Chapter 4 Kidnapped again

~Amara~

My body stilled and I came to a halt as I heard the voice very close to me. Elsie had told me about some wolves who had been ostracized by Lucian for betraying the pack and how they always roam around in anger, killing anyone who comes from the pack. I couldn't even decide between them and wolf hunters who I should be more scared about.

My hands instinctively went to my belly and I sent a silent prayer up to the moon goddess to protect me and my baby from whatever this is. I slowly turned around and came face to face with perhaps the ugliest man I have ever met in my entire existence.

He was burly and tall with a wicked sneer on his face. A fresh cut which was perhaps gotten during a tussle lined his left cheek. When he opened his mouth to speak, his breath reeked of a mix of garlic and alcohol.

"You reek of ShadowClaw. Aren't you the little wolf that Lucian has been hiding from everyone else like a priceless trophy? Hm?"

I shuddered when his fingers brushed against my skin. This suddenly felt like I was about to relive a nightmare that I had struggled to overcome.

"N-no. I am only a servant of the alpha king. I have always been in plain sight. I am not the one you're looking for. You must have mistaken me for someone else"

I stood, my whole body trembling from fear while he circled me like a predator checking out his prey.

"So, what you're saying is that you are a servant who is trying to escape from her master? Do you know the punishment for escaping?"

My throat suddenly felt so dry and I barely recognized the tiny voice that escaped from my throat. "Please, you have got it all wrong. I will never try to escape. I know too well that the punishment is death and I will not put my life on the line for such a frivolous want. Please, just let me go"

"Do I look like I care about your miserable life?" he cackled and continued. "I really do not care. Lucian has what we need and since he values you so much, maybe he can trade us what we want for you"

"No, please. I am not important to the alpha king and he doesn't even know who I am. I am going to be useless to you. Just let me go please."

He coughed out phlegm from his mouth onto the ground. I almost retched at the sight but reminded myself that these people will not take lightly any form of disrespect or insult. The fresh cut on the side of his cheeks had flies coming in to feast on it. How could someone be this dirty? But then I didn't have the privilege to judge who was clean or not at that moment. This man who looked a little crazy wouldn't hesitate to tear my throat out. At least that is what I think.

"You must think that we are so stupid, little wolf. You were sold to Lucian to be his breeder and as we speak, I know that there is a little pup growing right inside of you. Did you try to run away with Lucian's possible heir?"

My hands unconsciously hugged my belly. I took two steps back, more scared than I was at first. Who are these people and how do they know so much about me? My stay in Lucian's palace is almost a secret. Only the maids that served me and made sure that I looked presentable for Lucian to pour his seed in, and the few guards in the palace knew about me.

"I-I..." my ability to put words together vanished when I saw him brandishing a wickedly sharp gleaming knife at me. I prayed and hoped that Lucian would finally feel the mate bond that I've been hearing ever since I turned twelve and appear here to save me just like in the movies. Who was I kidding? This isn't a movie but a real-life scenario. Lucian would never stress himself with a runaway breeder like me. Does this mean that it is the end for me?

"Now, you're going to come with us quietly to our pack or else you get hurt. I honestly do not care if you're dead or alive or if you break your bones into little tiny pieces before we get to our destination but because our alpha has commanded us to not let you get hurt, you need to behave like a nice dog. Do you understand?"

The alarm bells went off in my brain. Did I just jump from the frying pan to fire? I looked back and saw that I was already surrounded. This wasn't what I had in mind when I decided to escape. I was supposed to meet Selene and take refuge in their camp, not get abducted by some wolves that scarily know so much about me.

I tried to mind-link Elsie or anyone at all but everywhere felt blocked. Was I kidding myself? That is something that I can never do for some sort of reason. I couldn't even think of shifting into my wolf to fight off these people. They will kill me off in just one blow. Gosh! How can one person be so weak and useless at the same time? To not even know what to do to save herself from impending danger?

"Don't hurt me, please. I just want to go somewhere far away to start a new life for myself. I wasn't going to cause any problems, I swear."

Just at that moment, I bolted off without warning. I didn't know how or what gave me the idea to do that but that was the dumbest thing that I might have ever done. Before I could get ten feet away from them, I felt a blinding pain in my thigh.