Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Willow

11 years ago

Peering through the iron bars, I retched until my stomach emptied completely. The overpowering stench of blood and decaying hides lingered, mingled with the cacophony of screams and moans emanating from the other prisoners in nearby cages.

How had I ended up in the clutches of these traffickers? The memory flashed vividly-1 had been foraging in the woods last night, seeking a rabbit or any small animal to sate my hunger, when I was captured by these rogues. The next thing I knew, I was confined in this cage alongside other children my age. Witnessing the abuse, failed escape attempts, and even murders, that’s when it dawned on me that these rogues were trafficking young werewolves.

Exhausted and famished, I longed for food. They had only given me water once, which I had vomited, I felt the gnawing hunger clawing at my insides. All I wanted was to flee, yet fear of my captors kept me rooted in place. Witnessing a thirteen-year-old boy’s brutal murder as a warning left me trembling with dread. As evening descended, hunger pangs gnawed at me, leaving me curled up in a corner of the cage.

The sudden sound of the cage door opening snapped me to attention. Hope surged within me at the chance of food, but instead a figure was thrown in beside me. Startled by the violence, I shifted into the corner of the cage, alarmed.

“Da mn it! I’ll kill you later, you ba st ard!” The rogue’s furious yell pierced the air before he slammed the cage door shut.

I flinched, eyeing the bleeding figure beside me. What just happened? This person. seemed newly captured. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a boy around sixteen years old. His b*dy bore the signs of severe beatings, covered in dried layers of his own blood, he appeared to be at death’s door. Panic surged within me when I noticed his closed eyes and slow heartbeat. I couldn’t bear the thought of witnessing another death. after the horrors I’d seen over the past few hours.

“Hey, are you okay?” I gently shook him, but there was no response. Desperate to rouse him, I slapped him lightly on the face, “Hey, can you hear me? Open your eyes. Don’t you want to go home? If you do, then open your eyes and look at me, I pleaded, trying my best to wake him. I pressed on his chest to stimulate breathing and rubbed his hands, hoping to revive him.

How could he ended up beaten to death?

Suddenly, his palm twitched in my hand and he gradually opened his eyes. A pair of

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Chapter 9

striking forest green eyes met my blue ones. My heart s kipped a beat at the sheer beauty of them. “Thank goodness, you’re not dead,” I breathed out, feeling a slight watering in my eyes at the sight of him alive. I closed my eyes for a moment, regaining control over my emotions. When I reopened them, I found his intense green gaze fixed on me, as if he couldn’t blink.

I felt very strange. Why was he staring at me so intensely? It was then that I became. aware of the dirt and mud smeared across my face and b*dy. My hair was a tangled mess, I must have looked utterly disheveled and dreadful at that moment.

I instinctively released his hand, whispering, “Rest for a while.” Then, to my surprise, I felt his grip tightening around my hand. Startled, I turned to look at him.

You said you’d take me home,” his deep, yet oddly alluring voice reached my ears, catching me off guard. Despite his bloodied and wounded appearance, his tall stature. and commanding voice hinted that he was around sixteen years old. It dawned on me that he had opened his eyes only when he heard my promise, a promise I couldn’t possibly fulfill. I was trapped here just like him. In my desperate attempt to wake him, I had uttered words of comfort that he seemed to have taken seriously.

Fearing that the truth might crush his spirit, which was already weakened and battered, I chose to lie, “Yes, I’ll take you home,” I assured him, placing my hand over his and gazing deeply into his eyes. “I’ll protect you, so please don’t give up, okay?” I whispered, holding his hand tightly to conceal my own trembling.

At my words, I noticed a slight shift in his green eyes. Suddenly, he drew me a little closer to him. “Do you promise?” his whisper his breath brushed against my face, and my heart raced at our closeness.

Unable to meet his gaze, I lowered my eyes and nodded. “I promise,” I whispered, lifting my eyes to meet his once again.

I knew making such a promise was utterly nonsensical, but something about him. compelled me to agree. His eyes glistened as he continued to stare at me until the sound of the cages opening interrupted us. I quickly distanced myself from him, but he remained leaning against the bars, fixated on me. I reluctantly tore my eyes away to see a rogue standing outside the cages.

Suddenly, the cage door swung open, and a piece of bread was tossed near my feet. It was hardly enough to alleviate my hunger.

As the rogue began to shut the cage, panic surged within me. He hadn’t given any bread to the boy. “There are two of us!” I reminded him in a rush.

The rogue paused, his expression twisted into an ugly scowl. “Shut your mouth!” he growled before slamming the door shut.

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I tightened my fists at my sides, feeling a surge of concern for the boy. Why hadn’t he asked for food? Was he planning to starve himself? “Eat this!” I pushed my portion of bread toward him.

He seemed taken aback for a moment, then furrowed his brow. “Why? You eat. I don’t want it,” he refused.

“Don’t worry, I know you’re hungry too. I’ll ask them for more,” I insisted, pressing the bread into his hand. He looked at the bread then back at me.

Swiftly, I crawled closer to the iron bars before all the bread was handed out. “Can I please have one?” I called out to the man outside the cage.

Ignoring my pleas, the man outside the cage remained indifferent. “Please… I’m hungry. Just give me half a piece of bread,” I pleaded desperately. His gaze wandered, but then he paused, noticing my outstretched hands through the bars.

“You’re hungry?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” I nodded, hoping he’d relent.

“Here,” unexpectedly, he opened the cage door and extended a piece of bread toward me. I stared at him in disbelief. Was he really giving it to me? “Take it before I f ucking change my mind,” he grumbled with a growl.

I couldn’t afford to lose that piece of bread. Hastily, I reached out to take it from him, when he tightly gripped my hand. I stared at him, terror flooded my senses as I noticed a sinister grin spreading across his face. Frantically, I tried to retrieve my hand, but he yanked me out of the cage.

“AHHH…” I screamed in terror as he threw me to the ground and slammed the cage door shut. My knees struck the ground, causing intense pain. Tears welled up as I cried out in agony. “You’re hungry, right?” the man sneered, unfastening his pants. “Let me fill your stomach with something else

“No…” I shrank back in horror, scrambling back on the ground. He grabbed my hair and forcibly drew me toward his lower b*dy.

“Open your mouth!” he ordered sharply.

“Please, no!” I cried out in terror, fighting desperately to break free.

“You little…” He erupted in fury and slapped me sharply across the face. The blow was so intense that it knocked me to the ground. Tears streamed from the corner of my eyes as my head throbbed violently. My vision blurred as I saw him advancing over me.

As his cruel laughter echoed around me, I struggled to remain conscious. “No… no…” I

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weakly attempted to slide back, but my efforts were futile. He pushed me down to the ground, laughing, and reached for my clothes. I felt utter despair as I thought I was about to be violated.

Just as I resigned myself to a terrible fate, a large black wolf leaped over the man’s head. The wolf opened its jaws wide and attacked, swiftly tearing the man’s head off in a single ferocious motion. My eyes widened in shock as blood splattered all over my b*dy and face. The wolf tossed the man’s head back into the cage, which now lay broken and empty.

Suddenly, a swarm of pack wolves stormed the area, attacking the rogues and liberating the caged juvenile wolves. It was a raid by the pack, and the large black wolf that had leaped to my rescue earlier was their Alpha. My eyes widened as he shifted into his human form. He had been the wounded dying boy from earlier, his shifting left him completely n*ked. His features were defined, his eyes darker, and his n*ked b*dy was lying atop mine.

“You… you’re not dying?” I whispered in disbelief.

He leaned in close to my l*ps, gently raising my chin. “I found a reason to live,” he murmured.

“Willow, is he calling your name?” Beta Ken’s voice snapped me back to the present from my memories of the past that had been triggered by Reuben being wounded. The wolves attacking him were being left half-dead. Panic surged within me. They were clearly no match for Reuben. “Who is that monster?! If this continues, our wolves are going to be left cri ppled!” Beta Ken’s anger was evident.

It dawned on me then that Beta Ken didn’t recognize Reuben as the Alpha of the Emerald Bright Pack. Beta Ken suffered from prosopagnosia or facial recognition. blindness. He typically identified others using their aura and scent. Being the second most powerful pack, Wade Moon had never encountered an Alpha as powerful as Reuben, so Beta Ken failed to recognize him.

“Stop it!” I growled, stepping into the courtyard. The wolves attacking Reuben immediately backed off, but what unfolded next sent chills down my spine.

“Uncle!” Wyatt and Lori dashed out of the packhouse, racing toward Reuben. They reached him and Reuben crouched down with his arms outstretched, pulling them into a hug. My heart sank at the sight.

“Uncle?” Beta Ken frowned completely perplexed. Since I hadn’t acknowledged Reuben as their father, Wyatt and Lori referred to Reuben as uncle. “Wyatt and Lori know that man?” Beta Ken turned to me for an explanation.

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The situation was dire and my thoughts were a jumble. Revealingmy mate bond with Reuben or the true relationship between him, Wyatt, Lori, and I would terribly complicate things. “Mommy, uncle is injured,” Lori and Wyatt held Reuben’s hands. drawing him closer to me.

As Reuben stood before me, his gaze locked with mine. His intense gaze triggered Beta Ken. “Wait a minute, Willow, do you know this man?” he questioned, then turned to Reuben impatiently, demanding, “Who are you?”

“Me?” Reuben glanced at him before locking eyes with me again. Fear struck my heart at the thought of Beta Ken, Alpha Benjamin, and the other pack members finding out

the truth.

Suddenly, Reuben leaned closer to me and horror swept over me. “I am just someone she promised to take home,” he whispered, sending my heart racing. He… he still remembered? “It’s just that I’m still waiting…

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