Bound by Moon & Blood (Book 1)

“Go sit down, I’ll bring some food to you. You must be starving.” Dawn said as she guided her sister to a chair across from the couches. Too exhausted to tell her that she could go and get some herself, she nodded and sat down in the large chair that seemed to swallow her. Dawn immediately turned away and ran to the kitchen. Leaving her with her guard, the Alphas and some other wolves who appeared to be oblivious right now. Rev walked over to the pool table where Caden and the others had started to continue their game again.

Even though she had probably slept for a long time, she still felt exhausted. It was a side effect to the fact that she had lost too much blood and didn’t eat anything for a while. A long while, she realized.

Liv hadn’t truly had a proper meal since the night before they took her. Being a mercenary and having contracts that took sometimes hours or days of trailing someone to complete it, she was used to her feeling her empty stomach, but she has been here for almost a week now and she hasn’t really eaten a proper and good meal. Just a few bites here and there, but nothing more. That would explain the feeling of starving even more than just her blood loss.

Emil would have been so proud of her if he knew. So proud that he would have force-fed her so much food she would just throw up from the fact that her stomach couldn’t take it. Which he had done before already.

“You really think you can just starve yourself!? I didn’t think so, girl.” Emil grabbed her by her neck and pushed her into a chair. Liv struggled, trying to get free from his grip, but she was too weak. She had been going on without food for almost five days now, never eating more than a few bites a day. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get more than a few bites in before her stomach would revolt. It has been harder to keep going on every day. Her mind forced her to see the worst memories she has every night when she closes her eyes and it has become too much for her to handle. She couldn’t take seeing her mother being ripped apart, seeing her father without his heart in his chest, seeing everything King had did to her family and pack. It was all just too much. She just couldn’t take it anymore, and so her body started to listen to her feelings. Making her stomach refuse to take in any food that would replenish her strength. She just wanted everything to end. They have been running for too long. Forced to run from state to state because King always found her. Time and time again all thanks to her not being able to stop the shift the wolf inside of her forces. It has been a year and she just had enough.

Emil loosened his belt before ripping it from his pants.

“What are you doing!?” She squeaked, her heart racing like it was trying to outrun itself. Emil didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed her wrists and wrapped the belt around them. Tightening the buckle, she whimpered as her fingers started to tingle from the lack of blood running towards them. He stepped out from in front of her and pushed the chair hard against the table. She tried to scoot back, but Emil stopped her by placing something heavy against the back of her chair, successfully caging her in. He walked away for a moment before returning and dropping some stuff on the table. The smell of cheeseburgers and fries filled her nose. He unwrapped a cheeseburger and held it out close to her mouth. Her eyes met his hard gaze. “Eat.” He ordered her. She didn’t say anything. Even if she wanted to, she knew that, as soon as she would open her mouth, he would shove the cheeseburger into her mouth.

“Your mother gave her life for you, to you. Do you really want to repay her by wasting that gift and starve to death?!” It was a low blow and they both knew it. Tears filled her eyes as she dropped his gaze. Unable to look at him as the shame took over from all her other feelings. “Didn’t think so.” Emil said with a hard voice. She slowly looked back up at him, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Eat.” He ordered again and this time she obeyed. She knew he was right, no matter how much it hurt, he was right. She was wasting away her life, the life her mother gave to her by giving up her own. Her mother gave up everything so she might live and she couldn’t let that gift go to waste. So, she obeyed and kept eating,

and eating,

and eating until her stomach screamed at her and forced her to vomit up all the food Emil forced her to eat. Only to be forced to eat the same amount a second time until her stomach obeyed Emil as well and kept the food inside.

“Here you go!”

Liv’s eyes snapped open at the sound of her sister’s voice. She looked hazily at the bowl and glass Dawn held out for her. The smell of chili filled her nose and her stomach almost immediately groaned. She shook the haze out of her head and took the bowl and glass, filled with water, from her sister. “Thanks.” She said weakly, dreading the fact that she had a large bowl in her hands and knew that she was going to eat the entire thing. Dawn gave her a small smile as she took a seat on the arm of the chair and handed Liv as spoon as well. Liv gave her sister as small smile as she placed the glass on the table and took the spoon instead.

“I figured that you were hungry enough to be able to eat an entire horse on your own, so I got the largest bowl I could find for you.” Of course, she did... “I also hadn’t seen you really eat anything since you’ve been here, so that’s another reason for the large bowl.” Liv forced a smile on her face while dread filled her and looked at her sister. “Thanks.”

“Could that smile be any more fake?” Edward commented. Dawn’s own smile fell as she rolled her eyes and looked at the Alpha. “At least she’s trying.”

“And yet she hasn’t taken one bite.” Luke countered with a wicked grin. One, Liv wanted to smack off his face. Instead, she casually took a spoonful of chili in her mouth. Her tastebuds almost exploded at the taste and she had to hold in her groan of delight, which soon turned into a groan of discomfort as she swallowed the chili and her stomach revolted. Her eyes watered at the pain of her stomach. She took a deep breath to calm herself and looked at the bowl to keep her focus.

“Are you okay?” Dawn asked as she laid a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m fine, my stomach is just upset.” Liv said without looking at anyone, before she closed her eyes and repeated Emil’s harsh but true words to her. The words that pulled her from the edge for more times she wanted to admit.

“Your mother gave her life for you, to you. Do you really want to repay her by wasting that gift and starve to death?!”

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to take in another spoonful and another, and another. Her stomach soon started to calm down and accept the food that Liv ate.

No one bothered her as she ate, they all just did their own thing and had their own conversations. Not long after Liv had started eating, Dawn had gotten a bowl full of chili herself and ate just as quietly as she did. Liv didn’t mind not to be bothered or talked to. In fact, she kind of enjoyed the peace in the chaos. Even if she was surrounded by her enemies.

As she ate the last of her chili, she felt much better already. Her stomach didn’t ache as much anymore and she felt stronger already. She got up from the chair and moved to the kitchen to put her bowl away. Even though she was stronger already, she still had weak legs so walking wasn’t as easily as it normally was. Which meant that she already knew what she was going to do next. She placed her bowl in the sink and leaned with her hands on the counter, allowing her legs to get used to the fact of standing again.

“Alphas!” King’s voice boomed through the packhouse, making everyone quiet down. Liv walked to the living area again and saw every Alpha move towards the stairs. Obeying their Prime Alpha.

Never before had there been a Prime Alpha, because no one has ever done the things King had done. His name, Ezekiel King, was known around the world, probably just as much as Lycaon’s. But where the name Lycaon was said with respect, King’s was spoken with hatred. He was known as the Blood Alpha or Blood Prime, by most Lycanthropes. Known for his bloodshed and agenda, he was probably the most dangerous Lycanthrope out there. Liv still remembered the hushed worries of her parents many years ago, speaking of an Alpha who had killed his own father and had declared war to any follower of Lycaon, vowing to take down the Lycanthrope King and all he loves. Soon King stared recruiting, as he called it. Travelling from pack to pack, giving the Alpha a choice, join his pack and become his commander or be killed along with everyone in their pack. It was said that the first view packs had chosen the latter, not expecting King to be powerful enough to take them down, but they were wrong. They all died. The word spread and the Alphas knew what kind of a threat King really was. Slowly more and more Alphas chose to side with him. Some because of their dislike for Lycaon, others because they were too scared and chose their own damn lives over that of their pack. Some even thought they were saving their pack, but they soon found out they didn’t as their pack would be treated worse than a dog, always fighting for scraps. By then the Alphas are either afraid of death or already bound by the oath King forces them to take.

She had seen the oath being done only once and she still didn’t know how he had found the knowledge of the old Blood Mageía, but he somehow had and used it to bind the Alpha’s who decide to side with him, with himself. It was an unbreakable bond. The Alpha would bind their blood with King’s and if they would try to break the oath, the bond will kill them.

The oath did more than bind their blood, it also took away the power the Alpha’s had over their pack. That was something the wolves living in the pack were oblivious about, but not her. King allowed the Alphas to uphold the ruse that they have their power for every wolf in the pack, to make sure that their packs would obey without question.

The command of the Alphas basically disappears, but King’s grow a little bit stronger with every oath. He doesn’t take the complete power of the command, but enough to make sure that he was stronger than anyone here.

King has made a name for himself and gained a pack never seen by anyone before and so many powerful enemies that she was surprised that they hadn’t tried to kill him yet, but maybe that’s what they’re doing now with the Moonbloods.

“Try to pull something like the shit you did the last time you wanted to eavesdrop, and I’ll kill you.” Rev’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. In truth, the thought to go eavesdropping on them again had crossed her mind, but she knew that she wouldn’t stand a chance to ditch Rev again and she was too fed up with her body to care what King wanted to discuss with his Alphas right now. It was important for her to gather as much information as she could, but this was just not the right time for it.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything to you.” She said before she walked to the stairs and up to her room.

Closing the door behind her, with Rev on the other side, she moved to the clothes and rummaged through it until she found what she was looking for. Dressing herself into the black leggings, matching sports bra and her combat boots, as she had no other shoes, she walked out of the room. Rev raised his eyebrows at her. Not answering his look, she walked past him as she bundled her hair and made a high ponytail. She walked out of the Packhouse and to the training grounds. A small group of teens were standing in a circle around an older wolf who was giving them instructions on how to block an attack. Walking past them to the area where multiple punching bags were placed to train with, she wasted no time before launching an attack on the bag closest to her. The bag wobbled back and forth. She shook her hand, pushing out the ache of her knuckles and turned back towards the punching bag. Rev had taken a place across from her, leaning against the fence and did nothing but look at her. Which was fine by her right now. She just needed to do what she was good at. Fight.