Ariel's POV

Year: 2200, seven days until the next round of genetic testing.

“Are you guilty?” I flinched as the whip lashed against my back.

“Hmph,” I gasped, releasing a groan. My body was drenched in blood, and I could feel it dripping down from me. My head was spinning, and I felt a chill in my spine.

“Are you guilty?” Jack, the werewolf warrior, repeated, his voice laced with fury and impatience.

I remained silent while I shook my head. What wrong have I committed?

He gritted his teeth while he punched me with all his strength on my stomach. Sweat and blood clouded my vision. I had been tied to this cross all day, standing atop the shredded remains of history books that spoke of human freedom. Tears scrolled down my face as I looked at the torn pages of the books. Just because I read those books?

I had been accused of reading banned books, violating one of the Four Iron Laws of the werewolves: engaging in acts that threatened their rule over humanity.

Fifty years ago, the werewolf race, with their immense strength and unique abilities, took control of the cities, establishing their absolute dominion. Humans, oppressed and marginalized, were confined to strictly regulated districts, each overseen by an Alpha. All Alphas answered to the one and only Alpha King, who was at the top and made these laws, making human lives worse than an ant’s.

Each district imposed stringent laws to prevent human rebellion, and reading banned books was among these restrictions. While education for humans was allowed in some districts, the reading list was tightly controlled. After all, how would they dare to let humans read these books where humans lived peaceful without being a slave to anyone? It'd plant seeds of revolution in them, after all.

Humans remained at the bottom of society, even below the Omegas, treated as slaves, playthings. The only chance humans had to change their fate was to be chosen as a mate by a werewolf.

This was why my sister Alice reported me. I gritted my teeth in anger. She craved the attention of the werewolves, hoping to become one of their mates. But I would rather die than live under their control.

“Ariel.”

I glared at the traitorous wench, Alice when I turned my gaze away. She clung to the whip that was being used on me like a spineless creature.

“You should apologize,” Alice said coldly, her gaze filled with disdain. “You know you broke the law. You hid banned books, and read them!”

I laughed, mocking her, before I shot a mouthful of saliva in her direction. How dare she bring this up? It was her who led me into this mess, handing the books I had hidden under my bed to Jack, the werewolf warrior. She had always been desperate for his attention because of his status!

I glared at Alice with hatred. As my sister, I had always protected her, but now she had joined forces with the werewolves—our enemies—to betray and punish me.

“Ariel, I forgot to mention,” Alice said proudly. “Just yesterday, Jack discovered that I am his mate.” She lifted her shirt, revealing the mark on her neck.

“This is why you betrayed me?” I roared in anger as I tried to pull my hands away, but it was futile. They were tied to the cross. Alice let out a sigh, shaking her head.

“Ariel, you don't understand. You can't resist it when you find your mate. You'll see just how impossible it is.” Alice tried to defend herself.

“Why did you have to report me?” I despised werewolves, but I wouldn't interfere with her choices. I would cut ties with her, though. Furthermore, I would not live alongside someone who sided with the wolves!

Alice rolled her eyes while I stared at her in disbelief. How could she betray her sister just because she became a werewolf's mate?

“Ariel, I couldn't let you ruin everything! No one hates werewolves as much as you. We've accepted their rule over humanity! It's been fifty years! We can now get food freely, we can bear their pups, become part of them—it's not so bad!” Alice gritted her teeth as she spat those words at me. Each of the words coming from her felt like a dagger in my heart. She knew why I hated werewolves much, but she still decided to tell me this!

I was stunned speechless. I looked at the crowd of humans below me. Their eyes were hovering around my battered body. Some looked scared, while others seemed to enjoy watching me suffer. I could hear their mocking laughter as they stared at my torn clothes and exposed scars. No one stepped forward. They all wanted me to die—for the sake of keeping themselves safe, and not ruin this so-called peace between the humans and the werewolves.

Neither Alice nor the crowd understood that when humans became werewolf mates, they were nothing more than breeding tools. The werewolves still despised humans for our lacking strength. They needed human mates to bear offspring, but once the childbearing was done, human females were treated even worse.

“Before the werewolves took over, humans lived freely, just like them,” I rasped, glaring at Alice. “They don't even bother putting these banned books in public libraries. Yet, in just fifty years, you've given up on independence and the chance to learn just because they banned education.”

“Shut up! Do you even know what you're saying?” Jack shoved Alice aside and gripped my throat tightly, his voice seething with rage. “You're so stubborn. Do you think anyone is going to save you? No one will. Every person here—whether human or werewolf—wants you dead. Alice is right. Your very existence threatens the peace between humans and werewolves.”

“Peace?” I spat blood, laughing bitterly. “Is that what you call peace? Treating humans like slaves? Like pests?”

“As a human, the weakest species, you should be honored to serve us. We are far superior to you worthless humans!” Jack screamed, tightening his grip on my neck.

“Look around. Look! Who here wants you alive?” Jack yanked my hair, turning my head. “Your own sister betrayed you. Isn't that proof enough that no one wants you alive?”

I clenched my fists, biting my tongue as I glared at Alice from head to toe. I didn't need him to remind me of that bitter truth. Shutting my eyes in disgust, I muttered, “I don't need anyone to save me.”

“Good. I must've let you roam free for too long—you've forgotten how powerful werewolves are.” Jack's claws extended, tearing the skin of my neck. Blood immediately poured down to my chest.

Jack sneered, using all his strength to press me against the iron bar while choking me. “Ah… ah…” I whimpered. Is this the end for me? Is this how I die?

As Alice moved closer to Jack, I bit my lip, a tear rolling down my cheek. “Stop, Jack!”

Jack turned to her. “You want to save her?”

Alice frowned. “Jack, you can't kill her. Elijah Jaeger, the werewolf king, is coming to collect blood samples and find his mate. If something happens, it'll be a trouble for the pack. Ariel is a registered human female—she can't disappear.”

Jack scowled but finally released my throat reluctantly as I gasped for air. The world around me seemed to spin, but I clearly heard the name Elijah Jaeger.

Elijah Jaeger—the ruthless and cruel werewolf king responsible for turning us into slaves. Rumor had it he had yet to find his mate. He had searched all other districts, and ours was his last chance.

Unlike the other unpaired human females, I would rather die than become his mate. If the tests had shown I was his mate, I would grab the gun I had hidden in Ron's medical room and blow his head off.

Even if it meant my death.

Biting my lip, I raised my head and looked at Alice. My voice was hoarse yet determined as I screamed, “I will never accept a werewolf as my mate!” I gritted my teeth while adding, “Even if I am paired with one, I'll reject the bond!”

“YOU?.”when a smile automatically formed in my face.Jack punched me hard in the face again, and my vision immediately became blurred.

“I… will never… never…” I repeated before collapsing to the ground, everything fading into darkness. I… lost consciousness.