Aria's POV:
“Let me go!” I demanded, struggling, but their grip was iron and my pleas seemed to amuse him.
“I’d love to let you go.” The first man said, his voice low, almost taunting. “But unfortunately, your father decided to use you as collateral.”
My stomach lurched and my mind spun, trying to make sense of his words. “Collateral?” I whispered, disbelief freezing my tongue. “Wh… what do you mean?”
He tilted my chin up with one hand, forcing me to meet his cold gaze. “Your father owes a significant debt. You, my dear, are the repayment so I’m afraid that I have no choice but to sell you to the slave traders to settle it.”
My day had started out pretty normal, with my regular physician job–the only thing that gave me joy from my fast crumbling life. As a weak wolf, volunteering at the clinic was the only way anyone could see relevance in me.
“Who… Who are you?” I asked, two more figures dropped silently from the trees above, landing with near-perfect stealth, circling me and my heart raced.
My wolf knew this meant danger and my instincts screamed at me to run. I tried to, but any movement I made tighten his grip around my arm. I winced in pain.
“Whatever this is, I'm sure we can talk about it and come up with a solution that works for us both,”
The gang leader laughed. “And she wants to negotiate,” he mocked. “Come here!” He pulled me forcefully, while the other two followed behind.
My whole life flashed before my eyes. I knew my father's gambling was bad. It had taken us from royalty to debt, after my mother's passing, but I knew giving me up was a line he wouldn't cross, or at least I hoped so. I got up and ran as quickly as my legs could carry me.
I bolted through the trees. I did not dare to look back. I could feel their wolves closing in on me, but then I soon began to recognize the environment. ‘I was almost home’. I took a sharp turn around the small town, which I had come to know very well and as soon as I was out of their sight, I hid in a giant fruit crate.
“Where is she?”
“She couldn't have gotten far,” I heard their voices from inside the crate. My legs trembled, even though I was bent to fit into the crate.
“Well,” I heaved a sigh of relief and fell onto the couch as soon as I arrived home. My eyes closed immediately after my back hit the foam.
(A few hours later...)
“Ahhh!!” I yelled at the top of my voice as I sighted his hovering presence.
“Relax! It's just me,” my father held me in place. I scratched my eyes.
“Dad,” I stretched open, getting up from the couch. From the brightness of the sun, you could tell it was already at least 7am.
“Aria. You returned later than usual from work,” he noted.
“I encountered some kidnappers who said you had given up as collateral.” I turned my back to him, trying to turn on the fire. “I knew it was not possible. They were lying, so I had to come up with a plan for my…”
I turned back around and found my father had company.
“What is going on here?” I recognized his company—the same three men who had tried to take me away just a few hours ago.
“I've told you before. Your father owes a huge debt,” I turned to my father. He was shivering and could only mouth ‘I’m sorry’, which felt very useless to me at the time.
“I suggest you corporate this time, because we're taking you–dead or alive,” the gang leader announced. I looked around, deciding whether to be taken dead or alive.
“It's a lie!” I yelled, staggering back, as panic clawed at me, but there was nowhere to run. My back was against the sink and the men approached me with strong steps.
My claws itched, and a surge of werewolf strength ready to tear through them, but I knew brute force alone wouldn’t save me. I saw the weakness in my father's eyes. He was saying ‘It was over’, just not using his words.
My hands trembled as I struggled against the man’s grip, my claws itching to tear through them, yet I remained trapped, at the mercy of a stranger. They led me out of the house–defeated.
“Your father took a loan from me and then he gambled all day, promising that if he didn’t win and couldn’t pay back, he would offer his most prized possession in return.” The leader of the gang said, just before the vehicle drove off speedingly.
As soon as we were out of my father's sight, the driver's speed increased. One of the men pressed a handkerchief over my nose and mouth before I could finish my plea. My struggles grew frantic, and my claws dug into his arms, as everything went blank.
When I woke up, the first thing that hit me was the stench of sweat, dirt, and smoke as I opened my eyes slowly, and saw myself in a large, canvas-covered tent.
My head spun as realization dawned on me that this was the infamous slave camp at the center of the realm where anyone could purchase human property without question.
“No… no, this can’t be my fate!” I whispered to myself, and I scrambled to my feet and bolted for the tent’s entrance, my claws slicing through the fabric.
As expected, a guard was there to block my escape with his wide arms. “Let me go!” I yelled, lunging at him with everything I had.
But he grabbed me by the arms and dragged me back inside. I struggled violently, my claws scratching his armor, and began punching him in desperation. “Let me out! I… I cannot be a slave! I won’t! I’ve spent my whole life working toward becoming a physician. I… I cannot just… just…”
My words dissolved into sobs as frustration and despair coiled tight in my chest. The guard, clearly tired of my tantrums, slapped me across the face and shoved me to the ground. Pain blossomed across my cheek, but I didn’t stop. I scrambled forward, clinging to his legs, begging, crying, and pleading for release.
He kicked me, but I refused to let go even though the pain sharpened with each strike, yet I clung to him tightly with my claws scraping the dirt as his boots laded with force across my back and legs, trying to crush my spirit.
I screamed through the pain, holding on, refusing to surrender. Finally, his patience snapped, then he drew a sword, and my heart froze. The tip gleamed dangerously in the dim light, and I realized how close I had come to death
My breath came in jagged gasps as I stared up at him, trembling but defiant. Then, as if the gods themselves intervened, a man dressed sharply with authority radiating from him entered the tent, and grabbed the guard by the shoulder.
“This girl?” He said, voice calm yet commanding. “She is the most beautiful here, is she not?”
The guard blinked, some of his aggression leaving his eyes. Then he glanced around, nodded, and lowered his sword. “Yes, sir.” He said, stepping back, releasing me.
The man’s gaze swept over me, and then he gestured toward four other girls in the corner. “All five of you will be taken to the stream.” He said, tapping the guard’s shoulders.
“There you will have your bath and put on the new clothing I have prepared for each of you because someone will be arriving shortly to transport you to the Hellbound Pack. There, you will assume your duties as Alpha Draven's personal breeders.”
On hearing his words, my hands shook, and my claws flexed instinctively as I sank to the ground, tears spilling freely on realizing that everything I had worked hard for was slipping through my fingers.
Will I really become the breeder of a man rumored to be notorious for his cruelty, and for bending lives to his will?