Chapter 5 A Mating Ritual

• Far away from the damp stench of the dungeon, in the dead of the night, Alpha Fenris sat on the sprawling stone balcony of his mansion. He was bathed in the distant moonlight, appearing less like a man and more like a predator surveying his dark empire.
• His right-hand man and trusted Beta, Kai, approached him stealthily. Kai knew the Alpha hated any interruption; the quiet space was reserved for his singular, ruthless focus. Clearing his throat nervously, Kai finally secured the Alpha's attention.
• Fenris didn't turn. His voice was a flat, lethal vibration.
• “Leave, Kai. If you love your life, do not speak until I allow it.”
• Kai swallowed hard, fear gripping him. He knew his current task was danger itself, so he gathered courage and approached the Alpha, stopping at a distance. He watched Alpha Fenris, who was occupied with reviewing intelligence reports.
• “Alpha… It concerns the female slave. The vessel.” Kai said hesitantly. Silence stretched, thick and suffocating. Fenris didn't move a muscle. Kai cleared his throat nervously and proceeded, trying to sound professional and efficient.
• “My Alpha, I was wondering if I should hold a ceremony…a mating ritual, perhaps—before you proceed to seed the female slave, for the sake of appearances.”
• Fenris paused. He pushed his work aside and slowly rose to his feet. Kai took several steps back, heart pounding. The Alpha was immense, a towering figure whose sheer aura was formidable.
• Fenris approached Kai slowly, his silver eyes cold and penetrating. He leaned forward, his massive frame imposing.
• “Do you think, Kai, that anyone is against me seeding a slave without the need for entanglement?” His voice was low, laced with contempt. “Do you believe the Silver-Moon pack needs a farce of a ceremony to validate the creation of my heir?” he added with narrowed eyes. Kai bowed his head, knowing full well the Alpha viewed marriage as a waste of time.
• “No, my Alpha. I understand. I will have the servants prepare the female slave for breeding as soon as possible.”
• Fenris finally turned back to the dark landscape, dismissing the conversation. The female slave meant nothing to him as long as she carried his heir. Her life was disposable.
• “Ensure she is clean. The chamber is to be prepared. Any further delay will bear consequences, Kai. Understand?” A final, chilling command that had Kai nodding in agreement.
• “Understood, Alpha.”
• Kai retreated, leaving Fenris alone on the balcony, focused only on the cold, transactional necessity of securing his lineage. He was the Dark Alpha, and his word was law, even over the sacred rituals of the Moon Goddess.
• ____
• Elara POV
• The darkness of the dungeon was a small mercy compared to what followed. I was too weak and too broken to struggle when the heavy doors were thrown open again. Large, impersonal hands seized me, hauling me up from the icy floor where I lay in the bloody aftermath of Lyra’s vicious attack. Every nerve ending screamed. I was a puppet of agony, unable to even hold my weight.
• They dragged me through those cold corridors again, but this time, the journey didn't end in the massive hall. We ascended higher, the temperature rising, the air changing. I was being taken from the lair of death to the heart of luxury.
• They shoved me into a room so vast and opulent it felt unreal. Moonlight, not torchlight, flooded the space, illuminating silks, rich dark wood, and a towering four-poster bed draped in crimson velvet. It was a prison designed for a queen, yet I was nothing but a slave, covered in filth and wounds.
• My body was immediately assaulted by a flurry of activity. Servants, moving with nervous efficiency, swarmed me. They tried to force broth to my lips and a glass of water, but I clamped my jaw shut. I would not consume anything from this monster’s fortress; I would not be fattened for the slaughter.
• Then came a woman, her presence commanding an instant halt to the frantic scrubbing. She was older, with silver hair braided neatly, and wore the traditional robes of a healer. She introduced herself with a voice that was both gentle and unnervingly firm.
• “I'm Marga, child. I'm here to mend you.” She said as she tried to caress my face, I flinched as her cool, knowing fingers pressed against a deep bruise on my forearm. Her eyes, though kind, held a strange, frightening intensity that suggested she saw much more than my physical pain.
• “Leave us,” she commanded the other servants.
• They stripped the rags from my body, revealing the horrifying damage Lyra had inflicted. Marga’s expression remained placid. She began to clean the lash marks and apply medicine that burned and then numbed. The pain was too deep, however; it was lodged in my bones, in my spirit. No amount of balm could reach the agony of hatred and fear.
• They washed my hair until the scent of dust and old blood was replaced by sweet lavender. They dressed me in a simple, soft, cream-white floral dress that felt alien against my abused skin. I watched with blurry eyes as the room transformed, every imperfection smoothed away, every amenity put in place. They were preparing me. For him.
• Marga dismissed the last of the servants. She stood back, studying me, a faint, disconcerting smile touching her lips.
• “Good. You look like the prize you are, little one. You should be confident, Elara. Likewise, you should feel honored to be noticed by the Alpha. He does not choose lightly.” She said with a smile, as if what she said amused her.
• Honored? My mind screamed the word, but my throat could only produce a silent, raspy cough. I stared blankly at her, too immersed in the agony of my existence to offer a single word of protest. My entire focus was on escape, on survival, on not collapsing under the weight of my impending doom.
• It was then the door to the luxurious room creaked open with a heavy, deliberate sound.
• Immediately, Marga dropped into a deep, respectful bow, her eyes fixed on the floor. I didn't have to guess who the imposing figure was.
• His scent, dark and intoxicating, slammed into my senses...the raw dominance of the Silver-Moon Alpha. The air grew heavy, the very atmosphere freezing under the weight of his formidable, icy aura. His predatory movements, even just stepping across the threshold, spoke of absolute, unchallenged power. It was the monster, Alpha Fenris.
• “Alpha, the girl is ready,” the old lady remarked respectfully. The Alpha didn't acknowledge her with words, only a curt wave of his massive hand, dismissing her instantly. Marga scrambled backward, exiting the room and shutting the door with a soft click that sealed my fate.
• I shifted uncomfortably on the edge of the bed, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I was alone with the killer of my family, the man who had claimed me as a breeding tool. Fear gripped me—a cold, paralyzing terror.
• He didn't move for a long moment. He just watched me, his silver eyes frightening and intense, stripping away any pretense of defiance I might have clung to. His gaze felt like a physical weight, crushing me into the mattress. Unable to endure the brutal scrutiny, I bowed my head, hiding my face behind the curtain of my damp, clean hair, praying for the icy darkness to swallow me whole.
• Then I felt…his hands on my body.