Imprisoned By Alpha Voridian

Imprisoned in the arena of Doom 1

~ELOWEN~

I could feel eyes on me as the carriage passed through the towns of the werewolves. Everyone pointed fingers at us, and some even picked up stones to throw at us.

"Fleshings!" some werewolves shouted, hurling stones at us. From their actions, I could see that none of the werewolves wanted us there. Clearly, they hated us due to our long history of hostility, and now it was our turn to be ridiculed by the werewolves. I wondered how long we would last under the rule of a terrible king.

If only my father were here, I thought. I suddenly remembered watching my father being slashed across the stomach and falling to his death right in front of me. That was not the birthday I had wished for. If we survived the cruel treatment of the werewolves, it would be forever known that my birthday celebration had ruined the lives of the humans.

I didn't want to blame my birthday for the attack, but since the werewolves had chosen it as their perfect time to strike, I figured I was cursed or the universe was against me.

"Go back to your ruined lands, humans!" The werewolves continued to scream at us, and one of the stones hit me on the forehead.

Blood gushed down my face and neck, but the werewolves didn't stop throwing more stones.

"Elowen!" Maverick, one of my friends in the carriage, shouted my name and rushed toward me, using his body as a shield to protect me. "Are you alright?" he asked.

I didn't know how to respond. I felt lightheaded, and my forehead wouldn't stop bleeding. The stone had hit me hard, and a headache was settling in. That was the difference between us and the werewolves. While werewolves healed fast, it took time for humans. "Will you be alright?" Maverick asked again, and when I didn't reply, he tore part of his shirt and wrapped it around my forehead. "This will do for now until we can find help." If we could find help.

"Thank you, Maverick," I said, placing a finger on the shirt wrapped around my forehead. It had indeed stopped the bleeding but didn't stop the werewolves' hostile looks, making me wonder how long we could hold on to our hopes.

"Where the hell are they taking us?" Maverick shouted but got no response. Not even the guards surrounding the carriage answered, and the rest of the ride was silent until we reached Hacienda's capital.

As the capital city gates opened, I knew there was no going back. This was the end for us unless a miracle happened. I was never going to submit to their king; instead, I was going to make him pay for killing my father and destroying our homes.

"If anything happens, just know that I will always protect you," Maverick assured me, taking my hands in his. "I will always be here to protect you and—" The carriage door opened, and the guards dragged us out. "Where the hell are you taking us?" Maverick shouted again, but they ignored him.

I remained silent until we and the rest of the surviving humans were pushed into an arena with hundreds of werewolves pointing fingers at us and calling us names.

"Die!" some of them shouted.

"I bet they can't survive in a place like this!"

"Fleshings! I'd love to make one of them my slave if they survive today." The word "survive" caught my attention. I suddenly felt the burning gaze on me, like someone was watching me intensely, so I looked around until my eyes landed on him.

He was the man I wished to kill—the alpha king of the werewolves, the bane of my existence, the man who had taken everything away from me. I didn't know what to call him, but one thing was sure: I was going to kill him and free my people. As our eyes connected, I saw how he stared at me like a tiny insect waiting to be crushed by him. But I was no insect and would prove that to everyone, including my people.

A woman walked towards him and sat by his side, placing her hand on Voridian's, and I felt it. A deep upset settled in my stomach like a heavy stone. I wondered why it upset me to see the woman touching Voridian. I felt threatened by the woman and couldn't help but wonder who she was to the alpha king. I shouldn't think like that, but while my mind said one thing, my body hated seeing the woman close to the alpha king. I believed I had gone crazy because I shouldn't feel upset about who the alpha king chose to be with, so I looked away.

"Welcome to the arena of doom!" someone shouted through a speaker. "In this arena, those who enter barely come out in one piece." The announcer laughed, and the werewolves also burst into laughter. "This was designed by the alpha king, who wanted entertainment from the humans. A chance to live or die in this arena is up to them!" he shouted.

I thought I must have heard the announcer wrong and looked towards Voridian again. He was still staring at me intensely, as if he was waiting for me to beg for mercy or scream and run away, leaving behind my people. But I was no coward and would never back down from a challenge, especially from someone like him.

"The game is to determine who the strongest human is." The announcer whistled, and growls that made my skin crawl echoed in the arena, bringing back memories of the night when the werewolves had attacked us.

Six werewolves with red, glowing eyes like embers burst into the arena, their growls echoing off the walls as they circled us. My heart skyrocketed, racing fast like a runaway horse, and it felt like it was about to jump out of my chest. I felt my pulse pounding in my temples, my breath catching as the wolves closed in. I looked up towards him.

His expression remained stoic and hard as if he didn't care. I clenched my fists and looked away again, focusing on the werewolves.

"This is a game of the survival of the fittest, and only those who can run towards there," the announcer pointed towards an entrance as the gates opened, "only those who can get there will survive the werewolves' attack. Those who fail will die!"

The announcement made everything worse as we shifted backward, fearing the werewolves, but one of the humans walked forward and screamed. "The king is sick," he spat on the ground. "He is a coward who can't face us on his own, and he—" his words were cut short as one of the wolves jumped at him and slashed his chest, his sentence ending in a bloodcurdling scream. He was thrown into the midst of the snarling werewolves, who pounced on him.

I watched in horror as they tore him apart, their jaws ripping his flesh and bones with ease. But the werewolves' laughter made my blood run cold, their joyous howls echoing off the walls. The announcer's words returned to me: "Survive or die."

We, realizing our fate, scattered and began to run.

I felt a presence hurtling towards me, the ground trembling beneath my feet as one of the werewolves charged at me. But instead of running away, I remained frozen and stared at the wolf. We locked eyes as it leaped into the air and lunged at me.