Chained to the Alpha

Run. Lyra. Run. The voice in my head is a scream. My feet hit the dirt. I do not feel the rocks. I do not feel the thorns. I only feel the pulse in my neck. It is too fast. It is the sound of a trapped animal. Behind me. The woods are alive. I hear the snapping of branches. I hear the heavy. rhythmic thud of paws. They are gaining. They are always gaining. Keep moving. I tell myself. Do not look back. I leap over a fallen log. My hip clips the wood. I stumble. I catch myself with one hand. The dirt is cold. It gets under my nails. I scramble up. My breath is a ragged blade in my chest. I can hear them laughing now. Not the wolves. The men. The Red Fang guards stay in their skins when they want to play. They want me to feel the humanness of my fear. They want to hear my gasps. There. To the left. A guard shouts. I veer right. I dive through a thicket of brambles. They tear at my tunic. They tear at my skin. I do not stop. Red light filters through the trees. The Blood Moon. It is a curse. It turns the world the color of a fresh kill. It makes my skin itch. It makes my wolf howl in her cage. She wants to come out. She wants to fight. No. I whisper. If I shift. I am dead. A rogue wolf in mid-shift is an easy target. They would tear my throat out before I could growl. I have to stay small. I have to stay human. I reach a small ravine. I do not think. I jump. The air leaves my lungs as I hit the other side. I roll. My shoulder hits a stone. Pain flares. It is bright and hot. I ignore it. I crawl into the shadows of a rocky overhang. I press my back against the cold stone. I hold my breath. My heart is a drum. It is so loud. I am sure they can hear it. I close my eyes. I count the seconds. One. Two. Three. The heavy thud of boots stops ten feet away. She was just here. A man says. His voice is deep. Gritty. Like gravel. I smell her. Another one replies. Rogue. Smells like old leaves and desperation. I bite my lip. I bite it until I taste blood. I do not move. I do not blink. A shadow passes over my hiding spot. I see the edge of a heavy black boot. These are not common guards. These are the Alpha’s personal hunters. The Red Fang elite. Check the ridge. The first one orders. She cannot have gone far. The footsteps recede. I wait. I count to a hundred. My muscles are cramping. My leg is shaking. I need to move. I need to get to the border. If I can cross the river. I might have a chance. The Red Fang territory ends at the water. I slide out from the rocks. I move like a ghost. I stay low. I use the shadows. Every snap of a twig sounds like a gunshot. I reach the edge of a clearing. The river is there. I can see the silver reflection of the moon on the water. It is so close. I take one step. Then another. A hand grips my hair. I scream. It is a raw. ugly sound. I am yanked backward. My head snaps back. I look up. I see a face full of scars. It is the guard from before. He is smiling. He has yellow teeth. Found you. Little rabbit. He says. I swing my fist. I hit him in the jaw. It is a solid strike. His head snaps to the side. He grunts. He does not let go. He twists my hair. I fall to my knees. The pain is blinding. Let me go. I snap. I claw at his arm. His skin is like leather. The guard laughs. He signals to the woods. Three more men step out. They are tall. They are wide. They look like predators. They do not look at me like a person. They look at me like meat. The Alpha is going to love this. One of them says. A rogue on the night of the hunt. That is a special kind of stupid. They drag me. I fight. I kick. I bite the hand of the man who grabs my arm. He bellows. He backhands me. My head rings. The world tilts. My vision goes fuzzy. They do not stop. They drag me through the dirt. My heels dig furrows in the ground. I see the trees passing by. I see the red moon watching. Please. I rasp. Shut up. The scarred one says. We reach a wider clearing. It is filled with light. Torches are shoved into the ground. They flicker. They hiss. There are other people here. Women. They are lined up. They are shaking. Some are crying. They are the unmated females of the pack. They were caught in the woods. Now they wait for the judgment. The guards throw me into the dirt. I land hard. My face is in the dust. I pull myself up. I wipe the blood from my mouth. I look around. In the center of the clearing stands a man. He is taller than the rest. He is broader. His skin is tanned. Covered in white scars. He wears black trousers. No shirt. He holds a massive iron axe. The blade is stained. He is not looking at the women. He is looking at a map held by his Beta. Kael Draven. The name is a cold weight in my chest. I know that face. I saw it in the fire ten years ago. He was younger then. But his eyes were the same. Silver. Cold. Dead. He is the man who finished my pack. He is the man who killed my father. My heart stops. I try to look away. I try to hide behind the other women. What is this. Kael asks. His voice is a low rumble. It vibrates in the air. A rogue. Alpha. The scarred guard says. He bows his head. Caught her near the river. She has a hell of a bite. Kael turns. He moves with a grace that is terrifying. He is a predator in a human skin. He walks toward me. The other women shrink away. They create a path. I am left alone in the dirt. Kael stops three feet away. He towers over me. I can feel the heat radiating off him. He smells like cedar and ozone. He smells like power. Look at me. He says. I keep my eyes on his boots. They are covered in dried mud. I will not look at him. I will not give him the satisfaction. I said look at me. His voice drops an octave. It is a command. My wolf stirs. She wants to obey. I fight her down. Kael reaches out. He doesn't wait for me to move. He hooks his fingers under my chin. He tilts my head up. His grip is firm. It is not gentle. The moment his skin touches mine. the world explodes. It is a physical shock. It is a bolt of lightning that starts at my jaw and races down my spine. My breath hitches. My vision clears. All I see is him. I see the silver of his eyes. I see the way his pupils dilate. I see the sudden tension in his neck. The mate bond. It snaps into place like a trap. It is a violent. screaming thing. It tells me that this man is mine. It tells me that I belong to him. My soul recognizes his soul. It is a lie. It has to be a lie. Kael freezes. His hand trembles. Just a fraction. But I feel it. His eyes search mine. He sees the recognition. He sees the horror. He looks down at my shoulder. My tunic is torn. He sees the jagged scar on my collarbone. The mark of his own pack's teeth from the night of the m******e. The silence in the clearing is absolute. The guards are watching. The women are watching. No one breathes. You. Kael whispers. He lets go of my chin. He steps back as if I am made of fire. His face twists. It is not love. It is not joy. It is pure. unadulterated loathing. He looks at me like I am a disease. He looks at me like I am a ghost come to haunt him. He found his mate. Someone whispers. Kael turns on the speaker. He bared his teeth. A low growl escapes his throat. The person cowers. Kael looks back at me. His hands are fisted at his sides. I see the muscles in his arms bulging. He is fighting his own wolf. He is fighting the urge to claim me. I am not your mate. I rasp. My voice is thin. Kael laughs. It is a dark. hollow sound. You think I want this. You think I want a rogue. A piece of filth from a dead pack. He walks toward me again. He leans down. His face is inches from mine. I can see the flecks of gray in his silver eyes. I do not believe in fate. He says. And I do not believe in you. He looks at the scarred guard. Chain her. Kael orders. The guard hesitates. Alpha. She is your mate. I said chain her. Kael roars. The power in his voice knocks the man back. Take her to the fortress. Throw her in the black cells. The guards move. They grab my arms. They are not gentle anymore. They are afraid of Kael’s rage. They pull me up. They snap iron cuffs around my wrists. The cold metal bites into my skin. Kael turns his back on me. He picks up his axe. You have until the next Blood Moon. He says over his shoulder. One month. If you are still alive then. I will decide what to do with you. He walks away. He doesn't look back. The guards shove me. I stumble. I am led out of the clearing. I am led toward the dark towers of the Red Fang fortress. The mate bond pulls at me. It wants me to run to him. It wants me to beg. I bite my tongue. I hold onto my hate. It is the only thing I have left. I am chained to the Alpha. But I am not his. I look up at the red moon. It looks like an eye. It looks like it is laughing at me. I have thirty days. Thirty days in the house of the man who destroyed my life. I will not break. I tell myself. I will not break. The fortress gates loom ahead. They are iron and wood. They look like teeth. They open with a heavy groan. We walk inside. The air changes. It is colder here. It smells like wet stone and old iron. Welcome home. The guard mocks. He pushes me down a flight of stone stairs. I fall. I hit the steps with my knees. I hit them with my chest. I do not make a sound. I am a rogue. I am a survivor.