Chapter 3

Crescent’s Pov

Fear was a dangerous tool if used correctly. Strong souls were broken by the power of the unknown. Lycan prince Aston knew this; it was one of his strongest weapons.

The dark room felt like it was closing in on me. Shadows forming from figment of my imaginations. I could handle standing in a battle field than be alone in a dark room with my thoughts. I had lost track of days; everything felt the same. The darkness told nothing of time and season.

I may have been here for a week or a day. I couldn’t say. 

The door groaned open, low light slipping into the room, chasing away the monsters that lurked in the dark. “Get up,” a gruff voice said.

There was no warning, no chance to brace myself as I felt an icy cold-water smash against my back.my teeth clattered, fingers shaking as I felt the cold run through my spine.

“Clean up, the lycan pence will be in the arena in twenty minutes,” the voice growled.

I winced, my feet begging to not be used, but I knew better than be subjected to that, if we wanted to see the sun, we had to move. The guard stood unmoving; his face twisted in displeasure as he glared at me.

A sharp cracking sound echoed through the quiet room. My back burned as the whip made contact with my skin. I dropped to my knees, my nails digging to the ground, trying to fight back the scream that threatened to break out of my lips.

“Strip boy! You stink,” he barked.

I squeezed my eyes shut, wondering how many more whips I would have to endure before he tires out and gives me a bit of privacy.

He grunts, “I will return in two minutes, you better be clean by then.” The door clicked shut, but this time, he had left the torch.

Two minutes was more than enough.

I rushed, picking up the bar of soap that had been tossed to the ground as I rushed to untie the constraints that I had wrapped around my chest. In a matter of second I was done. Over the years I have learnt to grow eyes at the aback of my head, always watching out for the danger that might try to sneak up on me.

The door opened, revealing the same man who hadn’t failed to show me his distaste, “move, no one keeps him waiting,” he grunted.

I followed his lead, my lungs taking in the fresh air, enjoying the soft warm feeling of the sun on my face. I can’t believe that I would be staring up at the sun with so much appreciation. The walk wasn’t as long as I hoped, my heart beating as I imagined what lays ahead in the path that we were on.

I licked my lips, my nails digging into my palm as I opened my mouth, “The lycan prince, what does he want from me?”

If he had heard me, he made no indication that he did. His heavy stomps echoed as he walked. 

I might be a sucker for pain or something because I couldn’t help with the silence, “Can I have something to eat?”

He stopped, a cruel smile forming on his lips as stared at me, “you can eat alright little boy,” his voice sounded different, not the cold man that had whipped m for not standing up fast enough. “I have something that will fill you up real good,”

His hand grabbed his loin, his eyes swirling with desire as he stalked towards me, “Come on, I know what pretty boys like you like. I see the way you move, enjoying the attention that you get,”

I stepped back, my heart slamming hard against my chest as I felt my back collide against the cold wall, “please, don’t,” I whispered, my voice sounding softer than how I wanted it to. My fingers trembled as I tried to reach for the dagger.

My plea did the opposite of what I wanted, rather his smile deepened as he raised his hand, his fingers touching my cheeks lightly, “But we don’t have the time to play right now, tonight, I will search you out,”

I gulped, unable to breathe until I heard his voice again, “you better run to the arena, you are ten minutes late,” he chuckled, walking away from me.

I stood frozen in place, wondering what the end of tonight would look like. I wasn’t what he thought I was, but the darkness in his eyes showed me that he didn’t care about taking whichever form he saw me.

Storm bringer pack had no rules on sex. My safety was slowly fleeting away. Subconsciously my hand touched my chest, my fingers itching to reach out to the rune, to feel the comforting pulse. But I couldn’t do that, I would only be drawing his attention to things that he shouldn’t see.

“Run along now boy, you don’t want to be late,” he snarls, his eyes filled with lust.

The trance broke, and I sprang into action, letting my feet carry me further away from him and anything that smelt like him. When I reached the arena, I was a panting mess. The roar of voices filled the air, warriors clad with weapons, fighting against each other.

I moved between bodies, finding a spot to hide as I watched the men move like gladiators, eyes gleaming with darkness as they fought. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought that they were angry at someone and not training.

Suddenly the noise died down. Heads bowed as he moved to the middle of the arena. Out of instinct, I wanted to make myself small, to bow just like the rest of them. Anything to make sure that I didn’t draw attention to myself.

But my spine felt stiff, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bow, it was like my body was fighting against being subjected to being anything but who I was.

It was funny, in another world I would have laughed at the fact that I was a girl playing dress up to be a boy and had just been hit on by a man who thinks that I am a boy. And now, when it was time to bow, to hide from the man who had locked me in a room I had standards?

The Lycan prince stood in the center, tall, foreboding and eerie. His eyes glinted in the sun, claiming the beauty for just himself, as he searched the crowd and then they landed on me.

The familiar golden orbs, rimmed with red bore into my soul, stripping me bare. My heart clenched, my stomach in tight knots as I held his stare.

His lips curled. This wasn’t the look of anger or disdain like I had seen on most.

There was amusement in them. Like he had been waiting for me.

“When you are seen, bad things happen,” mother’s words echoed through my mind.