Chapter 3: The First Punishment
1223 Words
The cell door slammed shut behind her and Willow didn't have time to run before two guards entered.
"Stand up," one snarled.
Willow remained seated, her bruised body crying out in pain at the beating she'd received the previous night. She was not going to stand up, her obstinacy the last act of rebellion.
The guard took a step forward and clutched her arm in a gruff way, yanking her up. She cried out at the pain coursing through her muscles but clamped down on her lip, refusing to let them get the response they wanted.
"Alpha's order," the other guard taunted. "You have a lesson to learn, princess."
Her heart pounded as they dragged her out of the cell, her naked feet thudding on dry ground. She had no idea what Kaiden had planned, and it would not be nice.
They dragged her down the dark passageways until the dim light caught up with them. When they stepped outside, she experienced the biting blast in her face and knew where they were headed.
The training grounds.
A hard knot of pain in her belly.
She was strolling along, and she saw a large cluster of fighters standing in a circle, arms crossed over chest, all of them waiting for something to occur. The entire pack was present, grumbling and smiles on their faces hiding that they knew already.
And then he just stood there.
Kaiden stood in the middle of the arena, his massive form towering as usual. He had on a fitted black tunic, his golden eyes blazing as he watched her walking towards him.
"Because you will not learn your place," he announced, his voice ringing out over the open ground, "you will be instructed by the hard path."
Willow balled her hands. "You can punish me, if you wish, but you'll never own me."
Kaiden's grin expanded. "You will. But first—let's make sure if you're really alive."
He signaled to a giant of a man stepping into the arena. The dude was massive, muscle rippling on arms and chest as he shrugged those enormous shoulders. Scars etched his face, and his eyes were unreadable.
"Hey Garrik," Kaiden drawled. "One of my top fighters. You're going to fight him."
Willow's breath caught.
Fight him?
"I don't know how to fight," she snarled resentfully through gritted teeth.
"Well, you'd better learn fast, then," Kaiden told her. "Because he'll not be giving you mercy."
The crowd gasped in excitement.
Garrik cracked his knuckles and grinned. "Let's make it interesting."
Before Willow could decide what to do, he launched himself at her.
She sprang out of the way just in time, reeling backward as his fist whizzed by an inch from her nose. Her heart thundered in her ears.
She needed a strategy.
Garrik was faster than he had any business being. He threw another punch, and she wasn't quite quick enough this time—his fist cracked against her ribs, stealing the breath from her lungs. She doubled over on the ground, gasping for air.
The crowd snickered.
"Pathetic," one of the onlookers jeered.
Willow doubled up onto her knees, her body twisting in pain. She would not lose.
She set herself for Garrik's next blow. She parried and elbowed him through the ribs. He winced.
"Not bad," he conceded. "But not good enough."
And he wrapped his hand around her throat and thrust her down onto the ground.
Stars exploded before her eyes.
She scratched at his grip, gasping to fill her starving lungs.
"Enough," Kaiden roared.
Garrik's grip weakened only seconds before releasing. Willow crashed onto the earth, choking. Her trembling body burning with pain, she attempted to push herself up onto hands and knees.
Kaiden advanced, standing above her. "You fought back, I'll give you that. But you are weak, Willow. And a weakness cannot be tolerated in my pack."
She spat at his feet. "Then kill me and be done with it."
Kaiden's eyes turned blacker. "No. That would be too easy."
He moved away. "Take her to the palace."
The crowd of prisoners groaned in dismay, but the guards departed. They pulled Willow by her arms, dragging her off once again.
And for a brief moment, while doing that, she caught a glimpse of Kaiden glance her way. There was an unreadable quality to his eyes.
And it scared her to death.
That evening, Willow slept on the cold stone ground of her cell, her entire body aching from the fight. She couldn't be here. She wouldn't be here.
She needed to flee. She was pulling herself up, inch by inch, aching. She was shocked at every step, but she lingered not.
She crossed the room to the window and stared out. Stone walls towered above her over there, but beyond those there was forest inviting.
Freedom beckoned.
She caught her breath, and slid out of her rooms, hugging the walls as she made her way down the dark corridors. The guards stood at the front doors, but she was a prisoner here long enough that she had learned to expect a rhythm to their round.
At just the right moment, she slipped away.
Her bare feet left little more than a whisper on the floors as she dasher through the corridors, out into open courtyard, and towards the peripheries of the wall.
Night wind snipped sharply at exposed skin, yet she did not pause.
She reached the limits of the pack, wheezing on her air. Before her lay the forest: an endless sea of freedom.
She took one step forward--
And burst into a hard chest.
A tight hand wrapped around her wrist.
"Cutting out somewhere in a hurry?"
Her stomach dropped.
Kaiden.
His golden eyes flashed in the shadows, his arms wrapped around her.
"You actually managed to think you could get away from me?" he panted.
Willow tried to break free, but he wouldn't let her go. "Let me go!" she snarled.
He pulled her close until the noses of them were nearly touching. "You belong to me, Willow. Nobody is going anywhere except where I say so. You understand?"
She clenched her teeth. "I will never belong to you."
His face grew darker. "We'll see about that."
Without another word, he picked her up over his shoulder and strode on back to the fortress.
She screamed, gagged, hammered on his shoulder, but she may as well have been hitting granite. He was too powerful.
Kaiden strode palace gates, disregarding his guards' interested glances as he led her directly into dungeons.
Guards threw a cell door open and he pushed her inside.
"Lock her up," he growled. "No food. No water."
Willow leapt from the ground, rage clouding her eyes. "You are a monster!"
Kaiden smiled. "And you are mine."
And he turned and disappeared, leaving her to the darkness.
Days.
Willow's throat was dry, muscles taut. She was hungry deep inside, but never would yield.
She would never yield to him.
But hours passed, and she was worn down by exhaustion.
Her eyes became blurry. Her legs gave way.
She leaned heavily against the hard stone under her.
Just as darkness closed in over her head, a figure stood in the cell.
A coarse, gravelly voice blew into her ear.
"I can release you."
Willow's gasp echoed.
"But it will cost."
- Writer
