Blackthorne
854 Words
The silver chains burned.
Every step sent sharp pain shooting through Kaela's wrists as the Blackthorne guards dragged her deeper into their territory. Snow crunched beneath their boots while cold wind howled through the trees.
Nobody spoke a word.
The silence made everything worse.
Kaela kept her head down, forcing herself to stay alert despite the exhaustion threatening to pull her under. Her muscles ached from days of running, and her ribs still throbbed where the wolf had tackled her, but pain wasn't what frightened her.
It was where they were taking her.
Blackthorne.
The name alone carried enough fear to silence entire packs.
Stories about Blackthorne traveled everywhere.
A ruthless Alpha. Unbreakable warriors.
Enemies who disappeared without a trace.
Kaela had always assumed some of the stories were exaggerated. Now she wasn't so sure.
The deeper they traveled, the stronger the scent became.
Power. Authority. Danger.
Even the wolves escorting her seemed more disciplined than any she'd encountered before.
Nobody joked, Nobody spoke out of turn, Nobody questioned orders.
It felt less like a pack and more like an army.
The thought unsettled her.
A sharp tug on the chains forced her forward.
"Move."
Kaela glared at the guard beside her.
"I am moving."
His expression didn't change.
Wonderful. They were all emotionless.
After another twenty minutes of walking, the forest finally began to thin.
Kaela froze. Huge iron gates stood ahead.
Beyond them sat an enormous pack settlement stretching beneath the moonlight.
Her breath caught.
She had seen pack territories before. Nothing like this.
Massive stone buildings stood proudly behind towering walls. Warriors patrolled every corner while watchtowers rose high into the night sky.
The place looked less like a pack and more like a kingdom, a dangerous one.
The gates opened immediately when the guards approached.
As soon as Kaela entered, every conversation stopped.
Every single one.
Her stomach tightened.
Dozens of wolves turned toward her.
Men, women, children.
All staring.
The rogue.
Kaela lifted her chin despite the discomfort crawling through her chest.
She was used to stares.
What she wasn't used to was the hostility.
The hatred in some of their eyes was impossible to miss.
A woman spat on the ground.
Another muttered something under her breath.
Kaela looked away.
She didn't need their approval. She just needed a way out.
The guards led her through the center of the settlement until they reached a large stone building.
The pack house.
A tall woman stood waiting near the entrance.
She was beautiful.
Long blonde hair. Sharp green eyes. Perfect posture.
The moment her gaze landed on Kaela, her expression darkened.
Interesting.
Kaela had never seen this woman before, yet she already looked annoyed by her existence.
"What's this?" the woman asked.
"A rogue trespasser," one guard answered.
Her eyes swept over Kaela from head to toe.
Judging, assessing, disliking.
Kaela instantly disliked her back.
"Why bring her here?" the woman asked coldly.
"Orders."
The woman crossed her arms.
"From whom?"
"The Beta."
That seemed to satisfy her slightly.
She stepped closer to Kaela.
The scent of expensive perfume hit her immediately.
The woman studied her silently for several seconds.
Then something strange happened.
Confusion flashed briefly across her face, followed by suspicion.... Then anger.
Kaela noticed instantly.
What was that about?
Before she could ask, the woman stepped back.
"Put her in the holding cells."
Kaela's jaw tightened.
Wonderful.
A dungeon.
Exactly what every exhausted rogue dreamed of.
The guards dragged her toward the back of the pack house down a narrow staircase into cold stone corridors.
The further they descended, the darker everything became.
Eventually they stopped outside a small cell.
One guard unlocked the door.
"Inside."
Kaela didn't move.
The guard raised an eyebrow.
Kaela sighed.
Then stepped inside.
The door slammed shut behind her.
The sound echoed through the corridor.
Final, heavy, hopeless.
For several seconds, Kaela simply stood there.
Listening.
Nothing.
No voices.
No footsteps.
Just silence.
Slowly, she lowered herself onto the narrow bed attached to the wall.
Every muscle in her body screamed in protest.
She should rest.
She needed rest.
But something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
The blonde woman upstairs.
The strange look she'd given her.
The way she'd suddenly become angry.
Kaela frowned.
Why?
A rogue shouldn't matter that much.
Unless.....
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted her thoughts.
Heavy footsteps.
Confident.
Powerful.
Not a guard.
Not the woman.
Someone else.
The footsteps stopped directly outside her cell.
Silence followed.
Then a low male voice echoed through the corridor.
"Is this the rogue?"
Kaela's entire body went still.
Something about that voice made the air feel heavier.
Dangerous.
The guard outside cleared his throat.
"Yes, Beta."
Beta.
So this was Blackthorne's Beta.
The man didn't speak immediately.
Instead, Kaela felt it.
His gaze.
Watching her.
Studying her.
As if searching for something.
Finally he spoke.
"The Alpha should know about this."
Kaela's heart skipped.
The Alpha.
For the first time since her capture, genuine fear settled into her stomach.
Because tomorrow...
She would meet the most feared Alpha in the North.
And something told her that meeting would change everything.
- Writer
