The Blood 'D' Species

Chapter 6: Humiliated Before the Alphas

Marina’s POV

The silver-blue light filled the dark, freezing shed. I stared at the cracked mirror in absolute terror.

The letter 'M' was glowing brightly on the back of my neck. It did not look like a normal mark. It looked like ancient magic trapped under my skin. I pressed my cold, trembling hands over it, trying to hide the light.

What does this mean? I panicked, my heart beating frantically against my ribs.

I fell to my knees in the dirt. I grabbed a handful of cold, dark mud from the floor and rubbed it roughly over the back of my neck. I covered the glowing mark completely. The magic light slowly faded away under the thick dirt.

I curled into a tight ball on my thin blanket and closed my eyes. I was terrified. If Alpha Gregor saw the glowing mark, he would kill me. If the dark, crimson-eyed monster in the guest room saw it, he might do something much worse.

The next afternoon, the pack house was busy and loud.

Alpha Gregor was hosting a very important council meeting. Visiting Alphas from neighboring packs had arrived. The great meeting room on the second floor was filled with powerful, dangerous men.

I stood in the hot kitchen, shivering in my clothes. I wore a scratchy, oversized brown wool dress. It was ugly and itchy, hanging loosely off my thin shoulders. I had tied my dull brown hair back with a frayed piece of string. My bare feet were covered in dust. I made sure to leave the thick layer of dark mud on the back of my neck to hide my secret.

"Take this to the council room!" Greta, the head cook, shouted.

She shoved a massive, flat wooden board into my hands. On top of the board were five heavy clay jugs filled with dark red wine, and a dozen silver cups. It was incredibly heavy. My arms immediately started to shake.

"Do not spill a single drop, worthless Omega," Greta hissed, wiping her flour-covered hands on her white apron. "Alpha Thorne from the Blood Moon Pack is here. He is a very cruel man. Do not look at him."

"Yes, Greta," I whispered.

I carried the heavy wooden board out of the kitchen. Every step up the grand staircase was a painful struggle. But the physical pain in my arms was nothing compared to the strange feeling in my chest.

The invisible chain was pulling me again.

It tugged sharply at my heart, dragging me closer to the council room. He was in there. Roland Barclay. Just knowing he was behind those large wooden doors made my breath catch in my throat. My wolf whimpered inside my mind, eager to see him.

I reached the heavy doors and pushed them open with my shoulder.

Roland’s POV

I sat in a massive oak chair at the end of the long council table.

I was completely bored, and my patience was running very thin. I wore a dark black velvet tunic with silver embroidery on the collar, thick black trousers, and heavy leather boots. I kept my arms crossed over my broad chest, staring coldly at the foolish men in the room.

Alpha Gregor was sitting at the head of the table. He was talking about borders and hunting grounds, but I was not listening.

My attention was focused on Alpha Thorne. Thorne was a visiting Alpha from the south. He was a fat, loud, arrogant man wearing a bright red silk shirt covered in heavy gold rings. He smelled like cheap perfume and too much wine. He laughed too loudly and slammed his fists on the table. He was exactly the kind of weak Alpha I despised.

But my wolf was not angry at Thorne. My wolf was restless for a completely different reason.

Where is she? my beast growled inside my mind.

I had been waiting all morning to see the little Omega. I needed to smell her again. I needed to know if the peace she brought to my cursed blood was real, or just a trick of my broken mind.

Suddenly, the air in the room changed.

Before the heavy wooden doors even opened, I smelled her. The sharp, beautiful scent of ozone, lightning, and ancient earth slid under the door and wrapped around my chest. My wolf instantly stopped pacing. A deep, rumbling purr vibrated in my throat.

The doors creaked open.

She walked in. She was wearing an ugly, oversized brown dress that hid her tiny frame. Her beautiful face was looking down at the floor. But what made my blood boil was the massive wooden board in her hands.

It was too heavy for her. Her thin, delicate arms were shaking violently. Her knuckles were white.

I gripped the wooden arms of my chair so tightly that the oak cracked under my fingers. My crimson eyes flared in the dim light. I wanted to stand up, rip the heavy board from her hands, and smash it over Gregor’s head for making her carry it.

Patience, I told my beast. Watch her.

I stayed in my chair, my dark eyes following her every move.

Marina’s POV

I kept my eyes firmly on the floor. I did not look at the powerful men sitting around the large wooden table. I could feel their heavy, dominant auras pressing down on my shoulders, making it hard to breathe.

But one aura was stronger than the rest.

I could feel Roland’s dark, icy presence wrapping around me like a protective blanket. It was terrifying, yet strangely comforting. The invisible chain between us pulsed with a warm, steady heat. I knew his dark eyes were watching me.

I walked carefully to Alpha Gregor’s side. I picked up a heavy clay jug and poured the dark red wine into his silver cup. I did not spill a drop.

Next, I moved to the man in the bright red silk shirt. Alpha Thorne.

He smelled strongly of alcohol and sweat. As I leaned forward to pour his wine, his loud laughter suddenly stopped. He turned his head and looked at me. His watery, yellow eyes stared at my dirty face and my oversized brown dress. A cruel, ugly smile spread across his lips.

"Is this the best servant you have, Gregor?" Thorne asked loudly. His voice was thick and mean.

"She is just a worthless stray, Alpha Thorne," Gregor laughed from the end of the table. "She is the weakest Omega in our pack. Pay no attention to her."

I finished pouring the wine. I tried to step back quickly, desperate to get away from the fat Alpha.

But I was not fast enough.

Thorne’s large, sweaty hand shot out. He grabbed my thin wrist with a brutal, crushing grip.

"Ah!" I gasped, dropping the clay jug. It hit the wooden board with a loud thud.

"She smells like dirt," Thorne sneered, pulling my arm so hard I lost my balance. I stumbled forward, hitting my knee painfully against the side of his heavy wooden chair. "Look at her. She is filthy. An Omega like this does not belong in a room full of Kings."

Panic exploded in my chest. His grip was bruising my skin.

For my entire life, I had been trained to submit. I had been trained to look down, apologize, and take the abuse. But today, something inside me was different.

The ancient magic sleeping in my blood was awake. The glowing 'M' hidden under the mud on my neck suddenly felt burning hot. My wolf, who used to cower in fear, suddenly bared her teeth and snarled wildly in my mind.

I did not apologize.

I yanked my arm backward with all the strength I had. "Don't touch me!" I shouted.

The entire council room went dead silent.

The other Alphas stared at me in absolute shock. An Omega had just raised her voice. An Omega had just defied an Alpha in front of everyone. It was the ultimate crime.

Thorne’s face turned bright purple with sudden, violent rage.

"You dare speak to me, you piece of trash?!" Thorne roared.

He stood up so fast his heavy chair tipped backward and crashed onto the stone floor. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of my brown dress, yanking me roughly into the air. My bare feet dangled above the ground. I choked, grabbing at his thick fingers, completely overpowered by his massive strength.

Thorne raised his other hand. He made a massive fist, wearing heavy gold rings that would easily break my jaw.

"I will teach you how to speak to an Alpha!" Thorne spat.

He pulled his fist back to strike my face. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the bone-crushing pain.

But the punch never landed.

Roland’s POV

The moment the fat pig grabbed her wrist, the fragile thread holding my control snapped.

When she pulled her arm away and bravely yelled, “Don't touch me!”, my wolf roared with deep, fierce pride. That was my mate. She was tiny, she was broken, but she was fighting back.

But when Thorne stood up, grabbed her dress, and raised his heavy fist to strike her beautiful face, my human mind completely shut down.

The Blood ‘D’ curse did not just wake up. It exploded.

My eyes flashed a brilliant, glowing, violent crimson red. The ancient, world-ending power buried in my marrow erupted from my chest like a dark hurricane.

I stood up.

I did not shout. I did not growl. I simply released my full Alpha aura into the room.

The temperature in the grand council room dropped instantly to freezing. The roaring fire in the stone fireplace was violently blown out, plunging the room into dark shadows. The heavy glass windows rattled and cracked under the sudden, immense pressure in the air.

It was not normal Alpha dominance. It was absolute, suffocating terror. It was the weight of a falling mountain.

Every single Alpha in the room, except for Thorne, immediately collapsed to the floor, gasping for air. Gregor hit the stone ground face-first, crying out in pain as the invisible pressure crushed his lungs.

Thorne froze. His raised fist trembled violently in the air. The fat Alpha’s face turned pale white as the suffocating pressure slammed into his chest.

He slowly turned his head to look at me.

I stepped away from my chair. I wore darkness like a royal cloak. The crimson light spilling from my eyes was the only bright color in the freezing room. I did not walk fast. I walked with the slow, deliberate, deadly steps of an executioner.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

My heavy leather boots echoed loudly in the silent room.

"Let her go," I whispered. My voice was a dark, demonic vibration that shook the stone walls.

Thorne was completely paralyzed by fear. His brain could not process the monster walking toward him. His sweaty fingers instantly opened.

Marina dropped to the floor, coughing and holding her chest. My wolf whined at the sound of her pain, fueling the raging fire of violence inside my blood.

I stopped directly in front of Thorne. I was much taller than him. I looked down into his watery, terrified yellow eyes. I could hear his heart beating so fast it sounded like a dying bird. He was trying to breathe, but my aura was slowly suffocating him.

"Alpha Barclay," Thorne choked out, his bright red silk shirt trembling. "She... she disrespected me..."

I tilted my head slowly, looking at him as if he were already a dead man. I raised my hand, the thick black leather of my glove creaking loudly.

"Kneel."