Chapter 2

I was cold. And hungry. And angry.

Some people would think that being captured and made a prisoner would be better than death, but I was not some people. I had thought death would be the worst case scenario for me, but this… This was the worst case scenario. 

Being in this cold dungeon cell with only one small source of light to serve as a window, having nothing to eat and do for two days, but swallow my spit and think till I pass out. Oh no, cancel out that part about me having nothing to do. I glanced at the small window to see that it was sundown.

Anytime from now, Alpha Lucian would come in here to mentally torture me by asking me the same questions over and over again, then going ahead to tease and annoy me till he was satisfied. I have reason to believe that torturing me was his new favourite pastime.

I doubt he was treating the other hostages from the Blue Sky pack the same way he was treating me. No, I was his only special prisoner.

Gaun!

I heard the main door of the dungeon open up. It was so quiet that I could hear the slow footsteps of one person walking. The sounds of the footsteps got louder and louder as the person came closer.

He was here to play his favourite game — annoy Ruby till you’re satisfied.

“Look at you sitting close to the silver bars, have you been anticipating my return?” I had only seen the outline of his figure when he spoke up. 

I gulped down on my saliva. This bastard… he was already making fun of me.

“Inside was cold. It’s warmer here.” I was so parched that my voice didn’t even sound like my own.

“Oh… is that the case?” he mocked. I ground my teeth without giving a response. “I’d like to believe you were so desperate for me that you would risk closing up with the silver bars just to see me.”

“Believe what you want.” I glared at him. Even though it was dark in here, I was sure he could see me glaring at him. I shifted away from the silver bars to revoke his claims.

“Oh… don’t go back in like a scared little pup. I haven’t even started anything yet.” 

This man was annoying! He was annoying! I bared my teeth at him but couldn’t do more since I was too drained and tired. Earlier, I had been chained up with silver to weaken me, and on my way here, one of his men had forced a vial of wolfsbane into my mouth to keep my wolf dormant.

Cruel bastards. But I guess they were just being thorough. If I was in good health, I would have already broken out from this dungeon.

“Let’s start. Did you know your brother kidnapped my nephew and held him captive for three days prior to when we saved him?” He began questioning me.

“No.”

“Did you know the other packs involved in the kidnapping?”

“No.”

“Do you know how he came across information to capture my nephew?”

“No.”

“Do you know where your brother could be right now?”

“No.”

“I see…” He paused. He drew out his chair from the side of the cell and settled on it with a loud sigh.

“Ruby of the Blue Sky, why aren’t you cooperating with me?” he asked in a genuinely curious manner.

“I don’t cooperate with people who kill my family and friends,” I retorted. 

“According to the information I was given, your real family died several years ago. And after manifesting as the kind of wolf you are now, I doubt you had friends in that pack. So, tell me, Ruby of the Blue Sky, why aren’t you cooperating with me?” He just came up with a new method of torturing me. He was going for my pride. 

My pride; it was the only thing I had right now. But even if I wasn’t holding on to my pride, I wouldn’t have cooperated with him. I truly didn’t know the answers to his questions. I had only found out about his nephew the same day they came raiding the pack.

Jonathan had been acting weird and suspicious that day, so I had decided to tail him and find out what he was hiding. When I saw that it was the nephew of this monster in front of me, I had pleaded with him to take him back and beg for forgiveness. 

The fool had ignored me and said that he was already far too gone to beg for forgiveness. He knew that his actions would lead to war, and yet, he had still gone along with his friends to do such a stupid thing. Now, his parents were dead, along with the mass of the pack, and I was the only one who was truly bearing the consequences of his actions.

“You know I have no answers to the questions you’re asking, so why do you keep asking them?” I said to Alpha Lucian.

He made a sound from the back of his throat. “It’s fun,” he replied casually.

“It’s fun?”

“It’s fun to watch you being all helpless but feigning courage and having the audacity to hold on to your pride now that you have nothing else.”

“You bastard!” I cussed out loud, and he broke into a fit of laughter at my expense. 

“You see, this is why I say it’s fun. It doesn’t take much to rile you up. Your reactions are also comedic.” He said.

I realised that I was going to get nowhere with this behaviour of mine, so I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled through my mouth.

“What would it take for you to let me out of this cell?” I changed tactics.

I could see him raising a brow in question.

“I want out of this place. It’s always cold and I’m hungry. I want out. What would it take for you to let me out?” I said.

He tilted his head to one side. “Are you willing to let go of your pride?”

“...”

I couldn’t answer that question. 

“It seems like you’re not ready to get out of that cell,” he stood up from his chair after that. “Let me slip in a little information to motivate you to do away with your so-called pride.”

I glared at him, reluctant to let myself get swayed by anything he was about to say.

“The other hostages we captured from the Blue Sky pack are already out of their cells and making good of themselves in this pack,” my eyes widened. He leaned down to look at me face to face.

His gray eyes pierced my soul with the sharpness of his gaze.

“All you need to do is revoke your old pack and swear allegiance to this one. Beg me to take you in. If you do that, this whole cell would disappear and you’d get to sleep on a comfortable bed. 

“You wouldn’t have to worry about when you were going to get executed. All of the anxiety you’re feeling would go poof in an instant.” He took a step backward after saying those words, turned around and began making his way out of the dungeon.

He stopped after three steps, surprising me. “Oh, and I’ve decided to take pity on you. I’ll send someone to get water and maybe a loaf of bread for you. Wouldn’t want you dying before fulfilling your task of amusing me for the longest time.”

He chuckled after saying those words, then walked out of the dungeon and shut the main door with a loud bang. That bastard! I didn’t need his pity! He could take it and shove it up his pompous ass!

“Argh!” 

I was so mad! How dare him treat me like this? I would make sure to get him to eat all of his mocking words one day, I swear it.