Raven
"Are you mad?!"
"Have you gone completely insane?" another loud voice boomed as I slowly became aware of the voices around me, none of which I recognized.
"Bringing a rogue here! We should kill her right now!"
The voice was loud enough to drag me out of whatever strange dream I had been lost in. My eyes fluttered open slowly, and I blinked several times as my vision struggled to focus. The world felt heavy and distant, as though I had been asleep for far too long.
When my sight finally cleared, I realized I was sitting on the ground in front of large gates.
One look around me—one breath of the air—and I knew immediately that something was wrong.
I had somehow arrived in a different pack.
My eyes moved quickly over the men and women surrounding me. They stood in a loose circle, watching me with hard, suspicious expressions. Their gazes were cold and unforgiving, and I instinctively flinched backward under the weight of their attention.
A small stone dug into my hand where it rested on the ground, but I barely noticed the pain.
"Please don't kill me! I'm…I'm not a rogue," I said quickly, my voice shaking as panic filled my chest. "I have a pack…"
A middle-aged woman standing to my right let out a low growl of irritation as she fixed a harsh gaze on me.
"Even worse," she said coldly. "We should kill her and properly dispose of her body."
The look on her face made it clear that she meant every word.
My lips trembled as fear tightened around my chest. Tears gathered in my eyes, blurring my vision as I tried to look at the people surrounding me. At least some of them had the decency not to meet my gaze.
"I agree. This will put us at risk," another woman said sharply. "For all we know, she could be a scout sent by the Moonburn Pack."
The men around them remained mostly quiet.
My eyes moved quickly between them until they settled on three younger men standing slightly apart from the others. Compared to the older men, their expressions seemed calmer, almost kinder.
But that was not the case for everyone.
The older men were looking at me with open cruelty in their eyes. It was clear from the way they stared that if the decision were left to them, they would gladly get rid of me. The way some of them looked at me made my stomach twist in discomfort.
Tears began to stream down my face, and I let them fall.
I suddenly realized that I should never have run away. The outside world was far worse than the four walls of my room had ever been.
"Please…my father will reward you," I said desperately.
I had been about to explain that he was the Alpha and how kind he was to his people, but I had barely opened my mouth when the red-haired man who had brought me here suddenly spoke.
His voice cut through the rising tension, louder than it needed to be but strong enough to make everyone turn their attention toward him, including me.
"We are not killers simply because something evil has been done to us," he said firmly. "Is that really who we are?"
No one spoke for a moment.
Then the young man with blond hair standing beside him spoke next.
The two of them looked somewhat alike in build and age, though the difference in their hair color made me doubt they were brothers.
"I agree with Axel," the blond-haired man said calmly. "We only kill people who deserve it. We are not monsters."
A low chuckle came from the third young man standing beside them. He had dark hair that fell loosely against his shoulders, and he was just as tall and muscular as the other two.
"Axel and Thor are right," he said. "We can't just kill her. Moreover, she has a family. Maybe her pack could band with ours to fight the Moonburn Pack."
Relief flooded through me, and I nodded quickly in agreement.
It was far better than being killed and having my body thrown away to be eaten.
"I-I'll do…" I began quickly.
But I didn't get the chance to finish.
Another man spoke, his voice firm and serious. I did not know his name. He was older, and for a brief moment I wondered if he might be the Alpha. The thought quickly faded, however. If he truly held that position, I would not even be able to raise my head in his presence.
"That's assuming her pack's Alpha doesn't present all of our heads to the Moonburn Pack," he said, shaking his head with a grave expression. "Are we really going to place our fate in the hands of this young woman?"
He paused before continuing.
"It would be easier to get rid of her. She already knows too much."
The finality in his tone made my chest tighten with fear.
I glanced from one person to another, my eyes filled with tears as I struggled to find something—anything—to say before they decided my fate.
Silence settled over the group, but I could see the thoughts turning in their minds. If I waited any longer, they might decide to kill me.
"I—I could stay here!" I offered quickly, my voice trembling.
Living among strangers would be better than dying.
One of the women with long black hair suddenly chuckled softly. She shook her head as she looked at me, though her gaze held a faint trace of kindness.
"You wouldn't," she said gently. "If you knew about the pack after us, you wouldn't dare to say those words."
She sighed quietly before looking around at the others. Then her gaze settled on the red-haired man.
"Axel, you said she was passed out when you brought her here…yes?"
"Yes. She was."
"Good," the woman said.
Her eyes moved across the gathered wolves before she continued speaking.
"Send her back with her eyes blindfolded. She's weak—most likely an omega. She should not be a threat to us."
Almost immediately, arguments began to break out.
People started speaking over one another, each trying to voice their opinion while still attempting to remain respectful.
"Luna! We send her back and one person out there could discover our hideout!" an older man who had not spoken earlier said urgently.
"We move in a week," the woman pointed out.
But that did not seem to ease their concerns.
The woman with the cruel gaze—the same one who had first suggested killing me—spoke again.
"One day is enough," she said coldly. "We should kill her."
My heart hammered loudly in my chest as I clutched my hands together.
They trembled so badly that I could not stop them.
Then Axel spoke again.
"She can make a promise," he said.
"A Moonbound oath."
The words caused the arguments to stop instantly.
Silence fell over the group as every pair of eyes turned toward me.
It was clear that they had all come to the same conclusion. If I made the oath, they would allow me to leave.
But my hands began to tremble even more than before.
A Moonbound oath was as good as handing your life over to another person.
Still, I forced myself to breathe.
It should be fine. I had no intention of telling anyone about them.
"I'll make one," I said quietly.
The moment the words left my mouth, the people around me exchanged glances. One by one, they nodded in agreement.
They would let me leave.
But only if the Moon itself bound my promise.