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1241 Words
A Y L A
The carriage jerked so hard that I flew forward, my knees slamming into the wooden floor. A sharp cry tore from my throat before I could bite it back. My whole body throbbed, my cheek, my ribs, my bruised arms, every part of me hurt.
The bag over my head was suffocating, hot, damp with my own breath. Every inhale tasted like dust and fear.
Rough hands grabbed my arms. “Out,” one of the rogues barked.
I stumbled after them, my boots dragging uselessly against the ground. Cold air rushed over me as they hauled me outside. Gravel crunched beneath my feet. The sound echoed strangely, too open, too wide, nothing like the narrow paths around home.
Then they shoved me forward. I fell onto my knees, stone, not dirt.
A sharp yank and the bag ripped off my head.
I blinked rapidly as a burst of golden light stabbed my eyes. The world swam, blurry and too bright, but slowly… shapes sharpened.
My breath stopped.
I knew this place.
The palace?
Towering pillars stretching up into the fading sky. Wide stone courtyards glowing under moonlight. Massive doors carved with wolves in ancient battle stances. A staircase so huge it made me feel like an ant kneeling at the foot of a mountain.
Memories flickered , me as a little girl, clutching Mom’s hand, staring in awe at this very building… back when I still believed the Alpha was a hero.
But now? Now horror crawled up my spine, cold and slow.
Why was I here? The realisation hit like ice water.
The boss. The rogue collectors’ boss.
It wasn’t some wild outlaw terrorizing packs from the shadows like everyone whispered.
It was the Alpha.
The air around me shifted, turning sharp and heavy. The two rogues holding my arms straightened abruptly. Even they looked nervous. Maids walking past froze mid-step, dropping into deep bows. Guards stiffened.
An eerie silence fell over the courtyard.
Then I heard it, a voice somewhere behind the towering doors.
“Alpha Raiden.”
My heart lurched painfully.
The doors opened.
And he stepped out.
Alpha Raiden.
He was… enormous. Taller than any wolf-born man I’d ever seen, broad shoulders framed by a dark, regal cloak that caught the light like polished obsidian. His hair fell in thick, raven waves to his jaw, and every step he took radiated power, the kind that pressed against your skin, forcing your body to obey even if your mind screamed run.
I couldn’t breathe.
Beside him walked a woman wrapped in deep silver robes, adorned with moon-patterned beads. A seer. Her eyes seemed to glow faintly, pale as mist, watching everything and nothing at once.
But my gaze
My stupid, terrified gaze
Was locked on Raiden.
Something about him felt wrong in the most beautiful way, dark, majestic, dangerous. Like a storm wearing the shape of a man.
His eyes scanned the courtyard lazily… until they landed on me.
Heat shot through my chest. I dropped my gaze so fast it felt like my neck snapped.
I bowed, trembling, trying to make myself small. Invisible. Forgettable.
The rogues shoved my shoulders, forcing me lower.
“Alpha,” one of them said, breathless. “We have brought the package. The Hale family offered their golden child to clear their debt.”
My stomach flipped violently.
Golden child? Liora? My sister...
Of course. They were supposed to bring her. The pack’s miracle daughter. The pride. The perfect wolf.
But I wasn’t Liora.
The seer stepped closer, her presence cold as winter. She lowered her head in front of me, her fingers tilting my chin up before I could resist. Her pale eyes swept over my face, through me, into me.
She inhaled sharply.
“This is not the golden child.” Her voice echoed like a prophecy. “This girl has no wolf. She is… soulless.”
Gasps rippled around us.
The rogues froze. One actually dropped to his knees, head bowed so low his forehead almost hit the stone.
Soulless.
The word sliced straight through me.
Raiden’s footsteps approached, slow, deliberate, each one rattling in my bones. I kept my head down, but his presence hit before he touched me: warm and terrifying, like fire pressed to the back of my skull.
Then fingers, warm, strong, inescapable, gripped my chin and forced my face up.
My breath hitched.
His eyes had darkened, deep and stormy. Anger? Displeasure? Something worse?
His hand tightened suddenly around my chin. So fast. So hard. A sharp pain shot through my jaw, hot and burning. I couldn’t stop the sound that escaped me, a rough, broken groan. My lips parted, but nothing came out. No words. No breath. Just pain.
His fingers dug deeper, like he wanted to crush my bones.
Tears filled my eyes instantly. I tried not to cry, tried not to make it worse, but the pressure was too much. My whole body shook.
Then he released me with a harsh shove. My head snapped to the side, my cheek stinging, and I almost fell over from the force.
“Kill her.”
The words didn’t sound real at first. It felt like they were spoken underwater, too slow, too heavy, but when they hit me, really hit me, my stomach dropped like a stone.
Kill her.
Me.
I gasped, my eyes going wide, and the world tilted. A cold wave washed over me, drowning out every other sound. My knees gave out, and I collapsed fully onto the stone floor.
“No…no, please…” My voice cracked. My hands moved on their own, grabbing for him in blind panic. My fingers touched his boots. I didn’t even care how pathetic it looked. I held onto his feet like they were my last hope, because they were.
“Please!” I sobbed, pressing my forehead to the ground, shaking so hard I could barely get air. “Please don’t kill me. I didn’t know…I didn’t know about this. I didn’t choose this. I don’t know anything, I swear it!”
The stone was cold under my palms. My breath came out in short, painful gasps. My heart hammered so fast it hurt.
“Please,” I whispered again, my voice small and broken. “I’ll do anything. Anything. Just don’t kill me. I don’t want to die. Please.”
The instant the word left my mouth, anything a tight pull twisted in my chest.
What did I just say? Why did I say that? Why would I offer something so dangerous?
Slowly, I felt it.
His gaze.
Heavy. Dark. Cold.
Raiden stared down at me like he was peeling back my skin and looking straight into the raw, shaking fear underneath. His expression didn’t soften. Didn’t warm. Didn’t show a drop of pity.
If anything… something else entered his eyes.
A slow, sharp interest.
My breath hitched.
Anything.
I had said anything to the Alpha, a man who already held my life in his hands. A man who commanded killers. A man whose own people bowed to him like he was a god.
Anything could mean anything.
And nothing good ever came from giving a powerful man that kind of choice.
A cold shiver raced down my spine as the meaning settled deep in my bones.
I wasn’t sure if I had just saved my life…
or offered it to him in a different way.
- Writer
