Chapter 3 – Sweltering

KELLEN

The smell of the ocean was long gone.

In its place was a dry heat, the scent of dusty dirt surrounded and invaded the truck we had been traveling in for two days.

Seven days I had been gone. Seven days since Oliver and Jack had kidnapped me. Now, according to Ajani, I had been sold.

Who had they sold me to? When I got there, would they realize who I was and that they had made a grave mistake?

We had not been given any food or water and my lips were cracked and dry, my attempt to wet them using my saliva and tongue was useless. I had sweated out any extra fluids my body held but the dehydration had left my muscles stiff, and along came a lack of stamina and the loss of more strength.

My lacerations had begun to heal, which meant Conri was still with me. I just couldn’t feel or communicate with him. Either way, it was a good sign.

The small holes dotted along the metal wall of the truck gave us little air to breathe, the truck became like a hot box. The stiflingly thick, warm air made it hard to take oxygen into our lungs.

The truck seemed to rumble and bounce along for what seemed like forever and my listlessness had started turning to irritability. Being stuck in this sweltering box, not knowing where my final destination was, and the fact that I had been taken so easily was starting to grate on my nerves.

I started tapping my fingers on my leg, feeling restless, when suddenly the sounds from outside changed and the scent of shifters reached my nose. I could hear distant voices, the sounds of cars, and the smell changed to one that I familiarized with the Royal Pack’s city.

After a few minutes, the truck came to a rumbling stop. Were we here? Was this my final destination?

I looked at Ajani. His black skin looked pale, probably from dehydration, and his brown eyes looked defeated and sunken. He shook his head at me as if to say he didn’t know.

“Will your alpha not come looking for you?” I asked him, in hopes that someone, anyone would come looking for us. That his alpha would come looking for his beta.

“No.” He shook his head again, tilting it to the floor. His long braids fell over his face. “We are a small pack, and my alpha does not have the strength or numbers to find me.” He sounded dejected and ashamed.

“Surely someone must be looking for you, any of you?” I said to him, then cast my eyes towards the other two men who had shared this journey.

“I am an omega, no one cares about me.” The younger one said. “And this one was a rogue, so yah, no one will come looking for us.” Despite our situation, this man seemed to be taking everything in his stride, like he had accepted his fate and destiny. The rogue wolf that was stuck with us had not said a word the whole journey.

“What’s his deal?” I asked of the rogue.

The rogue lifted his head towards me and opened his mouth, attempting to stick out his tongue. Instead, all that was left was a small stump, showing that at some point he had had his tongue cut out. I had to assume it had been done to him because I couldn’t think of any reason why someone would do that to themselves.

The doors to the back of the truck opened and a bright light came bursting through. I squinted my eyes against the harsh invasion, letting them adjust for a moment, until a skinny-looking man who I had not seen before began yelling at us to get out.

“Come on slaves!” He yelled. “Get a move on, I ain’t got all day! Fucking filthy slave rogues.” He grumbled at us.

Rogues? Who was he calling a rogue? He looked and smelt more like one than the rogue we were traveling with.

I hopped down from the bed of the truck, followed by Ajani and the two other men. I looked around, taking in my surroundings as they ushered us around the truck and towards a scantily looking building.

The bare, almost sand-like ground beneath my feet was hot and unforgiving, burning the soles of my feet. The heat on my back was sweltering.

“Move it!” The man said while yanking my chains. Another prodded me forward using the cattle prod as a threat that if I didn’t start walking, I would be stunned - again. It wasn’t fun the first few times.

I started walking to where they were ushering me, towards a red sandstone building. The entranceway was a long, caged-in walkway, and barbwire hung from the top and was around the sides, preventing either escape or intrusion. Or both.

Before we reached the building, I took in my surroundings. All of the buildings were made of the same sandstone, a much darker color than the bricks used for the Royal Palace.

I could see a market of sorts where patrons were eagerly trading and the owners of the stall called out various products that they sold. People were dressed in lighter colored clothes and mostly in a thin cotton material. Unlike the fashion of my kingdom, it seemed - simpler clothing was preferred. Probably because it was so hot out here.

When I heard a woman cry out, I spun around to see a man lifting a whip and bringing it down hard across a female I recognized from one of the other trucks. She lifted her arms in defense and cried out, “I’m sorry!”

“Fucking whore!” The man shouted as he hit her again. “Know your place, or we will be happy to make sure you know it.”

The smell of her blood reached my nose, she smelled like a human. The man lifted the whip again, bringing it down equally as hard as the first time. The sound of the snapping tail connecting to her skin made me cringe and my blood boil. Without thinking I stepped out of line, ready to defend the poor girl.

I was met with resistance as I felt a hand on my bicep pulling me back.

“Young king, it is best for us to not interfere. It will do you… nor her any good.” Ajani calmly spoke.

I took a step back and glanced at the poor, half-naked girl, wanting desperately to step in and give the assailant a taste of his own medicine. Ajani was right though, I could make things worse not just for myself but the girl as well. I hated to think what her fate was, but deep down I already knew.

“Are you a new fighter?” I heard the small voice that broke me from my thoughts and looked down at the young boy. His eyes were bright with wonderment and excitement.

“I don’t know. Could you tell me where we are? And then maybe I can answer you.” I said softly.

“You are in Bhakhil, sir. I hope I get to see you fight. You look strong.” His smile spread across his face.

“Maybe you will,” I replied and patted him on the head, wondering what he meant about getting to see me fight.

At the entrance of the caged walkway was a woman who was handing out small, cotton sacks. She turned to the young boy and called to him, “Nicolai! Leave them be. We are not allowed to speak to them. Alpha will have me punished!”

I furrowed my brows at her words and the expression of pure terror in her eyes. What kind of place was this where the Alpha would punish a mother and son for speaking to someone kindly? Or that they would hold fear of speaking with the… what was I, a slave? That’s what I was. A slave.

What was more confusing was that when I came up to the woman, whose son was now standing by her side, I was handed one of the sacks. I peered into it to find a bottle of water, an apple, a chunk of bread, and a toothbrush with a small tube of toothpaste.

I guess they wanted us to have nice teeth, I thought. Goddess, I felt like I had stepped into a time warp, another realm, yet I was only on the other continent. How could things be this different here compared to home?

As I thanked the woman for the bag and supplies, I leaned in close to her and lowered my voice to a barely audible whisper.

“Please… If there is any way you can contact Queen Lamia of Riocht or MacTire, please tell her where I am. My name is Kellen.” I left out my rank, my gut telling me it would be wise to omit that little piece of information right now.

The woman gave a small gasp at the mention of Lamia’s name. “The Queen of Shifters?” she asked in a hushed tone, her hazel eyes wide and darting around us. Then her face turned to stone as she peered over my shoulder, and she cleared her throat. “Please move on, we are not allowed to talk to common slaves.” She said it loudly enough for the guards to hear, then turned her back to me.

I sighed and moved along the walkway. I didn’t know if she could or even would try to reach out to Lamia for me. I knew I was taking a chance by asking a stranger, but I had to try.

At least she recognized Lamia’s name. As every shifter should.

When Lamia and Mathias were crowned, a wave of change rippled across the realm and every shifter’s counterpart felt the transfer of power to the new King and Queen of Shifters. Not everyone would be a friend or be happy about it, but they would know, and their animal counterpart would acknowledge their crowning.

We were shoved through the walkway and the hair on the back of my neck began to stand up. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what came next, even less than being in my current situation. I watched the mute rogue step up to the doorway of the building first before they dragged him inside.

His mute cries could be heard from outside. I looked towards Ajani, whose eyes were shifting from left to right, trying to find a way out. He, too, was more than worried about what we were about to encounter.

Next was the omega, then it was my turn. When I stepped up to the doorway, two guards grabbed an arm each and a third used a cattle prod to shock me. It wasn’t enough to knock me out, but just enough for my limbs to become slack.

A fourth man stood in front of me. He was a big guy, older, but at some point he must have held a rank. I could smell beta on him. He held up a large, metal syringe. “You are now the property of Alpha Vargr of the Dessert Moon Pack. Your life belongs to him for as long as you are useful or until he tires of you.” He said without any emotion, but then a sick smirk curled up on the grimy-looking man’s face as he edged closer with the needle. His peppered scruff hid the deep lines that marred him, which made him look all the more sinister.

I didn’t have time to react when the third man grabbed my hair to yank my head down and the syringe was plunged into my neck.

A deep, burning sensation spread throughout my neck and into my head. The men let go of me as I grabbed the sides of my face, trying not to yell out at the agonizing feeling. It was like my head was literally ready to explode, and I fell to my knees with excruciating pain.

I then felt the silver cuffs being removed from my wrists. The spiked prongs pulled from the skin and I rubbed them, pushing the pounding and searing pain in my head to the side. The ones on my ankles came off and I sighed at the relief.

‘Kellen…’ I heard Conri call out to me, but all too soon he was gone again. His voice in my mind sounded panicked and pained, much like I was feeling. I called to him and again was met with silence.

What the fuck did they do to me?

Soon the pain began to subside; I hadn’t even noticed that they had dragged me towards the back of the building and were shoving me into a cell. They tossed me in without another word, throwing the small sack in after me.

At least now I knew where I was and who owned me. Now all I had to do was somehow get the fuck out of here. I rubbed the back of my neck where they had injected me and felt a small, raised lump. My neck and head still throbbed and burned from whatever the substance was. I then began to rub my wrists and ankles again.

Looking down, I noticed they had already started to heal and close up. The lacerations on my back were a little slower to heal, but I could feel the wounds begin to close and the skin start threading itself back together.

They had tossed the rogue, omega, and Ajani in cells as small as mine, next to me.

“Get some sleep slave fighters. Tomorrow, you travel to the Dessert Moon Pack where your new destiny begins.” The man began to laugh heartily, like this was a game or some big joke to him. He laughed like he knew something we didn’t.

The rogue and omega wolves both curled up and found sleep fast, worn out from the lack of food and water and whatever it was that they just did us. I looked at Ajani; he looked tired, but like me, I knew he would either fight the sleep or sleep would never claim him.

“A few years back, my alpha and I had heard about a bear king named Orion and this Alpha Vargr’s daughter, Shayna, who had made an implant that could control your spirit animal… amongst various other things. I had not believed it to be true until now.” He sighed while rubbing the back of his neck.

“Orion and the bitch are dead,” I told him. I was surprised to hear him mention Orion, and then when he told me about this alpha’s daughter who had supposedly bought us, I put two and two together. Shayna was the bitch who attacked Lamia and Mike killed her, right before he almost killed Finnegan.

“I watched his body burn after the battle of Riocht.” I explained. He nodded his head in acknowledgment.

“This is a good thing. I had heard the tales of this king who stole young shifters and turned them into monsters. This Alpha Vargr, I do not know much, but I have been told he buys shifters and half breeds for his entertainment… for his pleasure. His Luna is said to be deranged and just as cruel.” He whispered the information to me, eyes full of sorrow and a hint of fear glistened in them as he recanted the story. I wondered what exactly we were going to face when we arrived at the Dessert Moon Pack.

“I am the Queen's Knight, they will come looking for me,” I told him, mustering as much confidence in my words as I could, even though I wasn’t holding much of my own right now.

I hoped to offer him some aspirations.

The day turned to night and as the sun went down, the air became chilled. I looked towards the small window and could just make out the night sky, full of twinkling stars. The sky was so vast and bright, again reminding me of nights when Mike, Lamia, and I would sit in the royal gardens and lay underneath the stars. Talking about our futures and what we had wished would come to pass.

That time seemed so far away now, our lives taking different paths than what we had thought. Especially Lamia’s.

I closed my eyes and opened my mind, thinking of her and the other three knights. Just one second of connection through the link was all I needed. I felt a pressure building behind my eyes and blew out a breath in frustration as I was met with blankness.

‘I am here.’ The faint whisper of Conri was heard and I perked up.

‘Conri? Thank goddess!’ I mentally exclaimed to my wolf.

‘I am weak, but I am here. I need to heal,’ he replied before retreating again.

A new hope rose within me, and for the first time in seven days I felt a little clarity. For the first time since my parents had died, a small smile crept onto my face.

Conri was not gone, he was still with me. I would need him and his strength to get out of here; I just had to give him time to heal. Then we could show these asshats my true rank and power.