Chapter#26
Leandro’s POV
“Harder,” I snarled as I leaned forward, my claws digging into the armrests, “Spank her harder, you useless slut, or I’ll flay the skin off your back myself.”
The blonde sobbed. She whimpered, “Please, Alpha…I…I can’t…”
“You can, and you will,” I snapped as I bared my fangs, “Do it, or I’ll chain you to the dungeon wall and let the rats feast on your flesh.”
She flinched. Her hands trembled as she raised the belt. The leather cracked against the other whore’s bare ass, a redhead whose pale skin was already crisscrossed with welts. Her screams echoed off the stone walls.
“Harder!” I roared, slamming my fist on the throne. The slaves in the corner flinched. Their naked bodies pressed against the wall, and their chains clinked as they cowered.
“I’m trying, Alpha!” the blonde cried. Tears streamed down her face as she swung the belt again. The crack was louder this time. The redhead’s scream was a piercing wail that made my blood sing. Her body jerked against the ropes. Fresh blood trickled from the welts, pooling on the floor.
“Pathetic,” I sneered, standing, “You call that pain? I’ll show you pain.”
I grabbed a spiked whip from the wall. The iron tips glinted with dried blood, and lashed it across the blonde’s back. The spikes tore into her flesh. Her scream was a high-pitched shriek as blood sprayed, splattering across the stone.
“Alpha, please!” the redhead begged as she writhed against her bonds. Her naked body was slick with sweat and blood. “We’ll do better…please, mercy!”
“Mercy?” I laughed as I lashed the whip again. This time across her thighs. The spikes ripped into her skin. Her scream was a raw, animalistic sound that made my cock twitch. “Mercy is for the weak. You’re Bloodclaw whores! Your only purpose is to bleed for my pleasure.”
“Alpha Leandro!” a voice called from the doorway, cutting through the screams. I turned as my eyes narrowed, the whip still in my hand, blood dripping from the spikes as my knights entered.
“What?” I growled, stepping over the whimpering whores, “This better be worth interrupting me.”
The lead knight bowed low, “We… we couldn’t find her, Alpha. Alpha Theron’s daughter…she’s vanished. We’ve scoured the south, every pack, every den. No trace.”
I froze. My grip tightened on the whip. “No trace?” I repeated, stepping closer. “You’re telling me that little Silverthorn bitch slipped through your fingers?”
The knight swallowed hard, “Yes, Alpha. We’ve doubled the patrols, tortured every slave who might know something…nothing. She’s… gone.”
“Gone?” I roared, backhanding him across the face. My claws raked across his cheek, blood welling as he staggered. His armor clanked as he hit the wall. “You incompetent fool! I want her found! Do you hear me? Alpha Theron’s daughter belongs to me! I’ll chain her to my bed, break her spirit, make her scream my name until she agrees to be my mate!”
“Yes, Alpha!” he gasped, clutching his bleeding face. His voice trembled as he dropped to his knees, “We’ll find her…I swear it!”
“You’d better,” I snarled, “Or I’ll carve your heart out and feed it to the pigs while your mother watches.”
“Alpha!” another knight burst in, “News from Ironfang City. One of our slaves traded there was rescued last night. She… she was from the Silverthorn Pack.”
A cruel smile spread across my lips. My fangs gleamed as I turned to the knight, “Rescued?” I repeated, “From Ironfang City? And she’s Silverthorn?”
“Yes, Alpha,” the knight said, “A slave girl. Traded to a lord there, but someone broke her out. Killed a knight in the process.”
My smile widened as I stepped closer, “And you think Alpha Theron’s daughter might be involved?”
“It’s possible, Alpha,” the knight said, “Ironfang’s a cesspool. She might be hiding there, thinking she’s safe.”
“Safe?” I laughed, “No one’s safe from me. If Alpha Theron’s daughter is in Ironfang City, I’ll drag her out myself. She can’t hide from me. Not after what her father did, thinking he could reject my hand for her.”
I let out a satisfied breath, “Get the knights ready. We ride to Ironfang City at dusk. I want every street searched, every Silverthorn slave tortured for answers. If Alpha Theron’s daughter is there, I’ll find her and I’ll make her wish she’d never been born.”
“Yes, Alpha!” the knight said, scrambling to his feet, “We’ll be ready…dusk, as you command.”
“Good,” I growled as I turned back to the whores. The whip cracked in my hand, the sound making them scream again, their naked bodies jerking against their ropes. “Now get out of my sight before I decide to skin you both for wasting my time.”
The knights fled, their armor clanking as they retreated. I stepped over to the edge of the dais, my eyes fixed on the iron grate leading to the dungeons.
“Take me to the dungeons,” I barked at a guard cowering in the corner.
“Yes, Alpha!” he said, scrambling to open the grate. The rusted iron groaned as it lifted, revealing a stone stairwell descending.
I descended, my boots echoing on the stone. The dungeons were a labyrinth of despair, the walls slick with grime, the cells packed with naked slaves, their bodies emaciated, their skin marred with whip marks, burns, and oozing sores.
I continued down the corridor and stopped at a heavy iron door at the end of the passage.
“Open it,” I ordered. The dungeon master scrambled to obey, his hands trembling as he worked the rusted lock. The door groaned open with a screech that echoed through the dungeon.
The room revealed a man chained to the wall, his wrists and ankles bound in iron manacles, the metal biting into his flesh. Fresh blood trickled down his arms, pooling on the stone floor beneath him. His naked body was a canvas of brutality; lash marks crisscrossed his chest, the skin torn open, oozing with infection, burns seared into his thighs, the flesh blackened and blistered.
I smiled as I stepped closer, “Hello, Kaelen,” I purred as I crouched, forcing him to meet my gaze, “It seems your sister is playing the hero, trying to save her people. That little Silverthorn can’t hide from me. I’ll find her, big brother, and when I do, I’ll make sure she begs for mercy.”