"Open your eyes, whore."
A deep, dangerous voice rumbled through the darkness, as if it could part the sea itself.
Slowly, I forced my eyes open. At first, everything blurred—shifting shadows in the dim light. My head throbbed, my limbs heavy and sluggish.
My wolf was truly gone.
She wasn’t there to heal me. She wasn’t there to guide me. She was dead. I was alone. And I didn’t even know where I was.
The scent of rusted iron, stale beer, and something rancid filled my nose, twisting my stomach into a tight knot.
"Dress her properly. I have another plan for her," the voice commanded.
Footsteps approached, multiple pairs moving closer.
This wasn’t the voice of the Alpha who had violated me. And this… this didn’t feel like my pack’s territory.
I tried to recall what happened after I passed out—after I cursed the Alpha—but everything was fragmented. Darkness had swallowed me whole.
I shouldn’t have woken up. But that voice—so strong, so absolute—pulled me back.
"Come now, Miss. We know you’re awake," an older woman murmured.
Hands lifted me, but my body was limp, slipping from their grasp. My skin was slick, coated in something thick and strange—something that smelled like oil.
They steadied me, but my vision swam, the room splitting into double images. Candlelight flickered against the walls.
I felt… paralyzed.
Panic clawed at my throat.
"W-where…" I tried to speak, but the words stole the air from my lungs.
Pain lanced through me—sharp, merciless. Even opening my eyes burned, as if I had cried too much, as if the agony of my past life had left scars.
"She wasn’t conscious when it happened," an older woman whispered. "She doesn’t know."
"Poor girl," another muttered. "She’s the latest victim. They’ll send her to the hostel soon enough."
My breathing grew shallow.
Their silhouettes blurred, shifting like ghosts with the flickering candlelight.
Where am I?
The walls were crumbling, rotting—this place felt abandoned by time itself.
"Where… am… I…" I rasped, barely managing the words.
Their hands moved over me, dressing me with careful, gentle touches. Yet, each brush against an injury made me whimper.
"You’re in the Moonless Pack," one woman finally said. "Sold to Alpha Cameron—his newest prey."
I gasped softly.
No.
I reached out blindly, my trembling fingers catching a wrist. As my vision cleared, their faces took shape—lined with age, sorrow, and silent suffering.
"Please," I whispered. "Help me escape. I… I need to leave."
They exchanged a look.
Then, they shook their heads.
"You can’t escape," the first woman murmured. "None of us can."
"If we try, we die," the other agreed.
I shook my head weakly. "But—"
"The Alpha is merciless," one interrupted. "We were taken from different packs, forced to serve him. He keeps us here with dark magic."
A shiver ran down my spine.
"Magic?" I whispered in disbelief.
We had become civilized—adapted to human technology and blended into their world.
Magic? Witches?
That was a relic of the past.
"Maybe he’s just deceiving you," I rasped. "Keeping you afraid, so you won’t leave him."
They exchanged a look—then laughed bitterly.
"No, child," one said. "The Moon Goddess herself cursed him."
The other nodded. "His hatred for our kind led him to abduct the strongest Lycans—to build an army. Soon… he’ll start a war."
My breath caught. "But I’m human now," I whispered. "I lost my wolf. What use am I to him?"
They sighed.
"He takes humans too," one admitted. "Uses them. Drain them."
"He’s powerful," the other added. "He has dark magic. Obey him. Never resist. If he likes you…" She hesitated. "Y-you might live longer."
Long enough for what? To suffer? To watch the others die first?
They finished dressing me just as two guards entered. Grabbing my arms, they dragged me through the dimly lit halls. I didn’t fight. I couldn’t.
They threw me into a small, empty chamber. The only thing inside was a single yellow flower, glowing faintly. Its petals curled around a soft, silver light—like a tiny moon at its center.
I barely had time to process it before—
"Here comes my newest prey."
A cold voice rumbled behind me. I whirled, my body weak, but instinct demanded I fight.
And then—I saw him.
He stood tall, bare-chested, his skin etched with strange tattoos like ancient markings. Scars covered him, but the most striking was the one around his neck. Dark and burned, as if chains had once seared into his flesh.
A Lycan Alpha.
My knees trembled. I had been helpless against the Alpha who defiled me. What hope did I have against this one?
The women had called him merciless. A monster.
"W-who are you?" I whispered, unable to hide the tremor in my voice.
He chuckled, the sound deep and mocking.
"I can smell your fear," he mused. "For someone who defied her own Alpha, I expected more from you."
I swallowed hard. "B-because I am no longer a wolf," I said.
"B-B-B-Because…" he mocked, laughter rumbling from his chest.
Then, before I could react—
I was against the wall.
His hands slammed on either side of me, his presence swallowing me whole. Predatory. Overwhelming.
He studied me, dark eyes gleaming.
"You belong to me now," he murmured. "I bought you. You exist for one purpose."
His gaze swept over me, slow, deliberate.
"To please me with your body…" His lips curled. "Or to entertain me with your death."
