Celeste

"I thought you suddenly grew some backbone, you trash. Alas, you're still as cowardly as a mouse."

Tabitha's taunts filled my head, but my gaze was fixed on the writhing middle-aged woman lying on the floor. Her blood formed a pool beneath her, and I could tell she was in excruciating pain. 

"What did they do to you, Nanny Zelda?" The words flowed out of my lips like someone who had the authority to put these people in their place. Alas...

"Tsk! Playing savior now, huh? Take one more step, and I'll snap her neck." Luna Fiona's words were just above a whisper, but I didn't dare defy her. I couldn't tell what they did to Nanny Zelda, but I wasn't ready to put her life on the line because I wished to find out.

All Nanny Zelda wanted was for me to run away from this pack and never look back. In her words, "It was better to be a rogue than remain a punching bag in the Moon Howler Pack." I never listened to her, and now she might die because of me. How could I live with myself after that?

I regretted it so much. I wish I had listened to her. 

"I'll go to the Iron Fang Pack, but Nanny Zelda must come with me," I spoke as if I was negotiating with the Luna, but my eyes were pleading at the same time. I didn't wish to leave the only family I had with these savages. They might just kill her at the least provocation. 

"Celeste, my dearest," Luna Fiona walked toward me, leaving Nanny Zelda to fall face-flat onto the ground. Even though it wasn't too loud, I still heard her low whimper. She was really hurt, yet I still couldn't tell what they did to her, nor could I be of any assistance. 

With her left hand grabbing the back of my neck firmly, Luna Fiona's right hand reached for my jaw. Her grip was so tight that any more force could cause it to snap.

"The only reason you're not bleeding right now is because you need to be delivered intact. After all, you are the Alpha's favorite daughter." 

I was finally freed from her grip, but she pushed me away as if she had just held something filthy. I didn't know when Tabitha joined us, but they just couldn't mock me enough. 

While the two laughed like maniacs, I could only hold the places she just held, massaging gently to relieve the pain.

I didn't even look toward the mother and daughter pair. My gaze was only fixed on Nanny Zelda. 

"Tsk! I heard you say you wanted to take this wench away." Tabitha taunted, as if asking would make it sound less ridiculous. I knew it was a difficult request, but it wasn't impossible, after all. 

Tabitha stepped on Nanny Zelda's right leg with so much force that she let out a heart-wrenching scream in agony. Unsurprisingly, a cracking sound soon followed, and my nanny passed out. She was the closest person I had to a family, yet these two devils didn't give a damn about hurting her. 

"This is just a small injury, and we both know she would heal under the care of the pack physicians. However, she would remain here." 

Tabitha spoke with so much authority that I could tell she wasn't speaking for herself. She was always cocky, but this was different. 

"W... What do you mean?" My voice came out shaky, as my whole body trembled from pain and frustration. I felt so useless seeing Nanny Zelda passed out in a pool of her blood, yet I could only look away. 

Luna Fiona also looked toward Tabitha with a probing gaze. "Mom, Dad wanted me to remind the bitch that he would keep this wench safe as long as she behaved herself in the Iron Fang Pack. After all, Nanny Zelda was part of her mother's dowry, and Father couldn't just let her go like that." 

How ridiculous! They wanted to control me with Nanny Zelda. Wasn't it bad enough that I was going to the Iron Fang Pack as payment for the warriors Alpha Holmes murdered? He also wanted me to be his spy? 

How ridiculous! Did he think I wouldn't die fast enough, or did they take Alpha Horres for a fool? What sort of joke was this? 

Celeste Holmes, could you be any more pathetic than this? 

"I'd run along and pack up if I were you." Luna Fiona didn't even wait for me to say anything in response. It's not like anything I said mattered, after all.

"I hope you'll keep your word and let Nanny Zelda get treated by the physicians." I couldn't even look at the mother and daughter. The words I spoke were for whichever of them cared to take care of my nanny. 

If I lingered any longer, she might just face a fate more difficult than what she was experiencing now. 

...

For two days and two nights, we were on the move, only stopping to eat and sleep. Along the journey, I cried my eyes out in silence until my head began to pound like crazy. I couldn't even stomach any food.

The fear of Nanny Zelda's safety wasn't less than my fate as a spy in the Iron Fang Pack. I was soon to be a spy Luna in a foreign land. I knew for a fact that my days in the pack wouldn't be good; hence, I relished in the peace that I enjoyed along the journey. How the days ahead would be, I couldn't tell.

I didn't know when I fell asleep while clutching my head, but I was woken up by a bone-chilling coldness that seemed out of place. It wasn't winter yet, so I shouldn't have been feeling this way.

When I finally made sense of where I was, I noticed a small crowd gathered around me, and a man who looked so imposing and scary stood in the middle. 

I wasn't sure who he was, but I was almost a hundred percent certain that he was the alpha of Iron Fang Pack. His alpha aura wasn't particularly hidden, after all.

"Tsk! Is this the peace offering Alpha Holmes exchanged with the heads of seven warriors? A wolfless trash like you?" 

His voice was cold, and I could already feel the anger and scorn behind his words. Even the onlookers looked like they could tear me to shreds, if only the alpha commanded it.

It was at this point when I began to shiver from the cold that I realized something...

They doused me with cold water. Which alpha would humiliate his Luna like this? 

A well-deserved welcome for a nobody, huh? 

Celeste Holmes, didn't you just jump from the frying pan to fire?

Horres

"Greetings, Alpha, I.... I..." Alpha Horres took me for a fool, huh? So his favorite daughter just happened to be the wolfless trash who didn't even qualify to be called a Holmes. 

Hmmmph! What a joke! Did he think the Iron Fang Pack was a dumpsite? He really went out of his way with this peace offering. 

She was only on a journey for two days, yet she couldn't even walk properly. How could she be anybody's Luna? 

"Alpha," My first beta walked into the room, his presence reminding me of all the warriors who died under his watch. 

Why didn't Kylie die as well? He didn't even sustain the slightest injury. It was as if he hid somewhere as the fight was going on. How else could he have escaped unscathed? 

Even Gamma Lorna didn't survive the 'rogue attack.' She was one of my finest warriors, yet she succumbed so easily. Yet...

Calm down, Horres. This was just a ploy by that bastard, Holmes. He wanted to plant a seed of doubt, and you couldn't possibly allow him to have his way, right? Yet still...

Fuck me! I couldn't even have a proper sleep in the last three days. Thinking about the whole ordeal had drained me so much. 

Alpha Holmes... Rest assured, I would surely give you a slow and painful death. For now, I couldn't thank you enough for sending a toy my way.

"Your father killed seven warriors and offered you for peace. What could wolfless trash like you offer the Iron Fang Pack?" I could feel her raw fear and horror as she knelt there weakly. She was right to be terrified of me. After all, she didn't have a clear conscience to begin with.

"Tell me, Celeste, do you think you really qualify to be a spy in my pack? Couldn't your father even send someone worthy?"

She raised her head abruptly, a petrified look marring her face. Did she think I was oblivious? 

"Alpha, Celeste truly isn't the alpha's favorite. However, she volunteered to be the peace offering. She mentioned that she had her ways to make your pain go away. Alpha Holmes just couldn't refuse her sincerity. She is also his beloved daughter, after all..." 

I couldn't believe a mere servant dared to speak in front of me. One thing I picked up from this was that she had no regard for my peace offering.

One look was all it took for Oxley to sever that annoying head from her neck. 

I wasn't surprised to see my peace offering shivering like a leaf at the sight of the body. 

"Alpha, please, have mercy. I swear by the moon goddess... I am not a spy." I guess she believed her own lie, because I didn't feel her pulse quicken when she said this. How interesting! She must have undergone special training to be able to keep her facade this calmly. 

Alpha Holmes gifted me a spy Luna, huh? Interesting.

"Pass my orders. The daughter of Alpha Holmes would be my breeder from henceforth. If she doesn't bear an heir in a year, she will be punished according to the customs of the Moon Howler Pack. After all, we wouldn't want to judge her with rules that are unfamiliar to her." 

My two betas stared at me as if I had developed a new head. 

Well, as for the peace offering, she looked like I had just passed down her death sentence. She didn't have the slightest wish of living in peace here, did she?

"Tell me, breeder, what is the penalty for failing to fulfill a breeder's duties?" I wanted her to say the words herself. She would be more familiar with the rules than me. It's from her pack, after all. 

"The alpha's breeder is a branded slave who must warm his bed to his satisfaction. She is not allowed to waste the seeds of the alpha by consuming any concoctions that stop pregnancy. In a given time, the breeder must provide pups for the alpha. Failure to do so..." I felt her tremble at this point, and I could tell my wait was worth it. All that explanation meant nothing to me. I only wanted her to get to this part.

"The breeder must serve all the warriors who protect the alpha as a way of lessening his burdens." Good.

"In other words, the breeder becomes the pack's whore after failing to provide an heir, right?" She bobbed her head up and down, grabbing the message. The daughter of Alpha Holmes, servicing my warriors and every other person I offer her to, huh? First, I have one year to make her wish she had never been born.

"According to the customs of your pack, the breeder is a slave who must also serve the Luna, and she could never become Luna, even if she were the last she-wolf in the pack." 

"Y... Yes, Alpha." Her voice trembled at my words. She didn't match up to the pinkie of Gamma Lorna, but she would spend her days atoning for her father's sins, wishing for nothing but death. 

"Come here. I need to take a closer look at those treacherous eyes of yours." She got up onto her feet and wobbled her way toward me. 

When she was about two feet from me, my breeder went on her knees once again. 

I raised my hands and grabbed her hair, and surprisingly, it felt silky and particularly smooth to the touch. 

So he sent a temptress, huh? She looked exactly like the vixen she was meant to be. However, I also felt her body burning up. 

Being doused with cold water so early in the morning did the magic. My pitiful little breeder. Tsk!

I threw her head back, forcing her to fall butt-down. I didn't like the sense of familiarity she evoked in me. I could swear I never met her before this, yet... 

"You stink. Next time you appear before me, make sure you look like a she-wolf worthy to breed my pups." 

I could always punish her for failing to meet the standards of my breeder, after all.

"Oxley," I called out to my second beta.

"Alpha," Came his response.

"My whore has tainted my eyes." Understanding that I wanted her punished, Oxley dragged her out of the room. I realized he was still careful enough not to leave a single bruise on her skin. 

As for Celeste, she didn't even resist in the slightest. 

"Kylie, go and rest. I would summon you after seven days."

Celeste

No! No! No! No! 

I know he has hated my father for ages. Alpha Horres wouldn't think twice about killing my Alpha Holmes. Meanwhile, he just lost seven warriors so unjustly. 

My days in the Iron Fang Pack weren't supposed to be all rosy, but as the Luna, I would still have been able to achieve my goals. However, Alpha Horres' words truly confused me. He told Alpha Holmes that I would be his Luna. He agreed to that offer. How then did I become his breeder? Why would he even decide to treat me according to the customs of the Moon Howler Pack? I'm confused here.

I just rattled everything about how the Moon Howler Pack treated their breeders, but nothing else registered in my brain. How could I accept this fate? 

Could it be that he requested me to draw nearer so he would take a closer look and reconsider? I know this thought was highly unlikely, but I would give anything for him to rescind this order for me to be his breeder. 

I was scared shitless when his hand drew close to my head. I feared he might even choke me to death. No. He would have claimed my head earlier if he wanted to. 

Moreover, I haven't taken a bath since I arrived in this place. Wouldn't he...

"You stink. Next time you appear before me, make sure you look like a she-wolf worthy to breed my pups." 

This was no fault of mine. I haven't come in contact with bathing water since I arrived here. I didn't even get the chance to bathe on the journey. Why did he have to make it seem like I was some filthy rag? 

Oh, moon goddess, please save me. 

My whole body trembled at the thought of what else they were about to do to me. I haven't had a morsel of food since the journey began. I just couldn't stomach anything, and I hoped for a warm bath and some hot meal on arrival. 

Yet...

Before I recovered from my reverie, we were in front of a shabby, standalone shed somewhere in the pack. 

"You dared to lie to the alpha, huh? It wasn't enough that your father slaughtered my brothers in your land. The sucker Holmes had to send his wolfless trash to dampen my Alpha's mood. Did your father think you had the power to make my Alpha pissed to the point of having a heart attack?" 

The hateful look in the beta's eyes wasn't news to me. Everyone in this pack hated Alpha Holmes to the bone. Talk less of a ranked member who lost his fellow warriors. 

"Please, I need to see the Alpha. I didn't plan any of this. I really had no hand in this. Please, just give me one chance. I can explain everything to the Alpha." 

I knew this was a huge gamble, but I had no plans of suffering for my father's sins. If only the alpha would listen to me. I'd explain everything and...

"Such a dreamer we got here, huh? Your father already told you this pack was yours, right? Wait, did he tell you to kill the Alpha? Could that be your mission here?" 

What the heck! How could I have plotted anything with that crazy man? If he were an ally of mine, what would I need an enemy for? 

I could only shake my head at the beta's words. Nothing I said could make sense to him right now. My only chance would be to speak to the alpha. 

"You know, you could save yourself if you spoke now. Tell me, what's the plan?" Would he even believe me if I told him there was no plan? 

"Get the whip." I heard the beta's voice and suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. It reminded me of how Tabitha and her mother usually whipped me just for the fun of it. Sometimes, Alpha Holmes witnessed everything, and the family of three took my screams and whimpers as some sort of entertainment.

"You know what this is, right?" 

Two soldiers joined, and I watched the beta flex the whip in the air, making it hit the ground harshly. He planned to scare me, and I swear he already succeeded. 

"Please, don't do this. I didn't visit the alpha in this state by choice. Please..." 

"Oh, complaining of our hospitality now, are you?" Goddess, please help me. 

"The crime for lying to the alpha is losing your head." Huh? The beta's words caused my blood to run cold. I even felt a tingling sensation on my neck. The earlier sight of the maid losing her head quickly replayed in my head and I lost hold of my body. I trembled all over, looking like a really scared mouse. 

Well, it's not like I felt sorry for the dead maid. She was Luna Fiona's lapdog, after all. She nearly cost me my life, and I was no saint to pity such a person. However, I feared for my life even more. Killing someone over such a trivial issue... Alpha Thorne must really be as ruthless as the rumors said he was.

"However, the Alpha wouldn't allow you to die so easily. For today, your punishment will be fifty lashes of this whip." 

What! 

"F... Fifty lashes?" I stared at the beta with trembling lips. My teeth chattered at the thought of the incoming pain, but I despaired in the reality of how helpless I was in this place. 

"Oh, and you must count after each stroke lands on your back. You wouldn't want me to start counting from the beginning because I lost count, would you?" 

I shook my head vigorously, protesting against whatever torture this beta had in store for me. 

I wasn't a shifter, so I wouldn't heal from those wounds anytime soon. I would be naive to even think they would allow me to heal quietly after the torture.

What was I even thinking? How could I survive fifty lashes from such a whip?

He flexed the whip once again, taking some calculated steps toward me. I knew the beta was intentionally taunting me, but I didn't care about taking two steps back after every single footstep of his.

I was weak, but I kept moving backwards, hoping I could somehow escape this nightmare. Before I could regain my footing, I tripped on a stone, falling butt-down.

"Aahh!" A loud hiss escaped my lips as I hurt my hand badly. In a different setting I might have been bothered by how ungraceful I looked right now, but who cared about grace at this moment?

"What the heck are you doing to her?"