"I thought I knew you!" I gritted, struggling against my captors. I tried to shift to overpower them, but I couldn't. I tried calling my wolf mentally, but she wasn't responding. Whatever it was they injected me with was taking action fast.
They dragged me up to the circus-like wagon carrying a cage big enough for a bear and threw me in. I collapsed on the cold floor, my limbs slightly jerking.
I managed to sit up. I felt my blood boil as he slipped his hand around the enemy's waist. My fists were clenched, my nails biting into my palm.
Ariadne's face was filled with sadistic pleasure. She clapped her hands with a sinister smile "How does it feel, Alpha Diane?" She asked, her voice raw with mockery.
They both started to approach me. "How does it feel now that you've gone from being an overlord ruler to a small animal in my cage?"
"Ariadne!" My anger spilled and I yelled angrily, grasping the bars of the cage. Immediately, I recoiled, falling back as I let out a sharp grunt. An excruciating pain coursed through my palms, sending shockwaves throughout my body.
I winced, agony etching on my face. I stared at my burnt flesh with dread.
"Lovely right?" Ariadne giggled. "The bars are made of silver" she chimed excitedly.
I glared at her, heaving. My wounds refused to heal, and I felt the pain increase with each labored breath I took. What did they do to me?
I looked up at him wearily. He seemed so happy standing by the enemy's side. I called out to him "Brother, why have you done this? You said you have my back." So why did he betray the Pack?
Daniel looked at me with incredulous eyes "You really thought I'd live the rest of my life under your shadow? Just because you're the chosen one?"
I shook my head slowly "That choice was neither of ours to make"
"You were a mistake, Diane," he cut in. "I am male, I should've been born the Lunar Alpha, not you. The prophecy should've chosen me, instead, it wants me to bow at your feet and worship you as my Alpha"
"I never asked for any of that" my voice broke. "You're my twin brother, Dan, I care about you! I swore to even give you half of everything I have, including the Pack" Why did he betray me? He brought the enemy to our domain to capture me in my throne room. Why?
"Half?" He scoffed. "Why should I settle for less when I can rule it all?" His arm around Ariadne's waist tightened as he pulled her closer.
"This isn't right" I muttered. Right in front of me, they locked lips, letting out soft moans as they explored each other's mouths. I had the urge to spit but I held myself.
They parted with Ariadne giving me a look. Daniel said "Ariadne is my fated mate" I stared at him like he was spouting nonsense "You and I both know that that's a lie"
As he stared daggers at me, he commanded the enemy's Pack warriors "Take her away." With a chuckle, Ariadne added, "Make sure to display her when you get to Pack." Her eyes narrowed "Let my people see the gift that my father failed to acquire"
I couldn't think of anything more humiliating. Displaying a fallen Alpha to the enemy's Pack is worse than death itself. My face fell. I lost my dignity, my pride, and my people.
Silence settled as we rode through the dense path of Maven, the lush land on which the Arch Howlers Pack dwelt. Inside of me, I called out:
"Leia?" The silence that greeted me was disheartening.
Unlike many, I could communicate with my wolf fluently. She was like the best friend I never asked for. She knew when and how to charge in, and was probably the reason why I remained sane despite managing a Pack on my own.
I sighed.
I was injected with a wolf's-bane. I looked at my hands, the wounds were yet to heal. I let out another tired sigh. I hoped its effects were temporary. I couldn't imagine a life without Leia.
I stared at the horses' behinds and the backs of the men riding them. I cleared my throat, saying hoarsely "Stop the carriage, I need to do my lady business"
The two men exchanged glances, with one replying rudely "Do it in there and pipe down"
My brows snapped together "What!"
The other one laughed. "Yeah, do it there. We have our backs to you; we're not going to peep." his voice was etched with mockery.
My anger spiked "Do you have any idea who I am? What I can do?" I asked angrily, but they paid me no attention. The first scoffed "We easily took down your pack. You stand no chance against our Alpha. You're nobody"
His words were a slap to my face, shutting me up completely. My jaw set, my teeth clenching. I felt so stupid. I always knew Daniel was jealous of me, but I tried to overlook his feelings.
Out of his anger and jealousy, he led Ariadne to my Pack warriors, where they killed the majority of them, with a few fighting for their lives, and led her to dethrone me and steal my wolf.
I should've been more cautious with Dan. Now I'm here sitting in the middle of the carriage, sulking as a result of my ignorance.
The ride lasted until sundown. We reached a ship dock at the border of Arch Howlers Pack. As they dragged me out of the cage, my eyes landed on the pirate-like ship anchored at the ship dock.
'Are going to transport me in that?' I asked inwardly.
They bound my hands with old metal shackles like a slave and pulled me up the plank. The two that brought me began to converse with the crew of the ship. I couldn't sense their forms, but I had reason to believe they were also members of Ariadne's Pack.
I watched them keenly. The language they spoke to each other was unfamiliar to me making it hard to tell what or who they were talking about.
I felt my skin crawl as one of them suddenly looked at me. The look in his eyes was like that of a predator sizing its prey. I narrowed my eyes at him with an unwavering gaze. If he thought I was scared, then he was far from the truth of knowing who I really was.
As soon as they finished talking, they turned to me. "Toss her in with the others," they said, making my mind reel. What others were they talking about?
They took me down to the hold of the ship and shoved me into another cage. I hissed, my body colliding with the cold ground. I struggled to sit up, my hands bound uncomfortably behind my back. I managed to sit, leaning my back against the cage's bars— luckily they were made of metal and not silver.
My chest heaved with an unexplainable feeling of exhaustion. I felt weak…..it had been a long time since I had that feeling.
Suddenly, I started to hear whispers. My eyes snapped up to the dark side of the cage.