I received some questions that made me think some details may not be as clear as I would like them to be. In this story all the characters are wolves, there are no vampires. After the war all the vampires moved to Europe, Asia and Africa. They cannot come to America since that will be a breach on the new treaty and therefore, an act of war. All the names associated with the Twilight series that you will read here are wolves.

A big thank you for all the alerts, favorite and especially for all the reviews. Please feel free to contact me with any questions; I love to hear from you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 4

If anything good came out of Billy's visit to his master's room, it was that Jake never forgot to feed him from then on, not large amounts of food, just enough to keep him from getting sick. What didn't change was the frequency and intensity of his punishment. His master would find the smallest reason to punish him; sometimes he had no reason except the twisted need to hurt what he considered his property.

The sex was still brutal and vicious. Each time exploring and satisfying his master's deepest darkest desires. It was like Jacob had no compassion and humanity left in his cold heart. More than once Seth had wondered the reasons behind his master's cruelty. All he knew so far was that Jacob had horrible nightmares that left him shaken and tearful.

After two weeks under his new master, Seth could already read his intentions the minute he walked in the room. He could see the tension on his shoulders and the exhausted appearance of his otherwise young and handsome face. Seth pondered what could be troubling his master so much. Not that he cared much, after all, he was a monster, but his moods determined the brutality of his attacks and that directly affected the sub.

Seth was convinced there was something seriously wrong with himself; maybe he was as stupid as his master told him every chance he had, but he just couldn't bring himself to hate his dominant. His master inspired in him fear and pity. The sub knew he must be demented, how could he feel sorry for the one person in the world that subjected him to the most humiliating and painful experiences of his life. He had two other masters but not even the first one who almost killed him in several occasions had been so cruel. It was true what Mike said, Jacob Black was the thing nightmares were made of.

The wolves from the whole east coast comprised one pack that was able to communicate using different relay stations up and down the coast all the way to the boundary line with the territories of the west. Each satellite pack had an alpha who determined the hierarchy within his pack. As expected, there were no female alphas seeing that they were protected by their individual packs to the point of giving their lives to protect their females. From the moment a girl was born her father and every member of the pack he belonged to swore to protect and love her to the point of adoration. The alphas from each satellite pack respected Billy Black as their Aleph, the Alpha among Alphas. Billy delegated many responsibilities on his son who was an Alpha himself. Even with the obvious discomfort created by their similar status they had developed a somewhat troubled but trusting and respectful relationship.

The sub found very interesting his master's behavior with his pack brothers. The fact that surprised him the most was that it was not a big pack. He would expect the son of the Aleph to have a big powerful pack but that was far from the truth. Seth gathered from the weekly meetings that took place in his master's office that Paul was his beta; the others were Quil, Alec, Collin and Harry. Carlos was supposed to be part of the pack but didn't even bother to show up to the meetings, probably too busy torturing Mike. Seth heard the name Carlisle several times and gathered he was some type of doctor and at the same time Billy's counsel. Jacob trusted him with his life and held him in high regard.

When his master was surrounded by his pack he was just another kid. The cruel son of a bitch Seth was used to deal with completely disappeared, leaving in his place a friendly but guarded pup. Not even when he was having a good time with his friends would Jacob let his guard down, always managing to keep his authority and barely concealed arrogance. His pack responded appropriately, making jokes but always keeping a certain distance.

Of all the wolves, Jacob or Jake as they usually addressed him, got along the best with Paul and Quil. Seth still couldn't put his finger on what Quil was all about. He was definitely a strange individual; he could make cruel jokes, usually directed at the sub, like the best of them. But there was something odd about him, a deep seated sadness that he couldn't decipher. Alec had been the most vocal about his desire to have Seth under him, Jacob only responded by slapping him on the side of his head and calling him an idiot. Of course he followed this by warning each one of them to stay away from his sub. No matter how appetizing he smelled they were not to take him in any way.

Paul was the only one who never expressed anything but disgust directed at the sub. He had been granted the right to claim a female after saving Jacob's life during an ambush. He was able to woo Emily Young and together they had a beautiful daughter they named Sophia. After having his daughter he climbed on the ranks and had a beautiful home, white picket fence and all. As much as the mere presence of the sub bothered him, he never had any interest of even being near Seth. At least Seth knew there were at least three wolves that wouldn't touch him, Billy, Edward and Paul.

The sub's ears perked up the minute he realized somebody had referred to him in the conversation taking place in the office. "So Jake are you sure you want to do that to your sub?" Asked Alec warily.

"Of course I do, did you think I was joking?" Answered Jacob.

"I didn't, is just that…. never mind, when you want to do it? It's been two weeks we all underestimated him. Actually we had a pot going betting on how long he was going to last, nobody won, almost all our bets had him dying last week." Seth felt like somebody poured cold water on his head. He always knew he was worth less than the dirt under their shoes but betting on how soon his dominant would kill him was inhumane. He still had to wonder what it was that made the soldier so wary, what dark awful thing Jake had planned for him.

"I know, he is resilient, I have to give him that" Answered Seth's master. "Alec, get everything ready; I will bring him down myself." Seth wondered where Jacob was going to take him and what were they going to do to him. Dozens of different scenarios came to his mind; most of them included some type of torture. All of them had him suffering to some degree; he knew not to have any hope for anything good since that never happened.

Seth heard as the wolves vacated the room one after the other. He kept cleaning the room pretending he had not heard the exchange that took place just a few minutes earlier. His master's heavy boots echoed on the tile floor as he approached the sub who as soon as he came in the room assumed his usual submissive position.

"Dog, get on the bed, I'll give you the honor of being impaled by my cock." Jacob's tone was as malevolent as ever. Seth did as instructed and in matter of seconds felt the burning pain as his flesh was torn and blood trickled down his legs. His master's release came quick, he seemed hurried for some reason, but the sub wouldn't complain; the quicker it was over, the better.

"Hurry up and get cleaned up, we are going to do something really fun… for me." The sub limped toward the bathroom where he cleaned himself off the best he could. When he walked back in the room his master was already dressed and waiting for him.

"That took you long enough, let's go." He motioned for Seth to follow him through the maze of hallways and stairs. A very distinct stench reached Seth and he knew exactly where he was. The dungeons always smelled like blood, sweat and piss, a true assault on the senses.

They entered the same room where Seth had been taken when he first arrived, only it was unbearably hot. The wood stove was lit, the fire crackling as the logs burned. They had placed a chair near the stove with rope on the floor beside it. "Sub, take off your shirt." Ordered Jacob. Seth did as instructed placing it on the floor. The sub's body grew hotter as the seconds passed, his copper skin getting covered in a thin sheet of sweat with heavy droplets forming on his forehead.

Seth heard Alec gasp loudly at the site of his naked torso, the soldier didn't even try to hide the fact that the sub got him hot and bothered. "Don't get any ideas." Growled his master.

Jacob grabbed Seth roughly by the arm and sat him on the chair. Alec and Harry took the rope and tied his hands and legs to the chair. The rope felt bristly against his skin, so tight it was almost preventing blood flow. This was something completely new for the sub, he had no clue what could be going on in the mind of his master and his pack. "Tie him to the back of the chair as well, I don't want him trashing too much and ruining my masterpiece." Jake chuckled maliciously, while pacing in front of his sub.

"Where are you going to place it?" Asked a wolf Seth assumed was Harry since he didn't exactly recognize the voice.

"I'm not sure… the arm?" Jacob patted the sub's arm feeling the smooth surface of his skin with the pad of his fingers. The instant his fingers came in contact with Seth's skin he felt a surge of energy originating from the point of contact. He couldn't explain it, he had touched his sub many times, the only difference being that he was not hitting or fucking him. The sharp intake of air betrayed him as he acknowledged to himself the softness of the copper skin he was caressing. He glided his fingers over the sub's skin going up toward his shoulder and continuing over the collarbone. The sub's skin burned under the scrutiny of his master, he hated himself for experiencing a certain degree of pleasure under such a dire situation. An evil smirk appeared on Jake's face as his fingers reached Seth's chest, right over his left pec. "Right here." He said pointing to the left side of Seth's chest.

"Jake are you sure? That will hurt like a bitch." Harry's voice sounded slightly worried, Seth doubted it but that was what he gathered from his tone.

"And I should care because…?" Jacob's voice trailed on. Seth felt his blood turn to ice when Harry after retrieving something from the stove turned on his heels holding a red hot piece of metal. The bastards were going to brand him! No, this couldn't be happening. He had been able to avoid this ultimate humiliation until now. What in the name of everything good and decent did he ever do to deserve such cruel fate? Why did this monster feel the need to mark him in such a permanent way?

"Hurry up Harry I have important things to do." Important things? How dare him! Seth felt tears formed in his eyes, flowing freely down his cheeks and landing on the dirty floor. He was not only scared; he felt a huge indignation growing inside him. He willed himself to stop crying, he would not give them the pleasure of seeing his tears. Yes, he was tied to a chair, surrounded by cruel dominants and he was about to be branded just like cattle. But he was not an animal even if they thought he was, he was a man, strong, resilient and determined to show them that he was not entirely powerless. He had no control over what was going to happen, but at least he could control his reactions.

Seth didn't want to go through this; maybe if he made his master angry he would kill him before torturing him. He was giving up, willing to try anything to avoid this new horror. As anger brewed inside him he gathered all his strength to do something he had been programed never to do. "NO!" Screamed the sub to the top of his lungs, he was not pleading, there was nothing weak about it; it was an order. The three dominants in the room stopped in their tracks to stare at the insolent dog. They shook their heads disbelieving what they just heard. A slave dared scream at them. Like there was no tomorrow Jacob rushed toward the sub and backhanded him. Seth's head tilted sideways as he sprayed the floor with blood.

"How dare you scream at me you filthy mutt!?" Spat Jacob getting as close as he could to Seth's face. Feeling daring or maybe just scared into not caring anymore, Seth lifted his face and for the first time since arriving at the manor his eyes connected with those of his master.

Jacob faltered in his intentions for a few seconds. His sub was pleading with his eyes; those beautiful steely pools were filled with fear, his heart filled with sorrow. He could suddenly see and feel all the pain, anguish, sadness and despair that lived inside the soul of his submissive. It was overwhelming, like a cup overflowing with the bitter tears of one whose spirit has been crushed, giving it a mortal wound.

Why did he come to the decision that he needed to brand his sub? The little dog had been the poster child for what a perfect sub was. Jacob would never admit it to his father, but this dog, who he had not even cared to learn his name was the best he ever had. Still, he needed to punish him, the creature in front of him was weak and he was strong. Maybe this decision made him the weak one, he was not strong enough to forgo all the hate and do what he knew was right. But no, weakness had already caused the loss of many lives, even though he only really cared about the most important one. The sub needed to pay. As many times before, he felt disgusted with his actions and disappointed for behaving like a monster once more. His face contorted in pain and he had to turn his face to hide his confusion from his pack.

Harry and Alec exchanged quizzical looks and shrugged their shoulders while Jacob hovered over his sub visually troubled. "Jake, are we doing this or not? It's not like he could escape, you don't have to brand him." Harry secretly wished he wouldn't have to go through this, he had done many shameful things in his life but never something so cowardly, unnecessary and disgraceful. The soldier observed as Seth's face transformed into a painful picture of anguish and hurt that originated deep in his soul. Harry was debating a moral dilemma and looked lost, like a blind man in a cave. The little dog in front of him was burning into his conscience and his soul.

"Are you fucking telling me what to do? Don't question me! Get this over with, it has taken long enough." Bellowed Jacob turning his back towards Seth.

Seth's eyes widened in a panic when the soldier glided toward him standing in front of him holding the glowing piece of metal. Is one thing to call the devil, another to see him coming. Seth felt pure fear, he felt as his gut twisted in a painful manner and a cold shiver that worked itself from his feet up.

"You don't have to do this." Said Seth as calmly as he could under the circumstances. The apple in the soldier's thick neck bobbed as he swallowed loudly. He looked around, hesitating, wondering if he should forget about the whole thing and ask Jake to do his own dirty work or go ahead and follow orders blindly. Harry wouldn't dare to look at the sub's face; he knew that if he did he wouldn't be able to go through with it.

"What are you waiting for!? Do it now!" The order resonated in the whole room and beyond. The command so unavoidable that even if somebody chopped off the soldier's hands he would still find a way to obey.

As Harry closed the distance between the metal and the sub's skin. Seth realized his fate was sealed, there was no escape. He could already feel the heat emanating from the metal. The sub closed his eyes tightly and allowed a whimper to escape his lips for the first time. The three dominants in the room stood motionless. Something so small as the sub's whimper made all three of them hesitate.

Unfortunately the ghost of the alpha order floated in the air, laughing at the poor creature who would become its next victim. "Sorry kid" Whispered the soldier before pressing the red hot metal to Seth's skin and holding it in place while it burned layer after layer of skin. He knew it needed to be deep to leave a noticeable scar.

The instant Seth felt the hot metal touch his skin he let out a bloodcurdling scream. The sound tore through the walls even stronger than Jacob's latest command; it was filled with excruciating pain and despair. It was pure agony, a cruel punishment on an innocent man. He wished he would die from the shock, that death would claim him as its victim. But death never came, instead he was given a world of pain like he had never experienced before. The pain grew in intensity, surging not only on his chest but through his entire body. Seth's throat was hurting from all the screaming but he couldn't make himself stop. Pain was everything; it was all around him, an indescribable cruel entity that burned everything it touched. As the seconds ticked by he felt his senses dulling, leaving only the pain and the stench of burned flesh. It became unbearable, finally his body took pity on him and he blacked out.

Seth woke up in his master's room and for a split second he hoped that his ordeal was over. He looked around trying to figure out if he was on heaven or hell. Unfortunately he was in his own personal hell, his master's room. At least Jake was nowhere to be seen. Luckily, if that was a word he could use to refer to his situation, the chain was not attached to his collar and he could get up. The clock on the bedside table read eight twenty two, he wondered where his master was, that was until he remembered it was Wednesday and Jacob must be having dinner with his father. Seth stood up wobbly and stiff after having been lying down for so long. Based on the time, he figured that he was unconscious for over eight hours; he hoped it would've been a lot longer, like forever.

Walking to the bathroom he felt nauseous and lightheaded when he saw the condition of his skin. The spot where they had burned him was charred black and oozing fluid, the skin around it looked red and swollen. Even after so many hours it still looked raw which attested to the degree of damage done to his skin. He brought his hand to his chest but winced in pain, his skin sensitive to the touch. He was horrified to see the initials JB etched in his skin. For as long as he lived he would have to sport the initials of the biggest mother fucker he had ever had the displeasure to meet, and that was saying something considering all the awful people he had met throughout his life. From his own father, his grade school teacher, the council elders and all the repulsive men that took part in his initiation.

Holding on to the sink he wept bitterly cursing the moment he had been born, wishing he had been human and fell prey to the pandemic. Like many times before, Seth looked at his collar debating whether or not to take matters into his own hands. Why was he so stubborn and insisted on living? It was not worth it, he only knew pain and rejection. His only friend was probably dead and not even his family loved him. He was nothing, just a mangy dog everybody loved to kick. Again he ran out of luck seeing that as he was in the bathroom his master came in the room. Being alerted by the loud thump of his boots as he took them off and threw them on the floor, he washed his face and walked out still considering if he should just phase and get it over with.

"About time you woke up." Exclaimed Jacob from his place on the bed. "Damn I really outdid myself this time; that is one sweet mark on your chest!"

Seth winced internally knowing very well what would happen next, it involved his master's cock, his ass and a world of pain. Hesitantly he kneeled beside the bed waiting for instructions. His master's words took him by surprise. "You are in luck; I got to sow my wild oats with a cute servant from Sam's estate." At the mention of Sam's name Seth's ears perked up and his heart rate accelerated, secretly wishing he could find out anything about Embry.

"What's wrong with you? Your heart took off like a wild bull." Of course the sub couldn't answer since he was not given permission to speak and anyway his master didn't really care. "I got to see Sam's sub, cute little guy with a very sweet ass." Seth's heart constricted inside his chest at the image of his only friend being hurt by his sadistic master, but at least he was still alive. Embry was a fighter, just like him.

"You get the night off. Go to your spot so I can chain you; hurry up I haven't got all night!" Seth rushed to his spot by the wall being followed by his master. Jacob hooked the end of the chain to Seth's collar, turned on his heels and walked towards the bed without saying one more word to the sub.

The next morning followed the usual routine, this time Seth was not as lucky since his master demanded that he get in all fours the moment he opened his eyes. After Jacob had finished his monologue of so fucking tight and so good Seth hurried to the bathroom to clean himself up and be back in time to get some breakfast. Seth's heart fell when he realized his master had finished all his breakfast, that meant another missed meal and considering he didn't get lunch or dinner the day before, he was starving. The sub walked as imperceptibly as he could toward his usual spot, gleefully spotting that his bowl had a piece of toast on it. Upon closer inspection he was pleasantly surprised to find in addition to the toast some scrambled eggs and one sausage link. He quickly sat on the floor and basically inhaled his food.

As Seth was swallowing the last bite Quil came in the room, he didn't even hear him knock. Quil's expression was impassive even though the sub noticed how his demeanor changed when he saw Seth's chest which by then sported a reddened scar. It didn't escape him how his fists closed so tight his knuckles looked white.

"Quil I'm glad you are here, take Seth downstairs and keep watch at the door."

"Sure boss." Quil's voice carried so much disdain Seth wondered if his master didn't notice. "Come" Was his one word command.

The sub followed him walking two steps behind until he realized the direction in which they were going. He felt as his whole body came to the point of convulsing in fear. His heart took off in an unbridled race, the palms of his hands becoming sweaty as he closed his fists tightly. They were going to the dungeons, Seth was not willing to go through that hell again, if there was a time in his life he felt sure of something that was it. He stopped in his tracks making Quil turn to look at him.

"Don't be scared I'm just taking you downstairs to phase. I swear Seth, please believe me." Yeah right, the sub trusted Quil like a hole in the head, but something in the soldier's voice made the sub attempt to believe him. For some reason Quil seemed tortured and angry at the same time. Seth hoped that was not the case since in his experience that usually guaranteed a really bad time for him.

"By the way feel free to talk to me; you don't need to wait for my authorization." That was really surprising, first Edward now Quil. What was it with the wolves in this house? They all seemed so sketchy. "I couldn't believe it when Harry told me he had branded you. He is getting worse every day." Grumbled Quil under his breath. Seth remained quiet; if this was a trap to get him to talk crap about his master he would not give them the pleasure.

"I know you won't talk about him, I wouldn't either, just know that not everybody in this house agrees with the way he treats subs." They walked in silence until they reached the dungeons, standing in front of a different door from the day before, Quil turned to talk to Seth. "Michael is in there, you have one hour. I'll be out here, if you need anything just ask."

Quil ushered Seth inside the dungeon where a dark grey wolf was pacing from side to side in the limited space. He removed his pants, since he still couldn't wear shirts seeing that his burn was still very sensitive. Allowing all the anger and frustration to course through him, in a heartbeat he was transformed into the sandy wolf.

"What the fuck is that on your chest" Asked Michael without even saying hello.

"What do you think? My master branded me." Scoffed Seth

"Damn and I thought mine was bad. Well he is… these men are so cruel. Seth I don't know how much more of this I can take." Through their mind link Seth could sense the hopelessness and despair Mike was feeling. It mirrored his emotions perfectly. Life had been so unfair to them, they had been cursed and he wondered what sin was committed by his ancestors that granted them such harsh punishment.

"You are preaching to the choir; never before I contemplated killing myself as often as I have here." Answered Seth in the same downhearted tone.

"Me too but I'm too stubborn to give up. Maybe I'm just stupid." Mike was determined to survive this trial. He would not give the dominants the pleasure of seeing him die.

"How does this Carlos treat you? At least he is not Jacob."

"Are you kidding me? He may not be a Black but he is just as awful. The first week here it was not enough that he raped me like five times a day, he invited others to sample me." Seth could see image after image of all the men that had ventured into Carlos room just to abuse Mike and unconsciously thanked his lucky star he was not with him.

"Well at least Jacob does not share his subs." Whispered Seth to himself.

"I know, I heard Carlos talking to dumb and dumber, they mentioned that."

"Dumb and dumber? By any chance are their names Felix and James?" Seth remembered his first encounter with those assholes and the threat they presented.

"You know them too? Did they…." Mike not only felt miserable, he felt disgusted at all the atrocities he had gone through.

"They haven't, at least not yet, but I'm afraid that is in my future." Seth had no hope of escaping the claws of those two dim-witted dicks.

"Those two hurt me so bad I couldn't walk until the next day. At least Jacob doesn't let others touch you."

"He doesn't but that means squat seeing that he does pretty good job on his own. Black is a sick fuck."

"Have you heard anything about Embry?" Asked Mike.

Seth was worried for his only friend, he knew he was alive but craved his company like an addict craved a drug. In just the two days they traveled together they created a strong bond that could withstand the challenges of this forbidding life.

"Nope, just my master saying that he has a sweet ass. I can only imagine how he knows that. Mike I'm so tired, I've been living this nightmare far too long. I Even screamed at my master yesterday trying to get him to kill me. I'm too much of a chicken shit to do it myself."

"Seth don't give up even if it's only so Carlos won't share me with Black too."

"Don't worry Mike I'll hold on as long as my body allows."

Seth's sandy wolf plopped itself beside Michael's grey one, his head resting on his front paws. He nuzzled Mike slightly pressing his cheek against his. They sat there in silence not even daring to think. They had no control over their lives but of one thing they were certain. The nightmare will not last much longer.