3. The Carriage

"Carriage one," he said to me before looking at Perfect Portia. "Carriage one," he growled, and she nodded quickly, clamping her mouth shut.

"Rest of you to two," Braxton ordered, and they all rushed forward to their carriages as the alphas moved to carriage one.

I didn't move with them though. Instead, I ran to my family. I had two seconds before I was hauled off by three sexy werewolves. I didn't want to wait until tomorrow when I could have a fleeting moment now.

A grin broke on Lucas's face as I ran into him. My arms wrapped around his neck as his closed around my body, lifting me off the ground, holding me tight as tears fell from my eyes.

"Lorelai!" my father growled as my mother gasped.

"You must go!" she begged, but Lucas kept holding me as I held him. Warmth and love filled me as I closed my eyes against him.

"I'll see you tomorrow. It was nice to meet you," I whispered, and he squeezed me tighter.

Silence fell, until a feral growl broke it from behind me. My eyes flung open and Lucas put me down. I let go of him and turned to Nikolai's stormy face.

"Sorry," I tried, but he said nothing, looking between Lucas and me.

He stepped toward Lucas, but I stepped in front of him. The gasps of the villagers filled the silence. My mother gripped my wrist as my spine tingled in warning.

"You belong to the wolves tonight." His chest rumbled before me and anger exploded in my chest.

I was wearing the stupid dress, the uncomfortable underwear, I was freezing, on display, and completely degraded for their sick virgin fantasies and he got mad because I wanted to meet my brother? Fuck him and the wolves.

"Are we going?" I demanded, pointing to the carriages, where the other two alphas watched on, wary eyes between me and Nikolai.

"Learn your place, human," Nikolai warned, but I didn't step out of his way, so he couldn't get near Lucas.

"Can you stop? I haven't met my brother because of this offering stuff, but I'm still here doing it, so can we get on with it already? It's freezing," I bit, sick of holding my tongue for the alpha when he was doing his best to prove what an asshole he was.

His glare turned to me, and I held his gaze. He spun on his heel and I followed, a lingering gaze over my shoulder before I climbed into the carriage with the alphas and Perfect Portia.

Enclosed inside with the alphas, warmth filled me. They were just so big; there was no way not to brush up against them.

I sat between Braxton and Derik, their biceps hard and smooth all at the same time against my arms.

Braxton sucked in a breath and looked at me, then at where his arms touched mine.

"Shit, you're cold," he said, pulling me under his arm, rubbing my stinging skin.

I laughed. "It's almost winter and you chose a tiny silk dress to stare at us in. Was I meant to be warm?" I asked, then bit my tongue.

I had to get ahold of my attitude. The alphas may be hot as hell, but they were savages that could break me in seconds if they got too angry at me.

With the look Nikolai was giving me, that seemed more and more of a possibility.

"What's your name, spitfire?" Braxton chuckled. It was a deep, throaty sound that seemed so natural I almost believed he didn't have ulterior motives.

"Lori."

"Your full name," Nikolai demanded, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his anger.

"Lorelai Katerina Rosalynn Valarian." I said my long annoying name that I never used. "Happy?" I spat, and his anger rolled off him in waves of heat.

His eyes went to Braxton's hold on me, and he growled. "Mine, Braxton," he snarled, and Braxton let me go, the heat going with him.

Without thinking about consequences, like usual, I stood and sank into the seat next to Nikolai, forcing myself into the tiny space next to him and sighing as his heat fell over me.

I leaned against him as his eyes widened, looking down at me like he couldn't believe I had just touched him without permission.

I laughed at his expression, trying to ignore how good it felt to be pressed up against him, his thigh against mine.

"I'm freezing and you said I'm yours, so either help me warm up or let him do it," I said in explanation.

Braxton laughed a loud barking laugh as Derik smirked.

"She's got you there," Derik said with a shrug as Nikolai huffed.

Before I could tell him to stop growling, he pulled me onto his lap. I squealed as he did before his arms went around me, enclosing me in body heat. I couldn't help the sigh that fell from my lips at the feeling that rushed through me.

I leaned against him, soaking in the heat as Derik held his hand out to Portia.

"Come sit over here, love," he said, and Portia took his hand, settling in between them. She was tiny between them, or maybe they were just huge.

"I'm Portia Caldwell," she stammered, and Derik grinned.

"We don't need your name tonight, sweetheart," Braxton said against her jawline as he ran his lips along it, breathing in her scent.

I raised a brow as Derik nuzzled into her neck. Portia sat still as a board, her eyes wide, her cheeks flushed.

"Mmmm, is that vanilla?" Braxton sighed. Portia nodded stiffly. He grinned. "My favorite, how'd you know?"

He groaned, tugging her hair between his fingers, bringing it to his nose and inhaling.

"You're such a creep," Derik teased, his lips pressing along Portia's jaw.

She was barely breathing. Her hands clenched in her lap, and I had to look away.

She was terrified, they had to sense that in her scent, and they kept going. They didn't care.

Fucking alphas.

I went to climb from Nikolai's lap, but he held me there.

"You made a big deal about this, now sit there until we get to the city," he snapped, his fingers digging into my thighs.

I yanked his hand from me. "No." I moved into the seat next to him.

He snarled and hauled me back, crushing me against him. "Mine."

"Fuck you," I snapped back, sick of the possessive growls and anger that contradicted his "mine" bullshit.

Braxton and Derik both growled at that as Nikolai roared. He grabbed my throat, pushing me down on the seat, leaning over me, his huge body suffocating mine as I tried to breathe through his grip.

I clenched my jaw, my hand holding his as the fury in his eyes swirled, but there was something else. The lust, the desire, the heat that melted my resolve.

I sucked in a breath and swallowed hard as the nature of his wolf teetered on the brink of his control. I wasn't taunting him, I was taunting his wolf-and that was dangerous. More dangerous than I had thought about in the moment.

I sagged back against the seat as he pressed me into it.

"Stop. Challenging. Me," he bit, his lips brushing against mine.

I sighed against the touch. The intensity of him leaked into me, desire clawing under my skin.

I wanted him. I had no idea why being snarled at, why him holding my throat turned me on, but maybe I was fucked up from being winter born.

I looked into his eyes, heat passing between us, everything else melting away as I tested the waters. I ground my hips against him.

He was rock hard against my thigh, and I bit my lip at the rush of adrenaline that throbbed through me, settling in my core.

"Make me," I whispered past his grip, and he groaned. I lifted my thigh, rocking my hips against him as I leaned into his hold. His breath came through as shaky rasps against my skin as my fingers danced up his impressive biceps.

"Kai."

A warning voice broke through, and he glanced over at Derik. His body shook, and he looked down at me, closed off from the desire this time. I fought the urge to sulk as he let go of my throat and the promising storm of pleasure.

"Don't tempt me, human," he said, before climbing off me and moving away. He didn't even fight me when I sat on the other end of the bench seat.

I looked out the window, my hands shaking as I stared up at the blood moon. It would be there for twelve hours. I shivered and leaned my head against the window, my eyes closing.

I had no idea why I felt the way I felt, but if I could bait the alpha into holding me like that again, I couldn't help but be tempted.

I chewed my lip as a thrill rushed through me at the idea of it. Was I broken?

Maybe. I was winter born, after all. I wanted the alpha to break me-well, I wanted him to try-and I wanted to be consumed by that fire in his eyes.

I glanced over my shoulder as Nikolai was glaring at Derik, who was scowling back.

It took me a second to realize they were communicating.

"Can you talk to each other in your minds?" I asked, and Braxton paused his caressing of Portia as the other two turned their eyes to glare at me. That seemed to be their go-to though, so I brushed it off.

"Stop playing with fire, little girl. You've had your fun, but fall in line before we get to the city or we will have to show you that your kind of defiance won't be tolerated," Derik warned, and I knew he meant it.

"We are werewolves, not equals. Your little game just then could've gone horribly wrong, and you don't understand how badly yet-but maybe you will before the night is finished," Derik continued, and I shuddered at his words.

I didn't bother responding; instead, I looked back out the window, watching the Grasslands turn into the Water area.

The city was in the middle of Werewolf Territory, surrounded by the Water area like a moat, stretching into the Grasslands and extending into the Forest area.

Beyond that was Vampire Territory, and I had never been brave enough to find out what that meant.

I had never seen the city either though. Villagers weren't allowed. The alphas didn't come to the villages unless it was for offerings.

The wolves swarmed the city, the howls reaching into the carriage as we arrived.

I shivered as it reached inside me. A huge wall surrounded the city, and the giant black gates opened for us. I stared out at the lake that was surrounded by trees and rocks.

A cold pit dropped in my stomach as I stared through the darkness, the red of the moon stretching across the black lake. I frowned at the feeling as it sank further, cold and hard.

I narrowed my eyes through the darkness and swore my eyes found a shadow.

One that stared back.

4. The Shadow

"Wait...can we stop?" I asked breathily as the feeling tightened inside me. I had no idea why I felt it so strongly, but the shadows felt wrong. They didn't match the trees.

"Why?" Nikolai asked.

I didn't have an answer. I held my hand against my chest as the cold spread, and I shivered hard.

The shadow moved quickly from one tree to another, and just as I was sure I was making up shit in my head, two red eyes flicked open, staring at me from miles away, but it was like they were right there.

I gasped, shoving back from the window, my heart skipping as fear closed around me. I fell to the floor of the carriage, blinking hard, trying to get the image from my head. Those eyes.

"I saw... There was something out there," I breathed.

Nikolai looked at me like I had taken crazy pills. So did the other alphas. Maybe I was delusional. Maybe it was the reflection of the water and the blood moon making the eyes seem red.

"It's a full moon, wolves will be everywhere tonight," Derik said, an edge to his voice.

I nodded slowly and climbed back onto the seat, yanking the curtain across the window.

"What do you think you saw?" Braxton asked warily, and I shook my head.

"Nothing. It was...just a shadow." I inhaled deeply and tried to convince myself that's all it was.

I held my arms across me as we were taken through the gates and through the city.

It was less modern than I had expected- the paths were stone in the ground, the buildings all stone, wood, and glass.

All of the streets looked similar until they came to the mansion. It was huge, with a sprawling lawn that was hosting multiple orgies as wolves ran, nipping and chasing each other.

I tried to keep my eyes inside my head as we were let out of the carriages and led up the stone path toward the mansion.

Some of the people in the orgies paused, looking at the offerings with interest before going back to the entanglement of bodies they were in.

I looked straight ahead, the situation finally weighing on me.

It was just sex, but it was about to change everything. Fear tightened inside me, coiling around my stomach as I tried to keep my shit together. I didn't want to be the scared little virgin, but I was.

I knew it was going to hurt, and with all the games with Nikolai, I had forgotten why I was there. I remembered now as we were ushered into the foyer of the mansion.

It was grand and beautiful, nothing like my village at home. There were dark wooden floors with a double staircase on either side, leading up to a dark hall that led somewhere I didn't even want to guess.

I looked around at the big statues-all wolves-that surrounded the marble foyer.

Mom was right; it was more luxury than I'd ever see again. The wall lamps were made of glass and lit the place enough to see we were being led into a seating room.

The offerings from the other villages were already there, and after a quick count, there were about thirty of us.

Could werewolves really fuck ten girls in a row? I shuddered. Mom had said I would go last, and I hoped that was true and my theory about being tired worked out.

We were all in white: the Grasslands in the silk nightie, the Forests in long flowy white gowns, and the Water group in high-waist flowy skirts with a crop. All white for purity.

I huddled with the others as the alphas stood in the doorway, barricading us in. Not that it was a bad place to be barricaded in.

It was warm, with a bright fireplace and multiple plush seating options: couches, chairs, cushions... Even the rug looked comfier than my plain old seats at home that hadn't been repaired in way too long.

I was terrible at sewing. And a little lazy. Hope that wasn't going to be an issue for tonight's festivities.

That had me smirking. The idea of lying there like a dead fish while the alpha tried to get a rise out of me had me almost laughing out loud.

I held it in by some miracle and looked up, my eyes clashing with Nikolai's.

I stowed my threatening smirk to harden my stare as he stood at the front of the trio.

"Offerings of Wolf Territory," he said, and everyone stepped back in the large room.

I stood my ground, not letting him intimidate me. He was using my body; he wouldn't have my mind or my will.

He noticed.

"One by one you will be taken through the door at the back. Once you pass through that door, everything you see and do will be private information. Tell no one," he said.

Everyone turned to look at the door, every girl looking paler as the full weight of what we were there for hit us. The solid, dark wooden door with a silver wolf head on it seemed more dramatic than it needed to be.

"Stay in this room no matter what. The rest of the mansion is off limits. Step foot outside this threshold and you'll regret it," he promised, and it made me want to put my toe across the line just to see what they would do.

Then I realized that was a stupid get-yourself-killed idea and decided against it.

Braxton stepped forward, lining up next to Kai. "There are drinks on the table there. We suggest you choose the alcoholic punch. You're going to need the liquid courage."

He winked as if he was being charming, and maybe that's what the other offerings saw because not a single one flinched at the hidden threat.

They were prepared to walk blindly into the unknown. I wanted more answers. But by the glare Nikolai gave me, I wasn't going to get them until I went through the door.

Derik's turn.

He stepped in line with the other two alphas, all three of them magnificent, feral beasts with muscles and tattoos, but it was the searing darkness in their eyes that got me.

The wise, untamed look that made me think the night wasn't going to be as straightforward as my mom had made it sound.

And maybe that wasn't going to be such a bad thing.

"There's books and chess if you get bored," Derik said, pointing to the bookshelves and chess table, but I didn't care. I was all about the fireplace, inching closer to the flame, the heat warming my freezing skin.

I gulped as they moved, weaving through the girls, sniffing and scenting the strongest out.

I waited impatiently, holding my arms as I took in the blood moon spilling in from the glass panes in the ceiling. It covered our white clothes in red shadows and made me smirk at how appropriate that was.

Pillars lined the room, vines, water, and a rock path curving down them in stone.

The three alphas. It was ingrained in every part of the place. It was beautiful the way the history was kept.

The three families had joined forces, held Werewolf Territory for centuries since the great war. I had to begrudgingly give them props for that.

I sucked in a breath as a coldness wrapped around me. I spun to the feeling, but there was nothing there. The corner of the room felt wrong though, the same as it had outside.

I shivered, seeing a shadow kissing the wall that matched nothing in the room.

Dread dropped in my stomach, that same heavy stone from before.

I walked slowly toward it, focused on the feeling, paralyzed by it. I was waiting for the eyes. I knew they were watching me, but I couldn't see them. I wanted to see them.

Before I could reach the corner, strong arms wrapped around my waist and yanked me back, shaking me out of my stupor.

Nikolai dumped me back by the fireplace. My eyes wide, I looked up at him, his body heating me as much as the fire behind me.

His face dropped as he looked between me and the corner he had snared me from. I backed away slowly, a weakness hitting me. I stumbled, and Nikolai caught me.

The world spun for a second, and I took a steadying breath.

"Lorelai?" he asked, his voice softer than I had ever heard it.

It broke through the spinning, and I forced myself to stand strong.

"I'm good," I bit, glancing over at the corner. I was losing my damn mind. Stupid werewolves.

"Kai. We've got to start," Derik said, standing by his first girl.

Nikolai hesitated before letting me go and grabbing a random girl from his group, pulling her to the door as Braxton picked his.

He looked to me and nodded at the alcohol table. "Drink the punch. It'll help," he bit, before looking back at the others. "Wait here."

Then the wolves disappeared.

Most of the girls huddled together, keeping to their respective villages, but I was winter born. Nobody cared where I went.

So, I found the alcohol. It was made up in a punch that swirled in my plastic cup, had a little fizz, and was a pinkish-orange color.

I had no idea what that meant, but I didn't care enough to question it. Instead, I gulped it back before grabbing another one to sip.

The bittersweet taste coated my throat, and I went to the fireplace, sinking into the closest plush chair to wait my turn.

I had just started to relax into the warmth with the help of whatever I was drinking when the screams started.

5. The Oath

I sat by the fire, staring at the flames dancing in the ash as I drank the punch.

It was starting to have an effect; my tongue was numb, but my mind wasn't. It heard every screech and scream as the three alphas came out, grabbing another three girls, then another three, until it was only me and two others.

I was next. I wasn't ready.

My heart raced as the screams finally quieted and I took another sip, hoping it would numb my mind even more. My body felt relaxed, my muscles not tense at all, but my head was pounding.

I leaned back, resting my head against the big cushions on the couch, my eyes fluttering closed.

I had avoided his eyes burning into me every time he had come through that damn door, and the idea that I was going to be the next one he came to get had my jaw clenching.

I didn't want to be the next one screaming like the others that had gone through.

I'd kill for a coffee. Or a nap. I took the second option, slowly drifting while I waited.

The red eyes were in my dream.

I gasped awake and Nikolai was there, bending down, his eyes meeting mine.

"Your turn," he said, holding his hand out. I looked between it and the door.

"Did you at least change the sheets?" I grumbled, letting him pull me up.

He smirked and led me through the door. Braxton and Derik grabbed the last girls from their group and followed us through.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't the room that greeted us. There was no bed, no lanterns. Only the moon shining down on us through the opening in the ceiling, casting its red glare.

The three alphas stood next to three concrete stands, each holding a golden goblet carved with the three symbols of Wolf Territory: a wave, a tree, and my own village's symbol, a vine with flower buds, because the Grasslands area had meadows stretching over every part of it that wasn't used for crops and animal farming.

The alphas all wore the same mischievous smirk, the shadows playing on their faces, making them look even bigger, even more intimidating.

Like they needed it. I was already nervous, and I was sure the others were too. I was just as curious though. Surely they didn't expect us to fuck on the floor, so what the hell were we doing in the room with the goblets?

Nikolai stepped into the red rays of the moon.