

“What?”

“You gave the orders yourself that I shouldn’t be served food or water, but now you expect me to eat something that was in front of you but you refused to eat it. Isn’t that a bit weird? You don’t have to lace my food with anything, I don’t have a wolf yet and you have already destroyed my life, so why don't you just skip this whole charade and go on with what I know I'm here for?” I told him, not caring how those words would sound to him. Whether he got pissed or not was the least of my problems, he'd already shown me the worst he could do. 

“I see these past few days have worked to change nothing about your rotten character,” he said, getting up from where he was sitting and approaching me with menacingly slow steps. He was a few steps away from me when he smiled, but before I could be weirded out by his words and actions, he had a tight grip around my neck, his fingers digging into the flesh, and slowly, my feet left the ground. He looked like he wasn't even straining to lift me higher, the sick smile never leaving his face while I struggled to breathe and free myself from his hold. I winced in pain when I felt his claws pierce my skin as his grip grew impossibly tighter. It hurt.

“I guess I was being too kind to you a while ago and now I have to remind you that your life means nothing to me. Just a little more pressure and I'd snap your neck or I could just watch the life slowly drain out of you, at the end of the day, it's whatever I decide, so don’t test me girl,” he warned in his usual deep husky voice, the warmth of his breath hitting my face before I was dropped to the ground unceremoniously when his hand left my neck.

I struggled to fill my lungs with air again, scrambling on the floor as I coughed and held onto my neck which hurt from the pressure and bled from the impact of his claws, which slowly retracted. I still managed to shoot a sharp glare at him through my tear-filled eyes.

‘Soon all this will be over’ I said to myself in between ragged breaths.

“You just ruined my mood, eat everything and leave none. Get lost after you're done and be ready to resume your duties as a slave tomorrow. Your resting hours are over” he said, before walking out of the room and slamming the door loudly behind him.

When I was finally alone, the dam finally broke and I couldn't stop the loud sobs that escaped my lips. I hated feeling so useless and helpless. Constantly being used and played with, although not exactly because he'd just shown me he wasn't playing and a simple mistake would guarantee my death because, obviously, my life meant nothing to him. How do I keep living like this?

When my sobs finally died down and my sight wasn't so blurred with the tears, I looked up at the food that'd probably grown cold. Would it attract another punishment if I refused to eat it? He could find an excuse to finally kill me then and I wouldn't be able to keep the promise I made to Clara. She'd be left alone in this cruel world filled with monsters like him.

I have to be strong, I sniffled, wiping my face with the back of my palm ‘Eleanor Stark, you are strong. All this will pass and you will end up smiling soon. Hang in there a little bit, for Clara,’ I said to myself before slowly getting up from the floor. I slowly walked to the table on wobbly legs. I angrily glared at the food but I was sure my body disagreed as I was hurriedly sinking to the floor and stuffing my face with the first thing I got my hands on.

He was heartless and ruthless, that I was sure of, but every man has a weakness, no matter how tough a facade they put on. He'd undoubtedly have one too, and I will make it my mission to find out what it was, to make him suffer and use it against him. Whatever it was, I hoped it would be strong enough to end him and free my people.

The door suddenly pulled open, startling me as I hurriedly got back on my feet, thinking he was here to take me again, even though he'd declared I'd ruined his mood and those words had filled me with a sense of safety because that translated to 'no forced s3x'. I sighed in relief when it turned out to be an elderly woman who walked in slowly.

“You are to follow me when you are done with your meal,” she said curtly, body and face stoic.

“I’m sorry, where am I following you to? I was told to get lost, meaning back to my dungeon,” I told her and she rolled her eyes unimpressed.

“Alpha Zane wants you in the slave quarters, you are to resume your duties. Weren’t you informed?” she asked and I nodded. He had told me that before leaving, “Good, if you are done, follow me.”

I quickly took the last bite of the food and ran after her. There'd probably be some sort of punishment if I disobeyed and I wasn't keen on finding out what it was.

We walked for a while until we arrived at a building that stood a bit further from the pack grounds. She didn't look or sound friendly, so I decided against speaking or asking her any further questions as I silently followed her like a lamb being led to the slaughterhouse.

Inside the building, we walked till we got to a small room which she walked into and I followed after her. There was a double bunk bed inside, possibly the only thing the room could contain, judging by the size of it.

“This is your room. You will be taking the down bunk since it looks neat. Your uniform will be provided later today. You get up at 5 AM and your duties are to the Alpha. You are to tend to his every need and you will be accompanied by some other girls and omegas. You are to remain by his side unless otherwise stated or until he has no use for you for the day. 

 Failure to report to your duty post will attract punishment and I'd advise you to be careful with your words and questions if you'd like to avoid any troubles during your time here. Get some rest.” she turned to leave when she was done giving me a run through of what was to be my life henceforth, but before she got to the door she turned to look at me and I froze. “There are clean sheets in the locker over there, the password is 51234, night” 

I released a breath I did not know I'd been holding when the door finally shut behind her, falling back onto the bed with a loud sigh. It felt soft and comfortable. It was the first time I was going to sleep somewhere other than the ground in four days. It was definitely an upgrade from the dirty dungeon and I was grateful for that.

“Hey new girl” I almost shrieked when a voice suddenly spoke in the silence of the room and I hurried to sit up on the bed, looking up to see a girl smiling down at me. She held a sack in her hands.

“I’m sorry if I startled you. I called out to you like three times. It seems you were lost in thoughts and I didn't know how else to call you” she said apologetically.

“Eleanor”

“Sorry?”

“My name is Eleanora. What's yours?” I asked.

“I’m Jasmine and I’m your roommate. Oh, and, I was told to hand this over to you… your clothes” she said, handing the sack over to me and I muttered a small thanks.

“You don’t seem too new, were you among the new sets that were just brought in?” she asked and I nodded, getting up from the soft surface and walking closer to her. I grew hopeful at the thought that Clara might be among whatever new set they might bring in and that I'd get to see her soon.

“Yes… do you know where the others are being kept… like their homes?” I asked tentatively and she nodded the affirmative. I heaved a sigh of relief. I was glad that Clara might just be close by. “Where are they? Can I get to see them?”

“You can’t, we are not allowed the freedom to do anything. We can only leave when we have duties to carry out,” she informed me, and I was disappointed, but I refused to give up or lose hope.

“When do we get to see them?”

“During big occasions…. like the Alpha’s birthday, when we have special guests, mating ceremonies, and transformation days for those who haven't seen their wolves. That’s when we all come together.”

“I see,” I answered with another nod before going back to lie on my assigned bed.

“You seem disappointed. Is there someone you want to meet? Perhaps a lover or something of the sort?” she asked, crouching next to where I lay.

“No, my sister, we got separated during the auctions. I'm not sure where she'd been taken but I wanted to check close by, perhaps I'd get to look for her during one of the occasions.” I told Jasmine with a faraway smile on my face. Jasmine laughed lowly before standing up to her full height and heading for the locker. She pulled it open and tossed the bed sheets and duvet at me.

“That’s if you don’t get yourself killed before then and if your sister doesn't do anything to get herself killed either. It’s best if you know the situation that you are in. They don't care about who you were in your old pack here. Here, you're a slave and the slightest mistake can get you killed. Think of surviving first, reunions can happen later. Survive any way you can. You should sleep, we have a long day tomorrow” she said before climbing up to the top bunk. Bidding me a good night before she switched off the lights.

I puffed out my cheek, releasing the air into the cold wind. I was going to do whatever it takes to stay alive, even if it meant obeying every single one of his orders. I would do that until I find Clara and we'd both get out of here. Definitely.