The Making of a King//SAMPLE

6

15 YEARS OLD. ADELINE 9 years old.

   My mind drifts over nothing as the silence in the office pulses around me.

Rupert has been working for hours at his desk. On what, I'm not sure nor do I care. Nothing he ever does is good. His plans are never for the better. They never help the pack. The opposite actually. Our pack is dying.

Too many generations of poor leadership have killed the spirit of our people. They hate it here. I hate it here. I hate the man who spawned me and every Alpha before him named Kincaid. Our females are mistreated and if males stand up against my father they are killed.

  I adjust my left wrist as the silver shackle cuts into my flesh again. I miss my cages, but due to my size, I can no longer be held in a small cage. I am instead chained to the wall. I am a battered office decoration. One of my father's many living objects that he gets to watch and torture when he feels like it.

  A knock sounds on the wood of my Father's office door and in walks one of the men that I hate with every fiber of my being.

  "The pups are in the testing area, Alpha," the piece of trash says as he looks over my bruised and bleeding frame.

   Father nods and stands up calmly.

  "What," I ask darkly as I watch the side of my father's face.

   Protective instincts inside of me are screaming as I try to determine what might be happening to my sister and the other youth of the pack.

"Don't worry, Son. Your precious sister is confined to her hole," Father replies with a small smirk, and I glare at him.

   "What are you testing on our pack members," I ask viciously and his head snaps in my direction.

   He moves to stand in front of me and I maintain my stare. My eyes drill into his. I no longer fear pain. He can't hurt me. He can only hurt Adeline. But instead of giving me pain, he smiles.

   "When I get back you will go to training. Ten men should be enough for you to handle... And if you ever question me again I will have Roger here mount Adeline while you watch," Father says while his smirk slips off his face and the monster lurking underneath rears its ugly head.

  I stare at him as he leaves. He think the training mat still scares me. He doesn't know that pain hasn't been my enemy in years. When the door closes my eyes fall to the floor. My stomach and heart don't even get the sick feeling anymore when my father leaves to do something horrible. As long as it isn't Adeline I can tolerate it.
*******

    I pant as I stand on trembling legs looking down at the men my father sent into the ring to hurt me. I knocked every single one out, but unlike when I was younger Father doesn't kill the males I defeat anymore. If he did he wouldn't have a single male to do his bidding.

  I hear Rupert growl in frustration, but I ignore him. I know he is disappointed in the fact he won't get to hurt anyone on my account today.

I walk to the edge of the ring and  grab the towel laying on the side of the mat. I wipe my sweaty face and look out toward the other teens training in the summer heat.

A group of girls on the sideline catches my eyes. Their faces aren't scared or scarred. They aren't frowning or crying. They are laughing and smiling at one another. Jealousy and longing fill my chest just as a hard fist connects with the side of my face.

   I stumble from the impact and spin around. One of my father's men is back on his feet and looking deadly. He goes for my knees and I realize he spotted my injury earlier. He punches my left knee before I can move back and I fall with a shout. He straddles my waist and goes to town on my rib cage as I use my arms to block my face.