Bullied

Chapter 2: Axel's POV

The shuffling of boots at the door caused me to turn my attention to it. A few seconds later, it burst open and Greg stepped in with a number of my guards behind him.

His face was pinched into a tight frown as he came to stand in front of me. The white lines of hair on his head weren't just a sign of the number of years he had fought but they signified the people he lost too.

From the energy curling out of him, I could already tell the outcome of the search.

"Leave us," I said to the other guards.

The sound of their fist hitting their chest in response, echoed in the room before their boots shuffled out one more time.

"There is still no news on their whereabouts Axel," Greg said as soon as the guards left us.

Greg was my father's best friend and the only one I had close to a family. He was my adviser and his son, Nathan, my beta.

"We have been searching for fifteen fucking years, Greg! Why haven't we gotten a lead yet?!" I threw a punch at the table and moved to the window, breathing in the cool air to calm my burning rage.

It wasn't fair that we fought so hard and still gained nothing. It was scary to even imagine the conditions my family could be in at that moment.

"Nathan has gone to the old southern ridge. I am hopeful he will find something. For now, you just have to stay calm—"

"Do not ask me to stay calm Greg!" I snapped. "My parents are gone! My siblings are gone! Everyone is fucking gone and you are telling me to stay calm? How the fuck am I supposed to do that?"

Greg let out a soft sigh. "I don't know." He confessed. "But I do know that screaming and cussing isn't going to bring them back!"

My wolf growled within me. Anger raged begging to be let out. I knew he was right but I couldn't accept it just like that.

We have been searching for too long. We should have hit some kind of breakthrough by now!

I moved away from the window and started heading out of the room. I needed to let off some steam and there was no better way to do that than to inflict pain on the people who caused all of these in the first place.

"Where are you going?"

An evil smirk covered my face as I pulled out the door. "The dungeon."

Greg joined me at the door in record time. For his age, he moved faster than most wolves that I had seen.

"You are the only Lycan, Axel. You need an heir to secure your lineage... Our safety..." He pushed the door close and looked me in the eye.

The air in the room shifted as my irritation got redirected to a different spot.

"Look, I am only going there to let off some steam. I am not going to give them the luxury of death. No, that's too fucking soon!" I made to leave one more time but Greg stood in my way.

"Axel, that isn't important," he whispered. His eyes were gleaming with determination.

"You need an heir. We should be talking about that and not your intentions toward the human king and queen," he pointed out.

I could feel my wolf's surface as my vision turned momentarily red.

"And what will you have me do? The goddess hasn't fucking sent me a mate yet. I can't make an heir on my own, can I?"

He paused and my insides twisted. Whenever he had that look, he already had a plan cooking.

"You need to get a breeder."

"Why would I get a fucking breeder! You know what my mother feels about that!" I hissed. "Besides, I have more than enough concubines to warm my bed!"

"Avalyn would understand that this is for the greater good! We need an heir to secure your claim to the throne. To secure every wolf's safety!" His voice boomed in the room, vibrating through the walls and back into my ears.

"The humans would never think of revolting again if you have an heir. No rogue, no attack! Isn't that the kingdom you want to build for our people?" Greg spat out.

"When I find my siblings and my parents, we will have more than enough lycans roaming this mansion. I do not need to get a breeder!"

"Look around you, Axel! Where are they?" Greg roared. "Do you want them to come home and meet chaos because you were too scared to get a fucking breeder?"

Greg never swore. The moment he did, I realised I was fighting a losing battle.

"Fine. Fine, I will get one," I said, giving in to his demands. "But I will pick them myself!"

"Not a problem. We can go there right now!" Greg said, stepping away from the door.

This was a double win for him. He made me agree to get a breeder and he found a way to divert my attention from tormenting the human King and Queen in my dungeon.

But the peace they had now, wouldn't last. I would return for them.

Greg moved ahead of me to the parking lot. He fished into his pockets and pulled out his car keys. As soon as the vehicle bleeped, two guards joined us.

They fisted their hands and hit their chest as they got to us. Then they turned their attention to Greg, who was acting as the commander in Nathan's absence.

"Where are we headed, sir?!"

"The human slave market," he said and I fought back the urge to roll my eyes but I said nothing till we were both in the sleek SUV.

"Of all the creatures I could breed with, why does it have to be a fucking human?" I hissed.

He pulled the car into drive. "Because your concubines are all wolves, yet none of them is pregnant. It is time to try a different approach."

The vehicle moved smoothly over the tarred road and in less than fifteen minutes we were pulling up at the slave market.

The guards that had addressed us were already there standing by the entrance with a tall woman with a well-built body by their side.

"That's Aaliyah, back in the days she was your uncle Jared's beta. After the revolution and the war, she got herself this place," Greg explained as we stepped out of the vehicle.

"Hmm," I mumbled, obviously not interested in the history class he was giving me.

"Aaliyah," he said, giving her a firm handshake. She tapped his shoulders with a small smile and took a step closer to me.

She gave me a bow and then fisted her hands to her chest. "My King," her voice was soft and gentle, the complete opposite of what she looked like.

"Greg informed me that you will be needing a breeder. I have really fine specimens. I am sure you will like them," she said, leading the way to her showroom.

I was expecting to see cages and blood but the place was surprisingly clean.

The women were in simple dresses that showed enough of their assets and skin but they weren't naked.

They were arranged in rows of different sizes, skin color, and even hair color.

"We try our best to treat them as nicely as we could," Aaliyah said as she moved us to the first row.

"These ones are old enough to be pregnant and we have checked their reproductive systems as well. They will make perfect breeders," she explained and I realised that Greg didn't just come up with this idea today. He had this whole thing set up.

The bastard!

"Please, make your pick my King," Aaliyah said, motioning to the girls.

I moved between the girls with no particular thing in mind. I sincerely considered this to be unnecessary but seeing as Greg had turned the world upside down for this, I had no choice but to pick at least one.

My father considered humans to be beautiful in their imperfections and as I moved between the rows, I started seeing the sense in his words.

Their freckles, uneven breasts, and skin breakouts, somehow made them beautiful in their own right. I couldn't make a choice.

I was close to giving up and just picking whichever my hands pointed at when I saw a mass of blonde hair. At first, I thought it was only my mind playing tricks on me until those piercing blue eyes stared back at me.

It was really her. Violet.

My permanent stop on my heart shifted and memories of the past came crashing brutally into my mind.

Images of my twelve-year-old self flashed before my mind and the dehumanising things her parents did to me, flooded my brain.

Back then I was the one in chains and she was the free one, but now, the roles were reversed.

"So, you have seen almost all the handpicked girls. Who is it going to be my King?" Aaliyah asked and from the corner of my eyes, I saw Violet's tug into a smile.

My burning gaze turned to the exit. "The red hair and the green-eyed one by the right," I said, completely ignoring the one my heart reacted to.

I didn't need the daughter of my enemy as a breeder.