Serilda

The guard gripped my hair so tightly that I felt my scalp burning. He pulled me out of the smelly and dark cell of the dungeon.

“Ahh!” I tried to loosen his grip but the monstrous werewolf guard and a mere human had no comparison when it came to brutal strength.

My knees scraped against the hard floor, bruising as he purposely dragged me out in the open.

Another guard placed silver cuffs on my wrists.

My eyes slowly focused as the daylight hit them. I forgot the swearing pain, seeing the ruin of my territory and pack.

A gasp of pure torture left me.

Bodies of our warriors littered the ground. Their spilt blood dyed it mahogany. Fires rose from most of the buildings that the Alpha king’s men had set alight.

My father, Alpha Ryker, had rebelled against the Alpha King, trying to overthrow him and usurp the throne. Instead, he brought ruin on us. No one dared to go against the strongest and most ruthless man in the entire North and yet my father thought he could defeat him.

He was wrong and now all of us were going to die except the ones who fled like Luna Helia; my step-mother and her children. She purposely left us behind.

Now, I was nothing but a traitor’s daughter and all wrath will fall on me.

The thought made me shudder.

Will the Alpha King execute me and give me a merciful death or will I be humiliated, tortured, raped and made an example of?

The guard dragged me towards the entrance of the great hall, which had been spared.

To my horror, my escaped family members had been captured and gathered there.

Luna Helia, my father's other mistresses and my half-siblings. Everyone had gathered there. It meant she was captured and her escape attempt turned futile.

Gamma Kaiser, one of the fiercest warriors of Alpha King's army, was standing with his battle axe arched on his shoulder. The metallic edge gleamed under the light.

It was only last week when he had come to deliver messages from Alpha King and today he appeared as an executioner.

“Kneel,” he ordered in an authoritative voice. The guards dragged forward a man shackled in silver chains. Kicking him in the shins, they kneelt him in front of Gamma Kaiser.

I sucked in a choked breath, seeing it was my half-brother, Adrian.

Horror was etched on every line of Adrian’s face.

“Please…spare my life. I won't run again…” he pleaded on his knees.

His thoughts were a mess and my heart trembled as they slipped into my mind.

Gamma Kaiser had donned his black and grey royal leather uniform. His face was void of all emotions.

“You tried to escape. Your father led a rebellion against the kingdom. For these crimes, I sentence you to death.”

Gamma Kaiser lifted his heavy metallic axe and swung.

“Noooo, wait!” I screamed but Adrian’s head rolled on the ground. His lifeless torso landed with a loud thud.

Every captive who had been kneeling began to cry and beg for mercy seeing the end Adrian had met.

A chaos of intermingled thoughts hit me, screaming in my head.

My body went numb making a shiver slither down my spine.

Gamma Kaiser appeared unfazed by the execution he had carried out. Tossing his battle axe towards one of the guards he turned his attention towards me.

A crease crossed his forehead as he addressed the guard. “Serilda is a human. She doesn't need silver chains. Remove them,” he ordered.

The guard quickly moved and began to remove the chains. The lewdness in his eyes and the smirk he held showed he had evil intentions. His thoughts echoed in my mind, making disgust roll over me in abundance. He was thinking of having his way with me.

I wanted to bash his face in. Revulsion weaved through me when his slimy fingers grazed against my skin.

Bastard!

I tried to squirm away from the sleazeball.

Gamma Kaiser stood in front and addressed us.

“Listen, you all. Every pack member who has yielded and will kneel to the Alpha King, might be spared.” He folded his thick arms over his hulking chest. His eyes maliciously darted over my family members.

“But the family of the traitor Ryker Dominus will pay the price for the rebellion. Their fate will solely lie in the hands of the Alpha King.” He snorted. “Basically, you all are going to die.”

More cries followed his words. My heart sank inside my chest. There were innocent family members. There were children like my half-twin siblings; Imara and Rian. They were huddled a few feet away from me with their eyes closed, silent prayers on their trembling lips.

He couldn't be this callous to kill children.

As if to answer my very question, amidst the wrecking chaos of wailing women and terrified children, a hush fell over.

“Alpha King Xarik Nightshade is here. Kneel and bow if you wish to keep your heads,” Gamma Kaiser warned.

People scrambled, and panic ensued. Everyone bowed, no one dared to look up except me.

He entered the hall with the grace of a panther, like materialising out of the shadows. He filled the entire space with his presence. Everyone, even his guards and Gamma dwarfed around him.

A black fur coat adorned his heavily muscled shoulders. He wore nothing underneath on his torso, leaving his perfectly toned abs on display. The leather pants hugged his thick thighs.

My gaze slowly lifted to his face. Carved to perfection his lips were like an archer’s dip. A refined, upturned nose and shoulder-length lightly curled raven hair.

But it was the eyes that had me mesmerised. Silver, as if the moon goddess herself descended in them and left her mark. Glowing with an unearthly shine.

For a second I was lost in his gaze. There was something magical about his lustrous eyes which drew me in.

Thoughts? What did his thoughts say though?

I tried to concentrate and listen through my mind-reading abilities.

But! Oh! What?

It was like hitting a brick wall and slamming on the ground.

His thoughts were concealed and for the first time, I had come across a man whose thoughts I couldn't hear.

That terrified me beyond words. For this was my one secret that protected me against men.