Kai saw stars when he tightened the grip around her neck. Did she go too far? Was this how she was going to die? She couldn't go like this.
"I…k-know…who…t-the…last…g-girl…is…" she stuttered, weakly prying Damon's hands off her neck. He lessened his grip but only enough to allow her breathe. He had heard her clearly. He wasn't necessarily eager to find the girl that had slipped through his men's fingers but the story of how Ms. Snow Lake had been in the wrong place at the wrong time intrigued him more.
He watched her draw in a lungful of air, choking.
"Who is she?"
Kai beat against his hand. "I c-can't breathe."
Reluctantly, he let her go. She dropped to the floor, coughing and gasping for air. This was bad. More than anything, she had only succeeded in getting into Damon's bad books. If she kept challenging him, she wouldn't last in here. He wouldn't think twice about killing her especially since she wasn't supposed to be here anyway.
When she looked up, Damon had Cleo. Kai struggled to her feet and gripped the bars. Tears spilled from her eyes. She wanted to beg but somehow, she felt it would only spur Damon to kill her sister faster as payback. He brushed Cleo's hair away from her face and skimmed a finger over her jawline.
"What's your name, darling?"
To Kai's surprise, Cleo didn't stutter or shiver with fear.
"My name is Luna 43, alpha Damon." She replied with a meek curtsy. Damon smiled satisfactorily.
With his eyes trained on Kai, he captured Cleo's lips with his. Heat exploded within Cleo as the alpha's tugged her waist close. He lulled her with gentleness at first, nibbling and teasing, probing with his tongue. Lust unfurled in her belly when his tongue plunged deeper, scrambling her senses. Tiny fires of excitement lit up inside her, resulting in a sticky spill between her legs.
Dutifully, she kept her hands by her side, allowing him to lead, savoring every inch of his soft lips and greedy tongue. He tasted of danger in an appetizing way. Her blood pumped furiously as he tipped her head and drove her mad till she moaned loudly.
She almost cried when he pulled away, leaving her breathless and horny. Cleo blinked out the blurriness in her eyes, steadying herself with calming breaths.
Damon hardly looked fazed. He squared his shoulders and turned to the other ladies. "Like I said, it's not just a competition but a game of survival. You can either be punished," He paused to glance briefly at Tyla's corpse. "…or you can be rewarded for playing by the rules."
Kai saw Cleo smile proudly. The fear was gone but something else flashed in her eyes; her sister was ready to play the alpha's game. When she looked around, the same could be said of the other girls. The door to the cell block opened and some guards entered.
"Escort my Lunas to their new accommodation."
"Yes, alpha." They answered. They unlocked the cells and the ladies marched out.
"Not you, Snow Lake." Damon voiced when Kai tried to join the line. "You'll rot in here until I find your replacement. Then, I'll decide which one I want to keep."
A guard roughly shoved her back into her cell and jammed the lock. Kai locked eyes with Cleo, worried to death about being apart from her sister. Who knows what these ladies would be prepared to do to win the game? What if they ganged up against her sister?
Damon caught the desperate look Kai gave Cleo.
"She's your sister, huh?" He asked Cleo.
"No, she isn't." Cleo responded sharply to Kai's dismay "I no longer have a family. I can only hope I end up becoming your luna. That's the only family I aspire to have." Another meek bow before she joined the line and walked out. Damon was impressed. Kai wiped her tears and retreated to the end of her cell after everyone left.
She knew her sister didn't mean it. Cleo was only trying to survive in here by obeying the rules. Still, Kai could see beyond the façade. Her sister was still scared. Because Kai couldn't see any of them getting out of here alive, she cried thinking this could be the end for them. What if they fail a test and end up like Tyla? Will they never see their father again?
She didn't realize when she nodded off until a guard splashed her with cold water till the outline of her red bra became visible through the soggy shirt. She bent on all fours, coughing out water when the splash ended. Her teeth chattered as she hugged herself. The guard returned every hour to hose her. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't feel her fingers or toes. Her body gradually grew numb.
"Why were you in the car?" Scott finally queried her. "The car belonged to luna 71 so why were you behind the wheel and dressed like her?"
Kai continued to shiver, regretting her earlier lie. "S-She…asked me…t-to…h-help…her…b-break up with her…boyfriend." She sputtered.
"Where is she right now? We already combed her apartment but couldn't find her."
Tears spilled from Kai's eyes. She hated to give her friend up like this but she didn't have much of a choice. They'd either kill her or punish Cleo if she didn't cooperate. With a heavy heart, she told Scott where to find her best friend outside the city.
She willed herself not to cry. Maybe Cheyenne was the luna Damon sought for. Maybe she'd be brought here and Damon would feel an instant connection and pull towards her, ending the madness of a luna search.
Maybe Cheyenne would emerge victorious at the end even if she wasn't the alpha's fated mate. Kai continued to justify her betrayal with all the positive scenarios she could think of, to make herself feel better.
She got on her feet and peered at the high cell window. If only she could hoist herself up, maybe she can tell which part of Woodbridge Damon was keeping them. Something told her they were leagues away from the city but she ignored the nagging thought.
Feeling defeated, she sank back on the wet floor and hugged her knees. Maybe Cleo was right to play by the rules. There was no other way to survive the day. She dried her eyes and sniffled as she recalled Damon's words.
"You'll rot in here until I find your replacement. Then, I'll decide which one I want to keep."
As much as she'd hate to be stuck with a man like Damon for life, dying was far more unappealing. She had to be ready to win the alpha over and keep her neck. She shut her eyes and tried not to think what that would mean for Cheyenne.
***
The ladies were ushered into the opulent mansion with well decorated bedrooms with each Luna's number tag on the doors. Everyone went into their rooms. While some gasped in excitement and relished the comfort, others cautiously surveyed the place. One luna hovered in front of her door, staring down the hall at a bedroom that read, Luna 71.
"Everything all right?" Someone asked her. She whipped her head, shocked to find a lady in a uniform beaming politely at her. Now they had female attendants?
"Yes. Everything's fine, thank you." She opened her door and went in.
Inside, she sighed and slid down behind the door. She just had to keep a low profile and play by the rules. She ran her fingers over a bracelet on her wrist. Her mother's spell couldn't easily be broken.
The tattoo on her left hand between her middle and ring fingers held the masking spell. It was an ancient language in tiny print. If Damon ever noticed it and asked questions, she had a convincingly lie ready. Her mother had prepped her well for a day like this because they knew it would come. She would be fine. Hopefully, Damon will never find out that she was his fated mate.