Two

I laid down on the cold dungeon floor, my stomach growling with hunger, but my mind kept returning to what I had endured. The sight of my father’s head rolling on the ground brought me intense pain, almost too much to bear. I had spent two days in the cold, dark dungeon since I passed out, with no food or water. I cried day and night, desperately hoping that this was nothing but a cruel nightmare.

Suddenly, the dungeon door flew open, flooding the room with blinding light. I had to shield my eyes from the harsh brightness as a couple of guards stormed in, grabbing me by the arms and yanking me to my feet. Without a chance for questions, they dragged me through the castle to a large room and shoved me aggressively to the ground.

I lifted my head slowly to take in my surroundings. Naked women paraded around, serving food and drinks. My uncle sat in the middle, looking down at me while a naked woman sat on his lap, clearly for his own satisfaction. Next to him sat an older but muscular man, neither attractive nor ugly, but what disturbed me was the way he eyed me hungrily, as if I were a meal waiting to be devoured.

My gaze eventually landed on my mate Marcus, who was seated in a corner, passionately kissing a brothel entertainer who returned his affections with equal fervor. They had turned everything my father built into a brothel.

“You wanted something pure, and this is what we have,” my uncle Cormac said, adjusting himself in his chair and sipping his wine. “My stepson claims she is pure and hasn’t been touched before. She is a beauty, even in her current state.”

“Hmmm,” the man said, his eyes traveling up and down my frame as I remained on all fours. My heart pounded in my chest, and I gulped. “Why don’t you let me see what’s underneath? A woman’s beauty is best revealed without clothes,” he jested, while my uncle simply smiled and signaled to his guards. They roughly pulled me to my feet and, without giving me a moment to react, stripped me naked.

Embarrassed and humiliated, I tried to cover my naked body with my hands, but the guards immediately restrained me, forcing me to display my naked self to everyone present. Tears welled up in my eyes as I bit down on my lips, trying to suppress my anguish. “Well, what do you think?” Cormac asked the man who was biting his lower lip, his eyes filled with desire.

“Cover her back up; she is perfect,” he ordered, and immediately, my clothes were draped over me. Tears rolled down my cheeks effortlessly as I cursed my fate. What had I done to deserve this? How had my entire life taken such a bad turn just because I dared to fall in love with someone like that cursed Marcus.

“So, are you going to give my men the supplies they need, Alpha Kael?” My eyes shot up in surprise at the mention of the name. Alpha Kael was a dangerous and powerful ruler of the Blood Moon pack. He was also my father’s number one enemy, and I knew without a doubt that he must have supplied my uncle with the army that was needed to take over our pack.

“You have presented me with a beauty, so I will make sure you have all you need, Cormac,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I will be taking her with me now. I cannot wait to ravage her and taint her innocence.” My heart jumped in fear at this declaration. My tears flowed freely as I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I was really being sold to this evil Alpha.

“Take her away and clean her up,” my uncle commanded. The guards took me away and handed me over to the maids. Everything happened so fast as they washed me while I cried my eyes out, cursing my uncle and my mate for ruining my life. It was horrible. They scrubbed my skin so hard it felt like it might peel off, and when they were satisfied, they took me to a room, dressed me in a simple, nice dress, and sent me outside where a carriage awaited.

Tears filled my eyes as I gulped. What fate awaited me in the Blood Moon pack? I took a deep breath, preparing to enter the carriage, when I heard a voice call out from behind. Anger surged through me when I saw Marcus walking toward me, his expression cold and deadly.

I had to resist the urge to kill him then and there. He approached and said, “It is so sad to watch you leave, my love.” I clenched my fists, swallowing hard and holding myself back from hitting him. He leaned in, an action that irritated me beyond words but I couldn't react as he whispered, “For your journey, I will give you one last gift rose.” He looked me in the eyes, anger rushing through every vein in my body and said, “I reject you as my mate. From this day on, we are no longer bonded.” With that, he smiled and turned his back to walk away. How could one be so heartless? How could I have fallen in love with such a monster and even dream of spending the rest of my life with him. All those promises of love were nothing but lies after lies? He never really cared about me? He was just being what he was, a dirty lying spy. I hated him, I hated him more than words could describe.

Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to stay upright, fighting the urge to collapse and cry uncontrollably. I hated Marcus, but the pain of the shattered mate bond was almost unbearable. My heart ached, and I could feel my wolf growing weak within me, barely connected. The pain in my chest felt like it might kill me. I hadn’t realized how deeply the mate bond affected me, even though I hated him. It was an unbearable feeling.

“Get into the carriage right now woman or you might have to walk all through the journey” one of the guards barked as they pulled me aggressively toward the carriage. I climbed in, and they closed the door behind me. Thankfully, I was alone in this carriage, while the second one was for Alpha Kael. Tears welled up again as I burst into tears, taken ovwr by unimaginable pain. I wanted to destroy everything—my uncle, Marcus, all of it. I wanted to ruin them.

The trip to the Blood Moon pack was longer than expected. It took exactly two days to reach there, and I spent the entire time crying in the carriage. I repeatedly tried to connect with my wolf, but she was gone. She had been weak before, but now it felt like she had vanished entirely, leaving me without a wolf. This only fueled my anger further as I cursed Marcus.

During the trip, I wasn't given any food or water, forced to starve. The long journey fortunately came to an end as the carriage came to a halt. The door immediately flung open, and I saw the stern face of a guard who said, “Get down.” At first, I was hesitant. I didn't know if I wanted to come out into this strange place or not, but that seemed to fuel the guard’s anger as he grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out of the carriage. I almost tripped and fell in the process.

“If the whore does not comply, feel free to use painful force,” I heard Alpha Kael’s voice. I turned and saw him getting out of his carriage. We were in front of a large castle, far bigger than my pack's.

In front stood several servants who bowed their heads in respect for their king. Alpha Kael gave me a look before venturing into the castle while the servants' heads remained bowed. The guard behind me pushed me, causing me to stumble slightly as he growled, “Walk.”

I began to walk into the castle after Alpha Kael. From what I had heard, he was a wealthy Alpha, but I didn’t expect this level of luxury. So many servants were attending to him, and the interior of his castle was breathtaking. We ventured inside, and just then Alpha Kael stopped, looking around before asking a servant, “Where are they? I remember telling them to stay within the castle walls until I arrived. So where are they?”

The servant he addressed lifted her head, stammering, “They… the… they” She was struggling to form meaningful words.

“Do you want your head on a pike and your body fed to crows?” he threatened, then growled, “Speak up.”

“They have…”

“We are here, Father,” a voice said from behind me, causing all attention, including mine, to shift in that direction. “There will be no need to threaten the servants,” the voice added. At the far end of the corridor stood two males, similar in looks but still noticeably different.

I squinted, trying to get a better view of them, but they walked closer with confidence. Their eyes were focused on Alpha Kael, who stood a few feet behind me, but their attention soon shifted to me, showing an apparent look of confusion that puzzled me as well.

They came to a halt a few feet from me, focusing their attention. Standing before me were two men who could only be described as perfectly sculpted by the gods. One had deep black hair that seemed to fall over his face, almost reaching his shoulders, while the other had a lighter shade of brown and his hair was shorter, highlighting his deep, flawless blue eyes. The one with the brown hair looked calm, but the one with the darker hair exuded an aura of danger, like something one should beware of. They stared at me intensely, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Was it their appearance, their flawless physiques, or the incredible aura around them that seemed to draw me in?

A look of surprise crossed my face as my wolf began to stir inside me. This was the first time in two days that I had felt any connection with her. She began to stir and get restless, which puzzled me. Then it all started to feel familiar. I had felt this way before, my wolf had acted this way before, and then, out of nowhere, she said, “Mate…”

I gasped, my shock obvious as I wondered if I had heard her correctly. What did she mean by mate? “I have a mate?” I asked through our mind link. “One of them standing in front of me is my mate?”

“No,” she answered, before adding, “Two of them are…”