CHAPTER 111
Aria’s POV
“You fetched a good price,” he continued, then pointed at Denderick. “I remember selling you to him. And now look at you, all dressed up and proper. Must be nice to live in luxury after being sold like cattle, huh?”
I stood up, my chair scraping against the wooden floor as I pushed it back. My pulse raced as I took a step closer to him. I could feel Denderick’s presence at my back, but this moment wasn’t about him. It was about me, and the man who had once stolen my freedom.
“Do you have any idea what I went through after what you did?”
The slave master laughed. “Oh, don’t play the victim card with me, girl. I’ve heard it all before. You’re free now, aren’t you? You got lucky. Some of the others… well, you know better than anyone how they end up.”
“Lucky?” I hissed. “You call what happened to me lucky? Do you think any of these people-” I gestured toward the chained slaves outside the room, “-are lucky? You don’t care about any of them, do you?”
The man merely leaned back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest. “It’s just business, sweetheart. You think I enjoy this? It’s the way the world works. Some people have power, and some don’t. I’m just making sure I end up on the right side of that equation.”
I couldn’t believe the absolute audacity this man had. “Believe me when I say, you’re going to regret every single decision you’ve made.”
He barked out another laugh, though there was a tremor of fear in his voice now. “What are you gonna do? Kill me? You’re no better than me if you do.”
I smirked and turned away from him, making a show of thinking. “I don’t need to kill you. But I can make sure that your life will never be the same again.”
I looked back down to see his face whitening at the underlying threat in my words, and for the first time since I’d entered the room, I saw real fear in his eyes. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glancing at Denderick, who stood silently behind me, arms crossed and eyes cold as ice.
“What… what do you want?” the slave master stammered. So quickly, his bravado had slipped away like fine sand through his fingers.
I straightened up. “I want you to understand what it feels like to have your power stripped away. To be at the mercy of someone else.”
He flinched, his hands gripping the edge of the desk as if it were the only thing keeping him grounded. “You can’t… you wouldn’t…”
I tilted my head. “Wouldn’t I?”
Finally, the slave master broke. He stood up, his legs wobbling like wet wood as he staggered around the desk and dropped to his knees in front of me. His hands trembled as he clasped them together in a pathetic attempt at pleading.
“Please,” he begged me. “Please don’t… don’t ruin me. I’ll do anything. Anything you want. Just… please.”
I stared down at him, but I felt no satisfaction in his desperation. Only disgust. “You don’t deserve mercy,” I said softly.
His eyes were wide, filled with terror. “What… what are you going to do to me?”
I turned to Denderick, “What should we do with him?” I asked. This man was beneath me now, and I no longer needed to dirty my hands with his fate.
Denderick stepped forward, face stony as he gazed down at the groveling slave master. After a long, heavy pause, he spoke.
“You are hereby banished from my territory,” he declared. “You’ll be branded as a rogue wolf, and any who see you will know what you’ve done. You’ll have no pack, no place to call home. You’ll live the rest of your days in exile.”
The slave master gasped, his face going pale again. “No… no, please, Alpha… I’ll die out there. I’ll-”
“That’s no longer my concern,” Denderick interrupted, his voice cold and unyielding. “You’ve preyed on the weak long enough. Now it’s your turn to see how it feels.”
The man slumped forward, his face buried in his hands, sobbing quietly. I felt no sympathy for him. This was justice-perhaps not enough for all the lives he’d ruined, but it was a start.
Without another word, Denderick and I turned and walked out of the office, leaving the broken man behind. As we stepped back into the hallway with its scanty lights, I felt a strange sense of closure. The man who had once sold me into slavery was nothing now. No pack, no power. He was now just a rogue, a shadow of what he once was.
And that was more than enough for me.
We walked past the rows of slaves again, their eyes lifting to meet mine as we approached. I stopped in front of them, and I looked into their faces. I saw the same fear and hopelessness that I had once carried reflected back at me.
“You don’t know me,” I began, after a long stretch of silence. “But I know you. I was once like you, sitting in chains, waiting for someone to decide my fate. But I’m here to tell you that this isn’t the end.”
The slaves stared at me with their hungry, hollow eyes. But I could see the hint of something in their eyes-hope, perhaps. A spark of belief that things could change.
“I was freed,” I continued, “and my life has been transformed. And now, I’m giving you the same chance. You’re free. Every one of you.”
A murmur rippled through the group. A number of them exchanged surprised looks, like they didn’t believe my words. Some of them looked to Denderick, as if waiting for confirmation.
Denderick nodded. “You’re free. Go where you will.”
For a moment, no one moved. Then, slowly, one by one, the slaves began to rise to their feet, their chains clattering to the ground. They looked around in disbelief, as if they couldn’t quite believe what was happening.
I turned to Denderick, feeling a familiar sense of peace wash over me. Together, we walked out of the building, the sounds of clattering chains and murmured voices following us.
Peace. This was true peace.