Being down here was freeing. No expectations. No rules. Except one. Don’t piss me off.
A chain rattled in the dark as our boots thudded over the wooden stairs. We were not known for being soft in the Black Creek Pack and down here was where our demons lived.
A howl of pain filled the space deeper down a stone walled hallway. This place had been set up generations ago and it still fit the same purpose.
I pushed past Colton, rage filling me the more I thought about my mate being part of this barbaric bullshit. They would not live to see the daylight. Not if I had a say in it and I did have all the say in it.
“Well, well. What do we have here?” The hall opened up to a room lit by a single bulb and a lantern that we could bring in and out. Although what we did rarely needed good lighting.
My wolf shifted inside me, my skin prickled with his need for revenge.
“Rogues? But no, wait. Not just any rogues. You’re trading females, aren’t you?”
One of the male’s eyes was already swollen, and the other one looked to be completely taken over by the swelling. Blood ran down his face as he knelt on the dirt floor.
“It’s good money. Fated mates don’t exist anymore. In the name of the species the packs need brides and breeders. We are keeping bloodlines pure.”
He spit out a mouth full of blood.
I got closer and grabbed a large metal chain. The kind that would move support beams. The kind that would break someone’s face.
“Now that doesn’t seem right. Breeding programs were abolished a century ago. We aren’t dying out.”
The guy tried to slink away, but he was held in place by the cuffs anchored to the floor around him.
“So tell me. Are we as a species just giving up on the moon goddess? She has a plan for us you know?”
This time he flashed me a blood strained smile, his teeth obviously stained even in this lighting.
“So says the alpha who’s engaged for alliance?”
I curled my lip.
“Some of us aren’t lucky enough to have the chance to find our mates. Or-“
And I paused.
“Tell me. Where did you get the female that escaped you? The one that I brought here?”
He smirked.
“Paid off from another pack that didn’t like the idea of her going free. It happens a lot. They work off their pack debts, but never see freedom.”
Interesting.
“A pack from the south?”
The guy smirked again, but no more information was forthcoming.
“I would speak if I were you,” Colt said, joining me by my side.
The guy’s eyes darted between us.
“Do you know what pack’s lands you are on?”
He paused and studied my face again and I watched as he tried to think where he might be.
“They call me the blood alpha. Want to know why?”