“Hey, Loren! Don’t damage the goods!” Another raider yelled at the hybrid, assaulting me.

I could feel her shrug through the arm holding my face. A desire to rip them off surged through me.

Shit...

My breathing was uneven; I hadn’t felt physical pain in a long time, yet it was such a familiar sensation within me.

“He’ll heal. The cuffs don’t stop it but drain his strength.” The half-elf pointed out, loosening her grip on me and allowing me to snap my face away from her.

My healing factor was faster than normal Lycans.

Well, unless another wolf inflicted the wound, which this elf isn’t.

Luckily, Rem didn’t bind that away, but I suspected she could do nothing about it.

“Loren... I’m going to enjoy ripping into you.” I growled.

The simple thought of her blood quenching my throat was enough to tolerate my inability to act. My threat triggered her to smirk, licking her lips in anticipation. There was no doubt I was the new toy she had to break into, and that aroused her.

“And I into you, little wolf,” Loren smirked with a glimmer in her eyes.

If only you knew all the trail of bodies I had, surely you wouldn’t be looking at me like that.

This wasn’t my first time in chains, but it would be the last once I got out of them. When my fangs sunk into their flesh, I would revel in their pain, slowly making them suffer until death took them.

Ah… Nothing is better than seeing the light go out in their eyes. I’ll make you pay for doing this to me and for taking the opportunity for me to kill… that Luma. Fuck… Why... do I feel this way?

Rem... you better still be alive. If not, I’ll hunt you down in the afterlife and kill you either way.

“Oh... I didn’t know that Fenris had a bastard son.” The male raider who was holding Rem’s bag commented.

I growled instantly upon hearing his name.

Fenris...

The man who took my second chance at being happy.

I’ll surely end him if we meet again. Wait, did that man just call me his son?!

“What? That’s—” I stopped myself.

No… Stow it, Alijah; it’ll be worse if they know who I am.

Yet I couldn’t help but be disgusted by their conclusion of my origins either way.

“Eh, he isn’t silver-haired. It could’ve been some magical surgery. Every one of those Lycans fools adores their damned alpha. Maybe his parents did that to him in a moment of fanaticism.” The one that yelled at Loren noted.

She shrugged, “It doesn’t matter. The buyers will bid for him either way. He has such a pretty face, and when I’m done with him, he’ll please anyone on command.”

The half-elf smirked, sending shivers down my spine, before heading inside their camp. It was at the base of a mountain with a cave for their lair.

It's pretty well hidden, I’ll give you that.

Purebreds never gave a damn about hybrid affairs, even back in my era, but back then, Celestelia wasn’t this advanced. The sand at my feet made me wonder if Rem was lying in the desert bleeding, as Loren had said.

An ache rose, triggering me to wince before gazing towards the horizon.

Why do I feel sick to my stomach? The thought of you… hurt…

I could tell how pure her soul was from the days I was with the little Luma.

You don’t know how dreadful the world is, and now you’re bleeding out somewhere because you crossed paths with me. Ah… Fuck it, it’s not like I was planning on letting you live after I got out of your hex.

Yes, this is all because I want to be the one to snuff out your joy with my hands alone.

However, that thought made me wonder if my world was colder without Rem. My emotions conflicted, leaving me unsure of what to believe. Even though I felt anger toward her, I wanted to see her radiant smile again.

The innocence that you emit is intoxicating.

Her stupid stubbornness in getting close to me, with no ulterior motives—a warmth that threatened to consume me for the past three days.

Every time you lay next to me… Shit! Rem... please stay alive until I find you.

That thought wouldn’t linger for long as it wasn’t long before they moved every prisoner, including me, inside their lair. Instead of fighting them every inch of the way, I learned from my time being a captive in my era to be submissive.

Allowing them to think they had the upper hand was the trick to keeping my sanity intact while I waited for an opportunity to rise. The base itself was nothing special. However, an operation like this took decades for them to build.

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There was only one way in and out, making it easy to defend but easily taken, with few escape opportunities. The only challenges were their numbers and the massive door by the entrance to their camp, which was within the cave itself.

Once I got free, I would kill everyone in sight before I made my escape. Every person I saw was a hybrid, no match to a purebred such as myself.

Even without my blood moon powers, I’ll be fine. All I need to do is find a way off these cuffs.

One thing I learned from my years as a captive was patience, yet it was running thin because of my bond bearer. It was the first time I felt a familiar sensation of losing something since my era’s Lilith.

The raiders led us to the primary room, where hundreds of prisoners were chained together while they excavated the cave for ores. That was a dreadful sight, though not uncommon for Celestelia. Children weren’t excluded, as most were young enough to be bred.

They probably sell the younglings to sick bastards, leaving those who don’t here to rot. Pitiful…

These people were walking skeletons, and some had croaked where they stood.

The rest of the flock will wither if they don’t clean up the bodies soon.

Back in my era, I killed everyone that came in my path. It didn’t matter to me who or what you were. Even though I would usually take my sweet time torturing my victims, children were the one thing I would grant a swift death.

After all, they are innocent, much like… Hah… It’s a little too late to feel guilty, Alijah; your hands are standing long before you make it to this era.

Kids were something I didn’t enjoy ending, but if I spared them, they’d grow up to be the same adults who abandoned me in that dreadful hole. Even in this era, death was better than the treatment they were getting.

Whenever the raiders got to cleaning up the mess, the bodies ended up in a trench nearby before being dumped into an underground river. Its waters could be heard roaring from where I was. That mining job wasn’t meant for me, though.

The new merchandise was taken to another cage away from the miners, primarily young women. When they closed the door behind us, everyone was silent. Sitting down, I closed my eyes, trying to calm down.

They still stung a bit from before, but the others in the cage had other plans.

“Are you okay?” the friendly elf from earlier asked me.

His words caused me to growl before glowering at him.

I don’t want to speak to or get to know anyone here. Especially a stupid moon elf who can’t get a fucking clue.

I only wanted to find a way to locate Rem, but that didn’t stop him from trying.

“Ah… Well, I hope someone finds us soon.” The elf tried to salvage the chatter after my hostile gesture.

Instead of answering him, I stayed silent. Sadly, the peace wouldn’t last, as one raider, who was unloading items, heard his plea. Unable to contain himself, the hybrid laughed loudly, slamming his hands onto the cage bars and making my ears ring.

I glared at him as he continued his cackling.

“No one’s coming for you or anyone else,” He snickered, watching the elf’s expressions change.

Even though the hybrid only did this to antagonize us, he was right.

No one’s coming for us. Especially for me...

No one ever cared enough to save me.

Probably the only one crazy enough is bleeding out onto the desert sand. Fuck... Why do you keep crossing my mind? Get out already!

“You’re wrong! I have a family who’ll come looking for me!” the Lycan shouted beside me, ticking me off.

Fuck! Do you need to scream? There isn’t any point in arguing. They aren’t wrong. We’re in the middle of nowhere.

All the surrounding noise was too much to bear.

Oh, how I wish I could silence them in one go. This is torture!

“Even if you do, they’ll never find you here and much less after I sell you to the highest bidder. Fluffy wolf ass sells high on the market, dearie, and if you don’t sell, well, you’ll end up like our leftover stock, working until you drop!” The raider informed, smirking.

This man reminded me of the elders who held me hostage back when I couldn’t defend myself. A soft chuckle left me, turning all eyes on me.

Oops... didn’t mean to do that. Ah… well…

I guess my mind wasn’t entirely sane in the end. The timeless prison was way better than this shit hole of a world, though.

At least there, in fleeting moments, I felt at peace.

“Pretty boy, what are you laughing about?” the raider asked.

I bit my lip, focusing my sight on him.

It seems everyone was calling me that. Fuck me and my charms.

Even though that wasn’t a nickname I liked, I didn’t want my name to come from them, either. A worse nickname came to mind.

‘Alijah-tan,’ just what the fuck is going through that girl’s mind every time she calls me that? Argh, there I go again, remembering… Ah… what would I give to hear that right now?

“Just thinking of ways. I’ll kill you after this.” I huffed.

The raider cackled, grabbing onto the cage bars.

They always enjoy feeling superior, but the higher they go, the harder they fall.

“Ah... like we did to your wife? The raid terrified poor little thing before Loren bashed her brains in!” He snapped, triggering a sting to rise in my chest.

Unforgivable, I’ll… I’ll end you!

“I’ll pay you double for that asshole!” I snarled, jerking the chains, unable to help the desire of my fangs to be around his throat.

His blood flowing down my throat would quench me right at this moment, but that satisfaction was far from me. Lycans from my era used to eat their prey, and I had feasted on mine. However, I wasn’t sure how they handled things in this era—something barbaric from the past isn’t present in today’s culture.

A wicked smirk rose on his lips as his eyes shimmered brightly, “Oh, leaving there was such a waste. If it weren’t for Derek, I would’ve brought her back here and had my way with her, even if she was cold by the end.”

You! I’ll—

The Lycan beside me gagged, unable to hold his revulsion. However, the feeling that grew within me was worse than wanting to hurl. His touch, tainting Rem’s body, left my mind shattering. It was better if she died in the desert than to suffer that fate.

Before I could say anything else, someone was ahead of me.

“You’re disgusting.” The elf glowered, eye shimmering, yet no magic would come while he had those cuffs.

However, another grabbed him by the shoulder before the filth could say anything.

“Stop bothering the merchandise and help us unload.” His fellow huffed before continuing his work.

Rolling eyes, the hybrid bothering us shifted his eyes toward the treasure trove they had to bring in. “Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” He mumbled, heading back to it.

For a moment, everything was quiet, but it wouldn’t last long. The people in the cage with me never found solace in silence; worse yet, they kept involving me.

“I’m sorry about your wife.” The elf sighed.

I still felt weird every time anyone called Rem my wife. Hoping they would leave it at that, I stayed quiet, but they seemed blind to all my cues not to socialize.

“It’s weird, though, if she was a Lycan. Why didn’t they bring her here like you?” The wolf asked me, tapping my leg with his foot.

I growled the moment he touched me, retreating it away from him.

Why don’t they leave me alone?! I must answer them, or they won’t drop it otherwise. Fucking annoying…

“She’s a Luma.” I scowled, shifting my eyes towards the outside of the cave.

Ignoring my cues of aggressivity, he continued to press on.

“Uh... Oh... What? How could you even marry one?” The wolf rasped.

His response didn’t surprise me.

Even in my time, hybrids were crapped on. Some were killed for simply existing.

Not that I ever partook in that. I mean, I killed everyone without bias.

“What?” I muttered, not liking his tone at all.

I should’ve ignored his bait for me.

“I mean, you’re a purebred Lycan, right? Why would you settle for trash? Like a hybrid girl? They are nothing more than a waste of space, especially the one out alpha bred down with that human.” the wolf huffed.

What the fuck is this man going on about? You are annoying, but you aren’t trash. Your warmth isn’t something to bad mouth.

Even though I tried to control myself, I couldn’t. When Rem was involved, my mind…