Chained to the Beast

Chapter 2: The Compound

The car ride to Silvercrest took four hours. Kade didn't speak to her the entire time. He sat in the front seat while Aria sat in the back with a female guard. The guard didn't speak either, just stared straight ahead with an expression of complete neutrality.

Aria watched the landscape change through the window. The familiar territory of Bloodmoon faded away, replaced by darker forests and steeper mountains. The roads got rougher, less traveled. Finally, they reached a gate. It was massive and black and topped with spikes.

Beyond the gate was the compound.

It looked like a fortress. High stone walls surrounded sprawling buildings, all connected by pathways and guard stations. She could see wolves patrolling the grounds, all of them large and powerful and radiating the kind of strength that made Aria's weak wolf cower inside her.

The car pulled through the gate and drove deeper into the compound. Finally, it stopped in front of the main building. Kade got out of the car, and the female guard gestured for Aria to follow.

Aria grabbed the small bag she had packed with her few possessions and stepped out of the car. The air smelled different here. Colder and more dangerous.

Kade didn't even look at her. He started walking, and Aria had to hurry to keep up. They went through long corridors with stone walls and high ceilings. Other wolves watched them pass, their eyes were hard and curious. Aria could feel their judgment, and their dismissal. They could smell her weak wolf immediately.

Finally, Kade stopped in front of a plain door.

"This is where you'll stay," he said, his voice was flat and emotionless. "You don't leave this room unless you're told to, you don't speak to anyone, you don't go into the main pack areas, and you don't attend pack events or meals. You're here as payment for a debt. That makes you property, not a member of this pack. Do you understand?"

Aria nodded, not trusting her voice.

"I asked you a question," Kade said, and his tone made her look up at him. His eyes were completely cold, like looking into a frozen lake. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," Aria managed. "I understand."

"Good." Kade opened the door to reveal a small room, a bed and a dresser. A single small window that looked out onto a stone wall. "Meals will be brought to you. If you need anything, you can ask the girl who brings them, but don't expect her to talk back. Any questions?"

"No," Aria said quietly.

"Then I'm done with you."

He closed the door, and Aria heard the lock click into place. She stood there for a long moment, not moving, and not thinking. Then she sat on the bed and waited for something to happen.

Nothing did.

Hours passed. It got dark outside. A girl came with a tray of food, left it without making eye contact, and left. Aria didn't eat. She lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, and when she finally fell asleep, she dreamed of drowning.

The next morning, someone banged on her door.

"Training," a gruff voice called out. "Get up."

Aria pulled on clothes and opened the door. A tall woman with scars covering her arms stood in the hallway. She had the look of someone who had been to war and back.

"I'm Raina," the woman said. "I run the training grounds. Come on."

Aria followed her through the compound and out to a large open area. Other wolves were already there, stretching and preparing for sparring. When they saw Aria, their reactions were immediate laughter, contempt and dismissal.

"What is this?" one of them asked Raina. "Did the Alpha pick up strays?"

"New pack member," Raina said flatly. "She'll train with us. Aria, shift."

Aria pulled off her clothes and shifted into her wolf form. She was immediately aware of how small she looked compared to the others. How weak. Her gray fur was dull, her build slight and delicate. Her eyes were too light, almost silver.

The other wolves laughed.

"Looks like a pup," someone said.

"Is she actually part wolf?" another one asked. "She's so small."

Aria's wolf wanted to tuck its tail and run. But she forced herself to step forward.

"She'll start by just getting thrown around," Raina said. "Might as well learn early how this works. Everyone takes turns. Don't kill her."

The first wolf that went at her was maybe twice her size. Aria didn't even try to fight. She just let herself get thrown. She got back up and got thrown again and again and again.

By the time they were done with her, she could barely stand. Every part of her body hurt. There were bruises on top of bruises. When she shifted back to human form, she could barely pull her clothes on.

No one offered to help her and no one even looked at her.

That night, she lay on her bed and cried quietly so no one would hear. Her whole body ached. She was starving but couldn't bring herself to eat the food that was brought to her. All she could think about was her father, and how easily he had given her away.

The next day was the same. And the day after that.

By the fifth day, Aria had stopped crying. She had stopped feeling anything at all. She would get thrown around during training, come back to her room, and lie in bed until she had to do it all over again.

On the sixth day, someone came to her room.

It was Kade. He stood in the doorway, looking at her with an expression she couldn't read.

"What did you do?" he asked.

Aria didn't understand the question. "What?"

"Raina says one of the wolves made a comment about you. About how maybe you're not completely worthless. The comment was disrespectful. That wolf is now in the medical wing with broken bones."

Aria's heart stopped. She hadn't said anything to anyone. She hadn't done anything.

"I didn't do anything," she said.

"I know," Kade replied. "I did it."

He was still looking at her, and there was something intense in his gaze. Something that made her skin prickle with heat and fear all mixed together.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you're mine," Kade said flatly. "And I don't let anyone disrespect what's mine. Even if you're worthless, you're MY worthless. Remember that."

Then he left, closing the door behind him.

Aria sat in the darkness and realized that nothing made sense anymore. Nothing was going to make sense ever again.