Chapter 2: A Deal with the Devil
1148 Words
The great hall was cold, its lofty walls illuminated by torches whose fires sprang high over the dark stone. The air was heavy with the odor of smoke and wet earth, a contrast to the gold, honey smell of home still remembered.
Her wrists were bound, the rope wrapping tightly about her wrists as she was pushed along by two guards. Her legs trembled, but she would not fall. She would proceed in front of the monster who had driven everything in her life to ruin with head held high.
The end of the hall, farthest away where a monolith throne carved of dark stone beneath him held him up, was the place where Alpha Kaiden sat. Golden eyes blazed in the moody flicker of torches, keen and unrelenting. Incarnation of icy might—broad shoulders that dwarfed all mountain ranges, pelt-trimmed overmantle worn about his torso, tousled black locks that suggested he'd just emerged from combat, and bulk that seemed to fill air in the room heavily.
By his side was his Beta, white-faced but sporting the menacingly-framed glasses of an evil little man with ice-colored, gray eyes. He regarded Willow with the detached interest of a spectator observing a caged animal.
"Down on your knees," one of the guards shoved her to her knees.
Willow nearly found herself slapped onto the hard, icy stone floor with her knees. Her veins burning with fury, she clenched her teeth, not for their sake to show them how she fought.
Kaiden leaned his arm on the arm of his throne. "This is Lord Aldric's daughter," he said, his silky-deep voice dripping with scorn. "I wanted a fight."
Willow's clenched jaw. "I am not a prize to be won."
A low huff resonated in Kaiden's chest. "No, you are a debt to be paid.
Her fists clenched. "My father had no right—"
"And yet he struck the bargain," Kaiden cut her off, his smirk intact. "Now you will fulfill it."
Willow's gut churned in revulsion. She knew she was not going to be a toy already. She was not even going to be taken prisoner. No, it was worse than that.
"You will remain here at this fortress for three months," Kaiden continued, his voice matter of fact, like the weather. "And when that's over, you'll provide me with a male heir. Or else." He shrugged, his head c****d, observing her response. "Your family dies."
The words are a body blow. Willow's breath is trapped in her throat, her heart pounding against her skull.
"No," she whispered.
Kaiden's eyebrow rose. "No?"
She glared back at him, venom in each ounce of disdain she could muster. "You're an i***t if you expect to get a child from me."
His grin widened further. "Then you are an i***t if you think you get to decide."
Willow shuddered, but she would not allow fear to be in command. She must think—must escape. And so the words tumbled out before she was aware of what she was saying.
"I can't conceive."
There was stillness down the corridor. The Beta, who had stood still, stepped forward.
Mind your words, girl," he growled, his gray eyes regarding hers intently. "Deceitfulness to the Alpha is not enriching."
Willow's racing heart, she showed an even face. "The truth. A healer told me long ago that I am barren."
Kaiden's laughter fell away a bit. He looked at her, as if he was peeling away layers of her being. "That was what they told you?"
Yes," she said. "Then your plan won't work."
The Beta's eyes blazed with anger at Kaiden. "We can have the pack healer confirm it."
Kaiden pushed his hand away. "That will not be necessary."
Willow nearly let her sigh of relief—until Kaiden rose, taller than she was tall to cast his shadow on the ground. He came down the throne steps, boots thudding against stone.
He paused in front of her, falling to his knees to level their sides.
"If you're lying, Willow," he panted, his tone slyly tender,
"I will regret the day I ever laid eyes on your face."
She swallowed hard, but didn't flinch. "Then you have nothing to fear."
Kaiden softly whistled, as if in answer to her words. And then, with a swift motion, he curled his fingers under her chin, angling her face toward his. The touch was resolute, commanding, designed to remind her who was in charge here.
"You have fire," he breathed, tracing the line of her jaw with his fingers before dumping her like a hot potato. "Good. That makes this more interesting."
Willow’s skin burned where he had touched her, not from pleasure but from rage. “You’re a monster.”
Kaiden smirked. “You will learn your place soon enough.”
Then, he stepped back, his expression once again unreadable. He turned to his guards.
“Take her to the lower chambers.”
Willow barely had time to react before she was yanked to her feet. She thrashed against them, but their grips were like iron.
“You won’t break me,” she spat.
Kaiden only chuckled. “We’ll see.”
The lower chambers were nothing short of a dungeon. The air was damp and musty, thick with the scent of decay. The floor was nothing but cold stone, and the only light came from a few dim torches flickering along the walls.
Willow was shoved into a cell, the door slamming shut behind her.
She barely had time to balance herself once again when she sensed a movement in the shadows.
She was not alone.
Someone stepped out from the shadows, and a woman with sunken eyes and untidy hair was standing before her. She looked at Willow compassionately and wearily.
"A new one," the woman let out a tired sigh.
Another voice murmured in the darkness of the cell. "Don't speak with your mouth, Helena. She'll come around soon enough."
Willow turned, vision adapting to the blackness. Three other women shared her cell—each of them thin, tortured.
She swallowed. "How long have you been here?"
The first girl, Helena, laughed harshly. "Too long."
There was one younger woman amidst the others who stared at Willow with pleading eyes. "Nobody escapes Alpha Kaiden's torture," she whispered hardly audible.
Willow's blood grew icy.
She ground her teeth, her fists pushed into the cell bars. "I will."
Helena's head trembled. "You say that now. They all do to begin with."
Willow shut her eyes, clenched. No cost too great, she would ride out this horrible nightmare. She would find a way out of this nightmare.
Footsteps down the corridor.
Creeped down Willow's spine.
The door to the room was kicked open afterwards.
Kaiden stood in the doorway, golden eyes shining in the dim light of the torches.
"Time to begin your task," he said, stepping in.
- Writer
