Aria/Lysara's POV

After Alpha King Kael wore the necklace on my neck and declared me his seventh sub, everyone cheered out of the throne room, moving into another massive hall where the festivity began in full swing.

I followed like a mindless robot into the hall, my fists clenched and unclenched beside me, my veins burning with adrenaline as hot as lava pumping through me. I stopped some feet from Selene and Roran as they stood before one of the massive walls of the large hall, holding wine glasses and taking careful sips from them, while they threw casual social glances at the massive hall.

I glared at them, my jaw tight, as I watched them, my eyes following every move they made, my whole body pulsing for their blood.

I wasn't just angry that the bastards had betrayed and killed me. It was more than that. Far more than that. I didn't need to see much to know; they have ruined my pack and destroyed its sphere of influence just within a year that they claimed control.

All the satellite packs that I had struggled and toiled miserably to keep as one after Father's death—they had scattered them. None of the lower Alphas came to them or even accorded them any respect. They just glanced and passed by them as if they weren't important, as if the Crimson Moon pack was another lower pack like them and not the once proud ruler of the lycan world.

They didn't just betray and kill me. They destroyed Father's legacy and destroyed my ancestors' legacy.

His scent crept into my nostrils then, full and unique. It claimed my nostrils, and he leaned his head just on my shoulders. His breath warmed my neck as he whispered. “I invited them here because of you, Lysara. I invited them so you can see them today, on the day you become mine, so I can see you hate the Crimson Mooners as much as I do.”

I struggled not to turn to him. If he glimpsed the extent of the hate I had in my eyes for them, he might be suspicious. My fingers bit hard into my palm as I struggled to shelve the thoughts of murder spinning through my mind.

I wanted to claw off Selene and Roran’s faces and tear them to shreds, but I was too powerless to do that. I wasn't Alpha King Kael's queen. I was just his slave or sub or whatever he calls me. I could still very much be punished for my transgressions against another Alpha.

“You promised you would help me get my revenge against them. When will that be?” I demanded, struggling to keep back my rage from infiltrating my voice, but I wasn't so successful. Even to my own ears, murder stained every syllable I uttered.

He leaned closer, and his breath grew hotter on my neck. He licked my neck gently, his tongue teasing my earlobe. Then he grabbed my ass, squeezing hard, so hard, I moaned, pleasure aching through my throat as well as pain, denting my rage. A wave of heat rushed up my ass, charging violently to the whole of my body. My tight fists pumped with rage unfolded as I gripped my thighs, needing support from the rush of sensations that bombarded me.

He grabbed my clothed breasts, squeezing also as he raised me to return fully erect on my feet. I struggled from the heat of his touches. My eyes misted a bit from a mix of pain, pleasure, and rage.

He breathed on my neck. “Right now, whatever promise I made to you means nothing, because you are just a slave I own. You don't get to make demands. I do.” He said, and while he spoke, his fingers lifted my dress slowly until his hand was caressing my bare thighs. He was doing this right in front of everyone, everyone in the party.

My eyes were still misted from the pain of him squeezing hard at my ass, so I couldn't see it, but I heard it—the hushed whispers that sprang up and spread like wildfire across the hall and the loud gasp of excitement that rippled and echoed through the walls. Everyone was watching, including the bastards, Selene and Roran. They were all watching him touch me like I was just a property he owned.

The thought that the bastards were watching crushed my heart, my stomach tightening so hard inside of me it froze up my lungs. My breathing grew labored and raspy. I tried to keep back the soft moans spilling from my mouth, but then two strong fingers slipped through my panties, and in one full force, they drilled into my sex.

I spasmed against his hands, collapsing forward as a loud guttural moan tore out of my throat, my eyes snapped wide, and the whole room came into focus in a hot rush, though covered in the watery veil of my tears. 

He grabbed my breasts again, pulling me back to stand erect. And he whispered in my ear. “Don't you dare make demands on me again, Lysara. You only earn that right when you become my queen, and you do that through the game. Win three consecutive rounds of the game and become my queen. Not then can you be able to cash in my promise. Until then, you are just a slave. A living toy I possess just to fuck at will.” He said, even though his words were very harsh, his voice was surprisingly calm.

Suddenly, he grabbed my sex hard, as if about to yank it off from me. I gasped out a terrified moan, so loud it claimed the whole hall, as I grabbed hard at his arms, writhing around him like a tortured snake. I threw my head to the ceiling, shutting my eyes to the millions of painful sensations that bombarded me. He finally yanked his fingers off my sex and withdrew from me.

I staggered forward, cradling my chest, panting and gasping for breath, struggling to get fistfuls of air to soothe my lungs, which burned hot, my throat completely dry.

I got a grip on myself a little, and I lifted my head once again to the hall. Most of the guests still buried their gazes on me, the males running their lustful eyes on my legs exposed by my skirt, which was still raised. The others seemed to have moved on, suggesting this was nothing new to them. They have probably watched Alpha King Kael molest his subs before their eyes, treating his subs like objects he possessed—sex toys he could use at will.

My eyes fell on Roran and Selene again. I caught their snickering chuckles before they hid their faces behind their wine glasses, sipping their wines.

Adrenaline rushed through me, and the rage pumping through me returned in full swing again. My heart pounded hard against my chest as I watched them continue to giggle, laugh, and share jokes. They might not be laughing at what just happened. But the sight of them being so happy after ruining my life felt like I was dying again. A sharp pain crept through my chest.

I didn't know what came over me, but I finally gave in to my rage, and I matched up to them. They turned to me at the same time.

Alpha Roran eyed me, his eyes sweeping me with undisguised condescension. It was as if he was expecting me to take a cue from his look and leave. When I didn't and kept glaring at him, his eyes grew stern, and so did Selene's. Her long lashes flipped like a fan at me.

Alpha Roran grabbed my arm, his eye drilling a hole through me. “I thought we agreed not to meet in the open if you eventually win the sex toy audition.” he demanded, his voice still low, yet his tone harsh.

My rage cracked a bit then, and I narrowed my gaze on both of them. “What do you mean?” I demanded, using the same harsh tone as him.

Selene grabbed my jaw, jerking my head up. The heat in her eyes rendered them very cold. “What’s with the attitude, slave? Have you forgotten you were our slave before we sent you over to Alpha King Kael to be his sex slave, or do you need a slap to reset your slave brain, Lysara?” She snapped. She lifted the necklace from my neck, bouncing it gently in her lean fingers. “You are only wearing this collar because of us. And don't let it get into your head. It doesn't mean anything. You are still as much a slave as you were while you were under us.”

Before I could get my mind to piece out what Selene was saying, my gaze snapped to Alpha Roran as his fingers tightened on my arm. The face of the man I had once loved with all my heart folded in a snarl, and he shook me. “Now, get out of our sight, and go join your band of sex toys, or subs, or whatever you all call yourselves. If Alpha King Kael finds out you are our spy here, I will take out your eyes before we are punished,” he yelled. And he threw me away, uncaring as I staggered to a side, struggling to regain my balance before I could trip to the floor.

He and Selene nudged their jaws into the air after, smiling at the faces around, whose gaze had strayed to us—that same pretentious smile they had used to fool me into trusting them, until they cruelly betrayed me.

The adrenaline surging through me threatened to explode as I watched them. Instantly, something snapped in me. I rushed forward, snatched the glass in Roran’s fingers, and poured the contents on his face.

Selene let out a startled gasp, and she pushed my shoulder. “What the hell has come over you, Lysara… Have you forgotten we owned you? You…” She was speaking and proceeding to push me again.

I didn't let her this time as I swung my hand fast into the air. My palm crashed hard against her face, and a sharp noise split the whole hall. The room froze into focus at the sound, the whole hall going mute around us, but I didn't care.