Natalie Another grueling day of kitchen work was finally drawing to a close. As the other slaves cleaned and stored the last of the cooking implements, I sagged against the wall just trying to stay on my feet. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest. I had been assigned all the most strenuous tasks today - hauling endless buckets of water and firewood, scrubbing massive cauldrons encrusted in burned food. It was petty punishment from the head cook for breaking that other slave's nose during my fight last week. Not that she needed much excuse to torment me these days.Since Lucas had turned the others against me with those vile rumors, I was scorned and ostracized by slaves and guards alike. Only Mary still dared talk to me, whispering encouragement during the brief moments we weren't under close scrutiny.The isolation gnawed at me. I had never felt so alone, even when Lucas first claimed me as his personal whipping girl. Back then I still drew strength from defying him openly.
NatalieI awoke the next morning feeling like I had been trampled by a stampede of actual wild horses. Every inch of my body throbbed and ached, protesting the simplest movements. Even rolling onto my side in the rickety bunk sent fresh stabs of pain through my bruised ribs. Groaning softly, I sat up and gingerly probed the lump on my temple where my head had been smashed cruelly against the hard ground. The swelling had gone down some, but the area was crusted with dried blood and exquisitely tender.My memories of last night's vicious ambush in the dark were hazy, blurred by panic and pain. But Lucas' handsome, cruel face flickering in the shadows was seared into my mind's eye. He had orchestrated the whole thing - I was utterly certain.Yet another twisted game of his, designed to humiliate and terrify me into complete submission. Clamping down on the raw fury that threatened to choke me, I focused on simply getting to my feet. Survival first. Vengeance later.I washed and dressed
LukeI reclined lazily in my office, boots propped up on the heavy oak desk as I reviewed security plans for the upcoming quarter. Being one of the triplet Alpha to be, of the Nightwalker Pack meant my days were consumed with official duties. Not that I minded the power and authority - quite the contrary. I reveled in keeping the rabble in line through fear and intimidation. As a future Alpha, it was my birthright.A knock at the door heralded my assistant Marcus entering with an update. I waved him in impatiently. "This better be good news, Marcus. The perimeter breaches last month were unacceptable. Have the flaws been shored up or do heads need to roll?""The fence has been reinforced and additional sentry posts established per your instructions," Marcus assured me. "We've increased patrols as well - no one will be sneaking through."I nodded approval, tapping my fingers on the desk. "Excellent. Can't have rogue wolves wandering in, contaminating the bloodline. Now, was there some
NatalieThe day dawned bleak and dreary, matching my hollow mood perfectly. I dressed numbly and made my way to the kitchens for another endless day of toil and torment. Ever since Lucas had stripped me bare and forced me to eat from his hand like a dog, the fight had gone out of me.I moved through my chores on autopilot - scrubbing, chopping, carrying. The daily indignities passed in a weary fog. I kept my eyes down and my shoulders hunched, willing myself invisible. It was safer to be mute and unremarkable.The one bright spot was Mary slipping me extra scraps when the guards weren't looking. I would have starved on my rationed meals alone. Her small kindnesses meant the world in this harsh place.I was hauling a bucket of stale dish water outside when the summons came - all slaves were to report immediately to the central courtyard. Dread curled in my gut. Sudden assemblies never meant anything good.With Mary's arm supporting me, I limped across the compound to join the gathering
NatalieThe lash bit into my back again, tearing another ragged cry from my throat."That's fifteen," the guard intoned coldly. "Only five more to go."I sagged in my restraints, breath coming in short, pained gasps as blood trickled hot down my skin. My back felt like it had been shredded to ribbons by the brutal whip.Fifteen lashes so far for daring to defy Lucas during his twisted water torture game earlier. Even though I had survived the challenge itself, my "bad attitude" warranted correction. So said Lucas as I was dragged away bloody and half conscious by his thugs.The remaining slaves had watched in silent horror as they beat me into the dirt right there in the courtyard. I was to suffer the consequences publicly as a warning to them all - obey without question or face wrath. Lucas himself had not stayed to oversee the punishment, but his chilling promise echoed in my mind. "Discipline her properly. But not so severely that she can't work tomorrow."Was he angry about my vi
Lucas I reclined in my study, boots propped up on the desk as I reviewed recent security logs. After the perimeter breaches last month, I had tripled patrols and added sensor drones. So far there had been no further issues. Good - as head of pack security, any lapses reflected poorly on me.A knock interrupted my reading. "Enter," I called. My assistant Marcus slipped inside, inclining his head. "Apologies for the interruption, Alpha. But there is a... situation brewing in the central square I thought you should be aware of."I sat up, frowning. "What sort of situation?" Any disruptions to pack stability needed to be addressed swiftly."It's the slave Natalia, sire. She is being punished for insolence. Publicly." Marcus cleared his throat. "The Head Beta ordered the lash, but he is...enthusiastic in carrying out his orders. I thought perhaps you may want to intervene before lasting harm is done."I was on my feet and striding to the door before he finished speaking. "Show me. Now."
NatalieThe lash bit into my back once more, tearing another ragged cry from my throat. "Just five more strikes to go," the guard intoned coldly.I sagged in my restraints, shaking. It was the third brutal punishment this week on Lucas' orders. Ever since I had recovered enough from the previous incident to return to the kitchens, he seemed intent on finding any excuse to see me thrashed bloody.My continued defiance fed Lucas' cruelty. He was determined to break me, body and soul. But some stubborn core of pride refused to buckle, even as pain and hopelessness eroded my will bit by bit.The final vicious strikes fell, leaving me barely conscious as they cut me down. Only Mary's steady hands kept me from collapsing to the courtyard stones. She alone showed me any shred of kindness in this hellish place."Hush now, you're alright," Mary soothed as she helped me limp back to the slave quarters. But we both knew it was a lie. I was anything but alright.Lucas' relentless torment was unr
NatalieThe harvest moon cast its pale light over the slave quarters as I lay wide awake, mind racing. After weeks spent secretly planning and gathering intelligence with Maria, we were finally making our escape attempt tonight. Heart pounding, I sat up slowly so as not to wake the others. Maria and I had crafted a simple disguise for me - binding my chest and cutting my hair short to pass as male. It was risky stealing knives from the kitchen, but a necessary risk.Once dressed, I crept silently from my bunk and slipped outside. The grounds were still except for the occasional patrol of guards. I skirted them easily, making my way toward the rendezvous point Maria and I had agreed upon - a shadowed alcove near the kitchens.She was waiting there just as planned, a tense smile breaking across her face when she saw me approach. "You're here! Are you ready?" she whispered.I nodded, excitement and fear mingling in my gut. "I have been ready for this chance for a long time. Let's go qui
MICHEAL'S POVMy gaze moved from one elder to the other as speak, uttering words I knew I was going to put down at the end of everything. They have been trying to get me to have a meeting with them for ages and this was the first meeting we are having in a while, if not I could have dismissed them and left the room.I shouldn't be here when I have far more troubles to deal with and as I followed them with my eyes, I was wondering if there was any way at all that I could follow to ease all of these positions. It has been a tradition for every pack to have an elder whereas I see no point in it. They help in no way. All they do is bring up problems that will stress you even more even when you think you are managing the pack really well. There might be no way to get rid of them but I know for a fact that I am not going to tolerate them in any way. If they were tolerated by the past rulers then they should get ready for a change."I think reducing the rate of the tax at this point will b
DAMIEN'S POVMy gaze flickered from Lucas to Leo, still not believing that they were even thinking about doing that. This just confirmed to me that they do not know the gravity of the situation we are in."We can get into the pack, grab her, and then leave the pack all in one day. We can take as much time as we desire to bring her back to this place" That was Lucas, speaking wholeheartedly to Leo."And if we can even consider this in a broader sense, we can continue living there with her instead of coming back all the way here you know" Leo added his delusions all the while I observed them with wide unbelieving eyes."That will be a wise thing to do if we can be able to pull that out smoothly," Lucas remarked."Alright, alright, you all should slow down" Having heard enough of their bullshit, I chimed in immediately.They both turned to look toward me at the same time. They were so deep in their conversation that they had forgotten that I was still in their presence."I hope you two r
NATALIA'S POVI was happy.That is the word, happiness. You can never tell just how much loneliness has affected you until you are opportune to be in the presence of people again. It just so happens to be the best feeling and almost everything you think was a problem would end up being not an actual problem and was just created by your mind overthinking because you have no other person to share your thoughts with. I have been that way for the past months, just thinking and thinking my life away. The only time I had the chance to interact with anyone was when I paid a visit to the palace or when I was off to get my food supplies in the market. It has always been a routine. Stay at home for up to a week, go out to the market and the palace, and then come back to the loom of loneliness and silence. I had no idea that it was affecting me until now that I was blessed with the presence of other living beings."What do you desire to eat today?" Cole asked after he knocked on my door and I
LUCAS'S POV"What?" I asked Leo who was suddenly looking at me like I had managed to develop a second head in three seconds.He didn't budge, and I wasn't even sure if he heard my statement. He seems to be in a haze, deep in thought. "Leo? What the hell is wrong with you?" Damien, who was more closer to him asked while tapping him on the shoulder. This seems to have made him snap out of whatever hex that had suddenly befell him. "What?" I asked again, eager to know what was on his mind. "I think I know...." He slowly muttered, still falling back in thought."You know what?" It turns out I wasn't the only one eager to hear what he wanted to say because both Damien and I spoke at the same time, this time around."I think I know where Natalia is hiding" After some painful seconds of waiting, he finally spoke again, emphasizing any word he muttered."What do you mean by that? How did you know where she was hiding? Is that even possible?" I remarked, a deep frown playing on my face. I c
LEO'S POVI do not despise her. I just don't trust her. I am still failing to believe she ended up just finding herself with no motives. Let's face it, I am a very practical person. For us to find ourselves here, we spend days on end running. The keyword there has been running. We never stopped once, encountered numerous dangers on the way and because we are warriors, we aced it. So imagine just a defenseless lady going through all of these. I see no chance of her survival. Except if she was escorted here by someone experienced, who stays hidden behind the shadows. So it makes no sense to me that Damien blindly believed her and even allowed her to stay with us. I have tried multiple times to talk him out of it but he just wouldn't budge. He kept telling me he knew Micheal and in her explanation, there was no form of deception. It's frustrating that he can't just listen to me for once and agree that there is more to what she was saying than meet the eye. It doesn't help that he has
DAMIEN’S POV“And you think everything is going to be as we left it?” Lucas inquired, looking amusingly at me.“Of course not, things are going to change drastically, and above all, your personal items are going to be used by another set of people” I clarified.“Damn man, I will hate to rearrange. It is going to take painful weeks of working” Leo winced, slumping his shoulder against the rocky wall. “You can simply just move to another wing you know, there are numerous parts in the palace and it is enormous enough for you to change wing each week for two months so there is no reason to throw a tantrum” I proclaimed with a shrug.We were currently having a casual discussion on how things were going to be when we returned back to the palace after everything died down. We haven’t really brought forth who is supposed to role but I think we have now learned our lesson and are going to cross that bridge successfully when we get to it.“Not man, I choose to stay in that part of the palace f
STEVE’S POVI sat down at the single desk and chair in my room after I was done with my duty for the day. Making sure to lock my door first, I brought the pen and paper I was going to use to write the letter and placed it in front of me on the table.I wasn't sure what to write but I knew I had to write something very convincing if I really wanted them to believe my words were genuine and not just some created tales to come between them. Micheal is wise and would definitely deny anything of that nature has been plotted if they decide to approach him so I will need to come up with words convincing enough to make them just act and not go about asking.I twirled the pen in my hand multiple times for minutes on end, staring at the blank sheet in front of me and not knowing what to write.After additional minutes of silence and thinking, I finally came up with enough words to start up with. There won't be any need to greet so as they would know it was coming from someone from a higher leve
NATALIA’S POV“I thought you were dead at first and then news began to spread around the pack that the new leader was searching vehemently for you which was so confusing at that time. We searched too, hoping to reach you before any of them. We never gave up on our search and that faithful day we got you, it was purely coincidentally and you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. The news got to us that guards would be surveying this part of the pack today and we were out to keep watch so we caught you thinking it was a guard. It doesn't help that you were dressed in men’s attire” Kyle explained with the others sitting at each side of him.I, on the other hand, was sitting on the opposite side of them and listening attentively.“I don't understand, I thought you went out with them that night?” I asked, referring to my mates. Confusion setting in.“No, we didn't. No one did because they informed no one that they were going anywhere. It was all a work of Micheal to get them corn
NATALIA’S POVWas I okay? I wasn’t even sure. I was so consumed by an immersed amount of shock that I had no idea whether I was okay or not. I was clueless as to how I was feeling. I swallowed loudly, the feeling so foreign to me after days of not being able to do that. My eyes trailed from one of their figures to another, trying to wrap my head around the fact that they were real and in front of me. Instinctively, I reached out to touch Kyle who was the one kneeling in front of me.My hand fell on his shoulder, a more confirmation that he was alive and in front of me. I wasn't hallucinating. Damn even if I was, why will I be seeing them of all the amount of people I missed.They were real. They were frankly genuine and were standing right in front of me. But the question that was stuck in my head was how did I not think about them all this while? How did I not remember and enquire about them? Now that my mates were no more, they should be the closest thing to a parent my kid would h