Chapter 3 3

The scream couldn't stay in my throat.

It filled the carriage in a sad howl that made the girl next to me wrap her hands around my shoulder and pull me to herself.

The carriage didn't even stop. I was screaming and crying and it just carried on, taking me away from the Pack I was supposed to grow old in.

"He's too ugly for you to be crying over him though," the third girl in the carriage suddenly said and I lifted my head up.

"He is?"

"His hair is too long, he's beardless and he's got very wide eyes. All that on such a tiny face? Yeah, he's fucking ugly."

A bubble blew in my chest and I burst into laughter.

Maybe I'm going crazy but the way she described Damien, it wasn't.. wrong.

I'd just never thought of him as ugly.

Quite the opposite.

But he was kissing Sara.

"Okay, enough laughter for you before you stop your heart from working," the girl rubbing my back said.

It was easier to stop when she used that word.

My heart was still shattering.

The realities were crashing in on me all at once.

"Damn, you should have let her keep laughing, now she's crying!" The third girl sighed.

"She was going too hard, what do you think they'll do to us if she's found dead?"

"Ugh. Girl, please stop crying, he's not worth shit. What's your name?"

"Y..vana," I managed through the tears, my name sounding like a witch chant

"What? Did you hear what she said?"

"I think it's Yvana."

"Good. I'm Isabella and the one massaging your hair is Cleo. We've lost mates too and it's best to just break the bond and swear off men for now, okay?"

"Yeah, the battlefront isn't a place to be processing heartbreak."

"But he said he was going to come get me in five months," I sobbed, the memory of them kissing revolving around my head.

"Girl, don't tell me you still don't understand what just happened!" Isabella hissed.

"Take it easy, she's still processing it," Cleo stopped her, rubbing circles on my back.

"We don't have time for that. Hey, look at me!"

I swallowed a lump in my throat and I forced myself to look up.

"That bitch stole your mate. He's gone. So you have to reject him and then focus on your future!"

"But.. what future?"

"The one where we work until one of the Kings finds their mates and this war is over. I heard we're all gonna get a shit ton of money from the royal treasury."

"Hopefully the King we're being sent off to is the one who wins or we won't get shit."

"A chance is still a chance no matter how small so cheer up. What are you gonna do right now, Yvana?"

"I'll... I'll reject him and.. focus on the future."

"That's my girl, I knew that pretty head of yours wasn't dull. You don't have to do it right away, it's a whole day's journey. But the earlier the better, hm?"

I nodded and looked away, unable to stop crying.

Gosh, why can't I be strong like her?

He betrayed me, sold me off like cheap goods and I can't even fathom anger?

All I feel is weakness and pain.

He'd spent the last six months catering for Sara and yet, I didn't understand the game that was being played.

Right in my damn face.

He courted her, gave her everything and when the chance presented itself, he threw me into slavery just so he could be with her.

The anger was slowly building, and that memory of them kissing was making things clearer.

"I," I whispered, releasing a shaky breath, "Yvana, reject you.. Damien Ashcroft as my.. fated mate. Fuck, I hate you for doing this to me!"

I was pulled into Cleo's chest again as the pain of the breaking bond gripped me.

My fist tightened around my shirt and I cried, and ugly, harrowing sound.

In the presence of girls I just met tonight, on my way to some strange land.

"Fuck you," I hissed, "Damien. You are a horrible person."

"Yes! Fuck that bastard with ugly hair!"

Yep, I think I actually have friends now or is it too early to tell?

The journey continued in silence after that.

My tears stopped flowing after a while and I just kept looking outside the barred window as the countryside passed.

Then sleep took over.

Until I was being roused up.

"We're here," Cleo said.

I rubbed my eyes, sitting up.

The door was opened and one of the Enforcers was already yelling.

"Quick! Get busy. There's much to be done!"

I followed the girls, twenty more poured out from other carriages, and we were ushered to the back of the camp.

There were tents everywhere one's eyes could see.

Men in nearly half-wolf state walking around with broad chests, their fangs and claws out.

A tremor of fear raced through me and I wondered how safe this place was for women.

Especially ones sold off by people who didn't want them anymore.

We were taken to a table where a tall man and his mate stood, giving others and assigning everyone a job.

"You! The toilets need cleaning," he pointed.

The girl groaned and went off.

"You! Sweeping duties. The next three people behind her, join her!"

They cleared out of the line, and I realised Isabella was one of them.

"You four, kitchen duties!"

Well, it's not scrubbing toilets so that's good, I guess?

I followed Cleo who seemed to know the way.

Oh, wolf scent. I'm the handicapped one.

We found the cooking squad pretty quickly and a big woman tying an apron and ladle in her hand waved us over.

"Take, go turn that stew," she pointed me over to a boiling pot.

Okay, that's not a pot, that's an iron drum.

I took the wooden.. I don't know what it's called, it's taller than me. I took it and headed there.

Is this a wrong time to tell her I missed out on the wolf luck and definitely do not have werewolf-given strength?

I turned sharply as she began screaming at somebody.

Fuck, probably not.

Quickly, I went to the pot and began turning it.

It wasn't hard since I was quite tall but damn, my hands weren't made for this.

As I turned, I began imagining a life different from this.

One where I could sleep without interruption, eat without being scared for the next meal and not have anyone screaming at me.

The sudden silence pulled me out of my wonderful fantasy and I looked around.

Everyone was staring at me.

That's when I felt it.

My wolf.. stirring.

A hand suddenly clamped on my shoulder and I shuddered as sparks danced around the spot.

The person turned me around and I came face to face with the King of the Western Hemisphere.

"Mate," he said as though he was checking something off a list.

What the actual hell?