Page 38 of Alpha's Revenge Luna

TWO DAYS LATER

Dion has left me here for two days now in the cells, I haven’t seen or heard from anyone. Not a peep.

When I hear the creak of the huge wooden door, I lift my gaze. It is so dark in here, I see nothing but black even with heightened senses, so when he turns the light on, I am temporarily blinded. I shield my eyes from the light, blinking rapidly as they water.

“I am going to ask you once. Keep in mind I know the answer, so try lie to me, and I will leave you to rot down here,” he warns. His voice sends a violent ripple up my spine.

“Who did you call off Amanda’s phone?” he asks me, and I peer over at him where he stands on the stairs. Here I thought I was being punished for trying to leave, but this is over a phone call?

“My grandmother,” I answer, not understanding how this punishment is fitting for such a minor thing.

“Hmm, and what did you call her for?” he questions. I swallow, not wanting to answer.

I shake my head. “Why does it matter?” I ask him, knowing either way his sick desire to punish never ends, rotting down here is a better option than being mated and marked by a monster.

“Why?” he takes another step down, his eyes never leaving mine as he watches me. The look of fury on his face is obvious, along with the menacing aura that seems to fill this dark place.

“Last chance, what did you tell your grandmother?” he asks me.

My heart rate skips a beat at his words and nausea makes my stomach turn, when I don’t answer, he growls.

“Fine hard way it is then!” he snarls, stomping down the last of the steps.

My heart races faster when I see him dig the keys to my cell out of his pocket.

“That you were going back to search the harbor for survivors!” I scream out of fear, knowing that if he opens that cell door, I would hate the consequences of not answering more than his line of questioning.

However, my words only anger him more as he suddenly roars a furious growl and grips the bars.

His knuckles turn white when he grips the iron bars, his barely contained rage radiating from him in waves.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done!” he screams, rattling the bars in his grip.

“Saved what’s left of my pack!” I spit at him. He laughs, the sound is mocking and chills me to the bone.

“You foolish, naive girl, are you truly that blinded by the monster your father was?”

“My father may be a monster, that doesn’t mean his pack must suffer for whatever you feel he wronged you by!”

“You think you saved them?” he laughs, shakes his head before stepping away from the bars. He starts unbuttoning his shirt.

“You didn’t, you just ensured that when I catch them, I’ll make their deaths excruciating,” he snarls, opening the front of his shirt.

I gasp at what he reveals, his entire stomach and torso littered with bullet wounds, some still not quite healed.

I want to know how he can sustain such horrendous injuries and still be alive.

“I went into that place with 8 men, I left with one!” he screams. “And who only knows how many more were killed to cover their tracks!” he yells. I stare at him, confused by what he means.

“Their deaths are on you, your hands are just as fucking bloody as your father’s!” he snarls. I shake my head, not understanding what he means. I told grandma to warn them to leave, not to tell them to ambush him! But wait who died?

“You may have temporarily stopped me from killing your pack, but you got us ambushed!” he snarls, and I flinch.

“Are you ready to face your punishment?” Dion’s voice slices through the silence.

My heart rate speeds up, smashing against my chest violently wondering whose lives were lost.

“Your defiance and stupidity will be your undoing.” His lips twist into a sneer. “But your suffering will bring me great pleasure.”

I scoff, ignoring the tremor in my hands. ”Then get it over with and just kill me!” I spit at him.

“There are far worse fates than death.” Dion unlocks the cell door with a creak.

“Now, shall we?” I stare at him, wondering what he is playing at when he motions for me to step outside the cell.

I rise on shaky legs, my breath coming fast. He will not make me cower.

It’s not like he will kill me if I am truly his mate.

The pain that would cause him, I’ve heard, would be horrendous.

My thoughts go to what Tara told me. He doesn’t need a mate; he can quite easily survive any agony it would cause him by losing one.

Steeling myself, I move toward Dion. What more can he possibly do to me that he hasn’t already done? Either way, I would survive this. I have to.

For what’s left of my pack.

For my parents whose lives he took.

So that I can keep my promise to Caleb.

Dion leads me down a winding stone corridor, shadows flicker across the walls from the dim lighting down here. At the end of the passageway is a heavy wooden door, thick chains securing it in place.

My steps falter for a brief moment before I steady myself. I refuse to give him the satisfaction of seeing my fear.

With a sharp tug on the chains, they break and fall away when Dion wrenches the door open.

“After you.” His mocking tone sets my nerves on edge. As I step through into the next bit, I see daylight up ahead. I glance back at him. “You’re taking me outside?” I ask him. He motions for me to move, but I worry this is a trick.

“I didn’t know there were tunnels here,” I try to delay.

“There are tunnels that lead into the forest, there are five tunnels, two lead into the pack house, two into the forest and one into the bunker.”

I nod, wondering why he is taking me outside after leaving me in the dungeons. What sort of punishment is this?

I cross the threshold when he gives me a shove, my breath catching in my throat.

“Let’s play a game, you win, I’ll let you go home. You lose, and I mark you.”

“But I don’t have my wolf!”

“I don’t care. You are mine, marking you won’t kill you if I give you my blood afterward, mating you will, but since you are so hellbent on trying to escape me, I am offering you an out.”

“That makes no sense!” I retort and he shrugs.

“Do you want to leave and go back to your grandmother or not?”

I swallow, looking out at the forest.

“And the rules?”

“The rules are simple,” Dion said, amusement coloring his words.

“Reach the road at the end of the forest, and I will set you free. Fail, and you will remain my mate and obey my every order!”

“And if I don’t want to play?” I ask, and he turns, motioning to the dungeons. “By all means make yourself at home,” he growls.

Well, the options just get worse, so what choice do I have? I tilt my chin up, meeting his gaze. “Fine, I accept your challenge.”

Dion’s lips curl into a sinister smile.

“You have an hour head start. I catch you, I mark you, and you will submit to me.”

“Wait, I never agreed to submit—”

“Times ticking, I’d run if I were you; I haven’t fed since the last time I fed on you, and I am fucking ravenous.” I take a step back from him.

“You better run fast, love, I catch you, you’re mine,” he snarls before turning and sitting on the step leading into the dungeons. I back away from him, wondering if this is a joke.

“Fifty-nine minutes,” he tells me, glancing at his phone. My eyes widen, and I turn and take off running for the forest.

I can do this. I have to.

I will win my freedom.

I won’t let him mark me.

I won’t submit.

As I burst through the tree line, my lungs burn with exertion as I push myself harder. The sounds of my own ragged breath fill my ears, and I can feel sweat sliding down my back.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been running when I hear the first growl. It’s low and guttural, coming from somewhere in the trees, but one thing is clear: my hour must be up.

Branches whip at my face and I stumble over roots, but I don’t stop.

The trees thin out, and the sun beats down on my face. I can see the road ahead. But then I hear a sound behind me, footsteps pounding against the dirt.

Dion.

My heart skips a beat as I glance back. He’s gaining on me fast, his eyes glinting with hunger and rage. I push myself harder, knowing if he catches me now, it’s game over.

The road is so close now, but so is Dion. I can almost feel his breath on the back of my neck, and the heat of his body near mine. My legs tremble with fatigue and fear.

But then something inside of me clicks.

I won’t let him win.

I grab a nearby tree, swing myself around it suddenly and lunge forward, slamming my body against his. We both tumble to the ground, rolling in a jumble of limbs and snarls down the hill I just climbed. But somehow, I come out on top.

He tosses me off, I scramble to my feet only for him to grab my foot and jerk me back, I land on my stomach, and he drags me closer when I spot a rock and I grab it. Turning, I swing it at his head with all my might. There’s a sickening crack as it connects, and Dion falls still.

For a moment, I just sit there, gasping for breath and staring at him in disbelief. Did I really just do that?

I scramble to my feet, shocked it worked, but I am not stupid enough to hang around for him to wake up. I take off running back through the thick terrain back up the hill I painstakingly just climbed only to tumble down it.

As I reach the top, I hear his voice echo off the trees. “You’ll pay for that, Emery,” he warns, and my heart skips a beat.

I focus on the sounds around me, trying to pick out any indication of where Dion might be.

I hear a low growl and start running faster, my heart hammering in my chest. My feet hit the ground hard as I push myself to run as fast as I can. My lungs burn with the effort and sweat drips down my face.

I hear another growl, this one closer, and realize Dion is getting closer, but I don’t dare look back. Panic claws at my chest as I try to run faster, but it felt like my legs wouldn’t move any quicker.

Something grabs me from behind and throws me to the ground. I hit the dirt hard, gasping for air as my body makes contact with the ground.

Dion is on top of me in an instant, his hand at my throat. I struggle beneath him, trying to push him off me, but he is too strong.

“Time’s up,” he growls in my ear. “You lose.”

I feel his teeth sink into my neck, and I scream as pain rips through me. I feel him drinking from me, taking not just my blood but also my very life force. I thrash, but he doesn’t stop when I suddenly feel him bite me again, only this time lower where my neck meets my shoulder.

“No!” I choke out a whimper as his teeth sink deeper where his mark will lay. Then everything goes black.