Chapter 4 Episode 4

I was terrible at sewing. And a little lazy. Hope that wasn’t going to be an issue for tonight’s festivities. That had me smirking. The idea of lying there like a dead fish while the alpha tried to get a rise out of me had me almost laughing out loud. I held it in by some miracle and looked up, my eyes clashing with Nikolai’s. I stowed my threatening smirk to harden my stare as he stood at the front of the trio. “Offerings of Wolf Territory,” he said, and everyone stepped back in the large room. I stood my ground, not letting him intimidate me. He was using my body; he wouldn’t have my mind or my will. He noticed. “One by one you will be taken through the door at the back. Once you pass through that door, everything you see and do will be private information. Tell no one,” he said. Everyone turned to look at the door, every girl looking paler as the full weight of what we were there for hit us. The solid, dark wooden door with a silver wolf head on it seemed more dramatic than it needed to be. “Stay in this room no matter what. The rest of the mansion is off limits. Step foot outside this threshold and you’ll regret it,” he promised, and it made me want to put my toe across the line just to see what they would do. Then I realized that was a stupid get-yourself-killed idea and decided against it. Braxton stepped forward, lining up next to Kai. “There are drinks on the table there. We suggest you choose the alcoholic punch. You’re going to need the liquid courage.” He winked as if he was being charming, and maybe that’s what the other offerings saw because not a single one flinched at the hidden threat. They were prepared to walk blindly into the unknown. I wanted more answers. But by the glare Nikolai gave me, I wasn’t going to get them until I went through the door. Derik’s turn. He stepped in line with the other two alphas, all three of them magnificent, feral beasts with muscles and tattoos, but it was the searing darkness in their eyes that got me. The wise, untamed look that made me think the night wasn’t going to be as straightforward as my mom had made it sound. And maybe that wasn’t going to be such a bad thing. “There’s books and chess if you get bored,” Derik said, pointing to the bookshelves and chess table, but I didn’t care. I was all about the fireplace, inching closer to the flame, the heat warming my freezing skin. I gulped as they moved, weaving through the girls, sniffing and scenting the strongest out. I waited impatiently, holding my arms as I took in the blood moon spilling in from the glass panes in the ceiling. It covered our white clothes in red shadows and made me smirk at how appropriate that was. Pillars lined the room, vines, water, and a rock path curving down them in stone. The three alphas. It was ingrained in every part of the place. It was beautiful the way the history was kept. The three families had joined forces, held Werewolf Territory for centuries since the great war. I had to begrudgingly give them props for that. I sucked in a breath as a coldness wrapped around me. I spun to the feeling, but there was nothing there. The corner of the room felt wrong though, the same as it had outside. I shivered, seeing a shadow kissing the wall that matched nothing in the room. Dread dropped in my stomach, that same heavy stone from before. I walked slowly toward it, focused on the feeling, paralyzed by it. I was waiting for the eyes. I knew they were watching me, but I couldn’t see them. I wanted to see them. Before I could reach the corner, strong arms wrapped around my waist and yanked me back, shaking me out of my stupor. Nikolai dumped me back by the fireplace. My eyes wide, I looked up at him, his body heating me as much as the fire behind me. His face dropped as he looked between me and the corner he had snared me from. I backed away slowly, a weakness hitting me. I stumbled, and Nikolai caught me. The world spun for a second, and I took a steadying breath. “Lorelai?” he asked, his voice softer than I had ever heard it. It broke through the spinning, and I forced myself to stand strong. “I’m good,” I bit, glancing over at the corner. I was losing my damn mind. Stupid werewolves. “Kai. We’ve got to start,” Derik said, standing by his first girl. Nikolai hesitated before letting me go and grabbing a random girl from his group, pulling her to the door as Braxton picked his. He looked to me and nodded at the alcohol table. “Drink the punch. It’ll help,” he bit, before looking back at the others. “Wait here.” Then the wolves disappeared. Most of the girls huddled together, keeping to their respective villages, but I was winter born. Nobody cared where I went. So, I found the alcohol. It was made up in a punch that swirled in my plastic cup, had a little fizz, and was a pinkish-orange color. I had no idea what that meant, but I didn’t care enough to question it. Instead, I gulped it back before grabbing another one to sip. The bittersweet taste coated my throat, and I went to the fireplace, sinking into the closest plush chair to wait my turn. I had just started to relax into the warmth with the help of whatever I was drinking when the screams started. I sat by the fire, staring at the flames dancing in the ash as I drank the punch. It was starting to have an effect; my tongue was numb, but my mind wasn’t. It heard every screech and scream as the three alphas came out, grabbing another three girls, then another three, until it was only me and two others. I was next. I wasn’t ready. My heart raced as the screams finally quieted and I took another sip, hoping it would numb my mind even more. My body felt relaxed, my muscles not tense at all, but my head was pounding. I leaned back, resting my head against the big cushions on the couch, my eyes fluttering closed. I had avoided his eyes burning into me every time he had come through that damn door, and the idea that I was going to be the next one he came to get had my jaw clenching. I didn’t want to be the next one screaming like the others that had gone through. I’d kill for a coffee. Or a nap. I took the second option, slowly drifting while I waited. The red eyes were in my dream. I gasped awake and Nikolai was there, bending down, his eyes meeting mine. “Your turn,” he said, holding his hand out. I looked between it and the door. “Did you at least change the sheets?” I grumbled, letting him pull me up. He smirked and led me through the door. Braxton and Derik grabbed the last girls from their group and followed us through. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t the room that greeted us. There was no bed, no lanterns. Only the moon shining down on us through the opening in the ceiling, casting its red glare. The three alphas stood next to three concrete stands, each holding a golden goblet carved with the three symbols of Wolf Territory: a wave, a tree, and my own village’s symbol, a vine with flower buds, because the Grasslands area had meadows stretching over every part of it that wasn’t used for crops and animal farming. The alphas all wore the same mischievous smirk, the shadows playing on their faces, making them look even bigger, even more intimidating. Like they needed it. I was already nervous, and I was sure the others were too. I was just as curious though. Surely they didn’t expect us to f**k on the floor, so what the hell were we doing in the room with the goblets? Nikolai stepped into the red rays of the moon. His claw grew from the pointing finger on his hand, his eyes glowing red before he pierced his wrist with it. We all gasped. One of the girls whimpered, drawing the alphas’ attention. They glared at her as she shrunk back, her chin wobbling. Nikolai held his wrist over the first goblet, his blood dripping into it. He moved to the next goblet, then the final one. His eyes never left mine, and I wanted to be disgusted by what he was doing because I knew what it meant, but I wasn’t. I was even more intrigued. He stepped forward, and the shadows moved down his face, dancing across his abs, his tattoo. My mouth ran dry as I took him in. Strong, powerful muscle that had something stirring in me. Not entirely uncomfortable, but it was foreign. I wanted to explore it further and when a smirk tugged at his lips, I wondered whether he could tell what I was thinking. What his body did to mine. Derik and Braxton moved behind him, cutting into their own flesh with their claws, long, thick talon things, dripping their blood into the goblets as Nikolai finally spoke. “Here you take an oath. A blood oath of loyalty to the Werewolf Territory. You become part of us,” he said in that deep, gravelly voice that had my stomach tightening. I shivered, crossing my arms across myself, the cold of the room trying to seep in past the feelings Nikolai pushed through me. “What oath?” I asked, wanting more specifics before I decided whether to take it or not. “Patience, Spitfire.” Braxton winked from behind Nikolai. I clenched my jaw and tried to wait. “An oath that forbids revealing what happens tonight. An oath that holds your tongues to the traditions we expect of you tonight. An oath that makes you a part of our promise to protect you as a race within our territory,” Nikolai explained, and I raised a brow. So that’s why my mom had been so vague. It wasn’t comforting; the unknown was terrifying. I shivered, not able to stop my next question falling from my lips. “And if we don’t take the oath?” Braxton blew out a breath as Derik stepped forward. “Try it, beautiful,” he said with a smile, but his voice was a threat, cold and hard. “Please…” One of the girls shivered, a Forest girl. “Please…don’t punish us for her cursed tongue. She’s winter born.” I rolled my eyes, of course. How could I forget my ghastly curse? Sometimes, in moments like these, it was hard for resentment not to creep in. My parents knew what would happen to me and my brother for having children in winter. They swore we were due in spring but came eight weeks early. We almost died and because we didn’t, we have the devil in us, or some stupid s**t like that. I’d seen no proof of that.