Chapter 18: Why?
Raven
Hating the tears that immediately began sliding down my face as my entire body shook.
Anger was an understatement. I felt something I had never felt before—something I had always believed only men could feel, and I was certain it was rage.
I opened my mouth to speak again, only to find myself stuttering as tears filled my eyes even more, just as I forced myself to speak.
"...children!" I spat out, "you’re messing with unborn children!" I hissed under my breath, looking from Rex to Axel to Thor, trying to figure out if any of them even had a soul.
Yes, I was responsible for their pack being wiped out and their loved ones being killed, but they were willing—heartless enough—to destroy their own flesh and blood just to gain power.
"...you allow this witch to feed you with lies! Do you know how barbaric—" but the words were still sliding out of my lips when Rex interrupted me with thunderous fury as he jerked out of his seat.
"The decision is made. Do you accept, or would you rather I bind you to the dungeon walls and we visit you there?" he asked, cutting me off without a trace of mercy in his tone. His eyes were hard, and there was something soulless about the way he looked at me.
He truly did not care what happened to me; to him, I might even be better off dead.
Thor turned to me, his gaze blank, betraying no emotion as he spoke plainly, even though the tinge of anger in his tone was just as obvious. "...if it works for Rex, then I will take part too," he told me without mincing words.
"...for each of us, you will have to conceive five times," he said, and while Rex had been all fire and brimstone, Thor was cold ice—unreadable, so much so that I had no idea what was going through his mind.
My nails dug deeper into my palms as I struggled to keep the tears away from my face, only to fail terribly. They streamed down as I heard Axel scoff with visible annoyance, my vision too blurred to make out the expression on his face.
"...I vote that we put her in one of the cells in the dungeon and tie her up. Feed her properly and have her stay there. What if she runs away?" he asked, but Gessia immediately shook her head, giving her input.
"...her physical state would be just as important as her mental state if she is to conceive. I’m guessing she’s yet to get her heat because she is yet to mate with anyone, which would change the moment she does," Gessia continued, as they all spoke about me like I wasn’t even in the room.
Angry, I wiped the tears on my cheeks with the back of my hands—hard and repeatedly. I was weak and powerless and fragile. I didn’t heal as quickly, and I didn’t even have a wolf.
For the first time in my life, I cursed the Moon Goddess in my heart. How dare she create such an unfair divide between omegas and alphas?
Why would she make women who would suffer and be unable to protect themselves? The thought made more tears threaten to slide down my face, but instead I held them back as I sat on my chair with my head drooping down, struggling to breathe, trying to ward off the tightness in my chest.
"...we don’t have all day," Rex suddenly snapped as he remained standing, his eyes blazing with anger as he fixed his gaze on me, clearly waiting for an answer—one I was tempted not to give, but that would be foolish.
Rex could control me. Worse, if I got thrown into a dungeon, it would be even harder to escape. I had no intention of going along with whatever maddened plan they had made in their heads, but refusing would make my life much worse.
"...I want a promise that after I am done, you will let me go," I whispered in a low voice, but one that I was sure they had no problem hearing, fixing my gaze on Rex, who growled in response.
"...I want a moon oath," I continued, since it was the only way I would be free of him, just in case I truly could not escape. Not surprised to see him sneer before he chuckled with menace. "...and why the hell would I do that when I can have you thrown into—"
"...if after fifteen conceptions she is still alive, then I recommend you let her go," Gessia said, to my shock and bafflement, especially since I felt clearly that she hated me to the core.
"Each process is very painful and messy, but rewarding," she added, meeting Rex’s gaze with a soft smile. Rex held her gaze for a moment before nodding and speaking.
"...I, Rex, silently swear on the Goddess’s name that if, after fifteen conceptions, you are still alive, I will let you go, and you will no longer be under my control," he said, and I instantly felt the pull on my very soul the moment he was done speaking.
"...as long as I can kill her before she steps out of the pack, I’m fine," he added, and I believed him. Whatever plan Gessia had made to strengthen them was mostly for Rex. Thor intended to go along with it, while Rex clearly wanted my head separated from my shoulders.
"Great!" Gessia beamed with a proud smile on her face. "We’ll start as soon as you bed her!" she told Rex directly, which made me feel like something had crawled inside me and was trying to claw its way out.
Rex hated me—but make no mistake, I hated him just as much. I had been tricked, but that wasn’t an excuse for giving their location away and getting his family killed. Still, I could see it—he would take every chance to hurt me as long as I lived, and I loathed him for that.
He glanced at me, gritting his teeth in annoyance and fury before responding, "I promised to spend the coming days with you," he told Gessia with a gentle smile. "...a few more days, and I’ll go ahead and put my seed into her," he said, and it took everything in me to stop more tears from filling my eyes.
Whatever dreams I had of finding a mate who would love me from the depths of his soul and cherish me instantly went up in smoke. My first time was going to be with an enemy who hated me.
Hiding my trembling fingers in my red dress—which I still wore from the night before—I got up to leave. "...if my presence is no longer needed, then I’ll take my leave," I said, getting to my feet and walking toward the door, expecting Rex to stop me—but he didn’t.
I should have been relieved, but instead, I felt more anger at myself, because somehow all my choices had led me to where I was.
