Enslaved to the King of all Lycans

4—The First Pawn

Claire.

Three days later.

I wake up to a shuffling sound, causing a wrinkle on my forehead as I sit up. My head hurt from the harsh ground, and my shoulder feels frozen. The blanket is the only thing warming me a bit against the cold floor.

The wrench of this pit still irks me, potent just as my first night here. The shuffling came again, this time followed by a snarl, and I sighed.

"What are you doing?" I ask Morgyn. She flicks her face towards my side, engulfing me with her usual glowy, threatening eyes.

She jumps over next to me with her hands and feet, exactly like an animal, and my face squeezes. "The bastard king seems to have you as his favourite prisoner. He's brought you new stuff." She sniffs the scarf locked between her fingers before she hurls it away. "And it reeks of him." She spits.

"Do you really have to do that?" I roll my eyes and she frowns.

"What?"

"Walking like that..." I drawl, shaking my head as I recall it's useless. I assume being locked up for a long time is making her go crazy. Her wolf has taken over her senses. She looks like a rogue—skinny and ragged—rather than the legendary Luna of the Stormhowl Tribe I've read about in the stories with my parents when I was a pup.

She was an inspiration to a lot of people. Even before the war, when King Salvatore's father was still on the throne, she had been leading werewolves to take back their rights. It was a dark time as well, just without the enslavement.

One last look at Morgyn, gazing at her torn dress and flaked skin, her entire skeleton on display, I go to the bag King Salvatore left for me.

He's been bringing me things in my sleep, so I never saw him. It makes Morgyn thinks he likes me, but I wish she knows how much I hate that monster. The image of how he hurt that She-wolf still hurts me whenever I sleep.

I pass Morgyn a sweater to put on because the cage is freezing. She growls at me, her fangs baring. I sigh and place it in front of her.

"Aren't you going to put it on?" I ask minutes later.

"No." Her tone is lethal.

"It's freezing..."

"I'm not as weak as you. You're an omega. I'm a Luna."

I scoff. "You don't have to act like them. They're taking away your humanity, and you're allowing them."

Out of the blue, she laughs hysterically. "You think this world deserves kindness? Oh, you poor girl. No wonder you're here."

How dare she say that to me? Every day, I share my food and water with her. They always starve her because they want her to remain weak.

I brush the strands of my hair to the back of my ears as the words flow out of me. "I watched that bastard take away a She-wolf's sight. She had only made the mistake of spilling juice on one of his Alphas. She didn't deserve it, so I stood for her, and I was brought here." I swallow. "I understand why you're like this. It's because you know there's no hope for you. You've lost your mind here, and there's no escape for you. You failed your people when they needed you, and while above us, your people suffer every day, you're rotting away, helpless and powerless. It's enough to change you to a dog, and that's the difference between you and me. I have my humanity."

At first, Morgyn didn't do anything, then she growled at me, causing me to flinch and cower against the wall. Her eyes are glowing brighter, furs slightly poking out of her skin. "You think you know pain? It was war. I was saving us, but obviously, there were traitors. They made us lose. I don't even know if my mate is still alive. Twenty-two years since I've been locked up here! f**k off if I say I have no hope in helping my race win back their freedom."

She turns her back to me. My conscience hurt me, regretting everything I had said. Four years in the slave academy, I know how easily one's mind can break, but twenty-two years spent with the Lycan King will surely ruin anyone.

"Maybe I can help." I begin softly. "I could be released someday. I'll act like the perfect slave they want me to be, just enough for me to find a way to get to the rebels, to let them know that their Luna is still alive. Maybe it'll give them enough fuel to come for you, and then you can summon armies. I believe you're our saviour."

"Shush." Morgyn shifts her eyes to the bar. "One of them is coming." She begins to act wild again, barking and snarling, gnashing at the steel.

I hear the clicks of shoes right before Alpha Orion comes into view. His eyes are placed on me before they change, growling back at Morgyn. I can see the hate in their eyes.

"The pistol?" Alpha Orion outstretches his hand where a guard places the weapon and shoots Morgyn in the neck. She whines and falls to the ground, gasping for air.

I hardly breathe as I watch her gag on the floor. I think she has been poisoned because of the sizzling around the wounded area.

"Do it," Morgyn whispers forcefully before Alpha Orion calls me, opening the gate.

"Claire?" He tilts his head. Understanding his gesture, I summon the strength to come outside.

I'm still shaking in my stance when he passes the pistol back to the guard and tells him to lock the cage, then he waves at me, another gesture that notions I follow him.

We walk out of the underground to a hallway. Alpha Orion has his hands behind him and his face ahead. There's no tenacious look in his eyes that he acted vicious minutes ago.

"You should take off that sweater. It's warm here." He's right. I'm starting to sweat, but that's not my worry. A few seconds later, he adds. "Will you not ask where we are going?"

Am I supposed to answer? I don't want to be thrown into that cage again, honestly.

He stops walking and locks his eyes on me. "When you're with me, Claire, please don't refrain from saying your mind. I wouldn't want to read your thoughts."

What?

"By the way, I fear you've grown attached to that mutt, so if you must know, I didn't kill her. I only weakened her. She'll heal."

About an hour later, I've taken my bath and changed into new clothes offered by Alpha Orion. I feel naked in the baggy blue shirt that stops above my knees, and I'm wearing a boxer under it. With bare feet, I sit on a couch while he asks.

"Tea or coffee?"

"Tea." I hesitantly answer.

"Goodness, same thing here. There's something blissful about tea." When he finishes speaking, the room goes mute. There's nothing I can do, so I peel at my fingernails.

Seconds later, he arrives with two cups of tea, passing one to me, which I stand up and bow my head to collect.

He laughs as he settles opposite me. "I should tell you I fought with my brother when I learnt he locked you up. I shouldn't have travelled." I raise my gaze at him, surprised. "Check his collar if you don't believe me. Made sure he bled." He laughs again, dryly.

I stare at the rim of the cup, a question battling inside me. Finally, I summon the courage to ask. "Why are you being nice to me, Alpha Orion? It maddens me." He squints his eyes at me, and I quickly add. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't..."

"Call me Orion." He cuts me mid-sentence. "And to answer your question, Claire, I care about you."

"What?" I'm too stunned to say anything.

He nods his head. "Have you ever played chess?" Shaking my head in a firm no, confused about his new question, he chuckles softly. "I believe I'm playing a game here, Claire, one that involves you, and it requires that you play a vital role in it as the queen of all Lycans. After all, you're Salvatore's true mate. And in a royal game, you need the chess mindset."

Just as he finishes saying, leaving my brain in a spiralling ring of confusion, the door flings open.

"Orion, my father is..." King Salvatore pauses, his eyes fixated on my chest while my eyes travel to his shirt as I recall Orion's words. Truly, his blood stains his collar.

When I shift my gaze to Orion, he shares a knowing look with me, and then he commands me. "Leave us, Claire."

I nod my head and keep my gaze on the floor as I leave them. In the hallway, outside Orion's chambers, a figure appears in front of me, causing me to stop.

I barely realise I'm holding my breath as I call out. "Alpha Talon."

"Salvatore's pet." He teases and then squints his eyes. "Is that the king's shirt? I smell him all around you." He declares. Why would Orion give me King Salvatore's clothes?

I wanted to tell Alpha Talon the truth but then decided against it. I don't think it'll do anything to save my life. Instead, I decide to lie. "I must hurry. King Salvatore demands I remain in my room."

I almost escaped, but he draws me back, breathing close to my neck as his lips scrape past the skin. "Having Salvatore punish another slave while he threw you in his prison without brutal punishment, wearing his clothes, and coming from Orion's chambers doesn't settle well with me. I sense something much fishy here, and you're going to tell me what it is." Alpha Talon shares with me a mischievous grin, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. "Who are you to the King of all Lycans?"