Trapped

Chapter One: Trapped

****

“Plea—!” My voice broke off as the sharp crack of the whip lashed against my skin, leaving a burning sting.

I felt my body tense, my heart pounding against my ribs, I was heavily inhaling air.

My hair fell loosely around my shoulders, strands sticking to my sweat-soaked skin.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Listen to me!” Darius lashed again, this time with more force.

“Nnhhhhh!” I gritted my teeth since the tightness spread through my back.

He loomed over me, his short black hair covering half of his face, and his green eyes showing only cold satisfaction.

His muscular body loomed in the dim light of the room, and despite the violence, he maintained calm, making my stomach churn with fear.

In our kingdom, the throne was won through bloodshed and dominance, never inherited.

And everyone knew that he was an alpha-to-be, bred for dominance, and this—this was his way of showing it.

“I didn’t do it! I promise—” I felt how my eyes, like the bright leaves around me, were now filled with water, “I would never,” I whispered.

Each crack of the whip felt like a burning mark of shame—I was losing my pride along with my skin. Why was I being punished now? It felt so unfair.

“Oh, what a pity…” he said in a low tone, “your blond hair got stained with the blood on your back…you will need to wash it…I will help you wash it…”

“…”

“…”

The sudden silence that followed his harshness deepened the stab in my heart, making me question everything once again, ‘what is he going to do now?’ My breath stuck in my throat as I stared at the ground, frozen in place.

“I-I’m sorry for making you feel this way…” I finally replied, breaking the painful silence.

“Good girl,” Darius squatted down. “At least now you know the consequences,” he stated.

I didn’t even look at my stepbrother.

“The mating ceremony is near, and you will be chosen as my mate.” He gently rested his hand on my head, giving it a light tap.

‘We will die rather than be your mate, you asshole! Eris, let me out! I will kill this guy!’ My wolf, Seven, couldn't hold it any longer.

“I-I know, Darius… and after that, we will bed…” I dug my fingers into the ground, straining to lift myself up.

The earth beneath me was the only comfort I could find. It grounded me, reminded me that I was still alive, still fighting—barely.

“You will be mine, forever.” Darius removed his hand.

“I know,” I added, “forever…”

‘No, the heck we won’t! Is he crazy? Does this idiot just think we would succumb to him? Eris, let me out, and I will finish that asshole!’

Darius's cold hand pressed against my bare back. The chill collided sharply with the heat of my skin where the whip had struck.

My muscles tightened, and I shivered at the touch. Darius leaned forward, his breath started caressing the back of my neck as his hand slid down my back and around to my stomach.

I froze as my body tensed once again.

“Please…” My voice broke and trembled.

"Relax," he said quietly. "We aren't having sex now. We're not even having sex until we are mated." His lips grazed the skin at the nape of my neck.

But I knew my stepbrother and his sick mindset.

He wouldn't wait.

"Don't touch me," I whispered. "If you touch me, I'll tell Mother, and she'll punish you."

"You can't tell her," Darius murmured, his lips still against my skin. "You can't tell anyone."

"Then leave me alone!" I growled.

"No."

His lips traveled from my neck to my ear. "You'll never be alone again. Not until we're both dead." His other hand lifted, and his fingers slid into my hair as he tugged my head back. “Mine…”

The door opened.

"What are you doing?" His father, the new alpha of the pack, demanded.

"She was dirty. I was washing her," Darius said, rising and turning away from his father.

I saw how he glanced at my back, "Go."

"Father..."

"Go."

Darius walked toward the door, his head lowered now, “help her to-“

"Leave her like that." Alpha Augustin said, not sparing me a second glance. "Let her stay the night here. The next time she talks back to you, I want you to leave her for two days. Maybe by the third time, she'll learn her place."

"Yes, sir," Darius said and left.

I looked up at my stepfather.

“Aren’t you going to say anything about what you saw?” I asked him, hoping he would understand.

"What is there to say?" He looked me up and down. “You’re so pitiful, just like your father was.”

I glared at the alpha. “Don’t you dare bring my father into this,” I said with clenched teeth, threatening him. No… it felt like a challenge now.

Augustin sneered, "Oh, look who’s so brave today, Eris. Do you really want to find out what happened to him? It can happen to you too very soon if you keep resisting and disobey my orders, girl."

"No." I dropped my head.

Augustin married my mother who was the Luna of our pack….

Only in kingdom- Herondo, a widowed Luna could marry another alpha…but only after he had claimed the throne by killing the previous alpha in this case, my father…

It was a custom that reflected our brutal laws, and we had to follow them.

Disobeying the rules would only lead to one thing-death!

"Get some sleep. The mating ceremony is in a few days, and I don't want you looking like a mess. This is an honor."

In our traditions, young girls get our wolves when we’re sixteen, we bond and grow with them for two years, and after two years, every wolf must go through a mating ceremony…it’s when we turn eighteen.

‘An honor, my ass! At this point, I can’t wait for Darius to shred Augustin apart!’

The alpha left the room, locking the door behind him. I crawled onto the blanket on the floor, shivering.

My skin stung, my muscles ached, and my heart was heavy, almost filled with rocks.

It’s been exactly eleven years since I saved the Fae, and my wish was granted. “How stupid, Seven… how stupid I was…”

‘Eris, your back is burning. You need to find help!’

“Let me die…”

‘And let them all laugh at you? No!’

“Seven, please…”

‘Get up or at least let me out. I’m hungry. I need to hunt!’

“No energy,” I muttered, “how did I end up like this?”

I was the daughter of the previous alpha. I was spoiled with love and treated with the greatest care until he suddenly fell sick.

Nobody knew how to help him, and my mother’s position for leadership was soon questioned.

But then it was the time when Herondo started to tremble, and Augustin, Darius’s father, challenged Damon, the sick alpha of the pack, and killed him.

Even though everyone thought of it as a low blow, everyone knew that Augustin would help the pack survive. It didn't take long for him to claim Julie, my mother, as his mate as well.

And that's when my real nightmare began.

Augustinh had a son, Darius who would not let me out of his sight even for a minute.

He would watch, follow, and stalk me. At first, I thought he was being protective, but then his insane mind, like his lunatic wolf, started creeping me out.

Here, we had a large area with a setting where power controlled everything.

Inside the pack's region stood big stone buildings, rough yet impressive, showcasing the old history of werewolf rule-our rule.

I loved the nearby forests…They were thick, with trees standing like quiet guards under the changing moon, which controlled our lives.

Festivals under the full moon were sacred—a time when the pack would gather around great bonfires, we would howl together, celebrating our connection to the ancient wolf spirits.

‘I will change the laws here…and you will belong to me, even if you’re my step sister…’ I heard Darius’s voice in my head once again.

It was his favorite line whenever I fought him.

Darius wanted me to submit, and that was the problem.

Darius, the alpha's son and the new future leader, was a monster.

My mother was the only one who could make him obey. But Julie was not the same person she was before.

My eyes shot open. "Shut up!" I hissed, my hands forming little fists as I fought to control my anger.

“Your wolf is the weakest of all the pack,” Darius's words repeated in my head out loud.

I sat up.

I was angry.

Angry at the alpha, angry at my mother, and angry at my own weakness.

Seven whined, and I knew the wolf was feeling the same way.

I stood, my back to the door, and stared at the moon through the window.

"We can't do this," I said, shaking my head. "We can't give up!”