CHAPTER ONE_THE PAST

His ears were ringing; that had to be it. He couldn't have heard correctly. The Goddess Waters were commonly referred to as Troubled Waters at this time of the year. The anger of the goddess was known to be at its highest during this time of the year. For the first time in the two years he had been a slave, he looked his supposed Alpha in the eye. He tried so hard to find the man he once saw as his best friend, but it seemed he had vanished into thin air. No mortal man was allowed to be within five meters of the Troubled Waters' perimeter. It was no secret that the goddess's anger birthed demons that could and would drive a man mad. Asking any mortal to be in the vicinity of the waters was sending them on a suicide mission.

The Alpha's smile could not have been wider as he dismissed everyone. Even after everyone had left, he didn't stop smiling. Now he could rest; his plan was all coming together. He was very sure the slave would be dead within the coming week. His joy knew no bounds; this was how it was always meant to be.

The slave felt like he was floating for the rest of the day as he went about his duties. He knew exactly what was going to happen. HE WAS GOING TO DIE. He had hoped the Alpha would change his mind, but alas, he seemed overjoyed at the order. He was absentmindedly cleaning the Alpha's inner quarters when she walked in - Luna Caitlyn, the Luna of the pack, mother of the pack, and wife to the Alpha.

He didn't have to turn around to know she was present; he always felt her whenever she walked into a room he was in. His thoughts were interrupted by arms circling around his waist from the back, more importantly, her arms. Times like this, he couldn't help but wonder if the goddess wasn't truly evil. Or probably he had done something to incur her wrath. The mate bond immediately snapped to life as soon as her hand touched his skin. His entire body, down to his toes, snapped to attention. He quickly moved away from her embrace as he bowed in respect to her; heaven knows what the Alpha would do to him if he saw them together. "DALTON," she whined unhappily, almost like a child would while stomping her feet.

Goddess, that name, it's been so long since he heard his given name, it felt like there was a stranger in the room that was being referred to. The Alpha had since banned anyone from referring to him by his given name. He was to be referred to as "The slave." "Luna Caitlyn," he responded with his head bowed. She shook her head as she walked closer to him, and then all of a sudden, she slapped him. "Get back to work, slave." He looked back to see the Alpha walk in and kiss her on the lips. It felt like someone was squeezing his heart; the Alpha barely looked in his direction as he pulled her into their bedroom. He took that as a signal of dismissal.

He had barely reached his bedspace when he felt it. With the sheer amount of time he had been through this in the past two years, one would expect him to be used to it by now, but somehow it always managed to hurt a little more each time. Recently, they've gotten louder, and he could well say that hurts more than the physical pain. Still huddled in pain on his bed, he couldn't help but think maybe the Troubled Waters would be better for him. He couldn't wait to die.