I woke slowly with confusion. I wasn't sure what had happened to me, if I had a nightmare or if I had actually died. I could feel the fabric of sheets around me as my eyes tried to adjust to the bright light of the day. Beside me, a hand drew a warm, wet cloth over my forearm carefully.

The events of the Wolf Moon flooded back to me and I gasped, sitting up quickly in panic. I expected immense pain around my abdomen, but instead was greeted with a small ache.

"Don't worry. Calm down," A voice appealed to me pleadingly. I looked to my left, finding a woman sitting by my bedside with the wet cloth still in her hand. She looked surprised to see me awake.

I looked from her to my body, taking in my appearance. Someone had changed my clothes. I now wore loose pants and a plain white shirt. When I pulled my shirt up, my stomach was wrapped with bandages. My leg was bare of my knife, but then I recalled the weapon had been left in the skull of a she-wolf.

I leapt from the bed quickly, inhaling sharply at the cold of the floor against my bare feet. The woman beside my bed stood as well, lifting her hands as if this would prove her to be safe. I knew those hands could shift into deadly claws.

"Where am I?" I asked her accusingly, looking around wildly. The room was mostly bare besides a lot of bandages and medicine. It looked too clean. It looked too strange. Like maybe I was going to be split apart by curious werewolves with their dissective knives.

"You're in our clinic," The woman said carefully. I peered at her suspiciously. She was frail looking for a werewolf. She was petite. I would have considered her malnourished if it wasn't for the fact that she looked rather healthy. Her hair was brown and to her shoulders in curls. Her eyes were a darker brown, but soft. The look in them reminded me of my mother. The thought struck me momentarily. This was a vicious lycan.

"Why am I here? I was... I was..." I recalled being in my own village. I recalled my brother running for me and my mother crying out in hysterics. I could still feel the floor of the forest under me as I ran into the night, the moon high in the sky and the howls deafening.

"The hunt was called off. You were brought here," The woman explained softly, moving to the end of the bed slowly. I held my hand out and she stopped, backing away uncertainly. "You were hurt pretty badly. You've been recovering here for a few days now."

"I don't feel hurt," I responded with distrust. I touched my stomach again, feeling only the ache of superficial cuts. I remembered the shocking pain that had come with the impact of those claws against my flesh and the blood that had leaked over my legs.

"You've been healing quickly. Maybe not as much as an adult lycan, but a child pre-shift..." The insinuation the woman was making was enough to make me stare at her in disbelief.

"I'm not a lycan," I told her firmly.

"You smell like one," She answered, lowering her head carefully, "Sometimes."

"I'm not a lycan," I repeated and then I turned away. I rummaged through a nearby cupboard, quickly picking out something sharp before moving towards the door.

"You shouldn't leave. Alpha Roman demanded you stay here," The woman told me, twisting her hands together nervously.

I hesitated, hearing his words echoing in my mind. Mate. I didn't know what he was talking about. I didn't know then and I didn't care to know now. If it was enough for him to call off the hunt, maybe it just meant there was a mistake. Maybe it meant I could go back home to my family. Or maybe there was something worse waiting for me than a hunt. I couldn't sit here and wait to find out.

"Don't follow me," I threatened the waif of a woman, pointing at her with my small pointed sort-of-knife. She watched me a moment before looking away nervously. I had never felt scary before, but something in the way she refused to look in my eyes made me feel just that. It probably was because I had killed one of them. I still didn't know what to make of that.

I bolted from the door, looking both ways before creeping along the wall of the clinic. When I moved around the corner, I caught the attention of another woman who merely looked away and walked the opposite direction. I frowned, tightening my grip on my sharp object.

It became apparent after a few meetings with the shapeshifters that they weren't going to try stopping me. In fact, some even arched forward when seeing me, tilting their heads as if baring their necks to me. It was confusing and weird. I ignored them and ran for it.

I wasn't sure how to get out of the clinic, but I followed my instincts. I hated buildings like this one. I preferred being outside. I liked having space. It would have been better if there were more windows, but I suspected many of the windows were in the rooms behind doors. And I'd be damned if I purposely walked into a room filled with lycans.

I was creeping along the hall towards what looked like a door leading to the outside when it was opened by a large figure coming inside. I recognized the King Alpha immediately and stiffened. He didn't seem to have expected to find me here, but otherwise showed no signs of what he might be thinking.

On impulse, I immediately opened the nearest door to me and ran inside, shutting it and attempting to lock it. But of course, the door didn't have a lock. I looked around at another room similar to the one I woke up in. My only relief was that it was empty, but that was the extent of that relief.

I ran for the window, opening it swiftly. Just as quickly, two hands were beside mine and easily slammed the window shut. I made a noise of disbelief, twisting around to find myself trapped by the King Alpha. I planted my back against the window as though I could just teleport through it.

"You're awake," He stated, those cold blue eyes taking me in intensely. I tried to find some place to focus on his face, but it was like looking into the sun. It didn't seem right that something so beautiful could exist. I closed my eyes tightly, deciding to just focus on his words.

"Nice observation. I can see why they made you the King of Alphas," I responded, the sarcasm in my words laced with fear and anxiety.

"You're mocking me for pointing out the obvious," He stated once more. I wasn't sure if it was a question or an accusation. Or just a statement. "To become the King of Alphas, I started at the bottom."

His hand was suddenly on mine, twisting open my fingers until I was forced to drop the small weapon I held in it. Then he stepped even closer to me, lifting my hand to his face carefully. I opened my eyes widely, watching as he breathed deeply, scenting me as he had before when selecting me for the Wolf Moon hunt.

"I killed my way to the top and now I kill anyone who challenges me," He finished simply, turning those eyes from my skin to my face suspiciously. "You don't smell like a wolf or my mate. But during the hunt, you smelled of both."

"I'm not a lycan," I repeated, deciding I should probably wear this statement as a sign around my neck.

"Do what you did in the forest," He demanded, narrowing his eyes as he watched me expectantly.

"I didn't do anything," I answered quickly.

"My wolves say you called to the Mother and they believe she answered. Do it again."

I stared at him with disbelief.

"I...," I was suddenly embarrassed. I didn't want to admit what I had really done in that moment. It was admitting that they had actually turned me into a sobbing child calling for her mother in the moment before death. I became frustrated. "Get off of me."

I pulled my hand from his grip forcefully and began to shove him with irritation. When he didn't move, I twisted and turned, scampering from under his arms until I was free from his suffocating presence.

"You'll learn to do as I tell you to if you wish to remain here," The King Alpha growled dangerously, turning with me to watch me stumble into the center of the room.

"I don't want to remain here," I snapped in exasperation. "What am I doing here? I want to go home."

He shifted, walking towards me in such an intimidating way. I took a couple of steps back by habit, but didn't look away from those intensely cold eyes.

"You're here because I demand it. You're in this clinic because you were injured. I need you to heal fully before we can complete the challenge you issued on my pack and I," He told me, his tone dark and dangerous. My brow furrowed as I stared at him with utter confusion.

"Wait, what? A challenge?"

"A challenge. My pack has accepted you as superior to them, after all you challenged each of them and they submitted. You killed one of us; something I thought impossible with someone of your stature. And you challenged me," He growled angrily, obviously displeased with this thought. "Our battle was interrupted. It's part of our etiquette to allow the challengers to be in full health before completing a challenge. So I'll allow you to heal and then-"

I remembered his words. He killed those who challenged him.

"I don't want to challenge anyone," I exclaimed in panic, raising my hands in rejection.

The Alpha shrugged off my words. "It's already done."

He was suddenly there, gripping my arms in his hands and pulling me to him. I gasped as he lowered his face into my neck, breathing in deeply. I stiffened under him, holding my own breath as he searched me no doubt for that smell of wolf they kept speaking of.

"I'm not a lycan," I whimpered, the phrase already too tired from overuse.

"How did you control the wolves?" He turned his lips over my neck quite suddenly. The touch of them on the curve into my shoulder sent a spark throughout me. I tensed further, my answer choking under my surprise.

"I-I don't know." I struggled to respond. The Alpha growled with frustration, lifting his face from my flesh and twisting me around roughly. I immediately tried to pull out of his grasp, but he was far too strong for me. He began to lead me out of the room, through the hall, and into the outside world.

I blinked against the bright light of the sun, struggling as I tried to keep up with the Alpha's pace. Lycans paused as we stormed past, each of them bowing either to me or to the Alpha, I just wasn't sure anymore.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked in panic.

"Seeing as you're well enough to run around-"

"I'm still hurt! I can't do the challenge now!" I cried out fearfully. The Alpha laughed then, the sound startling and strangely appealing despite the cruelty of this particular laugh.

"You're being banished to display until the challenge. It's one of the highest shames of our pack. I'm sure you'll love it," He teased without mercy. I didn't know what exactly he was talking about, so I opted to just continue being stressed because of ignorance.

"What does that mean? Banished to display? Shame?" I had an epiphany. "You're going to make me sit on display naked in front of everyone while they poke me with hot iron? Oh, not that. Not that, please!"

"Not that... but you are giving me ideas," He answered, pushing me through the door of a separate building. I balked as I was led into what looked like a mess hall. Row upon row of tables were seated with various lycans eating their lunch. It looked strangely human. Eyes lifted from their food as we entered and they quickly looked away, baring necks as I was forced across the large room.

In front of all the tables were separate tables, each with chains and shackles seated on top. I counted six tables total and the Alpha brought me to one of the ones in the center. He turned to face me towards the lycans, presenting me to them.

"This she-wolf has challenged me for the pack, but until the challenge is complete-"

"I'm not a she-wolf!" I snapped spitefully.

"She is still considered a lesser wolf-"

"Are you even listening to me?"

The Alpha yanked on my arm roughly, causing me to wince.

"As such, she will be punished for defying my direct orders."

"What orders?" I winced again when he pulled on my arm for silence again.

"For defying my order of staying where she's supposed to be and for trying to escape, she will be sentenced to display abuse until the challenge is complete," The Alpha finished. I was pulled onto the table rather roughly and despite my struggles, I was chained to the surface easily. I spent a moment trying to pull myself out of the containment, but found I could only get as far as my knees before being unable to lift myself further.

"This is it?" I asked despite trying to keep my mouth shut. The Alpha planted his hands on the table in front of me, staring me down dangerously. I watched him with wide eyes, my skin heated by his full attention.

"They can throw food at you if they want to," He finally said to me simply. I narrowed my eyes suddenly, a flame of anger beginning to heat within me.

"Good. I'm hungry," I responded sharply.

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Music: Disarm You by Kaskade, Ilsey (Illenium Remix)