Chapter 005

That roar wasn’t in any way normal at all.

It felt like a force that slammed through the walls of the quarters like a giant had punched the earth and left everything trembling.

The boards in the room groaned and then dust fell from the ceiling, and for a second, it felt like the whole world had gone still, like every living thing around was holding its breath.

Sara heard panicked footsteps as more people cried out and slammed their doors shut. She could hear someone saying prayers.

“The beast is awake.”

But she didn’t stay in. Perhaps she should have, because every voice in her head screamed at her to go back into her cold little corner and wait for the danger to pass.

Thing was, her legs were moving before she could stop them, and she was also curious to see what was going on.

She got out through the creaking wooden door, barefoot and still aching from the beating she had received. Her body still had wounds and blisters.

She didn’t know what she was doing.

All she knew was that her heart was beating too fast, and the air outside felt heavy, like it was charged with something ancient and wrong.

She followed the noise and went towards an open yard. That was when she saw Kyle.

He was chained and shirtless and was kneeling in the dirt like a wild, rabid animal.

His muscles were straining, and sweat was pouring off him as he growled and let out loud howls chained right there. Black iron chains were wrapped around his wrists and ankles, bolted into the thick stone pillars at the corners of the courtyard.

He looked so glorious in the moonlight, as terrifying as he looked too.

His body jerked forward violently as another roar tore out of him, louder and more than before even.

The sound made Sara’s legs weaken, and she fell to the ground, holding the sprouts of grass.

Alpha Kyle thrashed again, and this time, the sound of stone cracking followed it. She gasped.

One of the chains snapped from the wall. He was breaking free.

She tried getting up to run, but the moment she moved, his head snapped in her direction.

Their eyes locked.

There was no humanity in his gaze. His golden eyes glowed with savagery, and as he saw her, his snarl deepened.

Then he broke free of the other chains and ran.

She turned to flee, but she didn’t make it far. His body slammed into hers from behind, sending her flying into the courtyard wall. Her knees buckled and she crashed to the ground.

“No—” she whimpered, trying to crawl away.

But he was already there.

His hand grabbed her by the throat, and his face hovered inches from hers, hair falling over his eyes.

She could feel his breath on her face, and she didn’t dare move.

His teeth were bared and his nails lengthened. She saw the moment he was going to snap her neck, growling, but he stopped when his thumb put pressure on the side.

His body froze. The growling cut off, and the anger drained out of his eyes and was replaced by something else.

The man looked horrified.

He looked at her like she’d just cursed him. Like she was the monster, and not him. And then he let go, taking a few steps back.

She collapsed onto the dirt, coughing and gasping for air, tears running down her face. Her arms trembled as she unsuccessfully tried to push herself up.

He stood over her, his chest rising and falling rapidly, fists clenched. He stumbled back a step, shaking his head.

“What… what did you do?” he asked her, sounding weak.

She coughed again, unable to speak. Her lungs refused to work properly.

He came forward again and she flinched.

“I said, what the hell did you do to me?” he growled, louder now. “You were standing right there, and it stopped. That has never happened to me before.”

“I-I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I swear, I didn’t do anything. I just… I heard the roar and I came to look—”

“You came to look?” he said mockingly. “Do you know what you walked into? You could have been torn to pieces! Are you a fool?”

“I didn’t know!” she shouted, voice shaking. “I didn’t think— I didn’t mean to stop anything! I didn’t do anything!”

He looked at her for a long, tense moment, then turned away with a frustrated growl.

Some men had rushed into the yard then, and Kyle raised one arm, pointing to her like she was a piece of trash to be thrown away.

“Lock her up!” he ordered. “No food, no light, in fact, don’t let her breathe unless I say so.”

“What?” she cried. “No! I didn’t do anything! Don’t do this!”

Two men grabbed her roughly by the arms. She screamed as her burned wrist brushed against one of their sweat-slicked bodies.

“Please!” she cried. “Alpha, I didn’t touch you! I didn’t do anything!”

Kyle’s expression didn’t change. He looked at her the way he had in the beginning, like she was a problem he didn’t want to deal with.

The men dragged her across the stones, ignoring her screams and the tears that rolled freely down her cheeks now.

She was pulled down into the dungeons and then shoved into a cold, bare stone cell.

One of the guards leaned close, sneering.

“Try to run, and I’ll gut you before you blink.”

He slammed the door. She heard the lock and chains clink on the other side.

She was left there in silence. She fell to her knees, shaking all over.

Why didn’t she sit still? Why didn’t she mind her business? What was wrong with her?

She pressed her hand over her mouth, trying to stop the sobs from coming in. She felt claustrophobic in this cold, dark room.

She didn’t know how long she stayed there, crying, but then she froze.

Footsteps.

She heard the sounds of the door being opened, and then Alpha Kyle stood in the doorway, but all she could see was his silhouette, and then his golden eyes glowing.

He didn’t move an inch, he just stared at her.

Then he asked quietly.

“What are you? What are you doing here?”

She didn’t have an answer, anything she said could potentially do more harm than good to her.

“If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll make sure your parts are found in neighbouring packs for months. And you’d be alive for every single one of them.”

She stared at him in fear, gulping. Hoping that he’d just kill her now and get it over with.