Chapter 4. Valeborn

I would do anything for Elric, anything at all. He was my brother, a half-brother, yes, but my brother anyway. But the thought of going to Mooncrest, as an enslaved person in exchange, was the most frightening thought I had ever had.

The tales of what the Valeborns did to people who were unfortunate enough to be brought in as enslaved people or captives into their city were still a nightmare tale to care for little children in my pack. The men were made to work until their bodies could hold no more. When they didn’t cooperate, they were killed instantly. Some of the prisoners were made to fight each other until one person killed the other, just to entertain officials in the city.

And the women? They were usually given to the guards as prizes for fighting hard in battles. The finest women were sent off to serve the royal leaders. They were treated like animals, used as though they were lifeless beings, and most of them died a few months or a year after arriving. They were merciless with outsiders, too; they didn’t care about the lives of even pregnant women or old people.

And that was the life my father was willing to throw me into, because he considered my life worthless.

“………you can never rule Crimson Ridge the way your brother would. He has always been the heir to the throne. If this pack must survive the war, he would have to ascend the throne, Aurora. His life is more precious than yours, always has been. If you really love him and you care about this pack, then this is a sacrifice you will be willing to make! You cannot say no……!”

My father’s words kept ringing in my ear as I arranged my most valuable possessions into a bag. Tears ran down my cheeks freely. His words cut deep into my heart, and when I could no longer listen to them, I ran away.

I would rather die than go and be a slave at Mooncrest. I knew my father was a lot of things, but I didn’t think he was a coward. Did he really think the Valeborns would stop at just me? They would continue to ask for things from us, people, slaves to come serve in their land. And we would give them until their hold on us had tightened beyond redemption. It was a common strategy and trick amongst nations. Win a war that wasn’t even necessary, pretend like you’re after peace or a merger or some sort of cooperation and continue to take from the pack until you have total hold on them. And by then, it would be too late; the weaker pack would surrender and agree to be reinstated under the wing of the bigger pack. There would be no Crimson Ridge, no pack leader; we would be just an extension of the Mooncrest pack. Then one day, they would burn the entire pack to pieces and make it an encampment for their soldiers.

My father was too blind, too stupid to realize this. How could he believe that a pack that attacked us in the middle of the night, burnt our temples to the ground and killed so many people while taking others as captives, could suddenly wake and decide they want peace?

I finished gathering my things and went to change from my lavender colored gown into leather pants and a top. I grabbed some tools from my cupboard that I could use to defend myself if the need arose.

I was yet to shift into my wolf form. I was one of the few ones who hadn’t wolfed out yet, and that was definitely one of the reasons why my father looked down on me so much, why he disdained my presence.

Since he wasn’t willing to be reasonable, I would leave the pack and go in search of my brother myself. I would take him back from the Valeborns, and we would return to the pack together. That would show my father that I don’t need to be used as a sacrifice. I grabbed everything else that I needed, threw it into the bag, and started to head out. I went through the back, with the hopes that no one serious would see me before I snuck out of the pack house.

There was a secret passage into the woods that only I knew about. My best friend and I. We were the only two people who had played close enough to that part of the pack house, and we discovered a hidden, small gate. It was rusted, and a swipe of my best friend’s claws was enough to tear it open. We had tried it before, and it gave way. I was worried that my father would discover it and be mad, so I tried to cover the gate locks with some leaves and push them together as much as I could. I passed a couple of servants on my way to the back gate.

I started to increase my pace when I got out of the pack house. I ran the rest of the journey to the gate. There was every likelihood that the servants would inform my dad that I was seen in travel wear heading towards the back. A few weeks before the war, it wouldn’t have really caused any ruckus, but after everything that had happened recently, everyone was definitely alert.

I had just reached the back when I heard sounds behind me. I dropped my bag and used my bare hands to pry open the door. I had a few cuts on my hands from pulling the twigs I had used to wrap the lock together off. The door finally gave way, and I picked up my bag and went through the small door. My heart started to race as I crawled through; freedom wasn’t so far anymore.

I successfully crawled out and got up, ready to run into the liberty that the forest ahead offered. I didn’t imagine that my escape plan would flop before it even began.