Bloodbound to the Beastly King

The wind howled in his ears as he ran. Thorne tore through the forest, his massive black wolf form a blur between the trees. His paws slammed into the dirt, faster, faster. He had to get to her.

As he neared the market, he faltered in his steps when he heard it. A sharp, piercing scream that wrecked through the air. The birds flew above, scared.

Thorne's heart stopped for a second, his body raging with anger. No, no, no, no.

A growl ripped from his throat as he lunged forward with fury. He tore into the market, eyes wild with fury. The place was in chaos.

The square was in shambles. People stumbled over each other, resulting in a stampede. Stalls overturned, baskets trampled, screams echoing in every direction. People ran in every direction, some bleeding, some crying. Children clutched to mothers, men shouting orders that no one listened to.

It was carnage.

Thorne's gaze tore through the chaos, blood rushing through his veins. Adina. Where are you?

"Mason!" He yelled through the mind link, charging around, searching. He saw a woman clutching her child, as pale as a ghost, pointing with a trembling hand toward a narrow alley.

"T-T-There is a—" the scream came again, piercing through the air like a sound wave.

The woman screamed back in fright, clutching her son's head and ran like her life depended on it.

Thorne didn't wait, he charged towards the direction she was pointing at, praying to the gods, the goddess, and every other thing being worshiped to save Adina and keep her safe.

As he charged through the place, he came across the alley and slowed down, eyes taking in the place.

He sucked in a breath on seeing men, all twenty of them crumpled to the ground, twisted in impossible angles. Their bodies bled from every orifice, their eyes, ears, mouth, nails, all dripping red. Some looked like they'd died screaming.

His gaze landed on Adina, and he shifted into his human form instantly, legs moving faster than he could think.

There she was, on the floor, right in the center of the men. She was ghastly pale, breath slowed, eyes shut.

"Adina." He called, his voice broke.

She was burning to the touch, her skin oozing with heat. He gathered her carefully into his arms, cradling her as if she might break. His hand stroked the blood-matted hair from her face. Gods, she was a mess. Her entire face was swollen and red. A tear on her lips, arm lidded with tears from a knife.

His heart clenched tight, and his Lycan howled in pain even more.

He looked up slowly, eyes roaming the massacre around them.

What? What could have done this to them? To her?

He heard footsteps behind him, Mason ran into the alley, panting, eyes widening at the sight.

"Gods…" he muttered, taking in the sight of the men and Adina. Guilt wrecked through him. Just one second, one second was all it took. He had been searching for her all this while…before it all hit the fan.

Thorne didn't even turn, he held Adina tighter in his arms, face hardening with each second. Thoughts forming in his head.

"Find Catherine," he ordered. "Bring her to me, NOW!."

____________

Adina was back in her parents' home, sleeping. Her injuries had been cleaned, the healer had made sure to stay with her.

Now, Thorne was in the pack house. Everyone had gathered, including the pack officials. It was their time of reckoning.

Roman stood before Thorne, arms clasped behind him, head held high.

"Roman of Crystal Moon," he began, voice heavy with fury, "you were given an order. One you swore to obey."

Roman stiffened. "Your Majesty, I—"

"You defied it," Thorne barked, silencing the man. "I have an order to have the market surrounded, and you instead called for your warriors back. You made your warriors leave their posts. You left the market undefended. You created a window, an opportunity for a royal to be ambushed, nearly killed."

He stepped forward slowly. "You didn't just fail as an Alpha. You committed treason against your king. Against your crown."

Roman opened his mouth again, but Thorne wasn't done.

"And worse, YOU enabled the very woman who orchestrated it. You stood beside your mate while she plotted against your own people. Your Luna, Sold the people to resellers. She not only committed a crime, she betrayed every oath she took as Luna of the pack.

His voice dipped to a deadly whisper. "That makes you a traitor. And in Obsidian law, traitors don't get stripped of titles. They get branded."

"I hereby strip you of your title as pack alpha of Crystal moon. You are stripped of all rank, all lands, all titles," Thorne continued, "From this moment on, you are no longer Alpha. You are no longer noble. You are no longer free."

A collective gasp ran through the place, but no one dared to speak.

"You are now property of the Obsidian throne," he said coldly. "A royal slave. You will serve in the mines beneath Blackridge until the end of your days."

Roman's jaw slackened, mouth opened to speak, but he's immediately seized by guards. They began tearing off his clothes, the noble clothes he wore, leaving him stark naked.

"You can't do this! I'm a noble. I'm an Alpha—"

His words were of no use. They held him down even as he thrashed and tied the chains to his hands, binding him.

"And you." Thorne's gaze shifted to Catherine, who was being held down by Mason. She struggled against his hold, eyes burning with fury.

"I have done nothing wrong! This is unfair!" She screamed.

"Unfair?" Thorne asked, head cocked. "Unfair? You colluded with resellers to sell Adina. You tricked her and almost had her killed. My mate! Your future queen. You did that!" He growled, and the windows shook.

The people scampered back in fright. "Lies! These are all lies against me. I have done nothing!" She screamed, body trembling even as Mason held her down.

Thorne began to walk towards her, eyes glowing red. "I warned you." He said.

Catherine was long past sweating, she was dripping, fear and panic filling her bones.

"Y-your majesty." She stammered, dropping to her knees even gazing Mason's hold. The gamma released her and stepped back.

"P-please, please, Your Majesty. I didn't touch her. Adina's my sister—"

"You should've thought about that," he snapped, "before colluding with resellers to have her killed." He snarled, and she flinched, scampering backward, body trembling.

Thorne stalked closer to her like a predator even as she scampered back in fear, until she hit Mason's legs behind her.

She gasped in shock, "M-mercy! Have mercy, your majesty. I made a mistake! Mercy." She screamed.

Thorne grabbed her by the back of the head, yanking her up. His eyes turned stark black. "I warned you. Not a single hair."

She gasped as his hand tightened. "Mercy….please, mercy!"

Thorne didn't blink, he held his hand over her head, his grip tightening slowly. Catherine's body seized up, blood trickling down her temple as he slowly tightened his grip. With a sickening crack, he crushed her skull right in his hands.

Her body dropped to the floor, lifeless.