The new moon festival
1351 Words
In Fenrir Republic, slaves were commodities that could be bought and sold.
When a-wolf slave finds her mate, tradition demands she can be traded to her mate for a fair price if she isn't rejected.
These are rare occurrences because they rejected most mated slaves for being low status, weak and slaves.
Alpha Leonidas shocked everyone when he announced that I was his mate.
I couldn't speak. I wasn't sure if I was coming or going.
This was happening so fast.
Alpha Gunner glared at me. “Is this true?!”
I swallowed, afraid of him. “I-it's…. It's true,” I stammered.
Alpha Gunner yanked me out of Alpha Leonidas's grip. “This doesn't change a thing. I'm not giving her off. Guards!”
Two strong guards came over. Alpha Gunner hurled me at them.
“Take her away and have her locked in her cell,” he ordered. “She mustn't step out of her cell unless I give the order.”
“Yes, Alpha Gunner,” the guards started pulling me away.
Alpha Randolph shouted. “You two should stop this. This isn't what we're gathered here for.”
Alpha Leonidas gave me one last glance before he turned to Alpha Gunner.
His voice was calm and dark. “Don't think you can keep her away from me. I'll have her.”
Alpha Gunner barked. “Over my dead body.”
* * * *
The hours went by with me locked up in the cell Alpha Gunner built for me.
Whenever he wants to punish me, he locks me up here.
Rats scurried around my legs as I wrapped myself against the edge of the cell.
My hunger has disappeared. All I could think about was Alpha Leonidas.
Just then, the cell door opened. I glanced up and saw Alpha Gunner entering the cell.
He carried a whip in his hand. I've never seen him this furious in my life.
“You b***h,” he yelled, raising his whip in the air and bringing it down my body.
I shielded myself while I received a countless number of lashes from him.
“You're supposed to wash feet at the doorway,” Alpha Gunner shouted. “How dare you get mated to him?'
“It's not my fault,” I cried, tears falling from my eyes. “I never thought I'd run into my mate at the entrance. Please forgive me. I'll do anything.”
Alpha Gunner stopped whipping. He took his time to catch his breath.
“I will not let that cursed brute take you from me,” Alpha Gunner said. “You'll stay locked up in here without food or water. As long as Leonidas is still in this mansion, you won't have a thing to chew.”
I was horrified. The new moon festival was held for three days.
Alpha Gunner was going to starve me for three days because my mate found me?
“But if I don't eat in three days, I might die,” I exclaimed. “I haven't eaten last night.”
“That's your funeral,” Alpha Gunner replied, curtly. “I'd rather you die than be mated to Leonidas.”
He spoke those words that made a lump swell in my throat.
“Why do you hate me so much?” I cried out in a voice I didn't recognize as my own. “You rejected me. You don't want me as your mate, and yet you still wouldn't let me go. Just kill me. Wouldn't that be better.”
Gunner moved up to me and grabbed me by my throat. He lifted me up, his eyes burning with anger and hatred.
“I'd rather die than see you with Alpha Leonidas,” he growled, his fingers digging into my flesh. “You're mine, and until your death, you'll remain my slave.”
* * * *
I spent the night without a drop of water or a whiff of food.
The next day came and went the same way. By the third day, I was almost dying.
I kept myself alive with the rats I caught and fed on.
I was so weakened from hunger and parched that I couldn't move a single muscle of my body.
At least, this was the third day. The New moon festival would end, and every pack would be return to their respective territories.
I would never see Alpha Leonidas again. My shitty life would be back to normal.
And so I waited for Alpha Gunner to release me from my cell.
At midnight, the dungeon gate opened and someone sneaked in.
I lay sprawled on the hard cold floor, breathing in thin air through my nostrils.
“Alpha Gunner, is that you?” My words came out of my mouth, weak and small.
The cell gate opened, and a she-wolf stepped inside.
She glanced down at me for the longest moment.
I could make out her face out of the shadows of my cell.
“Time to bust you out of here,” she said, then stretched out her hand and picked me up.
She was strong. The way she lifted me up without breaking a sweat was astonishing.
Then, with hurried steps, she carried me away from the dungeon, evaded the guards and broke me out of Alpha Randolph's mansion.
My head was foggy. I couldn't think straight. Where are all the guards? They should be on duty.
Oh, now I remembered, they must've been drunk. The last day of the moon festival always ends with heavy alcohol.
A 1970 Dodge Charger pulled up in the darkness.
The she-wolf dumped me in the rear seats and slammed the door.
“I've got her in,” she said over the window. “All the guards are asleep. Keep heading straight. I'll be right behind you.”
The driver grunted, then slammed his feet on the accelerator.
The car charged forward and raced down the road.
I cracked my eyes. I could make out someone behind the wheels.
Long dark hair, a gloomy aura and tattooed arms.
“Is that, Alpha Leonidas?” I murmured before falling into darkness.
* * * *
The gentle rocking of a vessel stirred me up. My eyes gently opened, revealing a wooden ceiling.
I was in a cabin cruiser.
“You're up,” I heard a familiar voice from the edge of the room. “Are you doing, alright?”
I turned my head only to meet Alpha Leonidas, staring at me.
I nodded my head to answer his first question.
My mind was in a whirl. I couldn't process what was happening.
The last thing I remembered was being in my cell, waiting for Alpha Gunner to release me.
Then a girl came into my cell and took me away. That was all I could recall.
Alpha Leonidas held a tray in his hands. He set the tray beside me and sat opposite me. “You must be hungry. I made you breakfast. Eat your fill.”
“Where am I?” I asked, my tone weak.
“You're with me,” he replied. “Eat first.”
I passed my tongue over my dry lips as I panicked. “Alpha Gunner… He's going to be so mad… I—”
“Eat,” Alpha Leonidas repeated, his voice at the edge.
With the remaining energy left in me, I sat up and swung my legs over the corner of the bed.
I couldn't find the strength to lift my hand. I haven't eaten in three days. It was a struggle to eat anything now.
Alpha Leonidas picked up a glassful of water and brought it up to my mouth.
“It's warm water. Open up,” he stated.
I obeyed and drank five sips.
To my surprise, he took a fork and knife and began cutting through the bacon on the plate.
“I'll feed you until the tray is empty,” he added, bringing the meat up to my lips. “Make sure you finish every single piece of food.”
- Writer
