ELISE
I could hardly contain the agonizing scream that tore from my throat as I heard the final cry of my mother. My father—Chief Dexton—had snapped her neck, killing her in cold blood the moment he discovered I wasn’t his.
I fought the queasiness rising in my chest, swallowing the bile that threatened to choke me. I tried to pull myself up, but a harsh tug on my wrist reminded me where I was—and who I was with.
Even though I couldn’t shift or control her, I could feel my half-wolf stirring, enraged. I snarled, baring my teeth at Kyren. “Let me go!”
“Shut the hell up. You’re mine now, so act like it.”
Before I could fight back, his fist connected with my face. The force whipped my head to the side, and I collapsed onto the gravel, my cheek scraping against the rough surface. My vision blurred, and the last thing I saw was Kyren’s smug face as his father, Jon, chuckled beside him.
“Good night, sweetheart.”
The world went black, and a single burning tear escaped my eye—a tear filled with hatred, sadness, and a vow of revenge.
When I woke, my body ached in ways I’d never experienced before. I tried to sit up, but the unstable platform beneath me shifted. I wasn’t on the altar anymore. I wasn’t even in the pack.
I was inside a caged carriage, surrounded by male guards cloaked in dark red, their insignias marking them as Darknight wolves. My heart sank.
I glanced down and saw heavy chains binding my wrists and ankles. Though I wore clothes, they were little more than rags—an insult my father must have ensured. My father, who was now a murderer.
The memory of my mother’s screams crashed over me. That monster wasn’t my father anymore.
“The little princess is finally awake!” one of the guards jeered, prompting laughter from the others.
The carriage slowed, and I caught sight of the looming gates of the Darknight Pack. Panic clawed at me. If I was taken inside, there would be no escape.
“Let me out of here!” I screamed, pulling against the chains. Pain shot through my wrists, but I didn’t care.
“Shut up!” a Delta guard snapped.
I froze, stunned by his blatant disrespect. A Delta wolf dared speak to me like that. Clearly, Chief Jon had spread word of my illegitimacy.
Footsteps approached, and a young male with a higher rank than the Delta barked, “Alpha Kyren wants her in the hall now.”
The guards yanked me from the carriage and dragged me into a grand, candlelit hall. Dark gray stones lined the walls and pillars, creating a cavernous, oppressive atmosphere. At its center stood a throne—Kyren’s throne.
He lounged on it as though born to rule, his dirty blonde hair slicked back, his roguishly handsome face twisted in a smirk.
“There she is,” he murmured, rising and striding toward me.
“You rejected me, Kyren. Why am I still here? Let me go!” I demanded, my voice trembling with rage.
He laughed, gripping my chin between his fingers. “You’d rather I banish you? Let you become a filthy rogue? Imagine—a highborn princess reduced to nothing. A pity, don’t you think?”
“It’s better to be a rogue than to stay here with you!” I spat.
His expression darkened, and he dropped his hand, a cruel smile playing on his lips. “Lucky for you, I’m in a good mood. We’re holding a festival tonight—a celebration of my ascension to alpha. Too bad one part of the plan didn’t work out, but the show must go on. My father promised me the throne if I took you from your pack, and I did. So now, I am king.”
His words turned my stomach. I was nothing more than a pawn in a game between him and his father—a tool to secure his throne.
Loud cheers erupted outside the hall, the sound of hundreds of wolves celebrating.
“What’s going on?” I asked, panic rising in my chest.
“You’ll see,” he replied smugly, signaling for a guard to shove me forward.
Each step was agony, but I refused to let Kyren see my pain.
We emerged into a large arena, its centerpiece a battle pit surrounded by roaring wolves. My heart sank as I realized what was happening.
Two contestants entered the pit. The first was a massive red-haired man with feral eyes and a smug grin. He beat his chest, eliciting cheers from the crowd. When his gaze landed on me, lust burned in his eyes, making my skin crawl.
The second man entered in stark contrast. The crowd fell silent as he stepped into the arena. Dark hair clung to his sweat-drenched skin, and his body bore deep, fresh gashes—marks of countless battles.
His face was obscured by a muzzle, a clear sign of how dangerous he was. His very presence sent shivers through the crowd.
I glanced at Kyren, whose eyes betrayed a flicker of jealousy before his smug mask returned.
“Ka’al,” Kyren drawled. “Once again, you’ve bested one of my best men.”
Ka’al climbed the podium where I stood, his dark, piercing gaze meeting mine. A strange, electrifying sensation coursed through me, raising the hairs on my skin. I quickly looked away, wanting nothing to do with this beast of a man.
Kyren turned to the crowd, his voice booming. “This duel will be special. I’ve brought a gift for you all—the princess of the Darknight Pack herself!”
The crowd roared with excitement, their cheers ringing in my ears.
“And to make it more interesting,” Kyren continued, his voice dripping with malice, “the winner of this duel will claim her as his prize!”
The words hit me like a blow to the chest. My blood turned to ice. He was offering me as a trophy to be used and abused by whichever monster emerged victorious.
I trembled with fear, bile rising in my throat. “K-Kyren—”
He ignored me, signaling for the duel to begin.
The red-haired man shifted into his wolf form instantly, a massive and terrifying creature. But Ka’al remained in his human form, his bloody wounds still fresh.
I watched in horror as the red wolf attacked with relentless ferocity. Ka’al dodged with precision but struggled to keep up.
Then the wolf found an opening, sinking its teeth into Ka’al’s shoulder. His scream of agony echoed through the arena, and the crowd roared.
I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to watch—but the crowd’s gasps forced me to look.
Ka’al had moved faster than humanly possible. In one swift motion, he crushed the red wolf’s skull.
Blood splattered across the pit as the wolf fell, lifeless.
Ka’al stood victorious, his bloodied form towering over the fallen beast.
The crowd erupted in cheers, but my heart sank.
He was the winner.
And I was his prize.