Chapter 11 bow?
Although the soldiers were warned not to tighten their grip around my arm, they still did. Their fingers dug into my skin, but I could not care less. I was not going to bow to him, not now and not ever. I was not Elara, who ran away from her position because she was scared of them. I was not the coward of the family. I was different. I was bold and strong, and this so called Alpha would soon learn that he had no control over anything or anyone, especially not me.
My feet scraped against the cold marble floor as they dragged me forward, but even that did not break my resolve. My mind was made up, my decision carved in stone. I was not bowing to him. He could do whatever he wanted. He could even have me killed like he always did to those who challenged him. I was prepared for whatever came next.
The brothers walked behind me like shadows. I could see Candice’s expression from the corner of my eye, laced with pity as if he already knew what fate awaited me. But Kaelrix’s face remained cold as ice. I hated him for that. I hated him so much that in that moment, I wanted to rip his head off his body and watch it roll on the floor. I knew they expected me to plead or beg or show fear, but that was not happening. I was not giving them my body, and I was not giving them my submission. It was either they accepted that or killed me on the spot.
We walked through several hallways, and I wondered just how many corridors this pack house had. It felt endless, stretching like a maze designed to confuse and intimidate. It was the largest pack house I had ever seen in my life, grand and cold at the same time.
Eventually, we reached what seemed to be a dead end. In front of us stood a massive golden door, towering like a gate to another world. I swear to the moon goddess, the closer we got, the more something burned against my skin. It felt like heat, or maybe fire, crawling over my flesh even though we had not opened the door yet. My breath sharpened. My heart thudded painfully in my chest.
What was that? What kind of place was behind that door? Hell itself?
The design alone was terrifying. The door looked as though it was made of iron steel forged with ancient symbols, and everything about it screamed danger. When I turned around, the brothers were already watching me. Their eyes held pity, coldness, and in some cases, hate. Kaelrix stepped forward, his jaw clenched.
"Stop." His voice was cold and sharp, cutting through the air like a blade.
Immediately, the soldiers released their hands from mine and bowed to him. My arm throbbed from their grip, but I ignored it. With slow and deliberate steps, Kaelrix strode toward me. His presence alone made my heart skip, not out of fear but out of some strange, unwanted reaction I could not understand.
He bent slightly, bringing himself to my level. His golden eyes pierced through my soul as if he could see every hidden part of me. His breath brushed my face, hot and unsettling. I hated that a small part of me wanted him even closer.
"Do you know what this place is?" he asked icily, his voice low.
I shook my head. "No, I do not. You tell me."
His lips twitched into a dangerous grin, and he sighed, almost as if he was exhausted by my stubbornness.
"This is what they call Sliver Fire. It is more dangerous than anything you have ever imagined. It is a place of endless torture and pain. A place that makes you beg to be killed."
My spine froze. My heart stopped. Everything in my body reacted violently to his words. This was not a place I wanted to be. This was not a threat to take lightly.
He straightened and the heat from the door seemed to pulse stronger. I felt it crawling up my legs like flames licking my skin. I took a glance at him one last time, wondering if this was my final moment of freedom.
"The only way you can avoid this and we can all move on as if nothing happened is simple," he said. "You apologize and bow. Then you are free to go."
His voice was calm, almost gentle, but the meaning behind his words was anything but. It felt like a devil’s bargain. Something inside me trembled. A small part of me wanted to apologize just to escape the doom waiting behind the golden door. The heat alone screamed danger. I wanted to live. I wanted to breathe. But something stubborn deep inside me, something born from years of pain and betrayal, refused to let me yield.
I lifted my chin high and sneered. "I have never bowed to my father. What makes you think I will bow to you?"
The brothers looked shocked. Kaelrix’s eyes flicked with something wild. Rage. Shock. Maybe disbelief. But I did not care. My parents had shown me hell. They had broken me beyond repair. The fear in me died long ago. Respect died. Dignity died. What was left was something hardened and wicked.
Kaelrix's face darkened. "Your stubbornness will only lead to endless torture. Even if you behave like an untrained horse in your pack, we do not tolerate such disrespect here. This pack is built on morals. It makes me wonder what your parents were doing all these years. Training their child into a wild dog."
His words cut deep, deeper than I expected. I felt anger explode through my veins. My breathing turned heavy, my chest rising and falling rapidly. He was right about one thing. My father pampered Elara like a princess while I was trained day and night like a soldier. A fighter. A tool. A dog. It was the truth. But hearing it from him made my rage boil over.
My face shifted from anger to a bright and mocking smile.
"You are right," I said calmly. "They trained me like a dog. For someone like you, who is an even bigger dog."
The entire hallway fell silent. The brothers stared in shock, jaws slack. Kaelrix’s eyes flashed red, burning with fury.
"Open the door," he ordered.
The soldier rushed forward and pulled the golden door open. A loud creak echoed through the hallway, and then flames burst outward. I froze as hot air blasted my face. Smoke billowed before slowly clearing, revealing a massive hall.
Before me was a terrifying sight. Fire spread across the floor like a smooth, glowing carpet. Hot, boiling flames churned in one corner like molten lava in a volcano. The entire hall was alive with heat, burning, pulsing, threatening to consume anything that entered.
I regretted everything in that moment. All my stubbornness. All my pride. This place was death. This place was worse than death.
"You have one more chance to apologize," Kaelrix said behind me. His voice was colder than the flames were hot.
My fingers trembled. My throat tightened. I wanted to apologize so badly. What did he expect me to do in there? Walk on fire? Roll on it? Dance on it?
I was trapped. My stubbornness had carried me to the edge of a cliff with no way back.
"I do not have all day. Are you apologizing or not?" he yelled.
"Not. I am not apologizing."
The words escaped before I could even think. And instantly, regret crashed into me. But at the same time, the memories of my parents betraying me, of being tortured and treated like nothing, surged back. Fear drained out of my body. Pain drained out. The wicked strength they created in me rose again.
Everyone stared at me in shock.
And that was the moment I knew there was no going back.