Brutal Punishment

I am not sure how long we swam before hitting a shore. I transformed back into my human body and lay on the wet sand, panting. Not sure where I had landed as I got on all fours and choked out water letting it escape my lungs. My auburn hair matted on my face as I pushed them back.

Sable had gone silent in my mind again.

I could hear some men in the distance and all my senses became alert. I tried to get up and run, but the fatigue had consumed my limbs. It was impossible to stand.

"There, I see her," someone shouted and I saw two burly men with their heads shaved from the sides and tattoos covering their arms, running towards me. There was no doubt they were werewolves and from the uniforms they wore, it seemed like they were guards.

A coat was thrown over my naked body as they drew near.

"We have got you?" One of them said in a dangerous gruff voice and harshly grabbed my arm.

"Where am I?" I asked, wrapping the warm coat against my shivering body, this place was cold. I stared up at them. They watched me in disbelief as if I was some alien and not a woman. The fear settled in my heart.

"You dare ask that, after that stunt you pulled. We will tell you where you are." He shook my arm as if I was a ragdoll.

It was a new place and I had no clue what I had landed myself in. Literally.

They held my arms and picked me up as if I weighed nothing. I tried to stay calm and take in the beach and its surroundings but their menacing attitude had left me shivering.

"Don't you know, you are on Whispering Bay Island? The home of NightRiders Pack. We are taking you back to the castle so you can be punished for trying to escape."

Castle? Punishment? For what? What kind of place had I landed myself in? So many questions brimmed my mind.

"Punishment? I didn't do anything," I tried to plead my case but was met with a sharp slap from one of the guards. It left stars dancing in front of my eyes and my cheek stinging.

If only Sable was with me, I would have torn him apart for laying his hand on me.

"King will be furious to learn that one of the candidates went missing." The one who had thrown his coat at me spoke and the other one barely nodded in answer.

Not understanding who this king was, I decided to silently listen and get more information for now.

"Almost all the she-wolves have arrived. Let's see who gets to be the lucky one to carry the King's child and become his surrogate," the other one said and they both nodded in agreement.

Surrogate? Seemed like the king didn't have a mate or maybe she was dead making him search for a surrogate for his heir and I was mistaken as one of the women who had applied to become one or had escaped.

I took in my surroundings and found the island to be home to a very unique kind of flora. Tall trees were scattered all around, their leaves shed for the approaching winter.

A grey and black castle with four high towers, whose spikes seemed to be piercing the heavens stood on high grounds. For a second I was left stunned to watch its archaic design intermingled with modern style.

They dragged me inside the castle through heavy doors. I observed how heavily guarded it was, it would be no easy task to escape.

Once inside I was taken underground to a dark and damp room. From one dungeon to another. Some rotten luck I had.

"Tie her up," one of the men instructed the other. There was a long red stool on the hard floor and I highly doubted it was for sitting.

Roughly pushing me down on the floor they spread my arms on the stool and tied them up with ropes.

"All she-wolves were supposed to be not harmed but you decided to run away. An example needs to be made so no one else even dreams of it." He flashed me a smile of pure evil as his partner handed him a pair of pliers.

My heart dropped into my stomach, without my wolf I wouldn't even be able to share the pain or heal.

"No, please! Listen. You got the wrong girl…" They didn't even let me finish when the nail of my index finger was pulled.

I thought I knew pain but his actions proved I didn't. Never had I felt such torture, my helpless screams filled the entirety of the dungeon. The tears wet my face as my hand was drenched in my innocent blood.

Curses flowed through my mouth and I swore I would give him tenfold the pain he was inflicting on me.

They would have continued but another guard arrived, informing them the king had arrived.

The men left me there and hurriedly left while I wallowed in my pain and misery. Questioning the moon goddess what had I ever done wrong?

A stern-looking woman in her early fifties arrived soon after. Her greying hair were tied so tightly at the back of her head that it seemed even painful.

She began to untie the ropes.

"I am Linda Afolis and if you want to survive this place, it will be advisable to listen to what I say. Follow me" she said stiffly, scrutinising my attire and my bloody hand which was missing a few fingernails now. I was almost naked, minus the coat.

"Yes!" I quietly answered and struggled to get up. Scrambling to my feet I began trotting behind her.

I followed her into a room which seemed to be some kind of changing room. She began to bandage my shaking hand. The blood tripped on the clean floor.

"One of the she-wolves ran away and we will be using you in her place. So keep your mouth shut and do what you are told."

After seeing what kind of barbaric people they were, who could go to any length to cover up for their mistakes. Everything made sense now but I decided to stay quiet and plan.

But it did make my wonder what kind of king they had as a leader who allowed such barbaric acts.

Can I Meet The King?

(Anna)

I was given a white sundress to put on and quickly did as was told.

She then took me to a large room, where I found many other she-wolves sitting around. Some excited, others quiet.

I took one of the unoccupied single beds beside an over-excited blonde.

"Get yourselves comfortable, we will talk soon," Linda ordered, no emotions were reflected in her voice and left without giving any more information. The door locked behind her.

Despair fell on me as I wondered how I was to escape this fortress. The future seemed bleak. What if they turned me into a breeder and I could never get away?

But then the image of my father and his closest comrades, lying there dead flashed in my brain, giving me new courage.

I knew I would have to find a way to escape and win my pack back. The name Shadow came to mind, father had once mentioned that it was a secret organisation that trained werewolves and sent them all over on covert missions. If only I could find my way to them.

Feeling overly exhausted and worrying thoughts clouding my brain I slipped into slumber.

I was woken up by Linda's stern voice. I rubbed my eyes, my hand throbbed with pain as she began to address us.

"Listen here, girls. All of you are here for one goal only and that is to produce an heir for our King, to act as his surrogate. So if you have dreams you wish to be fulfilled, get pregnant with his heir and all your wishes might come true. Now we will be taking you for your medical checkups. Freshen up."

Listening to her words freaked me out. I didn't wish to become a surrogate, I was supposed to be having the time of my life with my mate back in my pack. But it seemed like a long-lost dream now. This was my reality.

Without Sable, I was merely a human and stood no chance against the werewolves.

We filed in a single line, everyone was wearing the same white dress I had on. We were made to enter an enormous snow-shaded room with a white door. The pristinely made beds in two rows had been laid out for us.

It screamed clean and bland, even bedsheets were white.

I observed there were eight of us and all of them were chirping amongst themselves.

"From now on you girls will be staying here and following every order. Failing to do so will result in death. So don't even try," Linda's menacing words sent a chill running through my system.

Quickly peeking at the walls I saw security cameras directed at every bed. They were going to be monitoring our every move. The thought horrified me but I kept my mouth shut.

We stayed in that room for a week without going out. My hand throbbed less now and a doctor had been cleaning it to avoid infections.

Our meals were served there three times a day. There was a treadmill in the corner to be used if our legs become stiff from sitting. A single window with silver-coated bars ensured we could stare outside but not escape. It felt like a prison.

After a week, Linda came to fetch me one day and took me straight to a laboratory for my physical examination. A few girls had gone before me and returned a few hours after.

The female doctor asked me a few questions.

"What is your name?"

"Sara Wikins." I gave her a fake name, everyone knew by now my luggage and IDs were lost in the fake boat wreck and I was sticking to the story.

"Are you mated?

Are you a virgin?"

The questions stung but I boldly informed her, "No and yes."

She noted down the answers on the writing pad in her hand.

After the physical examination, she made me lie down on a bed. Before I could ask what was going to happen, she injected me with a clear liquid, instantly turning my vision blurry. I passed out soon.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the monitoring room with the girls. Feeling slightly disoriented and totally clueless about what they did to my body, I asked the blonde who occupied the next bed. Her name was Malory.

"Who brought me here? Did they say anything?"

"Nah! They just carried you inside and left you here under Linda's instructions. No one knows what goes on in that laboratory after they make us unconscious," she answered, sending my mind swirling with all kinds of negative thoughts. But I was strong, I knew I could survive this.

The next two weeks went slowly. We all followed the same monotonous routine of eating well-balanced meals, taking one cup of green tea in the evening. I had read somewhere that it helped with fertility so that's what they had been aiming for.

The routine never changed, they seemed to follow it to the dot. We weren't allowed to step foot outside these four walls and I was getting pretty sick of staring at these bleached walls and doing nothing.

Where was the colour? At least add some paintings or fresh flowers.

Duh!

Half a month later, which passed at sloth's pace, they collected my urine sample. The next day, Linda called me to the laboratory and showed me the results with what seemed like an effort to smile. Her lips weren't flatlining like usual.

My eyes roamed the white sheet of paper which said, 'Pregnant.'

I felt dizzy at the news, carrying someone's child without even meeting or knowing the man.

What if he was also an asshole like Noah? That's not how I had envisioned my life or getting the news of my first pregnancy. I felt nothing but a lab rat in that instant.

"Congratulations! Sara, you are carrying our King's child. You have to be very careful now…" She kept on speaking but all I could hear was a ringing sound as I blankly stared from the piece of paper in my hand to her and then at the man standing behind her.

From the mere choice of his clothes, he seemed like some kind of fancy butler.

"Hi! I am Eden. Our king will be delighted to hear this wonderful news. He has been trying to have an heir for quite a while. You have rekindled hope in all of us," he told me with a genuine smile.

A flicker of hope birthed inside my rapidly beating heart. The joy on their faces told me this was huge news. It made me wonder if I could meet this mysterious king and ask for his help in locating the legendary 'Shadow' in exchange for this baby. I knew they would never let me keep him or her, that was the whole point of surrogacy.

I asked, "Can I meet the king?"

"No one can meet the king," Linda flatly refused but Eden held up his hand and offered me a kind smile.

"It's certainly against the rules but what you have achieved hasn't been done in the last eight years. I will fight tooth and nail to arrange a meeting with the king."

A small hope was rekindled in my heart at his words. If I would be able to find Shadow, it certainly would pave the way to secure my revenge plan. A genuine smile covered my face and I nodded at Eden.

His Refusal

(Asher)

The business dealing off the island had left me tired and in a bad mood. Fucking humans always trying to double-cross anyone and everyone. But they didn't understand that I could see right through them.

Pouring myself some scotch, I tried to relax in my study chair. My head rested on its back as I closed my eyes and tried to find some semblance of peace.

The door to my study knocked and I knew it would be Eden, my butler and my beta. Only he was stupid enough to disturb me when I enjoyed sitting in solitude.

"Enter," I ordered and the doorknob twisted. The door opened revealing Eden's happy face. He strolled inside and perched himself on the seat opposite me.

"You are back, how did the meeting go?" he asked, grabbing himself a glass and pouring some scotch from the decanter.

"The usual, humans thought they could double cross me and I put them right in their place," I answered, taking a slow sip of the scotch as it burned its way down my throat.

"Well, to lighten your mood. I have brought good news." Joy danced in his words as he tilted his head slightly.

"What?"

"One of the she-wolves is pregnant with your child. The embryo survived, you are going to become a father soon," he announced leaning closer, the enthusiasm evident.

For a normal werewolf or person, this would have been joyous news. But I was far from being normal, after what happened with my family and my mate.

All this business with surrogacy and she-wolves was Eden's idea. I had no interest in women, not after what my fated mate did to me. Even if I did, I was incompatible to mate with any she-wolf who wasn't my mate. The immense power of my wolf was something they couldn't contain and would end up dying.

But a child was a necessity to further my lineage and to take over the family business. I was already 29 with no male heir to my name or a woman in my life.

At a point, I might have celebrated the idea of having a family but that part of me was dead now, gone dark. My light had been lost. I didn't wish to even touch a woman or let anyone get closer to me, hence the surrogacy option. Also it was safer for the she-wolves. This was only a means to an end for me though.

"See to it that she is comfortable and all her needs are met. So the baby is born healthy."

Eden grinned, thinking I cared.

"She requests a meeting…" his words were hardly out of his mouth and my anger surged. I knew how women operated. They would dig their nails into you and act as if they owned you, only to betray you in the end.

"Absolutely not. You know how I feel about the topic of meeting women. She stays where she is and whatever she needs just fulfil it without bringing it to me," I told him sternly, trying to put an end to this conversation.

"But, no one has ever been able to achieve what she has. Maybe she could be your….I mean just meet her, she deserves this much." Eden changed his words midway when I sent a seething glare his way.

"I am not meeting her, ever. And that's final. After she gives birth, send her on her way with whatever she demands. Money, jewels, clothes. That's what women mostly want these days. I am sure she wants to ask me for money."

Eden leaned back in his chair and placed the glass down at my words. Disappointment was written in bold letters on his forehead. He had always held out hope for me which I had lost a long time ago.

"Asher!" He began.

"This conversation is over, let me get some rest. I am tired," I told him in a dismissive tone, raking my midnight-black hair with my fingers. He sighed heavily, before getting up and leaving, closing the door behind him.

I emptied the scotch glass in my throat and banged it on the mahogany side table. It rattled from the force I applied.

'We are going to have a pup with some unknown woman?' Blaze stirred in my head. I could feel the surge of his power, it was quite a task to keep him contained.

'Seems like it,' I answered, still trying to digest the news. A child was a big responsibility and so much would change with his arrival.

Then there was a chance of that woman trying to stay in the picture. That's something I didn't want. So I made up my mind and knew what the right course of action would be at the required time.

Maybe my decision was wrong but I needed to safeguard my heart. Women brought destruction, they were cunning and most importantly gold-diggers. No way I was letting this one wriggle her way into my life.

***

Over the past few months, I constantly received the news about this pregnant she-wolf. I didn't even ask her name, knowing it would make her seem more real. This way she was just anonymous. Eden badgered me from time to time to meet her at least once but I refused.

Her pregnancy had turned out to be difficult as Eden informed me, she could hardly keep food down and struggled to eat or sleep.

After six months, finally, the news of the baby to be soon born was brought to me. Since It was a complicated pregnancy they were going to perform a C-section. It was time to give my final decision so I called Eden. He could deliver my message to the doctors in the lab.

Once he picked up the phone I said in a monotone voice while keeping all my emotions in check.

"Once the baby is delivered he should be brought to me and tell her that she gave birth to a stillborn pup. No way is she going to be part of our lives."