Alpha Queen: Reborn From Ash

"WHO THINKS THEY CAN BREAK AN ALPHA?!" The scream tore through the stone dungeon, echoing off the damp, moss-covered walls. Mara Stone hung suspended by heavy silver chains, her raw wrists bleeding down her arms. A thick iron collar held her head high, forcing her to stare into the jagged mirror in front of her. She looked broken, her matted hair clung to her sweat-soaked face, her lips cracked and bleeding and in the center of her chest, a deep, jagged scar pulsed where her heart used to be. The man behind her, Dr. Ellis, lowered his silver-tipped whip. He wiped the sweat from his bald forehead, smiling with pure malice. "You are not an Alpha anymore, Mara. You are a traitor to your own bloodline. You are nothing but a caged dog." Mara bared her teeth, her fangs elongating as her golden eyes burned with hatred. "I was a mother, Ellis. I was a Luna. What do you want from me?" Ellis laughed, striking the silver whip across her chest. The silver seared into her flesh, burning like acid. Mara arched back, screaming in agony, her body convulsing violently against the chains. When the pain subsided, she slumped forward, tears streaming down her face. "Please," she whispered, her voice trembling, completely broken. "Please stop, I can't take it anymore. I'm not strong like you think." Ellis smirked, grabbing her chin roughly. "Then tell me where the hidden pack is, and I will let you rest." Mara shook her head violently, tears splashing on the cold stone floor. "I don't know. I swear, I don't know. I lost them, I lost everything." SLAM!!. The heavy iron door burst open. A massive wolf in human form stepped in, his crimson eyes glowing in the torchlight. Dorian Kane, the Alpha of the Blood Fang Pack. He walked toward her slowly, his boots echoing like death knells. Kane sneered, looking at her like she was trash beneath his feet. "Pathetic!! Look at you, Mara. You used to be a Luna of the Crimson Moon Pack. Now you are just a weeping, helpless she-wolf." Mara looked up at him, her face a mess of tears and blood. "You took my daughter, Kane. You took my baby and I have nothing left. Why are you still doing this to me?" Kane smirked, pulling out a small, silver knife coated in a dark, thick poison. "Because you are a tool, Mara. And tools don't get to ask questions." He signaled to Ellis. Ellis pulled a lever on the wall. A metal cage slid down from the ceiling. Inside the cage was a small, thin girl with golden hair. She was hugging her knees, trembling and crying softly. She looked up at Mara with hollow, terrified eyes. "Mommy? Mommy, please come get me. I'm so scared. I want to go home." Mara's heart shattered. She yanked violently against the chains, screaming. "ELLA! ELLA, BABY, I'M COMING! I PROMISE, MOMMY IS COMING!" Kane slammed his hand against the cage, making Ella flinch and cry harder. The screen of metal bars cut off her view. Mara stopped fighting. She slumped forward, sobbing uncontrollably, her body going completely limp. "Please, Kane. Please, just tell me she's okay. I'll do anything. Just tell me she's not hurt." Kane smiled. "Do you understand now, Mara?" She nodded, her face buried in her own tears. "Yes. I understand. I'll do whatever you say. I'll kill whoever you want, just don't hurt her." Kane signaled to Ellis. Ellis unlocked her heavy iron collar. Mara collapsed to her knees, gasping, her body trembling with exhaustion. Kane tossed a torn piece of parchment at her feet. "The Supreme Warlord is hiding deep in the Blackstone Mountains. You have three days to kill him. If you fail, I will break Ella's legs, one by one." Mara grabbed the parchment, clutching it against her chest. "I'll do it. I'll kill him." Kane smirked. "Then get out of my sight, you broken little wolf." Mara staggered to her feet. Her chest scar throbbed, her legs barely holding her weight. She limped toward the iron door, her bare feet bleeding on the stone. But she stopped at the doorway. She turned her head slowly, her voice a ragged, broken whisper. "You think I'm broken, Kane. You think I have nothing left. But I have one thing." Kane frowned. "And what is that?" Mara looked back at him, her eyes bloodshot, but a tiny, terrifying spark of defiance glowed in them. "I have nothing to lose anymore and a mother with nothing to lose is the most dangerous thing in the world." She pushed open the door and stepped into the freezing night. The wind howled. Snow bit into her torn skin. She limped forward, dragging her wounded leg through the deep snow. But she didn't get far. Just as she rounded a cliff edge, a massive armored wolf stepped out of the shadows. He shifted partially, his claws extended, his glowing silver eyes locked onto her. He held a massive, bone-carved blade. "Mara Stone," the warrior growled. "The Warlord knows you are coming. He sent me to make sure you don't reach his mountain." Mara stared at him, her eyes filling with tears again. She clutched the parchment tighter, her hands trembling. "Please," she begged, her voice cracking. "I have a daughter. She's only seven. Please, just let me pass." The warrior paused, tilting his head. "You expect me to believe that?" She fell to her knees in the snow, a sob escaping her lips. "I can't fight you. I'm too weak, I'm bleeding out and I can barely stand." She looked up at him, her face ravaged by pain. "I just want to save my baby. Please, please don't take me away from her." The warrior was silent. He lowered his blade an inch. Suddenly, a high-pitched, terrifying howl cut through the frozen air. Kane's voice echoed from the fortress above, loud and cold, carried by his Alpha roar. "You have four hours, Mara! And just so you don't get too comfortable..." A massive, bloodstained wolf bounded out of the trees. It dropped something at Mara's feet. A tiny, pink shoe with a silver star sewn into the side. Mara's eyes went wide. She scrambled to pick it up, clutching it to her chest. "No," she sobbed. "No, no, no, not her shoe." Kane's howling laugh echoed through the mountains. "I have the other one, Mara. Kill the Warlord in four hours, or I will send you her head next." The bloodstained wolf turned and ran back into the dark. The armored warrior stared at the trembling woman clutching a tiny shoe, her body wracked with violent sobs. He slowly sheathed his bone-carved blade. "Get up," he said quietly. Mara looked up at him, tears freezing on her cheeks. "I can't." "You can," the warrior replied, pulling a vial of glowing red wolf's blood from his belt. "Because if you die here, your daughter dies with you. Drink this, It will give you enough strength to reach the mountain." Mara took the vial with shaking hands. She drank it, coughing violently as the raw alpha blood burned her throat. The pain in her chest dulled slightly, and her legs felt a little stronger. She stood up, clutching the tiny shoe against her heart. "Why are you helping me?" she whispered. The warrior turned away, his eyes glowing in the dark. "Because I have a mate and a cub too and I know exactly what I would do in your place." He walked away into the dark, leaving her alone. Mara looked at the Blackstone Mountains in the distance, then down at the tiny pink shoe. She pressed it to her lips, closed her eyes, and whispered, "Hold on, baby. Mommy is coming." She limped forward, a broken mother wolf dragging herself through the freezing dark, her claws digging into the snow.