3 - The Blacklist Card

I realised I was in trouble at that point, and a sense of panic washed over me. 

Tremors ran through my body as I cautiously shifted my gaze, trying to avoid direct eye contact with him. Instead, my eyes drifted past him, landing on the intimidating figures standing behind him.

Alpha Ares, tall and imposing, leaned casually against the wall, his strong frame supported by the unyielding surface. 

The two other men that stood next to him, dressed in sleek, all-black clothes, had their eyes pinned to me.

My attention was immediately drawn to the first man’s mesmerising green eyes and the intricate tattoo that adorned his muscular arms. His long hair cascaded over his shoulders, adding to his enigmatic appeal.

Derek Ray.

There was a smirk on his face. After all, he was the first one who had branded me as a ‘stalker’ and now he was probably smacking a ‘see, I was absolutely right’ across my face with his eyes.

Standing next to him was a man with a thin but very visible scar across his face. It started from the corner of his forehead, slicing across his eye brow, the bridge of his nose, and ended on his other cheek. 

He was Kai Giovanni.

The air grew heavy with tension as the silence lingered, and I couldn’t help but feel the weight of their gazes bearing down on me, suffocating my every breath.

I was standing in front of the Shadowblood Men. 

All four of them, in a clear light; bullying a man.

“What are you doing?” I asked, moving toward them even though my fingers were shaking in fear.

“Leave!” Marcus growled louder. 

My eyes cut to Ares. But he was staring at the man on the ground with a stony gaze. As if that man was not even a human to him.

What happened to the man that I had seen in the pictures? 

The soft, angelic man…?

“I am not going anywhere,” I muttered, my voice laced with determination.

It was none of my business but seeing them attack one man like this… it started to anger me.

The man, now on his knees, appeared unscathed physically, but his trembling body and vacant gaze revealed the terror consuming him. His face was red and stained with tears. His hands rested on his knees, gripping them tightly, as he struggled to steady his breaths.

A black card lay before him on the ground, its surface adorned with bold, gold letters spelling out the unmistakable ‘S.’ 

The infamous Blacklist card—a harbinger of impending doom, signifying that the person who received it was about to endure the worst week, if not year, of their life. A tradition created by the alphas of the Shadowblood Territory. 

If anyone dared to offend alphas of Shadowblood territory, that person’s name appeared on the blacklist that was displayed on a big, glowing sign. 

Your name on the blacklist meant- you are shunned. 

No one would talk to you. No one would even look at you. You won’t be served lunch in the cafeteria. You won’t be allowed inside the pack house. You won’t have any friends left. The day your name appears on the blacklist is the day you become a public property for mockery, insults, physical assault, mental torture and disgrace.

And this time the victim of it all was the man on the ground on his knees, Carlos. 

Alpha Kai let out a snide chuckle, “Attention seeking whores need a fucking leash to be kept away from us now.”

“I’m going to call for help,” I threatened, my voice quivering with the hope that the fear of being caught in their malicious act would scare these men. “Let him go.”

My threat hung in the air, met with a chilling silence that seemed to mock me. Though I knew deep down it was futile, I couldn’t understand why I had uttered those words. 

And then the man moved. Not the one on the ground. 

Alpha Marcus. 

He moved toward me. 

He approached me with measured steps, his demeanour akin to that of a predator on the prowl.

Panic surged through my veins, urging me to turn and flee for my life, but an invisible force held me in place, rooted to the spot.

In the next heartbeat, Marcus did something I had never anticipated. 

He grabbed me by the throat, swiftly turning me to the side, and then he pushed me backward with such force that robbed my feet of their ground. He pinned me against the wall, his hand wrapped around my throat in a painful grip.

“I warned you,” he uttered in a voice as cold as death itself.

My hand instinctively clutched at his wrist, my wide eyes locked with his, a silent plea for release, but my feeble attempts to break free were futile against his strength. He leaned in, his chilling breath caressing my lower lip and chin, 

“You are turning out to be dumber than I had thought.”

A painful twist knotted in my chest, squeezing my heart as his words pierced through me. 

As my eyes slid past him, I watched as Alpha Derek forcefully seized the kneeling man by the collar, hauling him out of the room.

Marcus growled, his voice trembling with anger at my audacity. “When I tell you to get the hell out, you better damn well listen, Stalker! Mind your own damn business instead of recklessly thrusting yourself into a group of men like a foolish, clueless moron!”

“P-please... l-let me go,” I managed to stutter, my voice trembling.

He maintained a tight grip on my throat, anger etched on his face.

From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Ares and Kai leaving the cafeteria, their departure amplifying the sense of isolation and danger that surrounded me.

As soon as they exited the room, Marcus released his grip on my throat, and I crumbled to the ground on my hands and knees, desperately gasping for each precious breath. 

“If you want to stay alive, do not try to cross me ever again!” Marcus' voice thundered in the empty hall.

Struggling to regain my composure, I managed to lift my head, my eyes fixated on Marcus as he made his way out of the cafeteria.

His figure gradually blurred as he retreated, but before he could disappear entirely, the words escaped my lips.

“You are shameless.”

Marcus halted in his tracks, startled. He turned around, his eyes filled with disbelief.

“What did you just say?” 

Summoning every ounce of strength I had left, my voice emerged hoarse and feeble, “You are shameless,” I repeated, locking my gaze with his unwaveringly.

“As the Alphas of your territories, you…” deep breath, “you all are supposed to help the members of your pack,” My voice trembled with a mix of vulnerability and determination, “to be there for the people who depend on you. But instead, you choose to bully them?”

Still on my hands and knees, I became acutely aware of the bruises that would inevitably blossom on my neck. The physical pain only served to fuel my resolve, empowering me to confront him despite my vulnerability.

“You are disgusting,” I hissed, my eyes filled with rage as I watched Marcus turn back around and approach me. “You’re nothing but a bully! You don’t know how to protect your people and instead, you make them fear challenging you like a damn coward.”

Before I could utter another word, he grabbed me by the collar and yanked me off the floor, forcing me to stand on trembling legs. The ground felt unsteady beneath me as he stared at me with a deadly intensity, as if he was about to end my life.

“And who the hell gave you the right to teach me how to run my fucking pack?” 

My voice quivered, not from fear, but from sheer fury. “Does that really matter now? You clearly need it.”

“You’re remarkably bold for someone who could be exiled from my pack in the next damn second at one fucking command out of my mouth.”

I scoffed, incredulous at his audacity. The nerve of this man was high. The ego in him was higher.

“You act like a child,” I retorted, my voice dripping with disdain. “I wish you understood that your people are the ones you should be protecting, not harming! Your father should have done a better job of teaching you some god damn manners, Alpha Marcus.”

The look in his eyes turned to pure fire.

And then, he seized something from the table, yanked his arm back, and struck me across the face with force.

My head snapped to the side, shock mingled with a light sting of pain etched across my features.

The lukewarm liquid and rice from the paper tray he had used as a weapon trickled down my cheek, staining my neck and body.

“I will. KILL you. If I EVER hear you speak. Of my father again!” he declared in an icy, deathly tone.

He stormed out of the hall.

I stood there, frozen. My heart pounding as the sting on my cheek intensified.

It took a while for the initial shock to wear off, and when it did, I slowly lifted my head, my heart fracturing into countless shards.

It didn’t hurt when he struck me. 

But the shame that strike brought was the worst feeling ever.

The urge to cry overwhelmed me—I had endured a lot of things, but nothing as degrading and humiliating as this.

My heart felt lodged in my throat. Overwhelmed with emotions, I couldn’t hold back the flood of tears any longer. I burst into sobs, my body shaking terribly with each breath. 

When I left the lunch hall, I didn’t even register the path I took, but halfway down the road, I removed my shirt and used it to wipe away the remnants of food that clung to my hair and face. It was a futile attempt, as the sticky residue stubbornly clung to my skin.

The moment I entered inside the pack house, I felt a chill run up my spine as all heads turned toward me. The look on their faces was strange. Ignoring them, I pulled out my phone and started walking, but then paused in my steps when I glanced at my phone screen.

It was flooded with notifications. 

Thousands of them. 

Mocking comments and insulting messages filled my screen. My heart sank as I opened the notifications and discovered a video featuring me in it. Fear clenched my heart, and I already had a sinking feeling about what I was about to see on the screen.

With trembling fingers, I clicked the play button and watched the video unfold before my eyes.