Reborn: Luna Takes It All Back

He Did What?

Helle was a fitting name for the goddess-forsaken place Selena had been sold to.

The women spent their days on their feet cooking, serving, and cleaning up the mess halls and the chambers of the masters.

The only women not actively involved in warming beds were those who supported the healers and them in the kitchen.

Selena had noticed other women in the campgrounds—the men used them to breed more slaves or “service” the masters. Passing a shady building by the melting stream, she had glimpsed the ‘breeding pen’ and recoiled at the thought.

One of the men mentioned it to her during dinner. It was strange since she had never seen women or heard babies’ cries.

All the slaves seemed resigned to their fate, living in dull, monotonous routines— work, eat, work, sleep, and repeat. Even the ladies in the kitchen seemed to be getting used to life in the camp.

Selena did learn something interesting about the chains they were forced to wear. Chains clinked on their wrists and ankles, sapping strength, but the in-house magician had enchanted them, keeping them docile.

Wolves weren’t meant to submit, and Selena knew that breaking into the magician’s domain would be key if they wanted freedom.

No one had seen what they looked like, and no one was allowed into their chamber. It all made sense that they were being controlled, as wolves weren’t in their nature to submit unless their alpha commanded them.

Selena was convinced she would need to get in there if she wanted to escape.

This was where her plans began; she would continue to monitor them. She spent her days moving between the gates and the woods surrounding the magician’s cabin.

The woods were always eerily quiet, growing darker the closer she got to the house.

Selena felt as though a spell was surrounding the place, making it seem even further away. The woods weren’t even that deep, so how did she not find the house?

*-*-*-*-*

One day, a man lingered by the gate, talking nervously with the guards.

This was new; few people were allowed this close to the gates. She was only able to come here because she occasionally brought food to the guards on patrol. Now that she thinks about it, he has been lurking around this area recently.

She got closer to them, trying to hear what they were saying, “We’ve told you to stop wandering here,” one guard barked.

“I mean no harm. The vines remind me of home. I come only during breaks,” the man replied. Selena froze, listening from the shadows.

The guards relaxed when they saw her. “Finally! Took you long enough, b***h,” one laughed.

Ignoring the jab, Selena noted the man’s proximity to the vine-covered wall. ‘I need to check that corner,’ she thought.

“Who was that?”

“Huh, that punk? Just one crazy dude that keeps coming to the gate for some reason.” Guard A said, lifting the bowls out of the basket.

“Really? That’s weird,” she said, trying to get more out of them.

“Yup, he keeps spending time by the vines over there,” Guard B said, pointing to a side of the wall partially covered.

“I think he has a death wish. If Master Skalwarg sees him here, he will kill him for sure,” guard C grunted before taking a bite of the food.

“You guys need to cook better food; the f**k is this supposed to be?” Selena ignored them, looking at the covered wall.

She would have to check it out soon. The wind blew fiercely and drew Selena’s attention to the fast-approaching clouds. ‘Such a huge storm,’ she thought, worried.

She returned to the kitchen, thinking of the strange man. She would have to check out the vine corner later.

The approaching storm cast a shadow over the camp. Clouds gathered all day and didn’t disperse even at night, blotting out the moon and stars. The noise of the thunder and rain provided some cover for movement.

“This storm might be bad news,” Juno frowned as she watched the clouds move from the window.

“No, it’s not; the weather is lovely, and this stuffy room would get ventilation.” Myra sighed as she stretched. Selena shook her head at Myra’s antics but felt like Juno was telling the truth.

The rain continued to fall for a few more days, resulting in flooding and a halt to mining operations. This meant a pissed-off Skalwarg.

One moonless night, when everyone had gone to bed, an alarm suddenly blared, startling everyone awake. People gathered outside in the cold, huddled together for warmth.

“What’s happening? “Myra yawned, trying to press against Selena for warmth.

“Someone tried to escape.” A stocky man whispered beside them.

“What?!” they gasped, turning to him with wide eyes.

They watched as a young man was dragged out and chained to a post in the middle of the small field. “I hear he made it out of the gate and into the fields,” another whispered back.

Selena gaped at the man with recognition. He had been at the gate the other day! She would need to discuss his plans with him.

Tonight was the first time someone had tried to escape since she had come in.

“Why must ye all do this to me?” Selena was drawn back to the present scene by Skalwarg’s voice.

“There is only one rule, one rule! Yet ye can’t seem to follow it,” he sighed.

“There will be no trouble making within these walls; we have ways to deal with ye. Bring me the fixer!” Skalwarg called out, looking at the man with rage.

‘The Fixer’ turned out to be a six-mouth whip made of stiff leather intertwined with threads of silver. Merely looking at it brought pain to one’s mind.

Even Skalwarg and his men had to wear gloves to touch it. “There is only one rule in this compound,” he repeated as he stretched the whip, “Only one! Ye’d think it would be easy to remember,” he said, walking up to the man.

He raised the whip and brought it down on the man’s tanned back. Selena covered Illys’s eyes; no child should have to watch this. Even she was uncomfortable looking at them.

“Yer’d better be counting them.” Skalwarg snarled, bringing the whip down over and over again.

The crisp sound of the whip sailing through the air and landing on his mangled flesh echoed in the night, accompanied by his screams of pain and Skalwarg’s grunts as he put power into each lash.

“Dear gods,” Myra whispered, trembling. Selena had goosebumps and couldn’t help but wonder why he acted so brutally.

They were all wolves. What made him better than them? Why make others suffer?

She pressed Illys’s face to her stomach, covering her ears. Though she knew it would do little to mute the man’s tortured screams, she couldn’t help but want to preserve her innocence.

The man eventually stopped screaming, and his body hung limp against the pole, his back reduced to sizzling, shredded meat with bits of bone peeking out.

“Is he dead?” Someone murmured.

“I don’t think so, but it would be lucky if he did. The thought of being able to leave here is tempting,” another said grimly.

Selena frowned at their morbid words. Indeed, it would be heavenly to leave this place, but to wish for death is something no one should have to face, ever.

The man was cut loose and carried away to the healer’s chamber while the rest of them were met with Skalwarg’s heavy glare. “Let this be a lesson to all of ye.”