Bloodbound to the Beastly King

The dungeon smelled of stale blood and sweat mixed with dried vomit.

It didn't affect Thorne as he had come down here a number of times and also sent quite a number of people down here.

Thorne's boots echoed as he walked down the stairs, the air growing colder the deeper he went. Caelum was quiet behind him. Two guards snapped to attention when they saw them approach.

"Your majesty," they chorused, heads bowed.

Thorne nodded, his gaze traveling inside the cell where Radek was. He was sitting on the bench, back straight, brows pinched together, and face scrunched in pain. But the moment he caught sight of Thorne, he stood—not out of respect, but habit. His bow was stiff. Begrudging.

"Your majesty," he greeted, his voice gruff and hoarse.

The guards pulled the cell gates open, and Thorne stepped in, his eyes flicking over the place. He had ordered that Radek be given the cleanest cell, something befitting for him.

A shame. This cell was far from clean.

"Your Majesty, have you come to let me go? Perhaps you've finally found proof of my innocence?"

"Proof?" Thorne chuckled, low and amused, with absolutely no warmth. "Don't get ahead of yourself."

He stepped closer, hands clasped behind his back.

"I came to check up on your well-being."

Radek blinked. "You're checking on me?"

"You are a guest in my dungeon, after all," Thorne said smoothly. "It would be rude not to."

Radek laughed bitterly, "Then allow me to say, my king, I'll be better once I'm back where I belong—in my pack."

Thorne's brows lifted. "Belong?" he repeated softly, as if the word personally offended him. "Ah… haven't you heard?"

Radek frowned. What had he not heard?

Thorne's voice turned colder. "The title of Alpha of the Blood Crest Pack has been changed."

Radek's gaze snapped up to him. "What?"

"You're no longer the Alpha," Thorne continued, his tone light. "After what you've done, the people clamored for a change. A pack can't stay for too long without an Alpha. I signed the official approval yesterday. Veronica has taken your place."

"What? That's impossible. Since when did the people choose who is Alpha or not?" Radek snapped, unable to tone down his voice any longer. He was losing his mind here and this?

Thorne huffed, shaking his head. "You lack in so many ways, it makes me wonder why Lord Carter would ever make you pack alpha. Don't you know, Radek, that a pack is only a pack because of its people?"

"You're lying. You're making this up all because you're angry," Radek spat out, clearly unsettled.

"Am I? Why would I need to make things up, though? I'm the king, Radek. I can remove and replace any Alpha regardless of whoever it may be. And in this case," he paused, smirking, "Veronica is the rightful heir."

Radek shook his head, his breathing heavy. "No, no, no. You're wrong. Gary was the rightful heir!"

"And Gary is dead. By law, the title belongs to Veronica."

Radek stared at him blankly, as if he had grown five extra heads. It was impossible.

"Lies! Lord Carter will never cast me out. Veronica wouldn't do that to me."

Thorne hummed, "The blind trust you have in them is commendable," he said, shaking his head.

"Did you know that Lord Carter was the one who seemed me for this change? He wanted his daughter named Alpha, and while it might've seemed odd that he would simply cast you aside and let you rot in my dungeons, I do understand him, though." He glanced at the man whose mind seemed to be working overtime. Thorne was surprised for one thing, though. He hadn't expected the man's mind to be so fickle. So penetrable.

"I mean, his name is practically being dragged through the mud right now over what you did. And we all know Lord Carter. His name, title, and house are the most important things to him. Nothing else matters. It only makes sense that he lets you face the brunt of your actions and he makes his daughter the alpha."

He watched as the man crumbled with each word that left his lips. Radek gripped his left arm tight as though he were trying to break it.

"You're lying," he gritted out through clenched teeth.

Thorne scoffed. "What reason do I have to lie? You're already sitting here, in my dungeon." He paused, his eyes flickering over the man. He looked okay, just like the same old Radek, except something was off.

This Radek was weak? Mentally weak? The old Radek was arrogant, annoying, and a know-it-all. Mason was his biggest hater, but this Radek…

"Tell me, how many days has it been since you've been locked in here?" he asked, but the other didn't seem to be listening.

"Three days. You've been in here for three days, and Lord Carter or your supposed mate haven't come to see you once. Tsk, tsk, tsk." Perhaps the man was weak due to the stress? Even that didn't make sense, but Thorne wasn't going to spend time debating over his weakness. This was a great opportunity for him.

"Open your eyes, Radek, and see that you've been abandoned. No one is going to save you here… not Lord Carter or Veronica. The only one who can save you is you."

Radek looked at him, but his lips were sealed. Thorne knew he wasn't going to say a word.

"If there's anything, anything that might interest me to know, then tell me. If I deem it good enough, you'll be freed," he said, then stepped back.

"Take your time, but know that you don't have time," he said and walked out of the cell, leaving Radek alone.

Radek watched as Thorne walked out, his mind a jumbled mess. The mind link wasn't working with the distance, so he couldn't hear from Lord Carter or Veronica. He had no idea what to do.

Would they really abandon him?

Could they?

He had no idea what to think. He pulled his sleeve up, his right arm a gory sight. The skin was gone, leaving a mess of blood and rotten flesh. Radek retracted his claws and continued what he'd been doing.

This was the only way to distract himself.