Chapter 1

Esme's POV

The force of the slap caused me to fall over completely, my vision blurry with pain and tears.

After lacerating my back with heated, broken glass, I thought he would be satisfied but of course not, he wouldn't stop until I passed out completely. Which won't take too long from the look of things.

He stepped on my copiously bleeding back and I screamed loudly, unable to hold back the pain.

"Pl….. Please….. please stop Alpha, I can't take it anymore." I begged helplessly, my voice barely above a whisper.

He suddenly stopped and pulled me up by my hair, pushing me against the stone cold wall of the dungeon.

I groaned, realizing my body was starting to give out and I feared that I might not wake up this time.

He grabbed my chin and forced me to look into his eyes, which had a wicked red glint, a sign that his wolf was at the surface.

"Do you know why I haven't killed you yet?" He suddenly asked and the only thing I could do was shake my head with what little opportunity his grip provided.

"Because killing you would be my defeat, I won't let you die so easily bitch. Your parents murdered the love of my life in cold blood and I'll make you pay for every single second of your life. I'll make you suffer so much that you'll beg for death but I won't let it come close to you." He growled and I shivered, my vision blurry.

Pain is all I've known my entire life but the Alpha manages to come up with new ways to torture me. The hell never seems to end.

He turned to leave but the words escaped my mouth before I could stop myself.

"Why me?" 

He paused without turning around to look at me.

"Why do I have to suffer for my parents' mistakes? I've been imprisoned and tortured my entire life but I've never committed any crimes." I croaked, sick of quietly bearing the abuse.

If this was going to be the end, then I would at least like to die on my own terms.

I could see his knuckles tighten almost painfully before he turned around to face me.

"Do you really want to know?" He asked, a sinister smile forming at the edge of his lips.

It almost made my skin crawl and at that moment, I regretted asking.

He moved closer to me in one swift motion and my heart nearly stopped.

He closed whatever gap that was left between us, bringing his lips closer to my ear.

"You're being punished because you share the same blood with them, bitch." He whispered into my ear before biting hard on my earlobe and I bit painfully on my lower lip, trying to hold back my scream as more tears poured down my cheeks.

He moved backwards a bit, taking a look at me while I kept my eyes glued to the floor.

"Till now, you've only known physical pain and that's why you still have the gall to talk back to me but this will change soon.

On your 18th birthday, you'll become the Pack's whore." He spoke.

"No." I mumbled, all my strength fleeing me.

He ran a callused hand from my neck down my exposed chest.

He suddenly grabbed both my nipples, pinching them hard. I couldn't hold back my scream.

"This dirty little body of yours will be used by every man in the Pack, anytime they desire and if you refuse, you'll be raped brutally so it would be better to give in and serve them if you wish to live." He said and twisted my nipples again painfully.

"Please stop, it hurts." I cried out dejectedly.

"It should. You'll learn to love pain by the time I'm done with you and you'll live the rest of your life to serve me and this Pack. You have no idea the horrors I have in store for you." He spoke menacingly and finally let go of my nipples.

They were hard, red and swollen from his abuse.

"You slut, you're not supposed to be enjoying this. You claim to hate the pain but look how hard your nipples are, I wonder how wet you must be underneath despite all this pretense." He mocked cruelly and all I could do was cry.

I can bear the pain but not this humiliation. I don't want to be used and passed around like a whore, I want to be free, I want to be…….loved and, and be happy…

The physical and emotional pain combined finally becomes too much for my fragile body to bear and before I can help it, I find myself falling.

I hit the ground hard, but it didn't hurt, everything had suddenly gone numb and the whole world was becoming white.

Maybe this is it, I can, I can finally find peace, away from this world and all its cruelty……

*****

The rattling of the dungeon door forced my eyes open.

My heartbeat accelerated with each second as the door rattled and opened agonizingly slow. Is he back to finally finish me off?

I released a breath when I realized it was only Kyra, my friend. She came in and closed the door behind her before crouching down to hug me. I winced when her hand came in contact with my bloodied and mutilated back, she quickly backed away, throwing me an apologetic look.

"Are you OK?" She asked and I nodded even though we both knew it was a lie.

"What did he do this time?" She asked and I bit my bottom lip, unsure if to speak or not.

If I told her, she would get mad at the Alpha and pick a fight with him and that would only mean more trouble for me. I couldn't take the risk.

"It's fine." I tried to dismiss it.

She didn't argue this time, she just stood up and walked behind me, finally catching a glimpse of my severely wounded back.

"Oh my goodness, this is pure evil. How could he do this to you?" She raged and stood up, turning to leave but I tried to stop her.

"No, please. Please don't say anything to the Alpha. I know you care for me but picking a fight with him will only make him go harder on me. I might not be able to survive the next punishment, please." I begged, tears pouring down my cheeks.

She sighed and stopped, turning to face me, she finally sat down on the floor beside me.

"How do you even cope? You're so strong, you know that? I would have died if I had to endure half the things you have. And what hurts more is the fact that you don't deserve any of this." Kyra said and I remained silent, swallowing my tears.

I was just about six years old when my parents abandoned me. I can't remember much except a burning house, my parents mumbling something to me and everything turning black.

When I woke up, I was locked up in a cage and from then on began my never ending torture. I have a deep fear of fire because our house was on fire the last time I saw my parents. The Alpha knows this and uses fire to torture me on days when he's angry or just feels like making me suffer.

I'm being made to pay for my parents' crime and I've been told that I'll be a slave for the rest of my life.

There's no use fighting it, I've never really been free and I have no fight left in me. Solar, my wolf is my only companion and Princess Kyra is my only friend.

Kyra is the Alpha's niece, she's an orphan and the Alpha is like a father figure to her. Considering her position, I thought she would hate and ridicule me like everyone else but she turned out to be different.

She would sneak food to me on days when the Alpha decided to starve me. She's probably the only reason why I still have the will to live, I have the tiniest bit of hope that maybe someday, I'll be free.

"You know you can cry in front of me, we've been friends for a long time and I feel like I've failed you. I may be a princess but I'm completely powerless, I couldn't even get my uncle to stop torturing you.

I know that my uncle has a very rash temper and tends to do things without thinking but in reality, he's really not that bad. He's taken care of me since I lost my parents and not once has he ever raised his voice to me. 

It's really shocking that he can be such a beast to you. It's like he's a completely different person when he's with you. He loves his mate very much and that love has blinded him to the truth." Kyra ranted.

In my eyes, the Alpha is nothing but a monster. A wicked and cruel monster who I would do anything to get away from.

On days when he felt good, he would just beat me up but on some days, he would flog me with a whip soaked in wolfsbane.

I nearly bled to death one time. I've escaped death more times than I can count but if this goes on, I don't know how long I can keep cheating death.

"Your back looks terribly injured, doesn't it hurt?" She asked and I looked up at her with a nod. It hurts like hell but I've gotten so used to pain that it's endurable.

"I should get you some first aid."

"No, no one knows that you come here to see me. Sneaking food in here is one thing but bringing first aid will arouse suspicion. I don't want any more trouble." I pleaded and she groaned.

"I feel so useless right now. I call you my friend but I can't even help you with something as trivial as first aid." She said, her voice laced with hurt.

"I understand your concerns but I'll heal on my own, I always do." I tried to pacify her.

"But the scars don't." She insisted.

"It's fine, you don't have to worry about me. How are you doing?" I asked, trying to change the conversation but she couldn't be fooled.

"How can I be fine when you're in this condition and you're always trying to change the subject. I'm really worried about you because the Alpha is planning something, something I'm sure won't bode well for you." She said and I quickly turned to look at her.

"What do you mean?" 

"The Alpha's hosting a banquet in three days, he's going to invite a few other Alphas from the other packs, including Alpha Ethan." She said and suddenly paused.

An eerie cold encompassed my body at the sound of that name.

Everyone knew Alpha Ethan, he was better known as the bloody conqueror. He was once a rogue leader but he attacked the most powerful Pack, overthrew and killed the Alpha and his entire family. He also killed all the people that refused to surrender to him.

Since then, he rules with an iron fist, everyone fears him and no one dares cross his path, not even other Alphas. It's no surprise that he's still alone. I mean who would want to mate with such a monster?

Despite being imprisoned, I've heard about his ruthless and tyrannical behavior. He doesn't kill his victims, he impales them or tortures them slowly until they die. Very few people have the courage to even say his name.

If the Alpha is inviting Alpha Ethan over for a banquet then something must definitely be up. 

And coincidentally, my 18th birthday is in three days, the same day as the banquet, could there be a connection?

What could possibly be going on in the Alpha's mind and more importantly, what does it have to do with me?

"Why are you telling me this?" I found myself asking.

"Well because, you're going to be in that banquet, in fact, the Alpha wants you to serve Alpha Ethan."