IRIS POV
The pack did not like me. I didn't need a soothsayer to tell me. I had dealt with contempt all my life but it was manageable in the Royal Pack. At least I knew some people there. Seeing new faces and the way they looked at me made me so uncomfortable. To sum it all, I was the only human in the entire pack. I felt like a prey.
The air was colder than the day before, heavier somehow. After watching the Alpha kill a someone for stealing, fear has consumed me. Especially the dark look in his eyes after he had done it. I feared I would be next.
We waited as wolves moved through the corridors, their gazes sharp as they looked at me, they didn't bother to hide their disgust. The only reason I didn't go into hiding like I normally did at the Royal pack was because I was given free will here. At least that's what Carina told me. She stayed close at my side, her presence a quiet comfort.
"Just keep walking" Carina murmured softly.
"Don't look at them too long"
That was easier said than done. I kept my chin up but I could feel the stares like physical touches, some were curious, some mocking and some openly hostile.
"Is that her?"
"That's the Alpha's mate?"
"She won't last a week"
My fingers curled slightly at my side. I refused to shrink. Especially not here. They may see me as a mere human but I would prove to them that I was more than that.
We reached the courtyard and training had already begun. Steel clashed, wolves shifted, bones snapping and reforming in a display of power that made my stomach twist. This was the first time I was seeing a wolf shift. Back at the Royal pack, I was not allowed anywhere near the training ground.
The ground was scarred with marks of countless battles. A woman stood at the center of it all. Her stance was commanding and I knew she was not to be messed with.
"That's Elke" Carina whispered lowly.
Just then, her gaze landed on me. I saw her lips twitch
"Well…" she called out, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"The human finally left her cage"
A few wolves chuckled and I stiffened. My brain was shouting for me to run away but my legs refused to move. Carina stepped slightly in front of me
"Please, she's not here for…"
"I didn't ask you, Omega" Elke cut in coldly. Carina fell silent.
Elke walked in my direction slowly, circling me like a predator assessing its prey.
"Tell me, can you even hold a blade?" she said casually. I lifted my head slowly to look her in the eye.
"No"
"Can you fight?"
"No" Elke smirked.
"Can you run?" I hesitated.
"…yes"
That earned a small laugh from the surrounding wolves. Elke stopped in front of me.
"Let's test that"
Before I could react, Elke shoved me hard. I stumbled backward, losing my footing and hitting the dirt. Pain shot through my palms as they scraped against the rough ground. Laughter broke out around me. The humiliation burned through my chest.
"Get up" Elke ordered. My jaw clenched.
I pushed myself up slowly. Elke gestured toward the open training field.
"Run"
"I'm not one of the warriors" I said with a shaky voice.
"No" Elke said, her voice turning colder.
"You're something far more dangerous" I frowned.
"You are pathetic and weak"
Her words made my chest tighten. I knew I was of no use since I was human but I didn't deserve such treatment.
Won't this pain and suffering ever end? I thought to myself.
Then something inside me snapped.
"I didn't ask to be here" my voice was barely audible.
Elke moved closer again.
"And yet here you are. In the Iron Claw Pack. Isn't it ironic? A mere human occupies the Luna's chamber. Someone less deserving of that title" Her voice dropped.
"A title that you haven't earned and will never. Let us see if you last till the blood moon" I swallowed.
"I never wanted it"
"Then you should have died at the ritual" she said angrily.
Carina stiffened at my side as silence fell across the courtyard. Even the wolves stopped moving. Her vile words hung in the air. It felt like I had been hit by a stone.
"Maybe I should have" I murmured softly.
Elke's eyes flickered with something, irritation and disgust was what I could deduce from her expression.
She opened her mouth to speak but before she could respond, a deep voice cut through the courtyard.
"That's enough"
Everything stilled instantly. I froze before I turned. The Alpha stood at the edge of the training grounds, his gaze flickering across the courtyard. Power radiated from him and every wolf lowered their head.
I was lost looking at him as he walked further when Carina dragged me and I lowered my head too but I noticed Elke didn't.
"I'm just making sure she understands her place" Elke said evenly.The Alpha moved closer until he stopped in front of Elke
"And what place is that?" he asked. Elke didn't hesitate.
"Definitely not in this pack. She's too weak to be a member of this pack"
The air shifted dangerously around me and when I looked up Alpha Hades was in front of me. He was close enough that I could feel the heat of his body. And the strange pull when I was around him lingered.
His gaze moved briefly to my hands and I unconsciously hid them. I took pride in my callused hands because it is an evidence of how hard I worked but for some reason I didn't want him to see it. Something dark flashed in his eyes, then he turned to Elke.
"I didn't give you permission to decide where anyone stands"
His words were calm and I watched as color drained from Elle's face. Tension crackled between them. Then she exhaled sharply and stepped back.
"As you wish, Alpha" she said with a bow.
Alpha Hades turned to me and I shrank back expecting him to scold me.
"Come with me"
It wasn't a request. It was an order. I hesitated only a second before following. I looked at Carina and she gave me a sympathetic look. I felt the eyes of the wolves in the court yard as I followed the Alpha.
The walk to the pack house was silent. We walked for a while and I didn't know where we were headed. Carina had not showed me this places. When we stopped in front of a door, my heart beat faster.
The door was opened and some wolves were inside. My fear tripled. I thought it was the end for me. This chamber was colder than the rest of the pack. It was very large. It looked similar to the Royal Pack.
I recognized some of them from the time I fell into the sacred circle. Their expressions grim as we entered. I stayed half a step behind him.
"We are here on the orders of the Alpha king to bring the human" one of the elders said. They all nodded in agreement.
"How can you bring a mere human to an elders gathering. She does not belong here" another elder spoke.
"In case you were not told, she isn't a mere human anymore"
The elders exchanged glances, murmurs spread.
"You risk everything," one of them warned. "The curse alone…"
"I am aware of the curse"
"Then why tempt it again?"
"Because she is mine" Alpha Hades' voice turned cold.
Silence fell again. I shifted slightly, uncomfortable under the scrutiny. And then someone lunged from the side, the movement was too fast that I barely had time to process it.
A flash of steel and then blood
The body dropped to the ground. I held back my scream with a hand over my mouth. Alpha Hades stood over him, blade dripping red. The room froze and no one moved.
His voice cut through the silence like a blade.
"Touch her, and you lose your life" his voice cut through the silence.
I stared at the body. My heart pounded violently in my chest.
He killed a wolf without hesitation.
For me.
"This is not right. Killing your own kind for a human" the first elder spoke.
"No. I'm not killing for fun. I already warned all of you and this is the last time. Go back and tell my uncle that the human won't leave my pack. She is my property now"
His words made me question the reason he brought me to this pack. Was it because I was truly his mate or he just wanted to rebel against the Alpha King.