Wolfsbane- Chapter One in the Warren Pack Series

Chapter Thirty

This chapter is titled 'Explanations' in my chapter plan, strap in everyone...

Wolfsbane

Chapter 30

Branwen

I was jolted awake when I heard the slam of a door. I had been plunged into darkness, and as my head spun around, I heard his cruel laugh.

"Awake now, princess?"

The lights flickered on, and I shut my sore eyes. I felt like I'd been asleep for days, but uncomfortably. My neck and shoulders ached, and the place where I'd been injected was angry and purple. Another bruise on my other arm told me I'd been given a double dose.

"Get out." He ordered.

I stood with shaky feet, no option left but to follow him. I felt like I did at the start of the year, useless and human. The empty space in my mind told me Terra was still off limits. We stood in a large garage with white walls and no windows. I had no idea where I was, but I could hazard a guess.

The Bluestone pack.

He whistled, and three men, great hulking beasts, emerged from the corner. They held thick, heavy chains in their hands.

Instinctively, I made a break for the door, but a hand the size of a steering wheel grasped my wrist harshly, they pulled me back, their laughs bouncing off the walls. My wrist throbbed, but I bit my lip against the pain.

The heavy chains were wrapped across my shoulders, my hands stuffed into shackles, the heavy iron rubbing my already sore wrist. It felt like I was carrying another person on my back, and when one man tugged me forwards, I stumbled.

"To the throne room." My father instructed, and they set off. I was made to walk behind him, surrounded on all sides by his guards. As we walked through the black, white corridors, I realised an escape attempt was impossible: this place had been built to confuse a newcomer.

We passed several others on the way, all adults. No children were to be seen. The only women I saw were dressed in the same black and white uniform, and never looked up beyond their feet. Subservient to the men, who strolled proudly with wide smiles on their faces, the majority anyway. There were some who looked terrified to be there, turning on the spot when they spotted the Alpha coming their way.

"The Alpha commands respect." The one holding my chain said proudly, puffing his chest out, presumably a high ranker in the pack.

But this wasn't respect; I'd seen that in my Uncle's pack. This pack was led by fear; exploiting the wolf's need for dominance by turning the women into servants and the children...I didn't even want to think about the children they had managed to take before and after my first shift. Were they the ones who looked so scared, so ashamed?

We eventually stopped after what felt like a mile of winding corridors and steps. The guards opened the double doors for him to step through, and I followed.

This place clearly was an old castle at some point, probably fixed with the same magic that concealed it from our view. The old stone walls looked strange with large glass windows that were clearly not made in the same era. The stone flags were cracked, and some were stained with old maroon stains. Sat along the back wall, on a tall platform, was a metal throne, crudely made.

Before us, was a stone platform in the centre of the room, with two sets of chains a few feet apart. One of them kicked me in the back of the legs, and I almost fell right on my face. I tried to get back up, but he kept his boot pressed into my spine.