I woke up on a cold floor, lying on my stomach, in a strange room. As if glued to the floor, I remained in that same spot, scanning my surroundings. I realized this wasn't an ordinary room but a cell with rusty iron bars serving as a door. Also, I was not alone; several she-wolves were here with me. Fearful, they peered at me from the ground, tightly clustered against the wall.
One of them, a dark-haired one, pointed to my left and I turned to see a tattered blue dress. I reached for it and immediately got up, putting it on.
"Where am I?" I asked the dark-haired wolf.
"We are in the Novak Pack territory," she answered timidly.
"Who are they, and why have they locked us in here?" I asked, unaware that such a pack even existed.
As she's responding, my eyes are raking the cramped room with not enough space; they packed us in, with the tiniest barred square window providing us with minimal fresh air, failing to relieve the musty odor that permeated the space.
The stares from the others grew more intense, each confused as I about why we had been brought here as well, except for one.
"You really don't know who the Novak Pack is?" The dark-haired she-wolf asked incredulously as if I should know.
I shook my head, indicating that I didn't know.
She stepped closer to me, glancing outside the cage to ensure no one was around to hear her speak.
"The Novak Pack is not only well-known for being the wealthiest pack due to their gold and oil resources, but their vicious leader, Alpha Gunner," she whispered. Her voice lowered even more when she called his name as if he was nearby.
Noticing the clueless look on my face, the unnamed she-wolf felt it her duty to tell me about him.
"He's ruthless, lacks compassion, and has a heart of stone. Many she-wolves take their own lives upon discovering he is their mate because they believe it's far worse than to be with him," she continued, whispering again.
"I've heard no she-wolf has ever survived his rejection as well, as his words are like molten iron," she added, providing more details about the vile alpha.
The news about him troubles me.
"He's also more of a beast than every werewolf is," said the unnamed she-wolf.
"What do you mean?" Fear started to rise within me.
He rarely shifts into his second form, which leads to his full beastly behavior and a loss of connection to his human side. This makes him wilder than any non-shifting creature and always hungry for a kill."
My eyes pop wide open. "Why does he want us here?" I asked quickly.
"He makes his men capture us rogues and works us to death in his gold mine and oil refinery."
The others gasped at the news, and I felt an even stronger urge to escape.
"How long have you and the others been locked in here?" I asked worriedly.
"The majority of us was captured today, just like you and the others, a day before."
I looked at them with pity, scared, young she-wolves still in their early teens, trapped in a cell as if they were nothing. Only someone with a heart of stone would do this to teen werewolves.
We heard footsteps approaching us, and immediately, the nameless wolf and I rushed to stand close to the walls, keeping as much distance as possible from the iron cell door.
Two men stood in front of the cell; they appeared to be guards or fighters. The uniforms they wore were forest green, complemented by dark black shoes. I watched them as they studied us in the cell.
"What should we do with the woman in the blue dress? It appears she could potentially find a mate tonight." One of the men whispered to the other as he stared at me.
I snarled at him, angrily baring my teeth.
Unbothered by my action, the other responded, "Slaves are forbidden to have mates. If her mate comes here tonight, we will capture him and compel him to work for us. If he refuses, we will unalive him, as the alpha's ordered."
My eyes widened as he smirked and walked off with his co-worker joining him. I quickly reached for the pendant on my necklace, making sure it was still there. I squeezed it, feeling relief that my mate would be safe away from me tonight.
I followed him, disheartened by his decision to spare me rather than harm me. I thought he was the merciless and stone-hearted alpha for a reason--sparing no one's lives.I came here to be tortured every second of my life by him until I was no more. Not to be shown mercy for a wolf like me doesn't deserve any.He stopped at a double entry door. I ceased watching as he pushed it open with his snout, letting himself in. As he did, I'm curious why he'd choose to remain in his beast form, never harking back into his human form as any normal werewolf would.Probably he wasn't a normal werewolf, based on his unusual size, I thought. The normal size for a werewolf was 7 feet long, but Alpha Gunner was far bigger and the largest werewolf I'd come across; even his stature was threatening.As soon as he realized I wasn't following him, he snarled, prompting me to snap out of my thoughts.My eyes scan the inside. It was not an ordinary office. To the south of it stood a stone throne. He leaped o
The interior is as opulent as I would expect a castle-like home to be: ivory walls, shiny glazed tiles, and stairs that go up and split off on both sides."Follow me, please," instructed the deputy butler.He led me upstairs, and I found it difficult not to admire the glowing crystal chandelier hanging above the stairs. It's like being surrounded by the rays of the shining sun.The deputy butler turned left at the top of the stairs, leading me through a series of rooms with a black mahogany door. I looked up at the stairs that continued above us and at the countless other rooms."Our stop ends here," the butler said, causing me to lower my gaze at him.I was startled to see him holding the door of a room open.I moved closer to peer inside. The room holds a queen-sized bed sheeted in white linen with a glossy brown bedhead to the south of it. Beside the bed was a matching brown bedside table, and across the room stood a vanity with a round mirror and a large closet to the right."This
Alpha GunnerAstral decided to interrupt us just as I was about to order one of my men to lower a male wolf that we had captured, tie his feet, and place above a tank of water."You will not kill her!" he yelled as he got out of his van, slamming the door and marching towards me."I have many wolves to kill shortly. You'll have to be specific as to whom not to kill," I said, spinning around and getting back to what I was doing."Or probably she may be dead in the few I just killed not long ago," I joked."Lower him in," I ordered my men again.While they were doing so, the intruder cried for us to stop.As the tip of his dyed green hair touches the water, I command them to cease, once more interrupted by Astral."Whatever you have to say, can't you wait until I'm done?" I asked as he now stood in front of me."I've never asked you for anything; please spare that new ladymaid life for me," Astral begged earnestly."You sure are fond of this rogue," I respond in an attempt to mock him.
Seeing the Beta in the driver seat of a red van approaching the Rogue base. I rose to my feet, watching as he parked the vehicle at the gate and got out, leaving the door open.As I walked towards him, a sense of unease overcame me. I knew he was here to take me to the one who would put a stop to my pain and end my curse.I passed through the gate, and the Beta appeared before me, causing me to halt.Upset, he looked down at me."Before I take you to the Alpha's home, I want you to see something," he said and held my hand, pulling me to his car.He helped me get in, walked around to his side, climbed in, and slammed the door.My body jolted at the loud slam of the door.Nervously and silently, I sat in the car as he sped along the road. He made a left turn into the wood, and I spotted a large sign that read "Cesspool: A waste area."He stopped a short distance from a large metal tank grounded into the earth. I quickly covered my nose at the stench of it."Look what is happening over t
"The shortest time any of his lady maids had spent alive in his house is an hour. I doubt a rogue like you will last a minute," one of the she-wolf fighters said as she tossed a spoonful of mush into my bowl.I winced as it splashed into my face, almost reaching into my eyes, and took up a cup of the only drink they served us, water, taking my time back to the shed.What the fighter had said back there didn't frighten me; I must do this not only as a punishment for my evildoings but also to die by the one that I should have felt the safest with, my fated mate.Pain grew in my heart knowing that no matter how irksome I wanted my death to be by Alpha Gunner. My death will never be the same as those I've killed.I did more than simply end their lives. I first tore open their hearts that only showed me love by breaking their trust.Sitting next to the window outside the shed, tears stream down at the aching thought, and I wish my death to be more gruesome than theirs ever was.I heard som
Alpha GunnerI rest atop a hill, looking down at a cottage amidst the wide, green land.Proceeding along its steep incline, I spot the first wolf I'd trust sitting on his porch.He wore dark glasses with both hands resting on his cane."I never thought I'd be alive to see you again," he said, turning his head toward me."I thought you were blind," I replied."You still have a dry humor," he chuckled.Though he could not see, his beastly senses were sharp enough to replace his lost sight.It had been years since I last visited him. The last time I saw him was at my second mate's inauguration: a ceremony to introduce the new Luna to the pack. At that time, I was in my early twenties.Luckmeil was once my father's advisor and his closest friend. He was like a father to me and the one who named me Gunner.A midwife once revealed to me that my father had planned to name me Pain upon my birth, as I had taken away his first mate. However, Luckmeil changed my name."I heard from your daughter