ALANNA
I stepped back, my heel brushing the edge of the threshold behind me. I knew I couldn't go back through that door. Whatever safety I thought I had left behind was no longer accessible, not for someone like me.
My eyes darted around the dimly lit yard. There had to be another way out. Another route. Another chance to avoid what was rapidly turning into a death sentence.
A flicker of movement caught my eye, just beyond the hedges of a sprawling garden to my right.
My breath hitched as I took another cautious step backward, trying to stay in the shadows while keeping the rustling in view. Then, a figure dashed through the same spot. It clicked.
Of course. Wild wolves couldn't remain in wolf form all the time. If they did, they wouldn't need buildings or structured lives. Some had to remain human to maintain order. Maybe, just maybe, I could pass through if I was careful enough.
My heart hammered so loud in my chest I was certain it would give me away. Every breath felt like a scream in the silence. I pressed my back against the corridor wall and slid along it, creeping toward the garden. Shadows stretched around me like watchful sentinels.
Just as I began to blend into the darkness, something slammed into me.
Hard.
"Fucking hell!" a girl's voice snapped, followed by a crash of metal and glass. Utensils scattered across the floor. "Watch where you're going, idiot!"
I froze. My mouth opened, ready to mumble an apology, but no words came. I didn't need to speak to know we were in trouble. That crash was too loud.
Growls began echoing across the yard, low and dangerous.
The girl I had collided with cursed again, straightening with a hiss. "Don't move," she warned. "I mean it."
I didn't need her warning. I was rooted in place as wolves began to emerge from the shadows. Their glowing eyes locked on us, hunger burning in their gaze.
The girl sniffed the air. "What the hell? They're not supposed to react like this. This isn't the first time someone's dropped a tray."
She turned to me sharply. "You," she whisper-yelled, her voice trembling. "You're not one of us. You smell... tamed. Shit. You're food to them."
I tried to speak, tried to explain, but then the growls grew louder, and closer. The wolves stepped into the clearing. They were massive, larger than anything I'd seen before. Predators. Monsters.
She glared at me with fury and panic, and before I could stop her, she shoved me hard. "Die, bitch," she hissed, throwing me directly into their path.
I braced for impact. For claws. Teeth. Pain.
But the attack never came.
Instead, snarls erupted behind me, followed by a shriek. I turned just in time to see the wolves charging not at me, but at her.
She screamed, flailing, but it was useless. Her cries were drowned out by snapping jaws and the wet crunch of bone.
I collapsed onto the ground and covered my ears, squeezing my eyes shut. I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to see what they were doing to her. I should've been next. Why wasn't I?
Adrenaline surged through my limbs, propelling me forward. I crawled toward the garden, my limbs trembling. My fingers pushed aside the hedges, revealing a narrow, hidden passage. I slipped inside and began to run, unsure of where it would lead. The only thing that it had to do was lead me away from the wolves.
The passage twisted and forked like a maze, roots and vines brushing against my arms as I stumbled through. My legs ached, my knees scraped raw from crawling. But I kept going.
Eventually, I stumbled into another building. This one was different.
It was alive with motion, frantic, chaotic energy. Werewolves in human form bustled about, carrying trays, pushing carts, barking orders. Heat and noise filled the air. The scent of sweat, soap, and raw meat clung to every surface.
It was a hub of activity, a hive.
I stood there, dazed, until I spotted a plump woman in the center of it all. She was shouting orders, directing traffic like a conductor of madness. I knew instantly, she was in charge.
I took a step forward.
That was all it took.
The room fell silent.
Every head turned toward me. Every eye locked on mine. The atmosphere shifted from chaos to hostility in an instant. Growls rumbled. Nostrils flared.
I'd made a mistake.
Before anyone could move, a man burst in from the same passage I'd just escaped. "There's been an attack near the council hall," he panted.
The woman folded her arms and took a step forward, her gaze still fixed on me. "Casualties?"
He nodded grimly. "Yes. Nothing's left of her. Not even bones."
My stomach twisted violently. I doubled over, bile rising in my throat.
The woman sighed and turned to the room. "We've lost one of ours tonight. A tragedy. Unfortunately, we can't tell who it was yet. When you return to your quarters, check on your neighbors. If you're just reporting in for night duty, do the same. Now, back to work."
Grumbles of agreement rippled through the crowd, but no one moved. Their eyes were still on me, accusing, suspicious, and ready to tear me apart.
The woman turned back and glared. "This has you written all over it," she sneered. "Why did they send me a tamed wolf?"
She pivoted and strode away through the crowd. "Follow me," she barked over her shoulder.
I tried. I really did. But the sea of bodies surged around me, shoving and bumping, snarling and spitting curses. I was battered from every side until I crashed into a swinging door and tumbled into what looked like an office.
The woman slammed the door behind me and folded her arms.
"Get off my damn floor," she snapped.
I scrambled up, my whole body throbbing. She stared at me down with barely restrained disgust.
"Are you lost? Why are you here?"
I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
"Sit," she ordered.
I obeyed.
"So," she said, settling behind a desk piled high with paperwork, "care to explain why a tamed wolf just waltzed into Thornclaw territory as a branded slave, no less?"
I couldn't tell her the truth. I couldn't speak of my past.
She sighed, loosening the bun in her hair before repinning it with a practiced flick.
"Let me guess," she said sarcastically. "You got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and thought becoming a slave to a pack that hates your kind was a great idea?"
I looked down. "My name is Alanna," I whispered. "My family was slaughtered. I was left to die. Someone found me near the border. I offered myself to survive."
She stared at me like I'd grown another head. "Are you insane?" she hissed. "Do you know where you are? These people would rather eat you than speak to you."
I gave a hopeless shrug.
She groaned. "Great, and now you've already stirred shit on your first day. You're not going to survive the night."
Before I could respond, the door burst open.
A voice screamed, "*Where is she?!*"
The girl that stormed in looked exactly like the one I'd just seen die. My blood turned to ice.
"You!" she snarled, grabbing me by the collar and lifting me from my seat. "You're the bitch who got my sister killed!"
I couldn't speak. Couldn't move. She looked like the girl I watched die, only alive. How?
"Put her down," the woman snapped.
"She's responsible!" the girl growled, baring her fangs.
"I said, put her down," the woman repeated sharply. "You're grieving. You don't know anything yet."
"I felt it!" the girl screamed. "You did too!"
There was a beat of silence.
Finally, she dropped me roughly against the desk, scattering papers everywhere. Then stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
The woman didn't even flinch. "Sit down," she said dryly.
My limbs trembled as I obeyed.
"What's your name again?" she asked. "Look, you have ten minutes to explain what happened, or I throw you back to them."
I told her everything, every terrifying moment. She listened with barely a flicker of interest.
When I finished, she stood and pointed toward the door. "Go help with the dishes. You look too frail for anything else."
Before I could protest, I was out the door, only to be yanked into the corridor by the same girl.
Her fist crashed into my face. My nose exploded with pain and blood.
The crowd around her whooped and cheered.
She hauled me up again, her claws glinting. I saw it coming, a deadly strike.
Then, Beatrice's voice cut through the air like a whip.
"I would rethink that…"
"My sister is dead, and it's her fault!" she shouted, her voice trembling. "I won't rest until justice is done."
"Justice?" Beatrice snapped back coldly. "Your sister got exactly what she deserved."
The girl holding me snarled, ready to strike.
Beatrice's voice grew louder, sharper. "You know the rules! We all live by them, it's what keeps us alive. Your sister broke those rules. Otherwise, how could a tamed survive against the night prowlers?"
The room fell silent. The grip on me loosened.
"Put her down," Bet commanded. "Your sister attacked her, causing chaos, that's why they came for her. Alanna here, who didn't know the rules, stayed quiet the whole time. Your sister was cursing, yelling, drawing attention, and when she saw the prowlers getting close, she shoved Alanna forward, so they could go after her."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"As she deserved," some growled.
"Mind you," Bet warned, "Alanna is the newest addition to the Bindery."
"We don't want a tamed," the girl growled again.
"Oh, but you don't have a choice," Bet said firmly. "Unlike the rest of you, she's bonded directly to serve only the Alpha. We don't know his intentions yet. So go ahead, try to kill her." Her voice was like steel.
Eyes widened, more gasps filled the room. I was thrown to the floor.
Bet glanced down at me. "Follow me. You're serving at the party tonight."
I scrambled up, relieved she'd saved me.
Once we were out of earshot, she spun around, hands on her hips.
"Don't get it twisted," she spat. "I hate you more than anyone in that room. If you want to survive tonight, you need to learn fast. You're a walking target, and if you think I saved you out of kindness, you're a fool. I'll make your life hell, Alanna. Instead of washing dishes, you'll be serving Deltas and worse. If you think the slaves back there were extreme, imagine what a bunch of Deltas would do to you. Goodluck surviving tonight."