I woke up to find myself locked in a dungeon in an area I didn't recognize immediately. I looked around memory of what had happened quickly shuffling into my mind. I stood up from the bed and tiptoed to stare out of the tiny window and realized I was in the heart of the jungle and on the border of both the Crimson Pack and the Ocean Howls Pack. It was dark but I could see where I was quite well. I shut my eyes and tried to contact Ace through the mind-link but it was not connecting due to the distance between us.After several futile trials, I accepted my fate and looked around the room for an escape route. As I expected there was none and the window, if it could be considered one, looked too tiny to even fit my head. I crouched to my knees, thinking of the next action. I wondered how they were able to sneak me out of the pack house, and the only answer I arrived at was that there were more spies in the pack than Ace and I thought. More than enough to make my abduction successful wi
***The room went quiet again, the iron bars standing solidly into the ground as a provocative barrier to my release. I looked around the dungeon, it was dim and scanty but also very neat. On the table, fixed at the center of the room, was a tray that contained meals and different kinds of fruits. The floor was covered in a cashmere carpet and the room smelt like lavender. Until now, I didn't notice the setting and I knew for sure that Derek was behind it. This was in no way like every other dungeon, not even the dungeons of the Crimson Pack. Someone had put in work to make it look this good. Dungeons were normally kept for offenders and they almost always looked like the most inhabitable place. Seeing how much work was done to make the one I was in look almost habitable, I couldn't help but wonder what Derek was up to. And the thought feared me. I knew that I was in for something greater than he was revealing, Derek wouldn't go through this much stress and not make me pay ten fol
***The tears fell from my eyes in trickles as I wallowed in regrets. Carried away, I was unaware when Derek reached me and crouched beside me, I only felt his presence when his fingers began combing through my hair."You don't have to be scared, just trust me. No one will hurt you as long as I'm here, even if it's the last thing I do on Earth, I will protect you."His assurance did nothing to calm me, I wasn't scared of what these people were going to do to me. I was scared for Ace, scared that I might never get to see him again. Derek seemed to have come fully prepared this time, and I could only imagine what Ace was doing at the moment. He must be blaming himself for my abduction, having regrets for not protecting me enough. My absence would have torn the stitch of his wounded heart, making him recall the last moments of his parents with fear. My heart burned with guilt but the only thing I could do was cry. Ace did his best to protect me, it was me who didn't trust him enough. I
***His scent hit me and I rolled my eyes up to see Derek, he was kissing and groping me at the same time. I tried to tear myself away but his weight was stronger, his grip firm and unresisting. Seeing the lust and affection in his eyes, I felt my intestines tighten and squeezing out every particle of food to my gut, making me want to throw up. Amy felt the same way, she kept growling and resisting, trying to take over and tear Derek's hands off me. She was disgusted and felt it was a betrayal to her mate. I tried to calm her, telling her that doing anything rash wouldn't be the best way to get out of our situation faster, it would only make Derek furious and he might hurt me for real. My aim was to stall the trip to the Crimson Pack for as long as I could, thereby giving Ace more time to find me.Resisting Derek's touch, even though it was the most disgusting thing to endure, would only lead to him making a rash decision that might cost me dearly. Besides, I was no match for him
****Ace charged at Derek and the force sent me falling backwards to the ground. I immediately sat up to see the vicious move they threw at each other. I heard noises and I turned to find more warriors from the Ocean Howls Pack join the fight. I sighed in relief when we gained the upper hand, more rogues were killed and their dead bodies were scattered on the floor. I searched for Ace and realized he was still on Derek, they had rolled off to the bushes and I could smell his blood from the different scents wafting in my nostrils. I couldn't tell how serious his injury was but it bothered me that he was hurt. I stood up, hoping to go assist him when more rogues poured in, they carried heavy guns and began shooting at once. "Ellen, duck!" Ace yelled and I immediately rushed to hide behind a rock, my heart racing heavily in my chest. I peeped and realized that a few of our team members were now down and weapons began flying around. A tear dropped from my eyes as I stood up, seeing h
***I woke up to find myself in the territory of the rogue pack, the forbidden smell of wolves who betrayed their packs and formed a clique hung heavily in the air. It was the smell of rogues. Vaguely, I heard what I later figured to be an argument. "I told you not to touch her! Did you see her body? What the fuck is wrong with you?!" A familiar voice angrily yelled and I could tell that the sound came with a push at his opponent. "She was resisting, we had to stop her somehow!""By hurting her? We had a deal, if you touch even a strand of hair on her head, I will not keep quiet about it!" I figured out the owner of the voice. It was Derek. But the other party, I couldn't identify. "Will you beat me up then? Are you going to hit me for a fuckin cunt?"There was another rough shove, "Are you trying to test me, you son of a fuckin bitch?""I told you she was resisting. Should I have let her be so she could run to Ace and have us all fucked up?""And inflicting injuries on her body w
***The next day, before Ryker came to find out my decision, Amy and I plotted a means of escape. Since I still couldn't reach Ace, I settled to find a means out of this hellhole myself. I had checked around the cabin I was locked in and the woods were too strong to be broken, also there was no escape means around. The only place air seeped through was the spaces between the logs and they were tiny enough only for insects. Our hours of planning didn't seem to be fruitful. I sighed, after trying one last time to break down the wood. "Let's try again. We can keep going until it gets weak and then we can break it easily," Amy encouraged. "We've been going all night, if we keep up we might get caught," I warned her but she continuously pushed me on. I transformed, rolled back, flexed my muscles, and prepared for another hit when I received a mind-link from Ace. Excited, I transformed. "Ellen? Sweetheart, can you hear me?""Yes, I can hear you! I'm right here, Ace," I answered, hea
***I was shoved into the large hall where the injured rogues were kept, the strong stench of their blood almost made me throw up. Ryker introduced me to the doctor they captured and told him I would be assisting him in tending to the rogues' injuries. Derek wasn't exaggerating when he said estimated the number of injured rogues, they were indeed thousands and I could only imagine the number of lives that were lost in the fight. The rogues were not thoroughly trained, from their skills one could easily tell. They majorly depended on weapons and brute forces, and they lacked physical tactics. While the Ocean Howls Pack had fiercely trained warriors and heavy weapons, the rogues had only weapons to fight them with, hence they ended up on the losing side. I turned to find Ryker behind me, glaring at me in a way that caused an uneasy jump in my belly. I tore my gaze off and got to work as he requested. I let the doctor, who already looked worn out and obviously beaten, attend to the
-My fingers ran through the gemstones, a grin resting on my face. "This is forever beautiful," I cried, letting him twirl me around gently until I was facing him. "You sure you don't want this one instead?" He asked, referring to the expensive gold necklace on his palm, seated in a jewelry box. "That one is a bit old.""I'm sure," I beamed. "It was through this necklace that I was able to know that you were alive. I was ready to give up to Ryker. I had prepared to die after he killed the warriors, but this gave me a reason to live."As I spoke, I remembered the Rogue maid who had lost her life for revealing Ace's situation to me. Bless her soul. I was alive because of her too. "To me, this is the most beautiful jewelry in the world, and it is important to me because it is important to you, too."Ace nodded, his eyes lighting up. I could sense that he had briefly recalled a part of his past. It was the day of the coronation for Ace's new position and we were in our room after get
-My thumping heartbeat decelerated as I stared at Derek's lifeless body, my eyes filling up with tears of relief and gratefulness. Ace dug his claws into Derek's chest, uprooting his heart and signifying the end of the war. Like a whiff, all the memories and history I had with Derek raced through my mind. "It's finally over," I heard Acantha sigh, and the tears dropped from my eyes. It was really over. Derek was dead! It was over for good. My nose crinkled in disbelief, my eyes furrowing as the reality settled within me. My gaze shifted to Ace and despite the loud chants and celebration, I could hear the beating of my heart clearly. Despite the amount of people around, my eyes could somehow only see Ace. Amongst the crowd hovering around him, his gaze found me, too, and before I could burst, I swooped into his arms. He caught me easily and I buried my face into his chest, releasing my emotions shamelessly. Two of our greatest enemies were now gone for good!Ace nuzzled his face
-Ace held my hand, stopping me from getting any closer to Derek. "This is not over, I promise you," he gritted, his eyes sending daggers at me.We watched quietly as he contested with the pain, trying to subdue it. He attempted to get up several times, cussing violently every time he failed; his eyes were filled with rage and determination as he continuously tried to move. After a final hectic attempt, he crashed to the ground and burst into laughter. "It's funny how easily fooled you can be, Ace," he cackled, blood dripping slightly from the side of his lip.I figured he was trying to buy time and gather his strength again so he could take us unaware but before I could act, Ace charged at him. "No, it's funny how you think you can stall me while you buy some fuckin time," Ace grabbed him up roughly. "Why?" Derek scoffed, feigning strength even though he was limping. "You're scared I'd beat your ass up if I wasn't in this situation?""We both know what the truth is-"Then why d
-Ace glared at Derek, making sure his body obstructed mine."You will have to go through me first to have her!"Derek's steps faltered, and he seemed even more angry. "If that is what you want then I shall do as you please and get rid of you.""You seem to use your mouth a lot, don't you?" Ace scoffed. "I use it better, too; you can ask your little mate to tell you what I mean."I put my palm in Ace's, ensuring he held me, and preventing him from rashly going at Derek. Derek was trying hard to provoke him and it made me wonder what he was up to. "We had a little fun while you were out there in the wilderness, struggling to survive."I opened my mouth to speak and vehemently curse at Derek for lying but Ace beat me to it. "She must not have liked it as much as you think seeing how she still tricked and escaped from you. She came back to me, that should tell you a lot of things.""Still she betrayed you!""Oh Derek," Ace breathed out, "you don't get it, do you? What matters is whos
-We stood in the open, ensuring that the passage to our secret safehouse was out of sight. Everyone took their position, mine was beside Ace, as we heard the enemy's footsteps approaching. I held my breath, trying not to squirm under Ace's hold. I knew he would at once detect my discomfort and send me back in. I didn't want that; I wanted to face Derek; I burned to see him fall with my own eyes. Derek showed up first, leading the warriors of his pack; he growled and roared as they approached us, arrogantly announcing his presence. Ace moved me to stand behind him and I stayed without arguing. I took the chance to fix my discomfort, ensuring that I showed no weakness in front of Derek. "What a surprise, it is indeed true that you survived. Fuckin luck," Derek mocked, scoffing at Ace. "Well, it's too bad because this time, you're going to the land of the dead, and there is no escaping it.""If I were you, I'd do more fighting and less talking. Did you forget you're in my territory?"
-With Henry's suggestion, we swiftly gathered around. He had already drawn out a quick plan on how we were going to face Derek and his goons, and he discussed it with Ace. Inputting Acantha's suggestion, we came to a conclusion on how to face our attackers. Ace stepped out and dished the instructions and everyone immediately set to work. Leaving out the pups, younger and ailing wolves aside, the rest of us came together to be grouped in smaller forms. There were many hidden parts of the Ocean Howls pack that the Crimson pack or any other pack was not aware of. Ace had reconstructed the country after his father's defeat in a way that we would mostly have the upper hand against the enemy. That was a big advantage for us. Ace regrouped the warriors into ten smaller groups and individually gave them a goal, coordinating each group separately. Some groups were focused on studying maps of the Ocean Howls Pack territory and securing strategic locations for refuge in case our attackers
Ellen-"Our only way in now is through the emergency back gate; hopefully, through it, we can arrive at the pack house in time before Derek's men reach it," Ace revealed. He was a lot calmer now. "Who else is aware of this entrance?" Acantha asked, being cautious. "Only Henry and I know about it. Out of safety, we didn't reveal it to the pack members yet. I constructed it as an emergency exit for situations like this, there is also a safe house behind it. I believe Henry must have evacuated the members to the safe house," Ace spoke. From the tensity of his breathing, one could tell how furious he was. The situation had gotten chronic. If Acantha hadn't stopped him at the time she did, from running after the warriors, things could have taken a drastic twist. I didn't want to imagine what could have happened. Ace led us to the emergency exit, and we walked as quickly as we could. If we could arrive before Derek's men, we would be able to prepare ourselves beforehand.
"Your bravery reminds me of your father," Acantha voiced after being quiet for a while. "No matter how hard I try to overlook it, I see his face when I look at you. How did he die?"I lowered my gaze, talking about my parents had always been a sensitive topic for me. It was something I didn't fancy discussing with anyone. It was the only topic that could break an Alpha like me. Georgia was the only one who had successfully managed to get a word out of me concerning it, and it was probably because she experienced the torture with me. "I'm sorry for bringing that up, it's fine if you don't want to talk about it," Acantha apologized. "No, it's okay," I bit my lower lip, making my expression stoic. I needed to get over it, and also build my relationship with Acantha. For Ellen's sake, I wanted to do this. "I was twelve when he was murdered, he died trying to protect me after we were attacked unaware. My mother was killed on the same day, she was raped to death, and I was made to watc
-"Ace, I-I can't. My powers are gone," Ellen vibrated, her hands shaking out of fear, her eyes teary. I glanced at the beasts who had already reached us and I pushed Ellen to my side so my body was facing them.She started to shake her head, trying to stop me from my thoughtless decision but I was hell-bent on protecting her. With her powers gone, it was even more dangerous for her to be close to these beasts. I would rather die than watch her face that fate. In despair, I prepared for whatever was coming, determined to fight even to death. Just as they growled, attempting to jump at us, I felt a familiar presence and her voice echoed through the cave when she spoke. "Acantha!" I heard Ellen exclaim in excitement. I turned to find Acantha emerging towards us, holding a staff in her hand that radiated a great amount of power. The strength that exuded out of her alone was enough to cease the beasts' steps. Calmly analyzing the situation, she stepped in front of me, facing the bea