Chapter 7: In the Dragon's Den
SERAPHINA
My eyes slowly snapped open into nothing but darkness.
Cold stone pressed against my cheek, and my head rang as if circuits were being played inside my skull.
Everything hurt. My head felt like someone had taken a hammer to it and decided to keep going for fun. There was this buzzing sound in my brain, like some kind of electrical wire had gotten loose up there and was just going crazy.
Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the view in front of me. I tried to push my body away from the wall, which felt cold and damp like water was dripping from it, but I quickly regretted it as pain tore through my body like a truck had hit me.
Like I had been dragged across the ground for miles.
Reluctantly, I pushed my body off the wall as I stared at my surroundings. Slowly, it dawned on me—I was in a cell, and it wasn't my pack's cell. I knew how my pack's cells looked and smelled. They never smelled good, but this one was worse. The cell looked dark, but the light coming from the lantern was bright enough for me to see how my surroundings looked.
Water was dripping down from the ceiling. A pool had already formed on the ground. The walls looked cracked, like they would collapse at any moment. Everything looked weird and strange.
How long had I been unconscious? My head thudded with different questions. How did I get here? When did we leave my pack and come to this place? The more I tried to think about what happened, the more my head throbbed.
But one question troubled me the most—one whose answer terrified me beyond measure.
I twisted my neck, and suddenly sharp pain pierced through my body, causing a sob to break through my lips.
Shakily, my hands trailed toward my neck. As I touched it, I felt deep fang marks settled there. It felt terrifying, disgusting, and unlike anything I had ever experienced.
I slowly walked toward the pool of water, my head sinking as I twisted my neck further, ignoring the pain that shot through my body, seeing my vision which looked horrible.
I had chards of black dirt around my pale white skin and marks, little injuries all over my face.
And that's when I saw them—the fang marks. They were large and looked even more terrifying than they had felt.
The memories hit me like a punch to the gut. My father burning to ashes. Draven's fangs sinking into my neck. That woman with her hands all over him while he stared at me like he wanted me to watch.
I sat down slowly, my head spinning so badly I thought I might throw up. The wedding dress I had been wearing was torn and dirty now, stained with blood—probably mine.
My hand went to my neck where he had bitten me. The skin felt tender, swollen.
What the hell had he done to me?
My hands quickly wrapped around my clothes. I smelled like burnt flesh and blood as I tried to shield myself from the cold prison before settling on the stone slab that looked like a tomb.
The rattling from the cell door instantly put me on alert, and the door opened so forcefully that it sent my pulse quickening.
I stood up quickly, still shivering from the cold, as someone walked in. I couldn't see who it was properly until they came into the light, which instantly made me take a step back as my body hit the wall.
Draven stood at the entrance of my cell with another tall man behind him, with others, but Draven was the center of attention. He looked taller and larger than any man I had ever seen. His body could perhaps weigh twice that of a buffalo.
His eyes scanned the room before settling on me—cold and lacking any emotion.
"You survived? Good!"
He said, pushing himself further in, but I moved back. I was always known to be a courageous woman, trained to be one, but I had crumbled so quickly because of him.
"Tell me, how does it feel to be in my kingdom?"
He asked, walking toward me with slow, predatory movements.
But I ignored him, not saying a word. My eyes focused on his footsteps. I wouldn't allow him to come any closer to me...
But his hands moved too fast, curling around my neck so roughly as he squeezed tightly. I grabbed at him, hitting him as hard as I could, but none of my punches seemed to affect him.
"I said, how does it feel to be in my kingdom?"
He snarled, pushing me roughly to the ground. I jerked away, rushing out of his reach and ignoring the pain that tore through my bones.
"It's...it's...a great sight, Alpha..."
I whispered, holding back the tears that almost spilled from my eyes. I wasn't going to show him my tears anymore. He wouldn't see them.
Shockingly, he chuckled. It was rich, dark, and sounded so husky that it made my eardrums beat loudly.
"You dare mock me by saying this sight is beautiful?"
He snarled, not coming any closer to me, but I chose to ignore him.
"Fuck you!"