The Gladiator Wolf King

KING KELLEN

I opened my eyes, a nauseating feeling rose from my stomach right up to my throat.

My stomach was sloshing and my vision was blurry. I blinked twice, adjusting my eyes to the dark; the only light was from a low-hanging bulb, a dim light that was swaying to and fro, not helping the churning of my gut.

The smell of salty water and damp rusty mold hit my nose. I gagged as the scents curdled my stomach even more. My whole body ached and I went to shift my position, only to be met with the clanking sound of chains and resistance at my wrists.

Holy hell, either, I had the worst hangover in history and Mike left me tied up somewhere dumb again, or …

I didn’t get to finish my thought as the bang of something metal, large and sliding, disturbed me. “Mike what the fuck…” My dry throat rasped out but was cut off by the sound of a deep menacing chuckle.

“Ahh, you are awake. I was told to watch you. Darius, we got one awake, sort it out, ya” I couldn’t focus on his face, but I could smell his stale and pungent scent of wine and bread and make out the shape of a man’s round gut and stained white shirt. His voice was hoarse and his accent one I hadn’t heard before.

“Argghhh!” I yelled as I felt my back rip open, when out of nowhere the lash came, tearing through my skin. I felt the deep cuts open immediately and the sting of wolfsbane seep through the gashes.

“Argghh!” I cried out again, this time, two quick whips, and the lashes they left were agonizing.

I wasn’t in silver but I had no strength to break the chains, try as I might. I couldn’t stand on my own even before they lashed me.

I twisted in agony. What the fuck was this I opened my mouth to ask what the hell was going on, who they were, or to command them to let me go. But the brutal lashing came again.

I reached out for Conri, my wolf, but I was met with silence. Whatever I had been drugged with had knocked my wolf out.

This could seriously not be happening to me.

The last thing I remember was… what I closed my eyes, screwing them shut. What happened to me Think, think, Kellen.

Crack!

Another lash wracked through my body and I clamped my jaw tight, gritting my teeth together, trying to bear the pain and not cry out. I couldn’t give them the satisfaction.

Whoever ‘they’ were

“Let me go and I will spare your lives” I heavily breathed out. The whooshing in my stomach churned again and bile rose. I began spewing, my stomach contents, splashing to the floor and hitting my bare feet, where my toes barely touch the metal floor.

Where the fuck were my shoes Where the fuck are my clothes All I had on was a pair of black boxer briefs.

I remember we won the battle of Riocht. Mathias killed Orion.

Lamia, her emerald green eyes flashing in my mind, became queen. They became king and queen, they were crowned.

My head was becoming fuzzy again. My lips sooo dry and the smell of my puke made me want to vomit again.

Crack!

“Arggghh” I yelled out, the whips force taking me by surprise. Who were these idiots Did they not know who I was Didn’t they realize they were going to die for this

“Easy Darius, this one’s worth a lot of money. We wouldn’t want to deliver him half dead now, would we Jack wouldn’t like that. Got a lot of money riding on this one.” The stale-smelling man said, breathing his rotting stench of a mouth right by my ear. “Right little prince You will make fine entertainment.” He laughed and then moved away, his footsteps clanging against the metal floor.

I remember leaving Riocht, hugging Lamia goodbye. I would see her soon. Mike left with me, we were in a car, and we stopped.

That’s where it gets hazy again.

The whip came down again and again; I lost count of how many times I felt the bite on my back and the sting of the wolfsbane. Blood ran down my torn skin, the red liquid dripping onto the metal ground beneath me, its coppery smell mixing with my bile and the rusty mold.

Thoughts and images of Lamia flitted through my head, focusing on something other than the pain. I smiled at her image until my thoughts shifted.

Is this how she felt, lost, confused… When she woke up in the dungeons of MacTire

The smell of the salty water, coupled with my empty stomach, made me queasy and dizzy. I tried to look around at my surroundings, but my sight was becoming a blur again.

I felt the sweat bead on my forehead and felt the crack of another lash opening my bareback even more. The pain was heightened by the wolfsbane and the fact that my wolf was AWOL right now.

I need to remember what happened to me.

I called to my wolf again. Nothing. I opened my mind to Lamia and the other three Knights. Nothing. I tried to feel her, sense her but I was met with nothing.

I had no energy to cry out again, so I hung there as lash after lash tore me open. They didn’t stop until I passed out.

Or at least when I passed out I didn’t feel it anymore. So much for going easy on me.

“Lamia” I whispered her name on my parched lips, praying she heard me as my eyes fluttered and closed, casting me back into darkness.

The next time I woke, it was with a bucket of saltwater being thrown over me, the salt, stinging the lacerations on my back that had not healed yet.

“Wakeey, wakeey, little prince” That gravelly voice pierced my eardrums, his attempt at singing the words just made the throbbing in my head and wounds feel much more intense.

I felt the chains tighten, the cuffs pulling taut on my wrists, then loosen and my body crashed to the floor, crumpling in a pile of aching limbs. The sickly stench of the man surrounding me and my head still swaying with dizziness wasn’t helping.

And again I emptied my stomach, what little was left in it.

At least now I wasn’t hanging, but the sloshing of my stomach became worse. I blinked my eyes a few times trying to rid them of the saltwater. Slowly my vision became clearer and I took in my surroundings. I was in a metal box with cages. The walls were painted in a dim blue, the paint peeling to show the dank metal beneath.

I was on a boat, caged in the hull of what I assumed was a large ship of some kind.

What the fuck has happened to me And more importantly, where the fuck was I going

I opened my mind yet again, envisioning Lamia, then Mike, Hunji, and Rhett.

‘Goddess damn Conri!’ I yelled in my mind at him, when I couldn’t even create a link. What the fuck did they do to my wolf

I was starting to realize I was not in a good situation, as if the whipping wasn’t enough of an indication, to begin with.

I was more worried that my wolf might not come back.

I had no idea how to get out of this situation either, and who the fuck was Jack The name wasn’t ringing a bell. What the heck did this guy mean ‘worth money’

At this point, I was confused, tired, hurting, and frustrated. I needed to figure this shit out and a way to get out of my current situation, and fast!

*****

For three days, they bought me food, if you can call it that. Although I didn’t expect them to bring me anything and I really shouldn’t complain considering the situation I was in.

I had yet to feel Conri stir in even the slightest way. That didn’t stop me from trying to reach out to Lamia or the other guys whenever I found the strength to try. And even though I knew my efforts were in vain, I still held out hope.

They had to be looking for me. I knew they would. I just couldn’t understand how I got here. My memories are still blurry. I can remember leaving Lonely City with Mike and I remember we stopped at some rundown diner… and that’s where everything goes blank.

They gave me porridge. I knew the disgusting watery substance that tasted like bland glue was laced with something that was keeping my wolf at bay. I just didn’t know what.

I ate the gluey food, only because if I had any chance of getting out of this mess, I needed food to keep up what