Chapter 8: Exposed! (Mild 18+)

The sheer number of punishment instruments hanging on the grated wall made his bones shiver.

The guards’ eyes followed his every reaction as they hung him on the black wooden gallows, clamping him down with silver ring cuffs. They pierced his wrists with two silver needles.

After finishing their work, their eyes lingered on his chest for a few seconds before they snapped out of their daze and left him behind.

Moon stayed silent all along. His mind was racing as he spoke with the Moon Goddess inside his head.

"What to do now, Goddess? You just have to save my life, only to throw me into a wolf den?" he cried out.

[Sigh! My child, you look good in that dress.]

Moon’s neck felt hot; he swallowed his curse before flaring up, "Is this the main point of me calling you? And what kind of Alphas did you give me? Cowards and disloyal scoundrels?"

Moon gritted his teeth and continued, "Utterly disappointing. Look at them—they are all freaking scoundrels."

[Cough! Cough! Ah, don’t be mad; even bad wolves need a mate.]

Moon choked on his breath, "Bad wolves need a mate, but I certainly can have a loyal one, right?"

[Make them loyal. As long as you can awaken their wolf and make a pact, it is sealed with a bond no one can break]

Moon stopped talking; it was useless to talk. He shifted his attention to the room.

A slow energy pulsed through the air, he noticed, but it was not like his world’s spiritual energy that could be drawn in.

After coming into this room, he felt an energy that was eerie but useful.

He looked at the silver rings and chains binding him, as well as at the wall and the chest stuck to the floor. He was amazed.

’Wow! Filthy rich! In my world, my father had only given me 300 silver coins and no spirit stone since I could not cultivate. Look at all this silver piling up here, worth several thousand low-grade spirit stones if sold.’

[Silver can suppress wolf power and disrupt their healing. They also used silver to suppress the witch’s power.] The goddess kindly gave him a hint.

"So, that’s why they hang me with silver cuffs? Using silver on a captive— Isn’t it great? I can steal some of it," he muttered, circulating his spiritual power to push out the needle.

Watching the needle fall on the dark stone his eyes shone with a newfound purpose.

[First, you need to live.] The goddess reminded him.

Moon faltered for a fraction of a second but then closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the energy coming from the damp air.

His eyes snapped open, flickering with excitement.

"Found it; it’s the leftover energy from the ones who died here all along. Their resentment and their restless spirits left behind a dense shroud of vengeful energy."

Next second, the room air shifted—a phantom of ethereal beauty suddenly materialized before Moon. Her radiant figure was draped in a long, silver-white cape iridescent with a pearlescent glow. Glowing moon pearl and star stone from her crown illuminated the dim space, yet the guard outside seemed oblivious.

"Moon Goddess!" Moon widened his eyes in surprise.

The Goddess hovered in front of him, her eyes filled with gentle concern.

"Moony, this vengeful energy—if you handle it right, you will have a golden opportunity to cultivate. But if handled poorly, it will devour you, filling you with a raw dark energy ten times fiercer than that of your world. They are werewolves; their energy differs from your world."

Moon swallowed hard—a surge of warmth rushed through his veins.

His eyes stung with tears at her gentle tone.

He lowered his head and said in a raspy voice, "I need to live. I need power to break free from this place."

[Brace yourself, as you wish.]

Slowly, the ethereal figure of the Goddess faded from the room, replaced by the dark, gloomy silence.

Moon closed his eyes, and the world slowly faded, leaving only a vortex of raw dark energy swirling around his consciousness. His mind searched the vortex, grasping at the lingering sparks of the fallen. His five cores spun rapidly within him, pulsing as each spark surged through his meridians.

A bright, golden red pentagon flashed between his brows.

He drifted further and further away, drenched in cold sweat, fighting to conquer the raw consciousness and tame it into his own energy.

Moon lost the trace of time.

---

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, heavy, measured footsteps echoed through the narrow path to the dungeon cell.

Each slow, predatory step crunched against the damp floor, the hollow thud of the boots growing louder as they approached closer and closer.

[Wake up, Moon.]

The faint whisper snapped Moon up from his daze. His eyes unfocused, fluttering a few times before he slumped his head forward like a broken sapling, hanging limply as if he were a corpse on the gallows.

With a twist of his finger, two fallen silver needles on the floor slowly rose and pierced his wrist again.

When the sound stopped behind the iron gate, the air around him felt suffocating and cold. Moon could not sense this pressure before, but after absorbing the remnant’s energy, his body flinched with the Alpha’s dominance.

He knew just by the raw, bloody aura— the Alpha had arrived.

After a few cracklings of shackle and lock, the gate opened slowly, silently.

Moon’s stomach dropped with each dragging silence.

’That’s weird,’ he thought.

A pack leader’s presence should not be this silent.

Soon his confusion was answered as two maids entered with Alpha Vaelis.

They were each holding a dress and a tub of fresh water. They put them down on a corner table.

Alpha Vaelis waved at them to wait outside and stood in front of Moon. His big stature swallowed Moon’s shadow.

Moon raised his eyes to look up at him.

The dark eyes of the man observed him for a moment before he stepped forward, leaving no distance between them. His broad chest filled Moon’s entire view, locking him in a predatory gaze.

"A girl who can still look up after starving for five days? You have quite the stamina. Don’t you?" He chuckled. His calloused hand tilted Moon’s chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze.

Moon shifted uncomfortably, trying to dispel the heat radiating from the man in front of him.

Alpha Vaelis suddenly leaned forward and sniffed Moon’s neck. His big, rough hand grabbed Moon’s shoulder so tightly that it left red bruises.

"I like it, I like your smell," he whispered.

Moon’s eyes widened in disgust. He twisted his wrist to break the cuff, but it only left a rattling cry.

"What the hell are you doing, you disgusting old man?"

Moon yelled at the man, whose nose was rubbing against Moon’s collarbone. He jerked his face to the side.

Alpha Vaelis let out a low growl; his eyes glowed amber as he lifted his head, almost touching Moon’s face.

"Look at you... smelling like my mate. Why do you smell so intoxicating?" His raspy voice vibrated with raw desire.

"What? Go to hell." Moon’s stomach churned violently inside at hearing his words. Nausea rushed to his throat.

’How could I be this old monster’s mate?’ He thought as he lifted his leg to kick the man’s ball, only to be grabbed and wrapped around the man’s waist.

Alpha Vaelis was already drowning in his scent, slick with arousal; his chest felt tight, as his hot breath spread through Moon’s nape.

With a rough tug, he unlocked the cuffs and scooped Moon up, gripping his thigh. His fingers dug deep into Moon’s skin.

"Breathe me in," he murmured against Moon’s ear.

Moon screamed in terror, pushing the man’s shoulder to make distance.

"Ugh, let go, you beast, what the hell!"

But the Alpha only tightened his grip; he lifted him effortlessly, his calloused hand anchoring Moon by the hip as he buried his face in Moon’s chest...

For an instant, the world seemed to freeze in place, the Alpha’s movement halted, his breath caught in his throat, his digging fingers clutching tightly into the soft flesh.

And his raging amber eyes dimmed— cold and dark.

Moon’s breath hitched as he sat still in the Alpha’s arms, trembling with fear.

’It’s over.’ He thought.

And then, a raw, rasped rumble escaped the Alpha’s chest as he slammed Moon down onto the rough stone floor.

His eyes were now blazing with a different heat, a rage, disgust, and betrayal that could consume everything.

He let out a ragged howl, curling his fingers into claws, his canine teeth bared, as his back arched, ashen fur bristling along his spine, his tunic torn to pieces.

Moon’s body hit the floor with a dull thud, the bone-breaking sound masked under the howl. He crawled back in fear.

’G-Goddess, you saved me from a beast but left me with these monsters.’ Even his inner thoughts were fractured from his struggle.

But this was just the beginning of his fear, as he had just crawled one step; a heavy claw clamped down on his maid’s blouse and violently yanked him back, tearing the clothes.

Moon’s throat felt cut in half for a second as the blouse tugged at his neck before tearing.

The Alpha had no time for checking if the throat was cut or the man was alive; all his attention was focused entirely on Moon’s chest, which enraged him to death.

He took a sharp breath and growled at Moon, "You are a man?"

Not a question but a statement.

"You. Are. a. Fucking. MAN?" He chewed every word through gnashing teeth, then pounced on Moon’s limp body.