Chapter 2 #3
Ren ducked his head and started walking again, falling into step beside his guard—still wondering why he had a single guard walking him while the other had a dozen prisoners, wondering why he was being signaled out like this already.
Was it because he was an Omega—were all of the other prisoners Alphas?
Was it because he was only here for two days? Was it because of what he had done?
The questions spun through his head up until the moment the guard’s steps finally slowed in front of a large, black door.
Ren wanted to open his mouth again to ask more questions, but before he could he was already being pulled through the door.
Ren finally felt the fear take hold of him when he realized exactly what was about to happen a second before the door opened and he stared at his guard with round, wide eyes, pleading with him.
He thought, for a moment, that he saw the Alpha hesitate.
But before he could tell if he had imagined it, the Alpha was pulling the door open and ushering Ren inside.
The throne room was massive, bigger than any room Ren had ever seen before.
His jaw dropped, gaze flicking around even as he was urged forward so quickly, his feet stumbling over themselves.
There were giant windows cut into the walls, some with beautiful glass of different colors, and several gold adornments hung on the walls in between the windows.
The walkway Ren was being shoved down led up to two thrones made from a dark, black stone.
Ren had never seen the King and Queen before, and his first thought was that they weren’t nearly as intimidating as Ren had heard them described as.
The King was broad, but no more than any other Alpha.
She had dark hair and a square jawline with a permanent scowl fixed on her face.
Her Queen was softer with brunette hair and a face that calmed Ren when he made eye contact with her.
She didn’t smile at Ren, but Ren couldn’t imagine any Omega being hostile to another.
To the side of the thrones stood a handful of people that Ren assumed were part of the royal council. Ren frowned when he noticed one of the men there was incredibly young—probably only a few years older than him with the same dark hair as the King and a scar running down the side of his face.
The moment Ren came to a stop, rough hands gripped onto his shoulders, shoving him to the floor even as he struggled against them. He fell hard to his knees, wincing at how the cold stones dug into the joints.
He turned, glaring at the Alpha who had pushed him down, but gasped when he was immediately grabbed by the back of the neck and forced to lower his head.
A few of the other prisoners were lined up beside him in similar poses, but without the need of a guard to hold them there.
“Are these all of the prisoners from this season?”
The fingers on his neck tightened, holding him still as though sensing Ren was about to make matters even worse for himself. His Alpha guard answered, “Yes, your Highness.”
“Wonderful, not nearly as many as there usually are,” the Queen hummed, sounding genuinely pleased.
“Let’s get on with it,” the King said, waving a hand around to motion for everyone to begin. Ren didn’t like how nonchalant she sounded.
Everything happened far too quickly, Ren barely had time to figure out what was happening.
At the end of the line, the first prisoner stood, hands crossed in front of him and his head still bowed, not looking up at the King and Queen. Ren heard the King rattle off something about thievery, and without hesitation their King said, “five years.”
The prisoner just accepted his fate. Ren blinked, mouth agape.
It continued for each prisoner, going down the line so quickly, Ren’s head spun.
Theft, destruction of property, burglary, all of them quickly followed by weeks, months, or years.
The prisoners didn’t speak at all, just stood to receive their sentence before kneeling back down again, all in silence.
It was Ren’s turn too quickly.
He yelped as he was hauled to his feet. His guard held Ren’s head down and hands in front of him like the others.
“Ah, this is the Omega we’ve heard about,” the King said.
It was the most interest she had exhibited so far.
“It was reported that you murdered five Alphas” —there was an echo of little sounds of surprise from those around him, eyes turning to him in shock— “which I have a hard time believing, looking at you here.”
Ren stayed quiet, focusing on a single crack in the floor.
“My Warriors say they were shown the corpses of five Alphas with multiple stab wounds each, between seven and twenty-five”—The fingers on the back of his neck flexed.
He wondered if it was in surprise, or maybe the Alpha was making sure he had a good grip on Ren, just in case— “made by a sharpened kitchen knife.” The King hummed, tone impressed; it made Ren’s skin itch.
“They said they wouldn’t have believed it was you either until they saw how much blood you were covered in.
After further investigation, the Warriors from your village on the cliffs confirmed that you were the one who murdered the Alphas.
” The King paused, expression unimpressed as her gaze swept over Ren, “Do you admit to it?”
Ren blinked, surprised that he was being asked a question. The hand on him didn’t let him move, but he ground out a single word, “No.”