Chapter 2: The 15th Night

DEXTERA

I gritted my teeth. "You would do this to me?" I asked, forcing myself to look him in the eye. "Chain me like a beast?"

"You are a beast," he said simply. "A danger to my people."

His people. Never my people. Never our people, as it was supposed to be. Pain simmered quietly beneath my ribs, but I buried the pain deep, masking it with fury.

I glanced at the guards standing stiffly, awaiting his command. They tightened their grip on their weapons as their gazes darted between me and the chains they were about to use. My entire being burned with rage. But there was nothing I could do. Not when the silver was already so close.

I inhaled sharply, forcing myself to prepare.

"Seize her!" Kestrel ordered without a single glance at me. "Be quick about it. It's almost time."

A shiver ran down my spine.

It was the 15th.

The moment the moon began to rise, I felt the primal stirrings. The beast within me awakened, unfurling from where it had been buried. A growl built in my throat as raw power surged through my veins, burning like wildfire.

I balled my fists, fighting against the change for just a second longer. But the moon called to me. I couldn't suppress it as usual, no matter how much I tried.

The guards hesitated, stepping backwards uneasily as the air around us thickened. They could feel it too. The inevitable.

I no time, the pain struck.

My body twisted, contorting in unnatural ways as the transformation took hold. My limbs elongated, my bones cracked and my muscles burned with raw strength. The silver chains that had not yet touched me felt as though they were already digging into my skin.

The guards stumbled back, their eyes wide.

They all knew what was about to happen. It was no longer a new thing to them.

A strangled cry left my lips, turning into a guttural snarl as my beast revelled in the scent of their fear. I could hear every heartbeat, smell every pulse of blood beneath their fragile skin.

"Hold her down!" one of them shouted.

Fools. The chains lashed around me quickly before my transformation would happen in full.

Pain. Wolfsbane burn. Silver bites. I felt it all, trying to break me, to stop my transformation.

It worked, but just for a moment. My beast took over completely despite the restraint.

Then I ripped the chains apart, shattering it all in pieces.

The silver chains snapped under my strength, the sound ringing like a death knell in the night. The guards scrambled away, their weapons clattering to the ground in their haste to escape.

I bared my teeth and a twisted grin overtook my snarl. I was no longer the submissive Omega they had chained. I was no longer just Dextera. I was something else, an unstoppable being.

A mighty howl tore from my throat, shaking the trees, sending terror rippling through the night.

"Alpha Kestrel, you need to do something!" A guard uttered aloud in fear, but he dared not step closer.

Kestrel didn’t move, neither did he flinch. His cold blue eyes stayed locked on me, even as chaos erupted around him.

My beast prowled beneath my skin, reveling in the moment. This was justice. This was freedom. Yet, Kestrel’s gaze did not hold fear.

He wasn't angry or shocked, but something else showed on his face. Something fleeting that I almost missed.

Regret? No. It was fury.

"Stand down, Dextera," Kestrel commanded, his voice cold.

It wasn’t a plea or a request. It was an order. I let out a low, dangerous chuckle, my beast already at the surface. "You stand down, Alpha."

For the first time, he hesitated. But hesitation wouldn’t save him. It was too late.

A loud, raw and unrestrained howl tore from my throat, shaking the ground beneath me. My claws dug into the dirt as my body coiled, ready to launch forward, to escape, to hunt and to destroy whatever came it's way.

The guards panicked.

"Alpha! Stop her!" one of them shouted.

"She’ll be too fast! If she gets out, we’ll never catch her!" another voice called out.

The scent of their fear increased in the air, making my beast more joyous and powerful. I trembled with the sheer force of the change.

"She’ll kill again!" someone screamed.

The memory flashed. Blood. So much blood. Slick on my hands. Metallic tang in the air. A face twisted in terror. A body broken beneath my claws.

The vision slammed into me like a blade, and for a fraction of a second, I hesitated. My breathing hitched and my beast snarled in protest at the fleeting moment of weakness.

"Kestrel, don’t be stubborn!" a voice cut through the chaos sharply. It was no doubt a female voice.

I stiffened. I didn’t recognize the voice.

My beast thrashed inside me, its instincts screaming to run, to fight, to tear apart anything in my way. Aiding it, the moon’s pull was very strong, intensifying my beast’s hunger. Soon, my vision blurred at the edges as my limbs trembled violently.

I was losing it. And Kestrel knew it. It was only a matter of time before the beast took over completely, shoving me away till it's done.

Kestrel cursed under his breath. I barely registered his sharp command to the guards. "Leave. Now."

The guards hesitated.

"Alpha—"

"GO."

They obeyed instantly, disappearing into the shadows. Then it was just us. Kestrel. Me, my beast.

My beast staggered forward, scraping it's claws against the ground. It almost lunged at Kestrel, bidding to rip out his throat so he can allow us passage.

Instead, Kestrel moved closer after dodging. The beast growled at him , but he didn’t stop.

He moved closer by every step. Then, my beast snapped. It rushed at him, but I felt a sudden warmth around us as he dodged the attack.

A sudden, impossible warmth enveloped me. Kestrel’s solid body, burning hot like a bran, wrapped around mine. His arms locked my beast against his chest, his breath ghosting against my beast’s skin.

I thrashed, while my beast screamed.

"Shift," Kestrel murmured, more like he commanaded. "Come back."

No. No, I couldn’t. My beast didn't want to. It howled again, so loud that Kestrel was thrown away from our body a bit.

Somehow, I was able to semble control, locked away deep within my beast. My beast inhaled sharply and I could smell Kestrel’s powerful, dominant and familiar scent.

It tightened and smothered the primal urges clawing at my mind. My body shuddered violently, the shift stuttering halfway, as his Alpha command took charge. I couldn't shift fully like he commanded. My beast wanted to take charge, but Kestrel’s aura and strong scent held it back a bit, enough for my upper body to take hold.

Kestrel moved closer once again and his lips brushed my temple, then my cheek, moving lower. "Come back to me, Dextera."

A tremor rolled through me as my heartbeat pounded against his.

Then his mouth was on mine the very next minute.

Heat erupted between us, then a clash of teeth, tongues and desperation ensued. Kestrel’s hands gripped my hips, dragging me closer, anchoring me as I trembled on the edge of madness. I gasped against him, fire spreading from every place he touched, burning through the storm inside me.

I clung to him, hated him, but needed him as much. My beast’s rage were now all channelled into extreme horniness.

Kestrel’s hands roamed lower, pressing, guiding and claiming every part of me. My body arched, instinct taking over where reason had failed.

Soon, his clothes were discarded. Skin against skin, he consumed me and he tamed me. The shift broke totally, and I was sane again. I didn't lose consciousness.

He stayed with me for a little more tempering his body over mine, but I lost my consciousness out of complete exhaustion.

I saw was darkness.