Bloodbound to the Beastly King

The clanging of the gates being pulled open startled Adina awake. A rough hand shook her shoulder, and she opened her eyes to see the beasts standing over her, their distorted forms looming as they yanked on the chains on her wrists.

"Up," one of them rasped.

Adina's body ached from the cold floor, but she didn't resist. Beside her, Mason stirred with a low groan, and Kora's weak sigh filled the air. They were dragged out of the cell and shoved into a corridor.

Adina guessed it was finally time for them to embark on that journey.

It was still quite dark outside, and the air was colder, biting at her skin as they were marched into the waiting carriages. They had to be discreet, making sure they attracted no attention whatsoever.

Carter stood, watching as the three were shoved into the carriage. He huffed, turning to face the witch. "Do not take too long. We should arrive at Crystal Moon in two days," he said.

The woman nodded. "I'll wrap up things here and head out immediately. We have to make sure the timing is perfect," she said.

He exhaled, his gaze darting towards the house. "Radek…" he began.

"He's done. You don't have to worry about him, Lord Carter. Not for the next moon," she replied.

"He will come with you," he said, but it sounded more like a statement.

"Yes, Lord Carter," she replied, and he nodded, his gaze shifting back to the carriage already waiting for him. After another look at the witch, he made his way towards the carriage.

From behind, Alma's hand flexed. Radek was their first successful transformation. Wolf to beast. While they've transformed many others since then, Radek was the first, and thus, his reaction to certain spells showed them how the others would react too. He was a test subject. Their test subject.

The carriage began to move, and Adina's stomach filled with dread. The beasts were now humans, and that made her worry even more. The beasts could slither their way into the packs, and no one would ever suspect what they were.

Her jaw clenched hard as she thought of the way Thorne had been utterly consumed by the thoughts of the missing people without realizing one of his own was behind their disappearance. She shook her head; there was no use dwelling on that now, not when there was a much bigger issue at hand.

She'd told Kora and Mason of the plan yesterday. They agreed it was the one thing they could do.

Adina leaned back, shutting her eyes, knowing they weren't arriving at Crystal Moon for a while.

Hours went by, and suddenly the carriage came to a stop. Adina's eyes flew open, brows furrowed. She shared a look with Mason and Kora, who were equally alarmed. The door was jerked open, and two of Carter's men stood aside. "Out!" they barked, dragging the three out of the carriage.

Adina looked around to see they were in the woods now. "What are we doing here?" she asked, her heart pounding hard in her chest. One could never tell with men like Carter.

Carter stepped forward, his face contorted in irritation. "We walk from here onwards," he said gruffly.

"Walk? To Crystal Moon? That's going to take us even longer to get there," she protested.

Carter's eyes narrowed with annoyance. "Shut it, girl. I don't plan on enduring your whining for longer," he snapped.

"Mason has barely healed. He needs to rest more instead of—"

Carter snapped, grabbing Adina's hair tight and forcing her head up, stuffing a cloth into her mouth. "Shut it," he growled, clearly frustrated.

Adina's chest heaved heavily, the cloth stuffed in her mouth. She spat it out, her face red with anger, but she said nothing, only moving along as the men dragged them again.

The guards shoved them forward, and they continued to walk. Adina's muscles burned with every step, but she forced herself to stay upright, her mind racing with different thoughts. Why did they have to stop, and that too in the woods? She looked ahead at Carter, seeing him discussing with another of his men.

"Security reasons," Mason whispered next to her.

Adina glanced at him, brows furrowed. "His majesty must have every cranny littered with warriors. No carriage gets through anywhere without thorough searching," he replied.

It made sense instantly. They could no longer go in the carriage because of how tight the security was.

"He looks worried," Kora whispered. "The security must be tighter around here."

Adina's heart leapt. This was it, the opening she needed.

They walked a couple of minutes extra, and then she gave a curt discreet nod to Mason, who immediately understood.

Mason's steps faltered, and suddenly he fell to the ground, gasping for air. His entire face had turned red.

"What the—" Carter hissed just as Adina dropped to her knees next to the gamma, clutching his shoulders. "Mason!" she blanched, panicking.

Mason's body began to tremble like he was convulsing. Kora, too, had also fallen to her knees, sobbing loudly now. Adina looked at Carter. "Please, he can't breathe—he's getting worse!" she shrieked.

Carter groaned, running a hand over his face like the whole ordeal bored him. "He's a wolf. He'll heal."

"No!" Adina snapped, her voice trembling. "His wolf is wounded. He can't heal. If you push him any further, he'll die."

Kora nodded rapidly. "She's right. He won't last. You'll kill him this way."

Adina's throat tightened as she turned back to Carter. "We need to get the witch. She helped him the last time. She can do it again."

Carter growled frustratedly. He was supposed to be in his estate, showing up in the palace and making his daily round of sympathy to the king. Radek and Alma should've been the ones on this quest, but things didn't go as planned.

He looked at the gamma, who looked like his life was slowly slipping out of his miserable body. He turned to one of the men and nodded. "Let's take a break here today. We'll continue the journey in some hours. Find an inn!" he ordered.

In less than ten minutes, they found an inn inside the village. Carter shoved open the door first while his men dragged Adina, Mason, and Kora in behind him, the Gamma's weight heavy against her side.

The innkeeper, a round-bellied man with thinning hair, looked up in alarm. His mouth opened as though to speak, but one sharp glare from Carter silenced him instantly.

"Rooms. Now," Carter snapped.

The man bobbed his head quickly and scurried off, barking orders to a maid.

Adina helped Mason onto the nearest chair, brushing his damp hair off his forehead. He was sweating so much and practically gasping for air. She looked at Carter with a glare.

"He doesn't have much time. Call Alma."

"Alma is not here."

"Then send for her!" Adina snapped, desperate. "She helped him before. She's the only one who can—"

"I said," Carter cut her off sharply, "Alma is not here, and she won't get here, not for another ten hours."

Adina's heart dropped. "Ten hours?" she repeated. She turned back to Mason, watching the way his face had paled. "He doesn't have ten hours."

"Then he will die."

Adina's head snapped up. "No. Not if I can help it." She rose to her feet. "Let me find someone. There must be a healer in this village—someone who knows herbs, someone who can at least keep him alive until Alma returns."

Carter huffed, "You must think me a fool, child."

"I'm serious!" Adina snapped. "He can't make it ten hours, and if anything happens to him—If he dies without help. I won't take another step forward. I won't move an inch."

Carter simply stared at her, calculating. Then, he stepped closer, fingers brushing the iron collar around her neck. He tugged at it just enough to make her flinch.

"Fine. You will go," he murmured, "But hear me well—if you try anything, if you so much as look at the wrong person, not only will your powers stay sealed forever…" His gaze slid toward Kora, who sat trembling by Mason's side. "…she will die."