Vladimir
When I open my eyes, I find myself in the stables, laying on my back on my mattress with my thin and dirty blanket is covering my body. The scent and the neigh of the horses are familiar and comforting to me, as I have been sleeping in the stables for many years.
I am not sure for how long I have been unconscious because it is dark in the stable, and I know it is during the night.My body throbs with pain, but after years of torture, the pain has become part of my life. But my life hasn't always been like this. There had been a time when I had a family, and I lived in a Rogue Community. There had been a time when I was not a slave or part of the Silver Pack. It's not a big pack; around a hundred werewolves live here. We live close to Târgoviște in Romania.As I shift on the mattress, I wonder who brought me here because the last thing I remember is being in the kitchen, Alpha Max beating me until I blacked out.I try to get to my left side, and a hiss of pain escapes my lips as I feel my ribs screaming in protest at my movements. I am sure that I have at least two cracked ribs—possibly three. After having my bones broken so many times, two cracked ribs are nothing. By tomorrow night, they will be healed.Thunders sounds in the distance, and soon I scent the smell of rain. When I hear it falling on the roof of the stable, I am glad that Alpha Andrei, the former Alpha of the pack and Alpha Max's father, let me sleep in the stable because, in my first five years as a slave I slept in a dog kennel, because Alpha Max was scared I would run away. I did try to run once when I was fifteen, but I got caught an hour later. When I remember the torture I received that night after Alpha Andre caught me, I shiver in fear. I wasn't able to walk for two weeks. Ana and Mrs. Radu took care of me until I got well enough to walk again.I move once more on the mattress, trying to get in a better position, when I see someone entering the stables. My whole body tenses, expecting to hear Alpha Max's voice at any second. Whoever entered the stables stops moving and looks at me.I inhale as deeply as I can while my ribs scream in protest, and when I smell a familiar vanilla scent, I relax."Ana, what are you doing hiding in the shadows? And why are you here? It is raining outside!" I say in a raspy voice. Even talking hurts, and I feel like needles are stuck in my throat.Ana start's moving again, and she is next to my mattress, she stops, puts an umbrella next to the wall, and kneels. She is wearing a hoodie and a pair of jeans and has a backpack with her. Her brown hair is tied in a ponytail."I wasn't sure you were awake," Ana tells me. "How are you feeling?""Like I have been tortured for a whole night," I say, looking at her face. Lightning illuminates the sky for a few moments, and I can see Ana's face. I frown when I see a bruise on her left cheek. "You are hurt. What happened?" I ask her.Ana touched her cheek. "It is nothing. I was concerned about you earlier, and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, so I tripped and hit a wall," she says fast."Ana, we have been friends for a long time. I know when you are lying," I tell her, looking into her brown eyes."It's nothing, alright?" she says and turns her attention to the backpack.Ana has been my only friend since I was twelve. I know her better than she thinks. "Who hit you? Was it Alpha Max?" When she stiffens, I know I am right. It is one thing to hit me, a male, and an entirely different thing to hit a female. I am so mad because I know it happened because of me. "Tell me what happened," I tell her softly.She closes her eyes and sighs. "When I entered the kitchen and saw you passed out and him kicking you in the ribs, I knew I had to do something. So, I tried to step between you and him, and he hit me with his elbow. I don't think he realized. Mikael and Sergei saw everything and stopped Alpha Max before he could hit me again. Mikael even had a few harsh words for him for hitting me," Ana explains.Mikael is a Gamma, a teacher, and Ana's soulmate. But she didn't want to accept him because he treated me like anyone else. When she turned eighteen years old, three years ago, Mikael felt the bond between them. He tried to convince Ana to accept him. But she refused him, telling him she won't be the soulmate of someone that treats me poorly. So now he mostly ignores me. And spends most of his free time tagging behind Ana.Another person who got hurt because of me. Every day I hate myself more and more."I am sorry you got hurt because of me," I tell her.She takes some clothes from the backpack and puts them on the mattress next to me. "It is not your fault," she tells me softly. I know she is trying to comfort me, but no matter what she says, it is my fault. "Let me help you change," she tells me.It takes me a few minutes to get in a sitting position. I try to unbutton my shirt, but my fingers shake."Let me," Ana says, and I let her help me.Once my shirt is off, Ana helps me put on a clean t-shirt and a sweater. Then her hands go to my pants, but I stop her."I will change those," I tell her.She snorts, "I have seen you naked more times than I can remember."I bet she has because she helped more times than I can remember. But that doesn't mean I am going to let her take my pants off."What would Mikael say if he walked in and saw you helping me change into a pair of jeans?""Fuck Mikael!"I shake my head in disapproval, "He is your soulmate, Ana."The Moon Goddess blessed her children with only one soulmate per werewolf. Soulmates are usually a perfect match."I would rather have a companion than accept him.""Who brought me here?" I ask, changing the subject."My father and me. My mother is blaming herself for what happened."I close my eyes and try to inhale deeply as I can. My ribs protest, and a low hiss of pain escape my lips. Moments later, I open my eyes, look at her, and say, "She gave me food. Tell her it is not her fault that I got caught."Ana nods, "I already told her that, but you know how she is." She bites her lower lip, "You have to escape."Just thinking about escaping makes the hair from the back of my neck stand up. "You know I can't. The things they did to me that time, Ana. I don't think I can go through it once again.""This time, it will be different," Ana tells me. "I will help you."I shake my head, "I refuse to put you in danger!""Please, V! One of these days, he will kill you!"I close my eyes and think about it. Death won't be such a bad idea. After all, I have died the moment I killed her. I should have died the same night as the Rogue Community that I was part of got destroyed by Alpha Andrei. But he kept me alive to torture me and punish me. And I deserve everything and so much more.But to die and be with her and my family again is something I craved for so long."I don't care if he kills me. Actually, I hope he does," I say.Ana punches my shoulder. "Don't you ever say that again!" she snaps at me. I grunt in pain, and Ana's eyes go wide with shock. "I am sorry!" She inhales deeply, "Listen to me! I have thought things over. We will escape on Alpha Max's birthday. I have been saving up money so we can start over in a new place, far away from here.""Ana–""Damn it, V! Twelve years have passed since then! How much longer are you going to punish yourself?"Twelve years since I took her life. And because of me, so many innocents died that day. Even if I live a thousand years, it won't be enough to pay for my crimes.It's pouring outside as I say, "All my life."Lightning illuminates the sky while Ana takes some sandwiches from the backpack and gives it to me. "Eat," she tells me.My stomach growls with hunger, but I am also angry at her for putting herself in danger like that."Are you crazy?" I ask. "What if anyone caught you sneaking in here and bringing food to me!""It's the middle of the night, V. Everyone is asleep."Before I am even aware of what I am doing, I take one of the sandwiches with my right hand and bite it."Thank you for the food," I tell her and take another big bite."We are leaving on Alpha Max's birthday!" Ana says. I open my mouth to protest, but Ana keeps talking, "Please, V! I can't stand seeing you getting beat up day after day.""Do you have any idea what he will do to me if he catches me trying to run?""All I know is what he is doing to you daily."I finish eating the sandwich, and I already feel full. I give Ana the remainings one. "I can't eat another one."She puts them in the backpack and looks at me, "Do you think I can sit next to you on the mattress?""Let me change my pants, and then you can crawl in with me," I say.Ana rolls her eyes but stands and goes to look at her favorite horse. I unzip my pants, inhale as deep as possible, lift my hips and push my pants as low as possible while I look at Ana whispering something to the horse. I grit my teeth while I put the jeans on.Ana returns minutes later and lays on the mattress next to me."Let me tell you my plan," Ana tells me.I want to protest, but I feel so tired, so I let her speak.I fall asleep listening to her soft voice.Elena As I look at the burned buildings of the Mountain Pack, I tie my hair in a ponytail. I frown while I try to assess how much the repairs will cost. Of course, some buildings will have to be rebuilt.Mark moves to my left, but I don't say a word as I keep looking at the Pack House. Half of it perished in the fire. I frown while I try to think how the pack members will live until they have the new buildings.Less than sixteen hours ago, the Mountain Pack was attacked by a pack of rogue wolves. I still don't understand how the rogues managed to do so much damage to this pack."How many dead?" I ask Alpha Dan, the Alpha of the pack.From the corner of my right eye, I see how Alpha Dan scratches the back of his head before talking, "Ten dead and twenty-three wounded.""And what the fuck were the Enforcers doing? Play fucking cards while the rogues attacked?" I snap at the Alpha.Each pack of werewolves has at least ten Enforcers or more, depending on the size of the pack and the terri
Vladimir Like most nights, nightmares haunt me. For fifteen years, night after night, I relive that day when I took her life. After that, I dream of being tortured by Alpha Max. His father was cruel, but Alpha Max is ten times crueler.I wake up breathing hard, and I feel a body pressed to me, and I try to get away from whoever it is. A hiss of pain escapes my lips as I fall from the mattress."V? It's Ana!"When I hear her voice, I relax. I know I am safe with her."Sorry," I mumble. "I had a nightmare."I grit my teeth and crawl back on the mattress. When I am lying next to her, Ana asks me, "The dungeons?"Between Ana and me, there are no secrets. She is the only one that hasn't treated me like a criminal. The only one that never harmed me. Her and her family."Yes," I say in a flat tone."Every time I remember what they did to you in there, my blood boils in anger!" Ana says.Even if Ana is four years younger than me and was only eight years when I was brought into the pack. She w
Elena For about four days, Mark, William, and I visit packs from Sibiu and Brașov. No matter how fast I move, the rogues and vampires are two steps ahead of me.As we leave the last pack that was attacked behind, a growl escapes my lips."Every time you growl, I feel like hiding. You are scarier than an Alpha male," Mark says.I look at Mark. He is driving the car."Scared of a female, Mark?"William, sitting in the back seat, laughs, "Dude, you are not just a female. You are Elena."Mark chuckles, "Packs use your name to scare little pups. I am scared of you, and I am an adult."I look out the window and look at how the sunlight filters through the canopy of the trees before I say, "It does not matter who I am if I can't stop Mihnea."'One day, we will kill him,' Mia, my wolf, says.While I talk a lot and say what the fuck I want, Mia is quieter and thinks before she speaks. But she had been my other half since the day I turned fourteen, and I would not change anything about her or o
VladimirAna insists we escape, and to be honest, in the last few days, I have started to think more and more about freedom. After the beating Beta Stefan gave me, I made sure not to make any more mistakes. The first two nights after my last beating, Ana brought me more food, but on the second night, after she left the stables, Alpha Max almost caught her, and she stopped coming to the stables.I spent a lot of time cleaning and decorating the Pack House for the Alpha's birthday. Tables and chairs have been put in the big dining room, while in the kitchen, food and drinks that have been prepared are waiting to be served. "You should eat something!" Mrs. Radu says and puts a plate with food on the table.I remember what happened the last time she gave me food, and I a take step back."I am fine," I say.She pulls a chair. "Alpha Max is too busy to notice you. So eat everything; you need your energy for tonight!" Mrs. and Mr. Radu know about Ana's plan to escape the Silver Pack. We wi
Vladimir Three Enforcers drag me to the dungeons while four pack members take Ana and her parents. I try to free myself from the Enforcers, but one of them takes out a taser and uses it on me until I stop struggling. Fortunately, they don't do anything to Ana or her parents. When we reach the dungeons, we are taken to different cells. There are bloodstains on the walls and the floor of the cell the Enforcers take me to. A pole dressed in silver is in the middle, and a male removes my t-shirt and ties me to it with special zip ties. After that, I am left alone in the cell. I struggle to get free, but the harder I pull, the more the zip ties seem to cut into my wrists. Derayu tries to speak to me, but I block him. Screams coming from Ana and her parents start a few minutes later. Son of a bitch! Alpha Max will make me listen to how he hurts the only people who care about me before torturing me. Nothing would have happened if I had insisted to Ana that I didn't want to escape. "T-T
Elena The trip to Silver Pack takes more time than I expected. We were on a lonely road when a group of vampires and rogues attacked us. Between Mark, William, and I, we killed them fast. After we got rid of the bodies, I saw that one of my bolts got stuck in one of the car tires. While Mark and William changed the tire, I thought of the slave. The rest of the way to Silver Pack, I keep thinking about Max and the phone call, and it makes no sense. Slaves have been a commodity for many generations and were usually humans, members of enemy packs, or rogues. In the beginning, the slaves were treated like Omegas, but with time, Alphas and other werewolves started mistreating the slaves. Females were given to warriors and used for pleasure and breeding, while the males were put to do most of the work inside the pack. After many years of suffering, an Alpha and Luna Supreme decided enough was enough and abolished slavery. Of course, there were still Alphas that chose to do the opposite an
Elena William does not waste any time, and with a strong kick, he breaks the door. Inside, two males are behind a desk and are staring at a laptop. I am positive the one with black hair is Max, while I don’t recognize the one with brown hair. They are so absorbed by what they see on the laptop they don’t hear the noise caused by the broken door or me getting inside. Close to the desk, sitting on a chair, is a young female. From her scent, I know she is an Omega—not that I care about ranks. Her palms cover her face, and her shoulders are shaking. While no sound is coming from her, I know she is crying silently. Her clothes are ripped and torn and full of blood, and she has injuries all over her body. “Morţii mă-sii,” (His/Her mother’s dead relatives) William swears before he removes his jacket, walks over to the female, and puts it over her shoulders before lifting her in his arms. It is only then that she notices us. Her eyes fill with fear and more tears. Her mouth parts, and her bo
Elena Stefan is out of my reach; otherwise, I would have slapped him into the next week. William growls so loud I hear his chest vibrating, and Stefan takes a step backward. “Let me guess, that is the slave. Call off the wolves and have the male brought here!” I ordered Max and snap my fingers. Anger flashes in his eyes before he does as I ask him. “Stop the chasing!” he yells into a microphone he has on the desk. The wolves obey, and from what I see on the laptop, the male falls to his knees as soon as the wolves stop running. They shift into their human form and drag the slave after them. I watch the laptop a moment more before my attention turns to Max. “I want the slave’s file!” I say. I know Max does not want to give it to me, but he puts a hand in his right pocket, takes out a set of keys, unlocks the top drawer of his desk, and reluctantly gives the file to me. I open it and look at the only page that is inside. My eyes scan it fast, and I have a strange feeling, but I shr