Chapter 1

Pain was all I knew.

It lived beneath my skin, it had been a constant companion, which had been whispering in my bones. I had forgotten what it felt like to exist without it. The bruises had faded into my flesh, with permanent reminders of a life that wasn’t my own. The scars—jagged, uneven—were stories I could never tell. Not with words. Not with a voice I no longer had. I sat in the iron cage, with my wrists shackled, the cold metal biting into my skin hurts.  

Looking up, I saw the rogues surrounding me laughing, their voices were thick with the scent of blood and whiskey, but I barely heard them. I kept my gaze low, as I focused on the filth-stained floorboards beneath me. Looking up only earned me pain and I couldn't bear that now.

I kept my gaze down because looking up earned me more pain.

“Think she’ll last long?” one of them sneered, his boot slamming against the bars of my cage. It hurt, but I endured it, I had been through worse.

“She’s a fighter” another chuckled, from the way he sounded, I could feel amusement dripping from his voice. “But fighters always break in the end.”

“You’ve been quiet for years, little dove. Makes me wonder if you even remember how to scream.”

I didn’t.

My voice had been stolen from me the day Sebastian Kane carved his mark into my flesh. That was the moment I had stopped being a person. That was the moment I had become property owned by him.

And now, I was being sold again to god knows where.

My stomach twisted at the thought and the pain hurts. Another Alpha. Another prison. Another nightmare. All to begin.

I closed my eyes tightly, avoiding the tears which had circulated to drop.

If I were lucky, I wouldn’t wake up at all. I had prayed for that several times, but my prayers weren't answered. Had never been answered.

The attack came unexpectedly.

One second, the rogues were jeering, boasting about the gold they would earn for their newest piece of merchandise. The next second, the night erupted with snarls and the wet sound of flesh tearing and blood splashing around.

Someone screamed from behind. The scent of blood grew thicker. The laughter quickly turned to terror, and the night was filled with terrified howls all around.

I curled in on myself, my hand trembling as I wrapped my head down.

It wasn’t fear that made me do that. It was my instinct. I had learned, over the years, that it was best to stay invisible when wolves clashed, so I was putting into practice.

There was sudden silence.

I waited.

Waited for the boot to strike. For the hand to grab my throat. For the nightmare to take shape.

But when I opened my eyes slowly, it wasn’t a rogue standing before me.

It was him.

He was massive. I had never seen a man as huge as he is. And though he was still, there was something about him—something terrifying—that made my heart slam against my ribs as if it would crack soon.

He was a wolf. But not just any wolf.

An Alpha.

Raising my eyes towards him, I found his eyes locked onto mine. A strange burnt in my stomach, it was an unfamiliar pull that made my breath hitch for a while. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t want to.

But the Alpha did.

His gaze darkened as he stared at me, his lips slightly parting as if he, too, was stunned by something unseen.

Mate!

The word was unspoken to me, I couldn't breathe, it was all like the air was suffocating for me. Yet, it crackled in the space between us.

My blood turned to ice instantly.

No.

Not again.

Not another prison.

My body reacted before my mind did, years of training overriding rational thought. I scrambled away from him. I wanted to disappear into tiny air where I wouldn't be seen again. Likewise, I wanted to vanish into the night before he could claim me, before he could take me the way Sebastian had. Not only that, but I was powerless, I couldn't disappear.

He didn’t move toward me either.

He only watched me from where he stood with a silent and unreadable expression on his face.

Then, slowly, as if sensing my fear, he kneeled before me.

I stiffened, filled with astonishment. He was lowering himself, not in a way that threatened me, but in a way that confused me.

Alphas never lowered themselves and not to nobody like me.

They stood tall. They command. Furthermore, they cast shadows over those beneath them. If I was not mistaken, that was what Sebastian does.

But he… he was kneeling right before me with an unreadable expression on his face.

I was terrified by the act But there was something in his gaze as he stared at me, something that made me hesitate for a while.

It wasn't a pity, It wasn’t ownership. I could say it was a promise. Perhaps a vow as he drops the most melting words to me.

“I won’t hurt you, dear little one,” he said.

I didn’t believe him, I couldn’t believe him.

Because every time I had trusted before, I had suffered for it and not this time again, would I trust?

And then, with a sigh, he reached forward for my hand. I flinched violently, pulling away from him. Did he want to take me away? 

He froze for a while, seeing the expression on my face.

A flicker of something—something that looked almost like pain—crossed his face as he glanced at me this time.

He drew his hand back then he smiled. 

“I’m taking you away from here,” he murmured, as if he wasn’t sure I would understand. “You’re not a prisoner anymore.”

Lies!!

I had heard those words before, I had believed them before, and still, I had bled.

I don't need the lies, I know I was born to live and die in pain, yes the moon goddess has cast the curse on me.

Furthermore, I had suffered, and I knew my suffering wouldn't end here.

The Alpha's hand reached into the cage—not to grab me, not to drag me out, but to unlatch the chains around my wrists.

The shackles fell away and for a second the pain in my hand subdued.

A sharp breath caught in my throat, I was released for the first time.

My mind screamed at me to run, run away from him and get my freedom. But my body was weak, trembling, and broken so it betrayed me.

I couldn’t move and couldn’t breathe.

And then, for the first time in years, something warm, and gentle touched my skin.

I was being lifted, carried, held in arms that should have felt like iron but somehow felt… safe for me.

I didn’t understand it and I didn’t want to.

What kind of Alpha kneels for a slave…. And carries her as if she matters?