A Breeder For Four Alphas

Two

Chapter two

Gabriella pov

The world swam back into a blurry, painful reality. I was lying on my bed, the familiar scent of old linen filling my nostrils. My cheek throbbed, a constant reminder of my father's hand. The last thing I remembered was the envoy's iron grip, the darkness.

"Oh, you're awake," my mother's voice, flat and emotionless, cut through the haze. She stood by the door, my father beside her, both looking at me with cold, impatient eyes.

"What... what happened?" I whispered, my throat dry.

"You fainted," my father grunted. "Again. Making a scene, as usual." He shook his head. "The envoy has already left. He'll be back for you in an hour. Your train leaves this afternoon."

An hour. My heart sank, a cold, heavy stone in my chest. It wasn't a nightmare. It was real. All four. Breeder.

"Please, Father," I begged, pushing myself up, tears welling in my eyes. "Don't make me go. I'll do anything here. I'll work twice as hard. I'll find another way to pay the debt."

My mother stepped forward, her voice a low hiss. "Don't be foolish, Gabriella. This is done. It's an honor. And it's our only chance. You will go. You will do your duty. And you will not disgrace us."

My father just stared, his eyes hard. There was no love, no pity. Just a cold, unyielding command. I knew then it was truly over. My fate was sealed.

I was given a small, worn satchel. Inside were a few changes of clothes, a hard loaf of bread, and a small pouch of coins – barely enough for the two-day journey. No goodbyes, no hugs. Just the same stern guard from the study, who led me out of the pack house. The few pack members I saw quickly looked away, their faces grim. They knew. Everyone knew.

The train station was a blur of people, noise, and steam. The envoy, a different one this time, handed me a ticket and pointed to a carriage. "This is your train. Two days. Don't cause trouble." With that, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd. I was truly alone.

I found a window seat in a carriage already half-full. The seats were worn, the windows grimy, but it was warm. I watched my home pack's territory shrink into the distance, the familiar trees and hills fading into a blur.

Each turn of the wheels took me further away, not just from my home, but from any life I had ever imagined for myself.

As the hours passed, more young women boarded. They were all beautiful, some with striking features, others with a quiet grace. Daughters of Alphas and Betas, just as my father had said. They chattered excitedly, nervously, about the King, the Alphas, the honor of being chosen.

I kept my head down, trying to be invisible, but their whispers carried through the carriage.

"Did you hear about Luna Elara's daughter?" one girl murmured, her voice low. "She was sent last year. Didn't even make it past the first interview. They say she was sent back... broken."

"Broken how?" another asked, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and morbid curiosity.

"Couldn't even speak," the first girl whispered, a dramatic shiver running through her. "Her family had to pay double the debt for her failure. A disgrace."

A cold shiver ran down my own spine, colder than the draft from the window.

Broken. My parents' cruel words echoed in my head: "She's utterly incompetent!" "She'll probably disappoint us." If these beautiful, confident girls could fail so spectacularly, what hope did I have? My own beauty was just average, my spirit already bruised and battered.

I was sure to be rejected, sent back broken, and my parents would be even angrier, the pack's debt even heavier.

The journey felt endless, a slow, agonizing crawl towards an unknown doom. I barely touched the hard bread, barely slept, haunted by the rumors and my own crushing self-doubt. I imagined the four Alphas, powerful, demanding, and my stomach clenched with fear. I was just Gabriella, the Alpha's daughter who couldn't even keep a job at a sewage plant. How could I possibly be what they needed?

Finally, on the morning of the third day, the train began to slow, its brakes hissing. A sudden, nervous hush fell over the carriage. We were here. The Shadowdark Pack.

Through the grimy window, I saw it. Not a bustling city, not a grand castle, but a vast, ancient forest, dark and imposing, stretching as far as the eye could see. The train pulled into a small, isolated station, carved out of the dense woods. There were no grand buildings, no welcoming committee. Just a single, imposing figure standing on the platform, cloaked in black, his face hidden by a deep hood.

As the train hissed to a complete halt, the carriage door opened with a loud thud.

The air was suddenly colder, heavier, filled with the scent of damp earth and ancient trees. A profound sense of foreboding settled over me, a chill that went deeper than my bones. The cloaked figure slowly raised his head, and even from inside the train, I felt his gaze. It was intense, piercing, and utterly devoid of warmth.

He lifted a hand, and with a single, deliberate gesture, pointed directly at...me.