Chapter 25

I put my head down and followed the view of Reid’s bare feet as they stomped over the dry mud of the well-trampled path. I only looked up when we came to a set of dull, stone steps that led to the front door of the packhouse. The few steps led to a set of wooden double doors, with aging white peeling paint and was manned by a couple of burly guards. One of them opened the door for us they both addressed their superiors.

“Alpha Reid, Beta Dane.”

After passing through, the door closed with a click that made me think that this was the end of the line, and that it signified the beginning of a very hard time for me.

We walked into a large voyeur that was barely lit. Right in front of us was a grand staircase, a thin centred bit of tread-bare carpet leading to the next floor as it twisted round out of sight. On every wall there were many old hand painted portraits of all the previous Alpha’s and Luna’s of The Bloodmoon Pack. Reid went straight for the stairs, taking two at a time without saying a word.

“You can wait here with me for now.” Dane spoke, his grumpy arse acknowledging me.

“Where’s he going?”

“He’s only going to change, then we will go and watch the claimings.”

“Wow, you guys are fucking pigs,” I could not help muttering to myself. So much had happened, and the brutal ways of this pack and their dismissive behavior was vile.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Dane gave me a back-handed slap then squared up to me, huffing and puffing in my face with the gold flaming of his wolf in his eyes. “Now listen here you mutt; you sit your skanky arse down and shut the hell up until Reid gets back.”

My head had whipped to the side from the powerful strike. My scraggly hair flew over my face as I covered the sore burning spot with my hand. I scoffed, his behavior right now proving my point.

“I think you heard exactly what I said.”

I moved away from Dane and sat on one of the few available chairs under a large random painting of the territory we were currently in. I refused to lift my head. I sat in mind-numbing silence staring at my dirty feet, running over and over everything that had happened since the ball; the gore, the deaths, finding my obnoxious prick of a mate. I cannot wait to be alone with him just so I can knee him in the bollocks or stamp on his toes, either would be fine with me.

It was not long before I heard the fast-paced decent of footsteps tapping on the stairs. The pull of the mate bond told me that it was only Reid, as his scent swirled around the room towards me, stronger than it had been the last few minutes. Freshly showered and dressed, he beckoned us to follow him with a grunt. I could tell that he was a man of many words, not.

As we walked down a dim hallway, passing doorways that I refused to glimpse into, Dane decided to fill the silence. “Alpha, I have someone working on your request for your bedroom. They will have it ready for you within the next hour or so.”

“Good.”

I did not bother myself with the mysterious conversation. I just kept my eyes focused on the two men's heels as we traversed through the miserable atmosphere, listening to wolves scarper from the oncoming brutes. The smell of fear radiated from every surface that we passed. It was so strong, it was nearly impossible to scent anything else.

We eventually came to a set of doors that led into what looked like a ballroom. Upon hearing all the racing heartbeats, I lifted my head to find all the wolves that I was brought here with. A huge majority of them were lined up against the far wall, whilst the others were gathered in a corner opposite and being held in place by a handful of unimpressed guards.

Suddenly, a different set of doors with access to the room opened and a rowdy cluster of men made up of all ages, waltzed in talking and laughing. They gathered close-by to where Reid, Dane and I stood when Beta Neil appeared from nowhere. The males that had come in quietened but did not completely silence. The difference in treatment towards males and females was evident in how comfortable they felt to continue their conversations in the presence of the Beta.

Without having asked for quiet in the room first, Beta Neil’s voice reverberated off the walls as he spoke in his deep monotone voice. “Right, let’s get this over with. These males are the bachelors of Bloodmoon. They will now have free reign over choosing who they want to take, and for all I care they can take more than one of you, you have no choice in the matter. If you are chosen, you will come forward, give your name and details, then leave for your new home. Let's commence.” After a quick glimpse of his watch, Beta Neil went to sit at a table that had been set up in the centre of the room, with one other person already sitting there with a stack of papers and folders waiting.

That seemed to be the cue for a couple of things; many women and children started to cry, scared of what was coming and at the same time, the men descended upon the fearful line of women like a swarm of hyenas on a wounded animal.

It was not long before the throng of women thinned out, many of them having been chosen and taken away in either a silent protest or resorting to kicking and screaming like it was their last hope. My heart broke every time there was a tear or a new wail. I just stood there in silence, praying to the Moon Goddess that I would wake any second and find myself in my own bed at home.

But surprise! None of it is a dream. This shit was as real as it could get.

My heart jumped into my throat when I realised that Pops was in the queue of unmated wolves and a male was hovering around her. But then she muttered something, snapped her jaws at him, and the man ran away from her to look at others with his tail between his legs. She smirked, satisfied that she had scared away the big bad wolf.

The corner of my lips twitched at the comical interaction, but I was happy that for now Pops would remain in the packhouse with me after quite literally chasing all the males away.

Once the last of the males left with two miserable women silently crying, Rina came forward and left with those that had escaped this terrible fate.

“You’re with me.” Reid turned to me, his hands held behind his back, completely relaxed then walked back the way that we had come. Dane stayed and went to talk to his dad, Beta Neil.

After a different set of stairs to what I had seen earlier up to the next floor, and some more stairs to the second floor, he walked through a random door into a bedroom with dark grey painted walls. I stood at the doorway looking around, taking in the overwhelming scent of Reid that was making my stomach twist nervously.

He brought me to his room? Why?

The room was unsurprisingly bare. I could not see a single item that personalised the room; the only thing that said who it belonged to was Reid’s powerful smell.

There was a full-length window with closed curtains that rested gently on the dark, hard wood flooring. The window open behind the luxurious material had them swaying gently back and forth, not drastically flaying around the room like I was with my life.

The centre piece of the room was a solid, dark oak king size bed to match the flooring, with covers and cushions that seemed to be excessively soft and comfy, matching bedside tables with a simple lamp on either side. A singular sofa and coffee table sat to one side, whilst the two doors on the opposite side I guessed were for his clothes and a bathroom.

But there was one thing that caught my eye in the corner to the right of the door when you come in. Bolted to the wall was a heavy chain a few metres in length, and on the end, there was a thick, brown leather collar attached. A lone padlock lay on the floor in the nearby vicinity of it. The whole set-up made me cringe, and I was not eager to find out the explanation for it being here.

“Ah, I’m glad that you noticed that. Wonderful, isn’t it?”

I looked up to see Reid intently watching my reactions as I took in my surroundings. I had been too distracted before to notice he was creepily eyeballing me.

“What is it exactly?”

“It’s my gift to you.”