Chapter 2 A Breeder

Althea stood frozen as all eyes turned to her.

"Alpha Cain will be devastated if she dies!" Luna Meena suddenly shouted, her voice cracking with desperation. "Even if he's in hiding, killing his favorite daughter will break him! She's nothing, just a weak human born from a slave! No one will raise another rebellion for her death. But Alpha Cain? He'll suffer. He cherishes that bastard more than anyone!"

Luna Meena's eyes burned with hatred as she spoke, but her trembling body betrayed her fear of the king who stood just a few feet away.

Luna Meena was right, her death wouldn't spark another rebellion. She was a nobody, born to a slave, unlike Luna Meena, who came from noble blood. Althea was just one of many daughters of the Alpha of the Southwest Territory of the Werewolf Realm, easily discarded, easily forgotten.

Althea barely had time to react before she felt small hands grab her skirt. Her younger half-siblings, the twins, Liah and Seth, were clutching her sides like terrified pups.

"Big sister..." Liah whispered, her voice shaking. "Are we all going to die?"

Althea's chest tightened. The children... they didn't deserve this. They were innocent. They had no part in their father's rebellion. Her older half-brothers? Yes, they had cheered their father's ambition, encouraged the treason. But these two? They only wanted to live.

Forcing a small smile through the lump in her throat, she knelt and gently held the twins.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "You two will live." Then she winked at them.

Her heart was pounding as she turned to face the Alpha King. He stood there, motionless, unreadable. His cold gaze pinned her in place, making it hard to breathe. Every step he took closer felt like a tightening chain around her lungs.

Then, finally, he stopped in front of her. "Will you die for them?" he asked, voice low, deadly calm. One brow arched, challenging.

Althea's breath caught. Her gaze subconsciously swept the hall.

'Just sacrifice yourself! You're nothing compared to our lives! You're a disgrace to this family!'

'You should die and save us! You're pathetic, and your life has no meaning! What are you looking at? Just say yes!'

Those were the thoughts of some she hated. Others she pitied remained crying. They were the servants who had no choice but to follow what the Luna and the other mistresses told them to do, just to make her life insufferable.

Was she truly willing to sacrifice herself for them? Is this how my pathetic life will really end? she wryly thought.

Then her eyes darted to her little siblings. To the friends... and the few pack members who had always been kind to her. They were the ones she cared for. The ones she loved.

"Answer me." Gavriel commanded, his voice cold as winter.

Althea didn't flinch. "If my death means their lives, then yes," she firmly said. "Take me."

And the room exploded. Gasps. Screams. Cries of protest. Someone dropped to their knees, sobbing.

"You choose death?" he asked, voice low and level.

Her throat tightened, but she met his stare. She swallowed. "I choose life... for them." She turned her head slightly, just enough to see Liah and Seth weeping behind her, Seth shaking, barely able to breathe.

"If death buys their lives to live, I'll pay it."

Something flickered in King Gavriel's eyes, gone too fast to name.

"No! You can't take her life!"

Tristan's voice suddenly cracked through the grand hall like thunder as he broke free from the guards. Blood smeared his chin as his knees hit the floor and bowed his head to the alpha king.

He was one of her closest friends, and although Tristan never spoke of his feelings, Althea knew he loved her, far more than just a friend.

"Please, not her. Take me instead!" Tristan pleaded. "Don't let her do this! I'll take her place!"

More voices rose.

"She's innocent!"

"She saved my daughter! Please have mercy on Lady Althea!"

"Take me, not her!"

Dozens dropped to their knees.

"Please, Alpha King! She doesn't deserve this!"

Althea bit her lower lip, fighting back the tears that welled in her eyes. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. She never thought she'd feel this overwhelmed, especially standing so close to the brink of death.

The guards faltered. Even the high-ranking warriors looked shaken. Then...

"SILENCE!"

Luna Meena's voice cracked through the chaos, sharp and panicked.

"Stop this nonsense before he kills us all!" she barked, eyes blazing. "She volunteered. Let her die and be done with it!"

No one moved.

"We'll all die if you keep challenging him!" Meena snarled. "Let her die a noble death and save what's left of us!"

King Gavriel raised his hand. Silence fell like a guillotine.

He looked at Althea, eyes unreadable. His voice, when it came, was cold steel. "She'll live."

Everyone gasped. Even the guards looked stunned.

"What?!" Luna Meena snapped. "Why?!"

King Gavriel didn't glance at Luna Meena's way. His gaze stayed on Althea. "She gave herself to me. I accepted."

Althea's heart stopped. Not death. Not freedom. Ownership.

His voice barely above a whisper, but it cut through the room. "She is mine now."

"As a slave?!" Meena spat.

Gavriel's eyes flicked toward her, dark as midnight. "As my breeder."

A beat of silence.

Then gasps. Horror. Disbelief.

Althea didn't react. Couldn't. Her body was ice. But her mind screamed.

A breeder?

But they were safe right? He wouldn't kill them and that was all that mattered.

"What about us?!" Luna Meera demanded, desperate now. "You said her life would save the rest of us, what about the rest of us, my king?!"

Gavriel's eyes, dull and uncaring, landed on her as he spoke, "As Cain's Luna... and his lawful wife... You'll die so his pack members and the rest of his family will be saved."

Luna Meena staggered back as if struck.

"You can't," she rasped. "You can't mean that..."

Gavriel didn't blink. "Take her."

Meena's face twisted... rage, fear, and disbelief all blended as she screamed, clawing at the guards when they seized her arms.

"You liar! You tyrant! You said-"

Her shrieks faded into the distance as they dragged her out, leaving silence in the grand hall.

Meanwhile, Althea didn't move. She couldn't. Her body trembled beneath the weight of what had just happened.

Looking intently at Althea, the Alpha King remarked, "You were ready to die for them, but now you will live... for me."