Chapter 7 SEVEN
ALORA
My new quarters in the main house are nothing like I expected. Instead of the cramped slave dormitory I'd prepared for, Sarah leads me to a luxurious suite with four other female slaves. The room screams wealth – plush rugs, silk curtains, and beds that look softer than clouds.
"Personal slaves sleep close to Alpha Stone," Sarah explains, helping me place my meager belongings in an ornate wardrobe. "He likes to keep us... accessible."
The way she says 'accessible' makes my skin prickle. Before I can ask what she means, a scream pierces the evening air. Not of pain – of pure terror.
"No, no, please!" A male voice begs. "My Alpha, I can explain—"
Sarah grabs my arm. "Come on. We're required to watch."
"Watch what?" But she's already dragging me toward the balcony overlooking the pack's central courtyard. Other slaves line the railings, faces grim.
The sight below steals my breath. Alpha Stone stands in the moonlight, his massive frame somehow larger than I remember from this morning. At his feet kneels a wolf I recognize from the kitchens – Dylan, who smiled at me during dinner. Now his face is bloody, his pack marks burned from his shoulder.
"A traitor's fate should serve as a lesson." Alpha Stone's voice carries easily to us, rich with dark promise. "Wouldn't you agree, Dylan?"
"Please," Dylan sobs. "I didn't mean to—"
"To what?" The Alpha circles him slowly. "To sell pack secrets to our enemies? To endanger every wolf under my protection?" His hand shoots out, gripping Dylan's throat. "To put my personal slaves at risk?"
My wolf stirs at his possessive tone. I force her down, focusing on the scene below.
"The Northern Pack offered gold," Dylan chokes out. "Just trading route information, nothing vital—"
"Nothing vital?" Alpha Stone's laugh holds no humor. "Tell that to the three wolves who died in their ambush." His grip tightens. "You know the penalty for treason."
Dylan's eyes widen in horror. "No, please! Not that—"
"Strip him," Alpha Stone commands. Two beta wolves move forward, tearing Dylan's clothes away. "Present him."
I try to look away, but Sarah's grip holds me in place. "Watch," she hisses. "He'll know if you don't."
Below, they force Dylan onto his hands and knees. Alpha Stone removes his jacket, revealing arms corded with muscle. The moonlight catches his silver eyes, making them glow with predatory intent.
"In ancient times," he addresses the gathered pack, "traitors were given to the Alpha's wolf. Marked forever as oath-breakers." He begins to shift, bones cracking as his massive form changes. "I believe in honoring tradition."
The shift completes, and I forget how to breathe. His wolf is enormous, black as midnight with silver-tipped fur. Beautiful and terrifying.
What happens next sears itself into my memory. Alpha Stone's wolf descends on Dylan with calculated precision. Not killing – no, this is about humiliation. About dominance in its cruelest form. He marks the traitor everywhere, teeth drawing blood, claws leaving scars that will never fade.
Dylan's screams echo through the courtyard. No one moves to help. No one looks away.
Finally, Alpha Stone shifts back, standing naked and blood-spattered in the moonlight. My treacherous body responds to the sight despite my horror.
"Let him serve as a reminder," he commands, voice rough from the shift. "Mercy is earned through loyalty. Betrayal earns only pain." His eyes sweep the balconies, landing on me. "Remember that, little wolves."
They drag Dylan's broken form away. The pack disperses, but I remain frozen, Sarah's words echoing in my mind: He'll know if you don't watch.
"He's not always cruel," Sarah whispers as we return inside. "But disloyalty... secrets... those he cannot abide."
I slip into my new bed later, wrapped in silk sheets that feel like chains. Every time I close my eyes, I see those silver ones staring back. Promising.
Warning.
My wolf paces restlessly, torn between fear and something darker. Something that whispers that his cruelty hides purpose. Protection.
That perhaps the Beast's savagery guards something worth dying for.
Or worth lying for.
I pull the sheets tighter, praying my own secrets stay buried. Because I've seen now what happens to those who betray Alpha Alexander Stone.
And I'm betraying him with every breath I take.