"Here, drink. Mistress, you need to drink something, please," said the small, scrawny girl that Samira saw in her feverish dreams sometimes, putting a cloth on her forehead or trying to feed her broth.

Samira opened her lead-like eyelids. Her whole body felt like lead. The silver chains had chaffed and burned her skin but she felt only dampened pain.

I am drugged, I am drugged out of my mind. How much time has passed? What time is it? What day is it?

"I know you are not well, you might be experiencing... suicidal thoughts but please try to refrain from them," whispered the girl.

"H...o... mici..dal," tried Samira to articulate. Her throat felt like the freaking Atacama.

"What?" asked the girl, and brought the water cup to her lips.

Samira drank deeply.

"Homicidal. I want to kill you all," said Samira. It sounded like a silent roar and her shining irises showed how angry she exactly was. The scrawny girl just sighed because every time Samira tried to use her power it activated the chains and the metal burned even deeper into her skin.

The girl just observed with a stoic, still somehow sad expression what was happening.

"Mistress, please, just stop trying, you are only hurting yourself and master will just get angry and hurt you even more."

In normal circumstances, she would have felt sorry for that poor girl that was probably treated horribly herself by Sanjay and his gang judging by the bruises on her body, but that same girl was acting annoyingly loyal towards the people that probably did that to her. It was deep-rooted trauma, still, Samira was not in the position of being empathetic and understanding, when the only person that she had contact with except her captor was actively refusing to help her.

"Please, loosen the chains just a bit. If I break free I can kill him and free you too. What's your name?"

The girl just sighed again.

"No, you cannot. Master Sanjay is now the most powerful Alpha alive with two elemental powers. He will soon have all and be crowned Lycan king. Mistress, you will be Lycan queen, you should rejoice."

Samira was so angry her fangs elongated and again the chains burned deeper into her skin.

"You didn't tell me your name."

She needed to get to her, somehow, that was her only chance.

"What day is it?"

On full moon, it was going to be even bigger torture to be chained in silver and Samira knew that. Everything was so hopeless.

Why does this stupid girl do this? Why doesn't she even listen?

"Anisa."

"What?" asked Samira not able to follow the trail of her own thoughts.

"My name and it is Tuesday, July twenty-eight."

"Shit."

She had been there two weeks already.

But Sanjay said he would claim me as his Luna end of that first week. I didn't see him ever since. Maybe he is in trouble, maybe Michael trapped him and will kill him.

"Where is he?"

"He will be here tomorrow."

Fuck. So much for hope. 

"How many people are here in the house?" asked Samira, first of all, desperate and second happy that Anisa was finally talking at least a bit.

"Twenty grown wolves. You are strong but you didn't eat for two weeks, and are wounded and pregnant. They would kill you and my task is to keep you alive."

The calm of her voice frightened Samira. That girl was strange, strangely mature even if she looked barely a teenager.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

So indeed a teenager.

"Was it before Sanjay became Alpha better or worse?" Samira tried to find something to show the girl her life was not how it was supposed to be. Though she never heard about Kiril being a remarkable leader neither did she hear the opposite.

"You mean with the white devil? I couldn't tell, our pack was secluded from the rest of the Asian packs. We were in an open conflict with him because it was master's right to lead Asia and he took it away from him."

"And why didn't he fight him? You know to win the lead back? Kiril was almost a kid when he took over the pack, twenty or so, just a few years older than you."

Samira couldn't help but show a small malicious smile.

"I, I don't know."

"Of course, but you can think about it when you go to sleep tonight."

The girl just turned away and sighed again. She was doing that a lot.

If that isn't a sign of depression...

If she was going to become Sanjay's Luna he could at least not command her but she would likely spend her life as breeding stock in chains. Death was a much better alternative than that life.

And Saraunyia? What is he going to do with her? For sure nothing good, mistreat her, maybe sell her off to the highest bidder because she was still the blood of a century-old lineage and a mage.

Mila, Selene, whoever, please help me.

Even after the desperate prayer, the heaves remained silent and as always in her life, Samira felt it in her bones that she couldn't hope for help from anyone but herself.

He is not going to kill me, he said that and somewhere along the long, disgraceful, and painful way I have in front of me, I will be able to have my revenge. One day.

Despite all the misery, the wolfsbane was stronger and she drifted into a heavy sleep plagued with awful dreams.

Erik was in her dreams. Strangely he was with Kiril and they were surrounded by monsters, bloody shadow creatures that wanted to feed on their souls and there was someone else there, a monster with a human face that was smiling watching their torment.

Erik, Erik is dead but it feels as if he isn't. It feels like he is suffering like being alive. Erik, where the fuck are you?

Surviving. She had to survive so she could kill him and get back what was hers.

As the girl predicted, he came just the next day, after dusk. His heavy, grossly sweet perfume could be sensed from afar and it made Samira nauseous.

He didn't come alone, Kiera and Yarran entered the room shortly after. Kiera. Samira was certain at that point that she would provide a gruesome death to her if ever given the opportunity. Her betrayal had been deep and hurtful as it always is with someone you actually trusted.

"I need to prepare, my love. We have a long night before us."

Samira ignored him completely.

"Why did you come, treacherous bitch? To watch me suffer?" she said to Kiera. "I had some time to think what might be wrong with you and the conclusion was that you are either completely stupid and delusional or really hate me. I did wonder why? I have never been mean or cruel to you so only stupid remained. You doomed us all."

"You wouldn't understand," said Kiera simply and emotionless.

Anger made her blood boil and canines sharpen, her eyes gleamed goldenly and she pressed against the chains despite the excruciating pain, to the brink of breaking them.

"I am going to kill you."

For a split, second fear was present in all their eyes but unfortunately, the effort exhausted her so much that she almost fainted without breaking free. When she opened her eyes again she was alone with Sanjay. 

"You are truly a phenomenon, our children are going to be legends," whispered Sanjay against her cheek and continues to press his lips on hers. 

Blind rage took hold of her once again and she bit furiously the tongue he shoved into her mouth causing him to scream and dig his elongated claws into her jaw. 

"You are a beast. But luckily you are going to be my beast from now on. Hold her," he told the girl Samira noticed only now.

"What are you doing?"

Sanjay smiles with blood-smeared teeth, he was handsome as all wolves were, as all predators are, but to Samira he was the embodiment of hideousness. That night he was wearing a white tunica over burgundy trousers and his bejeweled hands were smeared with blood.

"I thought for a long time what I am going to do with her, with your daughter I mean. I thought I could keep her, as a pet I mean. Or I could watch and see if she was going to be beautiful when growing up and if yes to take her as my paramour."

"My daughter would kill you first chance given," spat Samira. 

"Yes, you are unfortunately right. That was my conclusion too. So we are going to get rid of her."

After all that had happened, Samira was this time not sure if she could trust her hearing.

"I..., I am too far along," she whispered almost inaudibly. 

He was going to kill them both. Contemplating her realistic options death was inevitable, she just hope for her daughter to not suffer. A tiny bit of her hoped it was going to be quick but she knew better. 

Kiera and Yarran came back to the room and she felt their hands on her arms and legs. 

"He is going to kill an unborn child. Kiera, I beg you, stop him."

"I am sorry, I am really sorry Samira. I wish I could help but my people need me."

She was cuffed and two big needles were slammed into her arteries. 

"What are you doing?" she asked feeling how she slowly lost her ability to speak or move. But her mind, her mind was awake, alert and terrified. 

Sanjay looked out the window to the oasis garden of Dahiru's estate that he now claimed for himself. His dark eyes were displaying sparkles of satisfaction and maybe a bit of madness. 

"I never had anything against Dahiru, he was a decent man. I only minded that he was your mate. Do you remember that gathering eighty years ago, it was shortly after the first world war ended and all our packs were counting their losses, when all the world was looking at your cousin who spat on our rule to meddle in human conflicts? He didn't do it out of reasons that make sense but I must agree with him, we need to meddle sometimes in human matters because humans are just so, so stupid. Anyway, I went astray with my story. That was the first time I really saw you. It was before you met Dahiru, you had just returned from Brazil to help your cousin in the fight and were celebrating the victory. You looked glorious, the most magnificent she-wolf I have ever seen. And you were not shy at all, but you and your cousin, both rejected me that evening. You rejected my courting and Erik rejected supporting me to win back the Asian pack."

"If you... are weak, you... don't deserve...be Alpha."

"And yet now I am one, and the most powerful of all, as it always should have been. And you are here and are going to be my Luna. Who said one cannot have everything."

Samira would have wished to tell him how weak and disgusting he was for winning his place with a coupe, not in battle but the sedation was final, she was a prisoner in her body the last thing she managed to ask was, "what? Happening?"

"Well, I thought about how to do it, because yes your pregnancy is too advanced to be interrupted without you dying. Unless we increase your natural healing process. It was rather difficult to get this substance but I got it in the end. We are going to perform a c-section and the magic fluid will force your body to heal so you don't die."

They are going o cut her out of me, and she is going to die, she still needs at least three months to be able to survive on her own. Saraunyia? Baby... I love you. 

And Saraunyia felt just that, love and fear as Samira felt her kicking.

Sanjay cut the dress she was wearing open and strangely commanded Kiera and Yarran to leave. 

He does not need them anymore, I cannot move...

The coldness of the silver blade grazed her skin and Samira felt her mind and body explode in fear and grieve.

No, this can't be it. Somebody help me! 

Anyone!