BLOOD OF THE FIRST

CHAPTER 06

It’s been a month since Freya left. A month since the Demon Wolf went missing. A month since the soldiers turned their aggression on us. We’re constantly beaten, starved, and overworked. At least now they’ve stopped taking advantage of us.

If only I could get away from here.

If only I could get to Freya.

She needs to know. Before the full moon, she needs to know who she is.

I’ve been so used to being favored that I forgot what pain is. This pain is getting more unbearable by the hour. What have I gotten myself into?

“Merlyn?” a small voice called out.

Oh God, no. Ava!

“Ava?” I called out in a cracked, painful voice, and a very frail-looking girl appeared. She looks twelve rather than eighteen—a new Dormant Blood.

“Oh, Merlyn,” she said in tears, holding onto my shackled legs hanging in the air.

I’ve been chained like an X, feet and hands stretched so far I feel like my skin will rip.

“It’s fine, Ava. Don't look. It doesn't hurt enough,” I told her, trying to console her. I know it must break her heart to see me this way.

“Stop lying, Merlyn. You’re in pain. Why do you always risk yourself to protect us?”

I tried to laugh but couldn't. Pristine had been my mentor and only friend when I first came here. She made my stay less traumatic. She taught me everything I needed to know to survive in here, and when she died, I vowed to continue what she started: helping the girls stay together and comfortable to the best of my ability.

I heard the shuffling of feet and my eyes instantly grew wide in panic. Ava must not be seen here. I tried to warn her, but she wasn’t bothered; it turned out it was the rest of the girls—not all of them, but some.

They came to stand in front of me like we were having a meeting.

The situation would have made me laugh if not for the fact that it looked as though they were hiding something—or someone. I looked at them as curiously as I could manage.

That was when they started parting and I saw her… Cara… the one who put me in this situation. Apparently, Cara had wanted my favored position; she had wanted to be me and, instead of going through it the right way, she didn’t.

She snitched on me.

The soldiers knew Freya couldn’t have escaped on her own, so they needed answers. They’ve been using all sorts of tricks and threats to make us give in, but we didn’t; we had a story we stuck to.

Due to her selfishness, Cara went ahead and snitched on me… on us. She didn’t just put me in danger; she put the girls in danger too, because now they know the girls knew about it all along and refused to talk.

Staring at her now, I didn’t know what to feel. Should it be anger? Or disappointment? Or pain?

I can’t blame her entirely, though. All of this wouldn’t have happened if I had kept the story of the Demon Wolf to myself.

She knelt in front of me, sobbing quietly and apologizing. The other girls got emotional as well and started crying. I couldn’t help but shed tears of my own.

I wept for them.

I wept for me.

I wept for all we had to go through.

I wept for being a part of this cursed clan in the first place.

I wept for the dead girls.

Then I wept for Freya, for whatever she’s going through alone at this point.

“It’s okay, everyone. It’s going to be okay,” I said in an attempt to console them. I told Cara to stand.

“I’m not mad at you, Cara. At least, not anymore. Just promise to look after them. Promise to stand by them. It’s us against them, not us against us. Don’t let them divide us,” I said weakly, coughing up blood.

Cara nodded amidst her tears.

Then an idea came to me. I took my time to think about it.

“Cara...” I started.

“Yes, Merlyn,” she answered in a small voice.

“Can you get me out of here?” I asked cautiously.

I saw the wheels turning in her head. What I’m asking of her is hard and extremely dangerous. She would have to steal the keys, unchain me, and return the keys before they notice they're missing.

Before she could talk, I continued, “I need to get out, Cara. I need to find Freya and deliver a message. Only Freya can save us.”

I don’t know if she can be trusted now, but I don’t have any other options. She’s the only one who can get to the keys—the only one who can get me out.

She bit her nails nervously, then looked up at me.

“Y-yes, I think I can,” she said.

Good.

We were planning how to make it easy for her when a torch came our way. The girls quickly ducked, but it was too late. Three guards were running toward us, and I urged the girls to run before they got caught. I didn’t need them getting caught before they could get the keys.

They need to be on their good sides.

“Bastards!” I said as loud as I could when the guards got to my side.

They all stopped and turned to me.

“What did you say?” the shortest among them asked.

“You heard me. I called you bastards,” I said, trying to buy the girls time to escape and hoping with everything in me that it works.

They were momentarily shocked, and I took advantage of that.

“Your w***e mothers couldn’t identify your fathers, could they?” I asked.

And that did it. They all turned on me, hitting me with their fists. Everyone knew their story; they were like the clan’s outcasts, so they worked really hard to become guards and gain a little respect for themselves. It was the only nerve I could strike.

I feel my already weak body growing weaker. But I can’t die now; I need to hang on to life. I need to be strong for the girls and for Freya.

Freya. My mind drifted to her. I need to find her. She needs to know.

I don’t know how long I was beaten for, but they eventually grew tired, or maybe satisfied.

“Maybe that will teach you a lesson,” the short one said.

“Watch your mouth next time, okay?” the weird-looking one said, demanding a response.

I laughed, even though it didn’t come out, and whispered, “Yes. Bastard.”

I knew they weren’t allowed to touch me unless given instructions to do so, and with this, they had trespassed.

And maybe I had too, because the next second, a sharp claw tore at my stomach and a gut-wrenching scream tore from my lips.

He was about to strike me again when someone hit him hard.

I didn’t need to look before I knew who it was. Steve. His scent is stuck in my head.

He faced the other two, breathing hard, claws out and ready to shift when I called to him weakly.

“Steve...”

He turned to me immediately and the guys used the opportunity to run away. Steve outranked them, so it was only natural for them not to want to get involved with him.

He came over, tore a part of his clothes, and wrapped it around my stomach to stop the bleeding.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” he said, but I shook my head. I didn't want him to get in trouble. He has come too far as a young warrior.

“The girls are on it. If you want to help, make sure their plan goes smoothly,” I told him.

He nodded gently. He bent down to kiss my bloodied feet before turning to leave.

I teared up instantly, but I reminded myself to be strong.

I just need to make it through the night.

Make it through the night.

Make it through the night.

That was the only thing ringing in my head before I blacked out.