Chapter 2: Sold

Natalia 

Weeks had passed since the devastating attack that ruined everything I held dear. The Night Walkers had taken all our food supplies and weapons, leaving us to scavenge like starving dogs. We struggled to survive on what little game we could catch, my pack growing gaunt and weary. 

Although no longer the Alpha's daughter, I still did what I could to help my packmates. I knew they looked to me even now for some shred of hope, a glimmer of the strong leader I had been training to become. I owed it to my father's memory to not give up on them.

One morning I joined a small hunting party to seek food. There were three of us - me, Marco, and Amanda. We slunk through the underbrush, every sense straining for signs of prey. My pack hadn't eaten properly in days. We were desperate.

At last we came across a young buck grazing at the edge of a meadow. Silent as shadows, we fanned out and began stalking towards it from downwind. Closer, closer...I held my breath, muscles tensed and ready for the strike.

When the buck's head shot up in alarm, Marco let out a fierce snarl and leaped from the brush. The deer bolted, but Amanda was waiting to cut off its escape. She sprang onto its back, dragging it down as Marco raced in to make the kill. Within moments, the creature went still.

We had done it. Sustenance for my starving pack. Gently, the three of us took the deer in our jaws and began dragging it homeward. The scent of fresh blood and meat set my stomach to growling ravenously. But I would not feed until the others had eaten.

Back at our makeshift camp, I stood guard as Marco and Amanda began parceling out the venison. Weakened wolves crept forward, gratitude shining in their eyes. Watching my pack finally able to eat their fill opened a small well of happiness in my grief-stricken heart. Providing for them gave me purpose when I had lost so much.

As the last scraps were polished off, I turned to head to my own humble shelter - a small hut made of branches and pelts. It wasn't much, but it kept the elements off me at night. My body ached for rest after the long hunt.

But before I could reach my hut, James stepped into my path. He was my father's former Beta, now one of the oldest members of the pack. I suppressed a growl of irritation. James had become a thorn in my side these last few weeks, questioning my every decision and trying to undermine me.

"Natalia," he said gruffly. "Just wanted to check that you've saved some food for yourself as well...can't have our future Alpha starving, can we?" He stared at me in a way that made my skin crawl.

"I ate my share," I said shortly, trying to step around him. 

But James moved to block me again, leaning in close. "No need to be rude, now," he chided. "I'm only looking out for your interests...which is more than can be said for some around here."

I bristled, disliking his implication that the others were not loyal. "My interests are the same as the rest of the pack," I retorted. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to rest."

"Of course," James said, backing away slowly. "Rest up. But if you need anything...anything at all...you know where to find me." He grinned, his eyes wandering shamelessly over my body before he turned and loped off.

A shudder of disgust rippled through me and I hurried into my hut, securing the entrance tightly. James' behavior was growing bolder and more inappropriate by the day. Ever since my father's death, he seemed to think there was a place for him at my side. But I would rather die than let that vile worm think he could ever be my partner. 

Over the next week, James continued plying me with unwanted attention and touching me in fleeting ways meant to seem accidental. I did my best to avoid him, staying near the rest of the pack so he couldn't corner me alone. His increasingly possessive attitude was alarming.

But one evening, he caught me unawares as I returned from a solitary walk in the woods. Before I could react, he had me pinned against a tree, his hands and body caging me in. I snarled in fury and slashed my nails at his face, but he only laughed.

"Come now, Natalia," he crooned. "No need to play hard to get. A female Alpha needs a mate...and I'm the most eligible wolf around." He ran a grimy hand along my cheek.

I saw red, my outrage exploding from me in a string of vulgar curses that would make my father roll in his grave. I called James every nasty name I could think of, taking vicious satisfaction in the way his face purpled with rage.

"You arrogant brat," he spat as I finally fell silent, chest heaving. "You'll regret those filthy words. I was only trying to do what's best for this pack, but clearly you need a lesson in respect."

He stormed off, and a feeling of apprehension replaced my anger. What was James planning as retaliation? I had publicly ripped into his overblown pride. There would be consequences.

Two mornings later, I awoke to find myself being roughly dragged from my hut by three burly pack members. I shouted and struggled, demanding to know what was happening. But they ignored me, tying my wrists and ankles with rope before tossing me into the back of a windowless van. 

James stood nearby wearing a smug grin. "I told you that you'd regret your foolishness, Natalia," he said calmly. "This pack doesn't need the likes of you leading it. But I found someone who was very interested in taking you off my hands."

Dread coursed through me as the truth sank in. James had sold me out to the Night Walkers - the same monsters who had butchered my father and destroyed my home. He was exiling me, leaving the pack in the traitorous hands of my greatest enemy.

I screamed and thrashed, hurling every curse and swear at James and my captors, but it did no good. The van's engine rumbled to life and we began bouncing down a worn dirt road away from the only home I had ever known. 

Tears of frustration leaked down my cheeks. I was helpless, at the mercy of the Night Walker Alpha. My pack - my father's legacy - was lost to me forever now. All my dreams for the future had been snuffed out like candle flames in a storm.

The trip lasted for endless, miserable hours. When the van finally rolled to a stop and the doors opened, I found myself in a bustling compound swarming with Night Walkers. They jeered and shouted taunts at me as I was dragged into a holding cell and dumped on the hard concrete floor.

The cell door clanged shut, leaving me trapped and alone. I cradled my head in my hands, waves of hopelessness and despair threatening to pull me under. My quest for vengeance against the Night Walkers had led me directly into their clutches instead.

Now I faced an uncertain future in the hands of my most hated enemies, a thousand miles away from everything I held dear.

What fate did the Alpha have in store for me? And how long would I manage to survive it?