Chapter Two

ROWAN’S POV

If felt like a bucket of cold water was dumped on my head when I heard the word "breeder". Few seconds ago, I thought I was going to be killed like a mere animal, now I'm about to be a breeder for Julian and Marcus Knox.

How did Elowen and the rest of the pack feel about the new development? I was too exhausted and drained to give a damn anymore.

"Let's move." I heard Alpha Julian command the guards and my two arms were grabbed, raising me off the cold floor.

I looked over to where my sister was, though my vision was blurred by tears, I saw Dylan standing next to her, their hands locked together. Elowen wore a look of pure, unadulterated fury. She had wanted me dead in the worst way possible, instead I was being taken away by the most powerful men in Moon Haven, to be their breeder.

I didn't know which was worse though. Was I really better off being a breeder to Alpha Julian and Marcus than dead?

"Wait!"

A small, lean figure broke through the crowd and ran towards the middle of the square.

"Maria?" I croaked out.

Maria, my personal servant who I also considered my best friend, threw herself at Alpha Marcus’s feet.

"Please, Alpha! Please, take me with Lady Rowan! She's injured and needs care. Please let me go with her! I'm her personal servant, please."

One of the Twin Alphas, the one with the piercing grey eyes, Alpha Julian stepped forward in front of Maria. Then after a moment of unreadable silence, he commanded, "Let the girl in. If the breeder dies of an infection before we're even finished with her, it's a waste of our time."

Another guard grabbed Maria by her arm and we were both dragged away to one of the cars that brought the Alphas. As we were thrown to the backseat of the car, Maria pulled me into a desperate embrace.

"I've got you, my Lady," she whispered as she sobbed into my hair. "I'm here for you. You're not alone."

I don't know how long we stayed in that hug but before we knew it, the car was approaching a massive stone mansion.

The Knox brothers' home.

"Take her to her chambers," Alpha Julian ordered, then said to me, "I'm sure you know what will happen if you try anything stupid." His voice was calm but the tone behind it was enough warning of the consequences.

The guards threw us into a room and the door clicked shut, locking from outside.

Maria immediately moved to the bed and helped me sit down. She looked at the state of me, the bruises, the torn dress, the swollen eyes, and then she let out a sob.

"How could they?" She cried, her hands trembling as she ran them gently on my arm. "You were supposed to be our Luna. Everything was going so perfectly. Now what the hell is this? A fucking breeder?? For the twin Alphas??"

I placed her hand in mine and patted it, "Oh, Maria. But I'm alive, right? That's all that matters right now. I was supposed to be killed brutally by these Alphas but now I'm here in front of you, alive."

"But why a breeder?" Maria wiped her eyes, her face was now a mix of worry and confusion. "Alpha Marcus and Alpha Julian.... they could have any woman in Moon Haven. They could take a hundred mistresses, if they wanted. Why would they want you as a breeder? It doesn't make sense."

I shook my head slowly. "I don't know. To humiliate me?"

But even I didn't believe that. If humiliation was their goal, there were several other ways.

"No," Maria disagreed. "The Twin Alphas don't do things for spite. They only do things for power. There has to be something else. Something else that––"

She didn't finish her thought when the heavy bolt on the door slid back and it swung open with a force.

A guard with a cold glare on his face, stood there. "The Alphas wants her bathed, cleaned up and prepared for him." He barked at Maria. "Have her ready. Now."

"Now?" Maria gasped. "She can barely stand! She needs rest and–"

"Now!" He barked even louder this time, making Maria and I shake in our boots. "They want her ready for them tonight. She is to wear the dress provided in the dressing room. You have thirty minutes."

He slammed the door shut.

Maria turned to me, her face had turned pale. "Tonight? They.... they aren't even going to wait?"

A cold shiver ran down my spine, which was followed by a sudden, hot flash of rage. They didn't even see me as a person. I was nothing but a sex slave to them.

"The man said we have thirty minutes, Maria. Let's hurry." I said with a steady voice. There was no point crying over spilled milk. There was nothing I could do at the moment.

Maria got to work quietly, though I could still hear her silent sobs. She helped me into the huge marble tub in the bathroom. The warm water stung the scrapes on my knees and the bruises on my body. She washed the blood off my temple and tended to my bruises gently. She rubbed scented oils that smelled of jasmine and vanilla on my body.

"You're so beautiful, Lady Rowan," she said quietly as she helped me out of the bath. "They are going to see that and maybe... maybe if they see that you're not a traitor... maybe they will treat you better. Maybe they will even make you their mate.  Maybe that's why they picked you,  because they found out you're their mate." I could hear the slight excitement in her voice.

I chuckled, "That's so many maybes, Maria. And they don't want a mate. They want a breeder."

She led me to the dressing room and indeed a white silk gown was hanging there. It was sleeveless, with a plunging neckline and it looked like it would cling to every curve of my body.

"But why you?" Maria asked again, her voice sounded small as she picked up a brush. "Everyone say the Twin Alphas are incapable of love. They have never even looked at a woman twice, both of them. Why would they claim a supposed traitor to breed their heir?"

"I'm a weak werewolf, Maria," I replied, staring at my reflection. I looked beautiful in the dress. "Maybe they saw that I'm weak enough for them to control and use as they please."

The words tasted bitter in my mouth as they slipped out but it was probably the truth.

"Or maybe they felt something," Maria said, hope suddenly flickering in her eyes again. "Maybe the bond–"

"There is no bond." I snapped at her but softened my tone immediately. "Dylan was my mate and he rejected me. I don't have anything left inside me to bond with anyone. Especially not monsters like Alpha Julian and Alpha Marcus."

Maria didn't argue. She began to brush out my long black hair gently. For a moment, in the quiet of the room, I could almost pretend I was back in my room, preparing for a pack festival.

But then, the door swung open without a knock.

"The Alphas want you now." A woman’s voice announced.