Chapter 2 Travana Territory

Valarie summoned courage and moved her hands away from her eyes after the footsteps had stopped a few feet away from her. The guy in the room was much younger than the man who had walked Amara out. He stretched out a hand to her and spoke in a hushed tone. “Come with me.” She put shaky hands into his and followed him. He didn’t pull her like the other man had done to Amara, but he looked at her with pity and she instantly knew he was a good person. He didn’t talk to her the whole while she followed him down the spiral concrete stairs and she wondered why. “Where are you taking me?” She managed to ask when they had gone down the fourth step. For the first time, he turned and took a good look at her before continuing his way down without a word to her. “Is there a way out of here? Please, can you help me?” “I wish I could,” he said “I am sorry.” She swallowed and kept going, her eyes getting adjusted to the light they approached. They walked through seven doors, with empty rooms, without seeing anyone. And in the eight, there were three other men, all approximately the same age as the one who had led her in, and a lady, much older than them. “What’s your name?” One of them barked. “Valarie,” she replied with trembling lips. “What pack?’’ She looked with confused eyes, unsure if to speak or not. “Young lady, don’t waste our time.” The most unfriendly looking of all of them spoke. “Hanger” she replied, “Hanger pack.” “Rank?” He pushed further “Not yet assigned.” There was a chuckle from the others around. “We can’t get a good deal from them,” One said to the others “Let’s not waste any more time, send her to the breeding grounds, seems like a healthy she-wolf, and young too. She will do just fine.” The man stared at her inappropriately as he spoke, making her shiver within. She trembled as she was being led away by the same man who took her in. In no time, she began to sob, but he still said nothing to her. They passed a long line of wolves chanting in the night, none seemed to have noticed them walk by. As she walked, she remembered the cases of wolves that had been caught trespassing and kidnapped by their pack. Each pack had its method of operation, it all depends on the alpha of the pack. For the Hanger pack, they were used as slaves, left to handle all the hard work that was above the pack members. They were treated as beasts, both male and female, and others were sent back to their pack in exchange for a ransom. Never had she heard of a captive being used for breeding, the thought of it alone disgusted her, but that was still bound to be her fate because even after having her first shift for over a year, she hadn’t found a mate. She was too tired to speak for they had walked a long way and as Amara had warned, she had to save her strength, for whatever was to come. She thought of Amara and she wondered where she was. But other questions came to her mind, why did they assign her for breeding? Didn’t they already have a breeder? And what was the talk about breeding grounds? They reserved a part of their territory and called it breeding grounds? She was puzzled but she didn’t want to disturb the man who had been the only person to talk nicely to her since she got there. They got to a bend and he stopped and then turned to her. In low tones, he spoke. “For your good, do whatever you are told to do, don’t fight.” She nodded. His mouth opened like he wanted to say some more things to her but thought otherwise. “What?” She asked, concern written all over her face. He resumed walking, and when Valarie realized he wasn’t going to say anything more, she decided to ask one final question. She could see they were very close to a huge metal gate that had two guards protecting it. “Where are we?” If she was going to be held here, at least she deserved to know where she was. "Travana territory.” He raised a hand “No more questions.” She searched her mind but she couldn’t make out the name. There was usually gossip about the other packs and she had heard of some names but never Travana. His attitude changed immediately as he grabbed her by the neck of her dress and pulled her after him. She released a faint cry as she struggled to keep up with his increased pace. “You’re hurting me...” she pleaded but he paid no attention to her. The soldier in front blew a whistle and the gate opened as they approached, revealing a hefty man. He held a sticker and waited as they got closer. “Ooooh…. This one’s a fighter,” he said and released a whistle, causing the others standing with him to laugh. “Did she give you much trouble, Josh?” he asked. “Not at all, so easy to tame.” The man who brought her said and she made a mental note of his name. She was smart enough to tell that he was just putting up the show of a tough man for them, that attitude was nowhere close to his real self. He pushed her forward towards the man, causing her to trip. “Her name is Valarie, she’s all yours.” “All mine, indeed.” He licked and smacked his lips. “Come on, let me welcome you properly.” She could feel the tears building again as she staggered her way in his direction. Her strength was failing her, she was tired, hungry, and felt like the most hated person who existed but she tugged along, her eyes squinting to get used to the semi-darkness that invaded her, and with one look around when she got in, she understood why they called it the breeding grounds. Her jaw dropped.