Estan and Syri watched in horror as the door opened and a young female was thrown into the room. The girl let out a short cry as she landed on her hands and knees. Blood and bruises covered her face, arms, and legs. An alpha entered the room and grabbed the girl by her hair and began dragging her to the corner across from Syri. The girl let out a yelp as the man hit her to stop her from struggling against him.
A chain was clasped around the girl's neck and a slice of bread was tossed at her feet. The girl grabbed the bread and began to hungrily eat it as the man scoffed at her.
"Well, well, look who woke up."
A fire raged in the zeta as Syri recognized the voice. The zeta lifted his head to see the alpha from Gern enter the room and look from the gamma to the zeta. A growl resonated from the zeta as he saw Estan instinctively shrink away from the alpha. A few steps were all it took for the alpha to reach Syri. A fearsome strike to the face extracted a welp from the small werewolf. The metallic taste of blood filled the zeta's mouth as the alpha's blow sent him falling onto his side.
The alpha twisted his fingers in Syri's pink hair and lifted the zeta onto his hands and knees. "You're still just as fierce with perliph. Did we not give you enough, Omega?" The alpha said in a low, creepy voice. Chills went down Syri's spine as the alpha placed his nose next to his scent gland and inhaled deeply. "Ahhh. What a beautiful scent," the alpha commented as he sniffed the zeta. However, a few seconds later, the alpha crinkled his nose and tightened his grip around Syri's hair. "Are you mated, Omega?"
Syri's drugged mind began to race as fast as it could. 'Ahhh. He must have smelled Jisue's scent from the mark. It's not a very pleasant smell, is it? But...wait...no, he wouldn't really smell it unless he sniffed my mark. Jisue didn't mark my scent gland, and he never scented me, so his scent should not be that prominent.' Memories from the night after the marking when the prince scented the zeta flashed through Syri's mind. 'Ah! It's Jae's scent he smells! In that case, isn't it the best scent?'
"Answer me," the alpha's demanding voice brought he zeta out of his racing thoughts. Syri wanted to emit another growl, but the alpha had used his alpha's voice, and Syri recalled the warning Estan gave him just moments before. So, Syri decided to play along for the sake of Estan meaning he had to tell the truth. The alpha would be able to sense if he was lying.
"N-no. I am not mated," Syri answered quietly.
"Oh? Then why is another alpha's scent all over you?" The alpha raised a brow as his eyes roamed over the zeta's body. "You better answer truthfully." A small snarl accompanied the alpha's words as a warning.
"I have a friend who scents me since I am not mated. He does it to protect me."
"Sounds like a good friend. But, tell me, little omega. If you are not mated, then why do you have a mark on your shoulder?" The alpha ripped Syri's shirt to reveal the healing mark on the zeta's shoulder. The mark was fading quite quickly, but it was still evident even in the dimly-lit room.
"An unstable alpha found me and forcefully marked me."
"Sounds like you've got quite the story, Omega," the alpha remarked when he decided Syri was not lying. "But that doesn't matter anymore. Because you're mine now." The alpha infused his voice in the last few words as he looked at the zeta possessively. Syri closed his eyes and clenched his fist as he felt the alpha near his neck.
A gasp of disgust left the zeta's mouth as the alpha's tongue licked his scent gland. "S-stop," Syri pleaded. He did not want that man's scent on him. And he certainly did not want Jae's scent to be covered.
"You don't get to tell me what to do, Omega," the alpha growled in Syri's ear. The alpha's fingers uncurled from the zeta's hair as the alpha placed his other hand on Syri's waist and felt the zeta's figure. "I've been looking for a suitable mate for a while now. I think you'll do just fine, Beautiful."
Syri's eyes widened as he heard the alpha's words. 'No, no, no, no! Not again!' The zeta shut his eyes, and the alpha's hand on his waist pinned him down, while the other hand traveled to Syri's neck to keep it from moving.
"Oi! Am I too old for you, then?" A voice taunted the alpha as he was about to bare his fangs. Syri's eyes snapped open at Estan's voice. He turned his head to see the gamma's jaw clenched as he stared at the alpha with blazing eyes.
A low growl resonated from the alpha as he stood to his feet and neared Estan.
"Inso." Syri's voice quivered as he called out for the gamma. Estan quickly made eye contact with the zeta and shook his head slightly before flicking his eyes up to the alpha approaching him.
"Too old? No, Gamma, you're rather beautiful yourself," the alpha said as he knelt in front of Estan and placed his thumb under the gamma's chin. "You are clearly mated, so you will do better loaned off to the general clients or sold as a labor worker."
A scoff left the gamma's mouth. "A labor worker? Seriously? Do you think these hands have ever done manual labor? The person who buys me would not get their money's worth as I would die on the first day! Then what would happen? They would come to you and demand a replacement. Then, what would happen? You would have to give them another one to keep your reputation from going down the drain! But that means you had to give up two for the price of one. Not very smart, if you ask me." Estan narrowed his eyes toward the end and donned a smirk at the flustered alpha.
The alpha grabbed Estand by the throat just below the jawline and forced the gamma to look at him. "How dare you-"
"Alpha!" The voice of on of the alpha's underlings cut the man off.
"What?!" The man whipped his head to face the werewolf who had come running into the room.
"He's here."
"Who's here?" The alpha asked, irritation coating his voice.
"The rho."