Karen realized she was groaning before she regained consciousness. Her head hurt like a truck had ran her over repeatedly. She grabbed her head, a loud groan of pain leaving her lips. Her body ached dully, there was an ache in her chest, a burning in her belly.
What the heck had happened?!
A cold swept through her body making her shiver, her teeth chattering in her mouth. Her eyes were out of focus for a full minute. Her head felt like it was filled with cotton wool. She looked down, surprised to see she naked.
She paused, wondering why she was naked. The last thing she remembered was cleaning up her dinner plates and passing out.
She looked around her, her heart dropping to her stomach when she recognized the cold damp walls she was surrounded by.
“No no no” She said, shaking her head.
She was back in the dungeons.
But why ?! She hadn’t done anything bad!
She shivered again, hugging herself and trying to generate some warmth. She crawled to a corner and sat, wishing she had some clothes, any clothes at all. Even the slutty slave outfit will do. Just so she wouldn’t have to sit on the cold hard floors. So she wouldn’t have to feel the cold.
She looked around her. The cells were quiet, she couldn’t hear any noises. This probably meant that the blood moon was still in full swing.
Karen hugged herself, rocking her body back and forth. She tried to hum to herself to calm her racing heart. She racked her mind for what offense she had committed to end back in the dungeons. She couldn’t come up with anything.
She heard footfalls approaching the cell. She sat up and rushed to the chains. She tried to see who was there.
“Is someone there?!” She called out. “Please Help me! I don’t know what I’m doing here!”
“Shut up slave.” She heard Kai’s deep voice growl.
Karen reeled back, the raw hatred in his voice hitting her like a ton of bricks. He came and stood in front of her cell. Karen gasped, fear grabbing her heart and choking her.
The man standing before her was unrecognizable.
He looked taller, more imposing. His hair was flowing without a breeze. His eyes were blood red as opposed to their blue, glowing dangerously. Karen could feel his alpha aura pouring off him in rolling waves. He looked like a caged beast waiting to be free and destroy everything in his way.
Perhaps the cell was the cage keeping her safe.
“My alpha–” She started to say.
“I am not your alpha!” His voice boomed, fear clogging her throat.
Karen quickly bowed in apology. She tried to rack her brain for what she had done to make him so angry with her. She raised her head, sealed her lips and watched him, fear in her eyes.
“Your execution is tomorrow.” Kai spoke, a little calm coming into his voice. “You have proven to me that you are just like your father. Say hello to him when you get to hell.”
“Ex… executed?” Karen whispered, her eyes wide with fear. Her knees felt like Jelly. She fell to the ground, unable to keep standing. “I… I didn’t …”
“You didn’t what?!” He barked, his eyes flashing even more. Karen cried out in fear, the oppressive aura in the room choking her.
“I didn’t do anything wrong… I was good…. I did everything you asked me to and I….”
He raised a hand, effectively silencing her. “For the crime of selling yourself to other men as the alpha’s slave. You thought you could hide under the ruckus of the celebration?!”
Sell herself?! To other men?!
“I didn’t do that!” Karen shouted, shocked and afraid at the revelation. “I couldn’t …. I can’t do such a thing!”
Kai looked unconvinced. His face was cold and hard, like the first time he had rejected her. There was no atom of mercy or kindness in his eyes. She couldn’t believe this man was the same man she had spent the night with. The same man who had looked at her with such kindness it made her heart flutter.
Now he was looking at her like she was the most disgusting thing he had ever laid eyes on.
“You liar!” He yelled at her. “You are just like your father! You embody everything he stands for! Your evil and monstrous nature, you thought you would keep it hidden forever?! You thought you could fool me into believing you were different than him?!”
Karen started to cry, cold tears dripping down her eyes. She went on her knees, her hands clasped together. “Please…. I didn’t do it! I didn’t sell myself to anybody! You have to believe me! I have no need for that …. you…. I’m your slave! Please!”
Kai regarded her with cold eyes that burned with fury. “Don’t worry.” He said. “You won’t be missed. I can assure you that.”
With that he turned and walked out of the dungeons. His footfalls getting lighter and lighter till they faded. Karen screamed after him pleading her innocence, grabbing the bars and trying to squeeze her face through.
“I’m innocent!” She screamed. “I didn’t do it! I swear I didn’t….”
No body reacted. No body came. Only the cold hard silence greeted her back. Karen crumbled on the floor, hugging herself and crying her voice echoing through the cold dungeons.
For a moment, she had allowed herself to believe that Kai would warm up to her. That however slow, she could convince him that she wasn’t her father. That she could make him see she was a good person.
Selling herself to other men?!
That was insane! The only man she knew was Kai! He was her first, he was her everything.
She had never been with another man. Not for any reason. Why would she?! When Kai was…
He was going to execute her the next morning. She shivered as she recalled the cold look of hatred in his eyes as he said it. Karen felt her entire world collapse on her.
She cried softly, shivering with cold on the dungeon grounds. Strangely enough, she found herself wishing for her mother. A mother she didn’t even know for a single day in her life.
***
Nicolas looked around the crowd of pack members wondering where Kai had gone off to. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t see Karen too.
At first he shook his head, thinking that maybe they were spending some together.
But as the time went by Nicolas started to doubt that. It was the blood moon. Kai wouldn’t miss it for anything, especially now that he was with the pack.
Nicolas pushed the thought of of his mind. If Kai needed him, he would most definitely send for him.
It was five minutes to midnight. At midnight was the time everyone that would be mated would get their mate. Nicolas had heard people say that it was like a pull, dragging you and tugging you in the direction of your mate. However you tried to fight it, you wouldn’t be able to escape it. That was what it meant to be fated mates.
To love someone forever.
Kai had slept again. Nicolas went to check up on him and found him fast asleep. He was relieved. Kai needed the sleep more than anything. The past few days had been hell, with how much he was antagonizing everyone and being irritable.
Nicolas wondered in silent anticipation who it could be. He felt a bit thirsty and realized he hadn’t eaten anything the entire day. He walked over to the refreshment table and poured himself a glass of cold water. He drank the water in three gulps and poured another glass.
Suddenly the murmurs died down. Nicolas turned and faced the moon, along with everybody in the field.
He felt it. He felt the tug inside him. His heart leapt for joy. He had gotten a mate. After so many years, he had finally gotten one.
The tug led him in the direction of the pack house. He frowned, wondering who it was that hadn’t attended the ceremony. He followed the tug, the pull getting stronger and stronger to the point he was almost sprinting.
He paused in front of a door where it was the strongest. He frowned, recognizing the room as Kai’s dining room that was only open to a few.
Nicolas inhaled and exhaled deeply. He grabbed the doorknob and slowly twisted it, pulling the door open. It revealed the dining room with a single person inside.
“Verena?!” Nicolas gasped out. She sat on one of the chairs, leisurely drinking a glass of cocktail.
“Mate.” His wolf growled. “Our mate.”