Alora.
“Listen to me Alora, you mean nothing to us,” My mother said to me.
I had just turned five years old today and I had been foolish enough to ask for a birthday gift. My mother, who was a striking beauty with blonde hair and bright green eyes, glared at me.
I remembered calling her an angel or a princess many times because of how her blonde hair glowed. But that was just the outside of the person I called mother. Because on the inside, she was cruel and unforgiving, at least to me.
My father was a quiet man with brown curly hair and hazel eyes that were behind big round glasses. He was extremely quiet and did everything my mother asked him to without any excuse.
Most days I thought he was just a normal wolf with a low self esteem who thought he deserved someone as beautiful as my mother so he listened to her and worshiped the ground she walked on.
But as time flew I knew he was just as twisted as her.
A silent cry escaped my lips as my mother pulled my ear and dragged me out of the house. I tried to hold back the tears because she hated it. She hated seeing me cry, claiming it was a pathetic look and no one would fall for my tears.
“Do you see this house?” She pointed to the little cottage we lived in just at the outskirts of our pack. The Alpha had banished us here after my mother had given birth to me.
The house was old, it’s woods were broken and a few creaked under our footsteps very often. It had only one bedroom so I slept very often in the sitting room on a run down sofa without any blankets.
“We live here because of you! You caused all of this!” My mother yelled, pulling my ear higher and making me stand on my toes and almost screaming in pain.
The pain from my ear didn’t hurt as much as her words as it tore me from the inside out.
“Don’t you know we wolves are social animals. We live together, run together and do everything together. But you don’t know what that means because you don’t have a wolf. You’re so worthless, there’s no use for you. If the Alpha didn’t want you I would have killed you myself!” She spat at me before pushing me to the rough floor.
My heart sank and this time I couldn’t hide the tears anymore as the tears escaped my eyes. I kept my gaze on the floor as I didn’t want my mother to find out.
“Go fetch the firewood, your father wants to eat.” She snapped at me, boring glares into my back before walking back to the house leaving me outside.
I sat on the floor for a few more minutes mentally cursing myself for being wolfless. It hadn’t been my fault that I was born on a moonless night. Infact, none of these was my fault and sometimes I found it hard to really understand my parents.
The sun heated against my back, and the tiny stones and branches pinched my knees and I wiped my eyes, rising to my feet before snatching a cutlass and heading to the woods.
I tied my skirts, exposing my feet as I walked deeper into the woods looking for the perfect tree to cut down it’s branches when I heard the sound of branches breaking.
Someone was here!
I quickly turned to the direction of the footsteps, eagerly waiting for someone to come out because no one ever came to the outskirts of the pack.
“Who’s there?” I asked, raising my cutlass higher and firmly in my hand as I saw a shadow of someone. I squinted my eyes and I noticed a boy stepped out of the woods.
I closed my eyes at the memory before looking up at Ares who smirked at me.
“You just made the wrong choice.” His voice resonated in my ears.
What could be worse than being caught by Jax or rogue hunters or even dying?
A part of me wanted to choose death, but I was scared and I wanted to live, I wanted to find freedom. Even if it wasn’t today, or tomorrow or in years. I wanted to experience what freedom truly meant.
And would being a slave to Ares feel different from Jax?
“What would be required of me?” I asked Ares as he raised his brow at me before leaning backwards and snatching the gun from his back pocket.
I gasped softly, shifting away from him for fear that he had changed his mind to kill me instead.
“What else? Cleaning and cooking.” He said briskly as if it was obvious and I stared at him in confusion.
“Cleaning and cooking?” I asked in bewilderment and he looked down at his gun, gently twirling it in his hands.
“Of course, my maids need some help and I’m too lazy to start interviewing anyone. You know I don’t trust easily and I can’t just let anyone in my home.” Ares said as a matter of fact and I couldn’t stop the expression on my face as I looked up at him like he had grown two heads before I looked back at the blankets, confused as hell.
Was he serious? I wanted to ask.
The Alpha of the famous Blood Moon Pack wanted me to be his maid? Was that what he meant by being a slave because Jax had another meaning to that.
Lost in thought, I didn’t realize Ares had leaned closer and he grabbed my face, turning my eyes to meet him. He had that devious smirk on his face once more.
“But that’s not all,” He started and I felt my heart best pick up pace as my blood ran cold.
“You were thinking of it, weren’t you?” Ares smirked and I couldn’t help the blush that filled my cheeks.
Of course, you asshole! I was thinking of it because that’s what I knew slaves were. They were barely called humans, a property, an object of pleasure to their masters. Jax hadn’t failed to spell it out to me. Using me for his twisted, dark desires. And it was only natural for me to think it would be the same as Ares.
Jax made a whore out of me and I couldn’t expect anything less from Ares.
Afterall he was the exact person Jax was.
I didn’t say anything as I tried to look away, to avoid his gaze when Ares gripped my face tighter, my lips pushing forward and he glanced down at it.
His hand was warm against my face, and I started to shiver, scared of his next move.
“You know, I really do hate it when I speak and don’t get a response.” Ares said in a low dark voice that sent shivers down my spine.
“It’s really annoying.” He said again before pinning me with a cold stare, I could feel my heart stopping for a second as I tried to utter an apology when he raised his other hand with his gun in it.
I felt all the hairs at the back of my head stand at attention and my eyes left him to the gun he started to bring towards my face.
“Anytime I ask you a question, you answer, hmm?” He asked, raising the gun and placing it in my lips, his eyes not leaving them.
I shivered, feeling knots in my stomach and I nodded nervously. Ares smiled, before he stood up abruptly and stepped backwards, keeping the chair back to where it was.
I breathed out a sigh of relief as I moved backwards, keeping my eyes on him as he shoved his hand to his pocket and dialed someone.
He was a very tall and built man and I almost blushed when he caught me staring so I glanced away nervously, pinching the bedsheets once more.
“Seth?” His loud voice boomed through the room and I almost jumped. He was using that Alpha tone again and the aura in the room shifted.
“I found her already.” Ares said, snapping his gaze to me and I shifted nervously, he smiled before looking at his gun as a smirk filled his lips as he listened to the Seth guy.
“Yes, she was a scrawny little rat that was hiding underneath my bed.” Ares chuckled and I frowned at that. I’ve been called worse, I thought as I shook my head.
“No. I won’t kill her yet. Come up to my room and bring a pair of shackles with you.” Ares said and I snapped my head up at him.
He smirked at me before ending the call with a ‘yes’ and shoving it back in his pocket.
I said nothing as Ares pointed the gun at me and my eyes widened. That smirk was still on his face, and with the blood sprayed across his shirt, he looked like a devil. A devil that was about to end my life.
“You’ll stay in my room, chained up. You don’t think I trust you, no matter how tattered and sad you appear, you can still be my enemy. I don’t trust you, I don’t trust anyone and until I see you aren’t a threat to me you’ll stay locked up and shackled to my bed.” Ares said, and my heart thumped loudly in my chest.
This was feeling like Jax all over again. Chained to his bed like a dog with no way of escape. My eyes blurred with tears and I said nothing to it.
“If I find you’re a spy, especially if you are from the White Moon pack. Jax, their Alpha, you know him right?” Ares asked and I nodded nervously at the mention of his name, trying to keep a straight face.
“If I find you are one of them, I would kill you faster than you can say oops, and I’ll make sure I send you to him in pieces,” Ares said, before tucking his gun away and placing it behind his back.
The door opened to reveal a tall man, almost as tall as Ares, he had black short hair and dark grey eyes. He was wearing a black leather jacket and black pants coupled with black boots that only added to his height. His pack tattoo rested against the left side of his cheeks as well as a scar that ran down the right side of his face.
This man bled of power too, he was handsome and gave off an aura that screamed bad ass. I shifted backwards on the bed almost tripping off the edge as the man walked towards Ares.
When he got closer, I realized Ares appeared older than him and was also slightly taller.
“Seth where’s Victor?” Ares asked and the man who I figured was Seth shrugged tiredly.
“I don’t know Alpha, probably off to see Mila again.” Seth responded, his voice deep and gruff. He finally glanced at me and I looked away nervously.
“Is she the one?” He asked and I heard Ares nod.
“Come on, Alora. Say hi to my Beta.” Ares chuckled and I looked up at him, not sure if he was joking or not, but I said nothing and Seth frowned before taking two steps towards the bed and snatching my wrist in a flash.
I almost screamed at his speed and the pain that assaulted my wrist, my heart beat increased and I started to shake tremendously.
“You don’t disobey the Alpha. Got it?” Seth glared at me and I nodded sharply. Ares chuckled behind him, before checking his watch.
“It’s time. Chain her and meet me downstairs.” Ares said, before winking at me and leaving the room immediately.
Seth didn’t waste any time in dragging me off the bed, my ankle hit against the bed frame and I screamed in pain but he didn’t care as he roughly pushed me on the floor, snatching both my wrist and shackling them to the bed.
The cold metal stung my skin and my eyes welled with tears as I looked up at Seth, but he didn’t even spare me a glance as he double checked the shackles.
“You don’t deserve to be spared by him, you deserve to die.” He spat before rising to his feet, glaring at me and leaving the room, putting off the lights and slamming the door behind him, leaving me chained up in the dark.