Chapter 9: The Alpha's Torment
DRAVEN
The moment I stepped out of the dungeon, cold air washed through my body, my heart pounding so fucking loudly. The voices in my head hadn't seemed to quieten even after attacking her lands.
I walked past my men, watching as they bowed down, their eyes filled with admiration, pride, happiness—you could name it all.
I had washed away the scorn of our enemies from their faces.
The guard pushed open the door to my chambers, and I stepped into my room. It was dark except for the glowing blue light that came from the royal lantern hanging above my table.
I walked toward my desk, grabbing my quill and parchment. My hands scribbled roughly against the paper, the ink bleeding through in harsh strokes.
My fingers pressed against the inkwell, dabbing into it repeatedly as I kept writing. Words poured out—fragments of memories, pieces of rage, anything to occupy my mind. This was the only way to stop the voices in my head, the only method that had worked for the past two years.
But they kept increasing. They kept whispering, growing louder with each passing second.
'Fuck the whore…'
'Suck his cock like a slave.'
'You are nothing but a slave.'
'You are only a pussy eater.'
A scream ripped through my lips as I pushed the items roughly to the ground, sending the ink crashing and splashing against my expensive werewolf-skinned rug.
It's been two years now, yet I still haven't moved on from the agonizing pain, the horror, the betrayal I had endured.
My mind slowly went back to that day.
FLASHBACK
My father had married my mother as a second wife after his first wife had been declared barren. But he had married a vampire—an abomination, a curse, something to be termed as degrading, especially during that period when werewolves and vampires had been ancient enemies, each trying to control the other.
This union between my parents didn't just cause a political war; it also caused a family war. After my birth, things never got better—rather, they got worse.
Mother died when I turned five, and father trained me to be a great werewolf king. At first, it was great, until I turned eighteen. That's when I craved blood and killed a member of the pack—not intentionally, but the hunger had consumed me completely.
Rumors started flying that I wasn't worthy to lead, that I was an abomination, a curse, and didn't deserve to be alpha. But my father silenced every single person who questioned his heir.
My father was the alpha king—a title passed down from one Gravestone heir to the next.
Three years later, my family was betrayed, and my pack was attacked by packs from different realms. Not just packs, but vampires and witches. They had united against us.
And this attack was masterminded by Garry Gravestone—my uncle.
He had plotted with our worst enemies, the Lancasters, to destroy his very own pack because of greed. He wanted to take over as alpha king, but my father had chosen to marry an "abomination" and give birth to one.
I was made a slave for ten awful years. My pack members were turned into slaves, tortured for years, and sold to various masters.
And I had prayed every day to the goddess to deliver me from this agonizing torment. I promised that when I was free, I would give them a death that would make them question everything they knew.
Henry had used me. He did so many experiments on me, tested my hybrid capacities, injected me with serums that burned through every core of my body, burned through my very soul. The pain had been indescribable.
And he did the most abominable thing ever—he made different creatures with my blood. With the help of the witches, they were able to create creatures that were nothing close to my nature. Abominations that shouldn't exist, beings that fed off life force itself, draining victims until nothing remained but their empty selves.
The creatures that would later be known as the Drainers.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
A loud knock came pounding hard against my oak wood door, snapping me out of my flashback.
Only one person knocked like that.
The door opened, and my beta stood at the edge, his eyes scanning through my large chambers before they settled on the ground, staring at the broken glass and liquid ink scattered across my rug.
"Your favorite rug. You just destroyed it."
He said, but I shrugged in return, walking toward my bed as I removed my royal bangles before proceeding to untie the knots around my Armor.
I had been so lost in thought to remember how heavy it felt against my body.
Armor wasn't usually my thing—hell, I was a hybrid, first of my kind. I could destroy anything with just a punch.
But Moorlands was no ordinary pack. I had to come prepared, a practice I'd been maintaining for two years straight.
"What news do you have, Kwan?"
I asked. Just then, two women walked into the room—my personal maids. I had mind-linked them moments before. As always, they were dressed provocatively, their outfits leaving little to the imagination. They walked toward me with eyes grinning with mischievousness, their hands sliding toward my armor as they began pulling it off piece by piece.
The other one's hands traced down my shirt, her fingers working skillfully toward my belt as she slowly unbuckled it. Her touch was familiar, routine—part of a ritual that helped me forget, even if only temporarily. Her hand made contact with my cock through my briefs as she slowly stroked it, my shaft hardening at her touch. But I clenched my jaw, making it difficult for them to truly affect me. Physical pleasure was just another tool, another way to drown out the memories.
Kwan stood watching in amusement, his eyes sparkling with mischief. He was used to these scenes by now.
"Three people were attacked in the other realm."
He suddenly announced as one of the maids traced her lips along the tip of my cock.
My head instantly snapped toward him, my eyes closing for a slight moment before they opened. My hand gripped roughly against the girl's head, and with one push, I yanked my waist forward.
Causing my cock to expand in her mouth as she gagged by the intrusion.
"What the fuck do you mean… Humans? I have nothing to do with them."
I rasped, my voice mixed with the sounds from the maids.
"They weren't just normal attacks. Their bodies were found dead—eyes hollow, empty, lips pure white, skin ashen and black, with long dark veins running through their bodies. You know what that means…"
I froze. I wasn't shocked by what I heard, but by the fact that this had happened.
"The Drainers."
I whispered, and instantly, the room became quiet. My personal maids immediately stopped what they were doing, their eyes wide with shock.
"Leave!"
It wasn't a request—it was an order. Quickly, they stood up and left, their feet hurrying against the plush floor.
"The Drainers' attacks corresponded with the attack that happened three days ago, after we attacked the Lancaster pack. If Henry were still alive, we might have suspected this was his doing, but he's not."
I walked toward my wardrobe, quickly grabbing pants, my gaze directed toward my open window.
"I thought my blood and whatever the witches had been doing with it was stopped. I told Raya to abolish every single trace of my blood in her witch's circle."
My hands clenched against the window frame, not failing to hear the way Kwan's heart skipped at the mention of the witch's coven.
And I knew the reason for that—he was still scared of the witches, and he had every right to be.
"Henry didn't just work with one coven witch. He worked with three or more to perfect the serum for his new inventions. And I think the only ones who know about this knowledge are the pack lords and vampire lords he shared wine with."
Kwan said, his voice trembling at the last words.
My heart clenched at those words.
Henry had offered wine—not just wine, but slaves to those lords, to do with as they pleased. This was the same thing that had happened to Kwan and half of my pack members, and also to me.
But not anymore. Today, I wasn't just Draven Gravestone—I was the one in charge and the one to stop all this madness.
And that started with showing Seraphina exactly what her family did to me, to my people, and to poor Nora…
"Prepare a huge feast in court for every lord and have them at my court in three days. They shall see their new possession."
I said, my eyes staring up at the moon. My wolf nodded at my words, for he hated her as much as I did.
"And what should we do with the Lancaster Princess?"
Kwan asked, and I turned around, my hands tucked in my pocket, and a terrifying smirk pushed across my face.
"We give her a warm welcome to the pack."
I whispered.
The moon goddess had failed us once. She wouldn't get the chance to do it again.