Chapter 1 - Ariana

I COULDN’T REMEMBER how long I had spent on the boat. I was taken from my home during the night and was now on my way to goddess knows where. The masters stormed into the omega house, and I had always wondered how they knew exactly where we were. No guards came to help us as we were ushered out of the building and into trucks. The operation to get us onto the boat seemed so damn practiced and professional that it was clear these men knew what they were doing. 

I wondered over the years if our pack had sold us or if they even noticed we were gone. Life on a boat wasn’t that different to life at the pack house. We were treated like possessions, but not the kind people saw as something precious. I was convinced that the pack had sold us. You see, this wasn’t the first time I had been kidnapped. I was taken from my home as a little baby. I never knew who my parents were or where I even originally came from. I grew up with the women of the omega house and none of them really took care of me, so I learned from a young age that the only person I could depend on was myself. 

The boat stopped once in a while and then we were dragged off the boat to be shown to the slave markets. I quickly learned that trying to tell the people nearby that I had been kidnapped only got me a brutal beating as soon as we returned to the boat, but I also learned that it got me back onto the boat and out of the hands of which ever new masters might want me.

I didn’t want to be sold like the others, and at least if nobody was going to help me, they sure as hell wasn’t going to buy me if I talked too much or had an attitude problem. To me, finding a new home was worse than staying on the damn boat. At least, here I knew what I had to do. All I had to be careful of in the market was walk into one person who might see me as the perfect wild horse they could try and tame. I played this game very carefully. I would say just enough for my masters to return me to the boat with the promise of a beating which I knew was going to break yet another bone. But I didn’t say anything that their customers would hear me.

So here we are. Another town, and new masters, but something felt different this time. The air was thick with the scent of spices. I kept my eyes down. I knew when to speak and something in the air told me that today, I had better keep my mouth shut. Even the masters looked nervous as we left the docs and passed through the market.

There was no screaming to let everyone know the slave traders had arrived as they normally did. Why weren’t they screaming? I could feel the electricity in the air as we moved through the streets. It was so strange. It felt as if we were walking forever and I followed the girl in front of me, but I didn’t help her when she tripped and fell. The whip came down over her back before I could do anything and if I moved to help it would have come down on me.

We were told to pick up our chains and if they touched the ground inside the building we would pay with our lives. The steps came up in front of me and they were freezing underneath my bare feet. The iron cuffs around my wrists and ankles no longer cut into my flesh because there was no more flesh for them to cut into. I knew that I had lost all my muscle tone. I was barely skin and bone, but what drew my attention as I climbed the last step was the incredible floor.

I could actually see my reflection on the perfectly polished white floor. My beautiful long hair was cut the first time I spoke out to defend myself. My hair had grown out a little, but it was manky and looking terribly unkept. My green eyes looked empty of emotion. There was no shine to my previously beautiful hair, just like the sparkle had finally left my eyes. I could hardly recognize my own face at first. My eyes were sunken and I looked like a skeleton compared to the healthy young woman I once was.

I wondered where we were, but I kept my eyes down. It was too late to say something and I had a feeling that no matter what I tried today they weren’t going to take me back to the boat. I sneaked a quick peak as the guard pushed me down onto the ground and I almost gasped. I wanted to cover myself! I was ashamed to be walking into this building, looking the way I did.

The walls were painted the purest white I had ever seen and gold decorations rounded off each window and door frame perfectly with the most intricate patterns I had ever seen in my entire life. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how high the roof could be, but I heard stories when I was younger. I was in his castle. 

The second I heard footsteps, I prayed to the moon goddess to save me. I had given up hope that the moon goddess even existed. If ever there was a time, I needed to believe in her and that I really and truly needed her help, it was today. 

“How much is this one?” I had never heard the king’s voice and I wondered if he would even be there. Did it really matter? I was in the castle of the alpha king!!! Surely, if they knew that I was a werewolf that had been kidnapped, they would save me? The stench of the boat had affected my sense of smell so badly that I could no longer tell when I was near other wolves. 

“I’m not for sale!” The words were out before I could clamp my mouth shut as I looked up into cold grey eyes. The man in front of me was built similar to the males I remembered from my pack. Surely the Wolf king would be twice as tall or look stronger … This man couldn’t be him.

“Oh, honey, everybody is for sale. You just have to pay them the right price.” He sneered at me and I felt as if my insides turned upside down as the nausea pushed up my throat. He walked around me and nodded at the guard who pulled me up from the floor. I can’t back down now. I was in the house of the king of all werewolves. If I was going to get out of this alive, my only chance was going to be to stay here.

“I was kidnapped! These beasts took me from my pack!” But as I said the words, I could see in the eyes of whoever the hell this grey-eyed man was, he didn’t give a damn.

“I’ll take her. I’ll take all of them.” He sighed and for the first time my master spoke up. He tried to convince the grey-eyed bastard that I wasn’t the one they wanted. That the others were better. They had taken on a new shipment at our last stop and there were healthier, better-looking girls than me. Girls whose clothes actually fit them, but the bastard was on his way out. He turned around, threw a bag of money at my master and told him to get out.

Guards dressed in royal blue uniforms showed up and ushered us out of the enormous room and I made a mental note to study it when I got the chance, but as we made our way further and further into the belly of the castle, I figured I would probably die before I ever saw sunlight again.

I thought I was saved, but it was clear that the alpha king also kept slaves! I guess in our world it made sense, but was he so damn dishonourable that he bought them and didn’t fight for them? If this was our king, I wouldn’t want to meet him anymore. I couldn’t see myself liking a man like that! I had to be with someone better. My mate will find me some day. If I could just hold on for one more day. One day he would find me and save me and take me away from all the pain and anger I’ve had to endure.

I thought they would at least remove our chains and give us some clean clothes, but apparently, they didn’t plan on that either. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust as we entered the laundry room and we were put to work immediately. The soapy water burned the hell out of my skin, but I did as I was told. I was an omega. I was a slave and this was my life. My wolf rolled her eyes at me and I nearly said something out loud.

She was the only reason I survived as long as I had. If it wasn’t for Ophelia, I would probably be dead. If it wasn’t for her strong voice inside my head, I would have given up hope a long, long time ago. She was also convinced we would get out of here just like we got off that damn boat. I had just finished the load I was given when an entirely new load of washing showed up at my station.

How the hell did these people live? Every damn item they handed me was stained in some way! A shiver ran down my spine and my chains rattled as my entire body shook. I really didn’t want to think about what some of those stains could be. The strong scent of dried blood came from the pile and I couldn’t keep my nausea down anymore!

The same time, the whip came down over my back as I tried not to cry out. There was nothing left on my back to protect my body anymore. Nothing but scar on top of scar which made me wonder if anyone would ever be able to love my broken, beaten-up body.

“Oh, stop that! We don’t do pity parties!” Ophelia sighed and I growled at her. She wasn’t the one taking the beatings! Who the hell was she to talk!

“I might not be taking the beatings, but who do you think heals you each time? We will get out of here and we will find our mate that is meant to love us unconditionally!” She reprimanded me and I sighed. “You missed one.” She took control of my hand and pointed out a very suspicious spot that I missed on purpose. I used to be in total control of our body, but ever since I grew so weak, she had been abusing her ability to take over by just making my body do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted.

I didn’t know when work finished or when we would be able to eat around here, so I kept working until everybody around me started moving to my right. I wasn’t going to take any chances of being whipped again, but I also didn’t want to be the only one working when it was time to eat and sleep. I was so damn tired. After spending such a long time at the bottom of that boat, I learned to move in small spaces with my chains.

I couldn’t move long distances. I was pretty weak as well. I was the only one left from my original group. I had been on that damn boat the longest of all of those people! Luckily, the young woman beside me whispered that it was time to leave. We were given a dry piece of bread and a mug with some water on our way out, and I nearly cried when I smelled the fresh water.

After we finished eating, we were all shoved into group cells and I found a spot to sit down. The young girl sat down beside me and told me that it was safe. She also said it was the only time of the day that it was safe. Apparently, once the guards locked us away for the night, they didn’t care what happened to us until morning.

I could finally sleep. In peace. Until morning! I struggled a little at first. I no longer felt the rocking of the boat or heard the waves crashing against the side, but eventually sleep gripped me and I drifted off.