The Alpha King's Third Wife

Chapter Eight- In The Dark, Beneath A Beast

Chapter Eight- In The Dark, Beneath A Beast- This is it, just go ahead and eat me

Though I can't promise that I'll be delicious, I'll probably be as bitter as the resentment filling my heart. Oh well, Bon appetit!

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"Where are we going?" Becca asked and was ignored.

Her arms were aching from being in the same angle by the time the man came to a halt in front of a giant structure she could not make out properly. A chilly breeze swept over the terrain and made her shiver. She was seeing the outside for the very first time. Well… not really. The sky was plain, it was a starless, moonless, cloudless night, and there was no artificial illumination so it was very dark, almost pitch black.

She still had not met the king, instead she was going through these unnecessary steps. Why was she assigned such a menial task? What were all those servants for if they can't bring his food to him? Becca was exhausted, downright jaded and wanted to meet her end already.

"Get inside." The barbarian rasped, his unnervingly, unnaturally deep voice pervading the silent night and resonating darkly in her ears.

Becca frowned in confusion, her eyes could detect some motion and she could tell that something with hinges was being pulled, but she did not know what she was expected to get inside.

"Get inside wh-" Before she could utter the rest of the question, she was startled and gasped in shock when she was suddenly swept off her feet and scooped into the man's arms.

He carried her into the peculiarly shaped container and as soon he dropped her onto a rugged, coarse surface, she heard the creak of hinges and a resounding bang soon after. The door had been slammed shut and she was left in the dark with this aggressive creature who clearly did not like her. This was one of the most uncomfortable moments for her, the silence was tortuous, but not as mercilessly as the darkness. Her vision was only limited to the dome- shaped structure of the wagon and beastly, luminous crimson irises. Strych number two was sitting right across her and he looked even more pissed, or maybe it was just his chilling aura. The container began to move at a steady speed and Becca realised that this was no ordinary carriage and it definitely was not been drawn by horses or any earthly animal.

The growls racking the terrain and ripping through her chest were even more powerful and frightening than the surly snarls the wolves that snapped her binds in half produced. The beasts towing the carriage were definitely larger and more than a pair. The darkness was terrorizing, she hated the fact that she could not see where they were going and was oblivious of the dangers ahead. But not more than the far from smooth, uncomfortable journey. The track was bumpy and with every hole the wheels dipped into and hump they rolled over, the meat tipped towards her and the blood spilled all over her thighs.

They still hadn't stopped. They were getting further and further away from the palace. Something wasn't right. She had a bad feeling settling in her gut. Strych number two suddenly looked more sinister. What if he was not taking her to his king? What if he had planned this with Strych? It did not make sense why a king would not be in his palace, especially to eat. This was a set- up wasn't it? Prickling fear set her body alight, leaving her feeling feverish, yet her insides felt as frigid as ice. Her impending doom was edging in and the tightness in her chest made her acknowledge just how unprepared she was. She wasn't ready to die, she was not ready for the pain, she was not ready to be a victim, neither was she ready to grovel and regard that monster with reverence. She had a lot of fight in her, but her strength was no match for a hulking man with wolf blood. She was going to try her best not to get violated, but what if her best is not enough? What if he overpowers her and she is left to helplessly watch as he ruins her. Anxiety flooded her and her heart began to race. She was not ready to go through that trauma again. Her chest got tighter, she could not breathe, her hands were shaking. Becca was on the verge of a panic attack, she was fighting a strenuous internal battle not to let Strych number two to witness her in her worst state. She remembered her mother's words, inhaled and exhaled deeply until she had calmed down enough. Her trauma was a lesion of the past, she was stronger now and no longer naive. Becca made a vow to herself; She was not going to be his victim, no matter what.

The carriage came to an abrupt halt and the jolt sent Becca flying and crashing into Strych's fraternal twin, who gnarled irately and pushed her back. Becca fumbled through the darkness until she collected the tray and meat from the floor.

"We are here." The brute announced menacingly and Becca foolishly tried to look out.

"Here where?" She blurted out unintentionally and was confounded by the deep chuckles that accompanied her question. "What is so funny?" Her voice was saturated with annoyance and the man's chuckles stopped at once and made way for a throaty growl.

"Watch your tone, little human!" He threatened and Becca rolled her eyes. "We are inside a forest, Death's Call forest and this territory right here; is the most dangerous part of the forest. When you hear a howl, run, when you hear a growl, know that it is over for you. Now get out!"

"Wait!" She panicked. "Where will I find the king?"

Thrax chuckled more wickedly, his malicious thoughts brilliantly represented by his short chuckles. "What would the king be doing in this wretched forest in the middle of the night?"

"Then what am I doing her-" Thrax's thunderous voice silenced her own.

"Stop asking stupid questions." Becca flinched as he kicked the door open. "Get out before I throw you out, I have lost all patience with you." He urged her with a shove to the back and she pinned down the cut of meat with her arm so it did not slip down the tray as she jumped off the carriage. Becca stumbled backwards slightly and in the second she took to steady herself, the carriage had drove off and soon disappeared.

Nothing made sense. Why did he bring her here? To get her eaten by starving, deranged wolf criminals that's why. Becca remembered Nase's words vividly and could not believe that the bastard king did not even give her an opportunity to wring his balls. She could not believe that he had no interest in meeting her and made her anticipate their meeting in agony just to sentence her to the forest. How derogatory. She was worth way more than this. At least his filthy hands will never know how her skin feels, at least she will never have to bow down to him. This was not as bad as getting auctioned. In fact if the wolves do not eat her guts first and death is immediate, then fate would have been kind to her.

She took a few steps blindly, then strangely her eyes adjusted and in seconds her vision was sharper. She could see as well as she does on a late summer evening before the night sets in. Becca surveyed her surroundings. She was standing in the middle of a plain patch of land which narrowed to a passage that appeared to span for miles as it extended further down. The field was framed by clumps of thick trees so long she could imagine their branches poking into the sky. The sky remained a dark curtain, so she could not explain her enhanced vision. At her feet was a bedding of what looked like twigs, snarled roots and heaped straws.

Becca trembled as she trudged through the thick bedding and incurred cuts to her ankles which discouraged her from increasing her pace. Blood trickled down her thighs, she was soaked in blood and then it did not come to her that the blood and meat were luring the feral, ravenous inhabitants of the forest to her. She could not believe that she was going to die in this hideous gown, looking the ugliest she has ever looked. How was she going to get out of here when she did not even know where she was going? Becca reached the lesser part of the land and the forest became more ghastly in appearance. She could smell something, an odour she could not explain and that worsened her trepidations. The swish of the wind carried something else, muffle sounds she nevertheless still found to be disturbing. She was not alone, she could feel multiple eyes glaring at her, but each time she looked over her shoulder, her eyes met nothing but trees and land. She tried to convince herself that this was just a test, a game and that Aconi will jump in front of her, revile her then take her back to the palace, but she could not silence the screams of her taunting thoughts. This was no test, it was an execution. A distant howl pierced through the eery silence, followed by several others. The long call echoed throughout the forest and sounded to be coming from every angle. She was surrounded by legions of ravenous beasts, she could just feel it in her bones that they knew that she was here, they were watching her and ready to pounce.

Becca increased her pace, the sharp bedding cut into her bare feet and the pain slowed her down. She sucked in her lips to muffle her sobs and slowed down until she was trotting through the forest. Her fatigued muscles plead with her to stop and Becca was just about to consider taking a short break to catch her breath, when she heard two, alarming, simultaneous thuds, which were subsequently followed by growls which rumbled closely behind her. Reflexively, Becca's neck snapped back and much to her horror, they were four, unearthly large, black, thick furred wolves, glaring back at her with blood red, glowing eyes with a serpentine pupils. Her reaction was purely instinctual, she had no time to think. Everything happened so quickly. She screamed at the top of her lungs, threw the meat and tray at them and sprung through the air, jumping the highest she has ever jumped before she sprinted through the forest, surrendering herself to the unknown. The passage became narrower and narrower, then everything stopped. The forest went quiet and would have been dead silent had it not been for her vigorous pants and steady footfalls. Becca turned back and saw nothing but trees again. Just as she was about to ask herself how she had eluded her unearthly, beastly pursuers; they lunged from the trees and jumped in front of her. Becca quickly turned and ran but god knows what curled around her ankle, caught her foot and she tumbled down in a messy heap, her chest and chin breaking her fall. She rolled onto her back and sat up, only to find that the wolves had surrounded her and were creeping towards her in a tortuously slow prowl. They wanted to savour the moment, they could smell her fear and it was a delectable drug they could not get enough of.

Becca expelled a shrill scream as one charged at her and she rolled away, only to find her face staring into another's raised paw. The claws they possessed looked like they could tear into flesh faster than the sharpest blade. The four beasts pointed their snouts in the air and howled, baring their teeth and twisting their heads like their brains were on fire. They were going insane because of the bath she took, the pheromones Aconi extracted were the most potent, a powerful drug to wolves. Becca knew that this was it , they must have not eaten in months and were not going to miss out on an opportunity to feed on delicious human meat. She shot up to her feet as one slammed its jaw into her foot, then the two behind her pulled on the gown, ripping it from her body and making her meet the ground again completely nude. Becca squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the first rupture of her bone, when she heard an earth- shaking thud slice through her ears and her eyes flew open and immediately stared into the most frightening pair of eyes she will ever look into. The black with silver highlights that had appeared out of nowhere was at least five times bigger than the four that were just about to dip their long canines into her and it's raging, ablaze golden eyes propelled her to the vertix of fear. It must have been their alpha and the alpha could not miss out on the feast… at least that is what she thought until the wolf beast swiftly caught one's neck and thrashed it around and the three whips severed its head from its body. Becca did not stick around, she bolted away from the scene, running the fastest she has ever ran, not once looking back, until the beast landed in front of her, its back straightened. It was even more enormous and imposing now that it was standing on two feet, it must have been over nine feet tall. Becca reached the zenith of crippling fear, her heart dropped to her stomach and she froze. The beast panted furiously, boring its minacious eyes into her until she broke free from the shackles of shock and began to recede, afraid if she turned her back to it would be a grave mistake. Fear was debilitating, but fate was her greatest adversary, that is why she just had to slip and fall on her ass with a voracious beast just eight feet away from her.

In the blink of an eye the beast pounced at her and pinned her shoulders to the ground. Becca lost the ability to scream, she was so horrified she could hear her heart thudding in her ears, beating like it is going to burst open, even her lungs became inept at their function- she was utterly surprised she didn't faint as blood dripped from its insanely, sharp canines and splattered all over her face, then it buried its snout into her neck and took a long whiff, growling madly as though drunk on her scent before licking her in one, tortuously slow stroke. The beast bared all its teeth to her before its head dived down to her neck and a scream ripped out of her and it's head snapped up. Its eyes gazed into her own with fascination and a sense of familiarity washed over her, like she had gazed into those golden eyes so many times before. In that moment she did not feel that she was beneath a beast, it was inexplicable, but she did not feel like her life was in danger, when she looked into its eyes, she did not see a beast, she saw the broken, dark soul lurking behind its eyes. The moment was shattered and Becca snapped back to reality when the beast abruptly spun around and crouched.

The night was full of surprises. Indeed this night was a special one and cursed by all the gods and goddesses.

Just when she thought she had seen it all, life proved her wrong and decided she should witness one more thing that will permanently be engraved in her memory and will leave her scarred forever. Becca was utterly appalled and flabbergasted as she faced the broad, muscular back of a fully nude man. The beast had turned into a man. The crouching man slowly rose to his feet and faced her. His long hair had fallen to his face, concealing his features. Much like his beast, he was a sinewy built man, at least six feet eight inches tall with a body was fortified with muscle, designed to be a formidable weapon of destruction. Much to her dread, she realised that everything about him was large and unnatural.

"No! Shift back and eat me! Eat me instead!" Becca yelled internally, while physically she was crippled and could not move, she could not formulate a single word, she could not even blink. This was not about to happen to her.

That's all she could think as the feral brute swiftly spread her thighs open and slid between them before he embraced her tightly and expelled all sorts of guttural sounds before he buried his face in her neck and growled out one word she could comprehend,

"Mate!"