Chapter 02

~EMBER

I woke up to the sound of dripping water. Slowly, I opened my eyes, groggily taking in my surroundings. As my gaze wandered, I realized I was in another dirty, cold dungeon. The walls were rough stone, and the air was damp and musty. A faint smell of mold and decay filled my nostrils—Its a cave.

My heart began to pound as memories came flooding back. I was in a dragon's cave. “Teneger… he…” The memories came rushing back, and with them, a wave of pain and betrayal. He had stabbed me, stabbed me from behind without hesitation. I felt a searing pain in my back, and my vision blurred with tears. He had it all planned out from the start. From the pregnant mistress and getting rid of me.

“Aeth” I called out to my wolf in a panic but couldn’t feel her.

An ordinary dagger shouldn’t have so much effect on us…what could be wrong?

I struggled to sit up but fell right back, realizing the extent of my injuries. The stab wound was excruciating. I heal faster than most werewolves but strangely, I don’t seem to be healing. Here I am trapped, vulnerable, and at the mercy of... whoever or whatever was in the cave with me.

That's when I saw him - a towering figure, shrouded in darkness. Its as if he appeared out of thin air.

His long black trousers were the first thing I noticed, followed by his chiseled torso. A glowing fire light on his chest, his heart area; illuminated his sharp jawline, casting an eerie glow on the walls. His black robe billowed behind him like a dark cloud as he walked towards me.

My instincts screamed at me to vanish, but my body seemed rooted to the spot. I was at his mercy… he knew it and I hated it. The thought sent a shiver down my spine as he loomed over me, his face still hidden in the shadows. I remembered Teneger’s last words to me “He wanted you only” What did he want from me? And how did Keres train a lost specie?— A dragon.

“A woeful morning to you little paws” his deep voice echoes around me causing me to fold against my wish.

Little paws? Such disrespect. I muttered with trembling voice, the pain keeps getting worse but I wasn’t going to cower.

“Hiding here in this dark cave while you send your pack warriors to war, you’re not a man worthy of my presence. And to think you had to seek help from a dragon to fight…” I paused to laugh.

“Did you recognize the dragon?” he simply asked.

“What business could I possibly have with a cursed and forgotten specie. You two are a joke” I said pretending to be tough. If he wanted to kill me, he could have. I only hope not to abuse his need for me anytime soon until I can think of something.

Compared to what I’ve heard about Keres, his *Darkinral* pack has strong fighters and he’s no exception. He’s known to be a great fighter hence his title as the god of war among neighboring packs and abroad. He goes to war once in three months like a routine. I’ve always found it strange that my pack was never attacked and I thought he probably didn’t want to make an enemy of us. Once, we tried reaching out for alliance but we were rejected. No one ever sees him except on the battlefield. Rumor has it how big and mighty his wolf is but now I refuse to believe all of that.

“Your accomplishment must have been made up. You couldn’t dare to face…” before I could complete my sentence, I felt his tight grip on my neck. And as if I weighed nothing, he lifted me with one hand and slammed me on another side of the cave. I groaned at the painful collision of my wound against the rough stone wall.

“I see why your Alpha abandoned you. So foolish pretending to be important.”

I struggled to break out of his grip, my claws scratched at him repeatedly but he didn’t budge. His deep chuckle washed me over “Now this is who you are. A woman. Scratch all you want, plead for your life and I might reduce your suffering”

“In your dre..am coward” I choked, his grip became too tight now.

“I am Keres, the black Fiend and your worst nightmare. See this beating flaming heart?” he pointed to his chest effortlessly, not sparing a groan to his other hand tightly enclosed around my throat.

“This is what’s left of me. What you and your father took from me, it’s time to take it back”

My body shuddered at the level of pain in his voice, the malice clinging to his tone. I can’t see his eyes but I could tell they were filled with pure rage. My eyes darted to the glowing dragon scale on his forehead….” Kares is a dragon? But he’s an Alpha”

He dropped me and I crashed roughly to the ground, coughing badly.

“Why believe the rumor when you can witness it yourself?” I didn’t see his next move coming, it was dark and unexpected. I felt his hand on my wound next, he pinned me down and poked the exposed tissues of my wound.

“Monster!” I screamed “How generous of my ancestors to have wiped out the likes of you. Be a man and take me on fairly” I said with gritted teeth, unwilling to cry and give him the pleasure.

He stopped. I’m glad he did… I was dying.

“For what your pack did, you’ll pay for it thousand times and for what your father and you, did to me, you’ll die for it” In a ridiculously calm manner, he said.

“What are you talking about? What have I or my father done to you?” I was forced to ask. If Keres was truly a dragon, he must be very old, way older than me. I wonder if there’s a misunderstanding somewhere.

“Have you forgotten me already Ember?!” he uttered my name.

All of a sudden, he grabbed me and whisked me out of the cave to a brighter spot. I tried adjusting to the harsh streak of light and before I knew it, he had discarded his robe. Before me is his towering burly figure. For a wicked monstrous creature, he was painfully beautiful. I thought he would be an old ugly man.

The scars on his body goes unnoticed, they were endless.

“Do you remember me now?” he asked with hint of amusement in his eyes.

My body remembered him first and I flinched. He grabs my hand forcefully trailing it on a long blade cut on his belly “With a smile on your face Ember, you started the cutting from here…”

“K… Keres” I faltered to a stop. His face lit up with bountiful dose of happiness.

“Yes! It’s Keres. You and your father’s prisoner” he confirmed and I fell to my knees. I could not say a word because I know I was about to experience torture much worse than death.