Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 168: Training For Freedom

Life inside the pit seemed disturbingly well-established—a testament to the countless cycles of life and death that had already played out within its walls.

Though all the prisoners were children below a certain age, they had developed a rigid hierarchy, with the older ones assuming roles as their leaders.

Each child had been assigned a specific "job" based on their abilities and skills, ensuring the delicate system they had created could function smoothly. It was a grimly efficient routine designed to occupy their time and maintain order in the oppressive confines of the prison.

"We have a few alphas here," Laesh said, helping Rhaegar sit up and offering him a small cup of water. It had been two days since he woke up in the pit, but still needed help to move around. "But they’re still unshifted, so their rivalry hasn’t kicked in yet. They won’t let us shift, you know."

Rhaegar drained the cup in one swift gulp, the cool water barely enough to soothe his parched throat. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he furrowed his brows slightly.

"Why not?" he asked cautiously.

"So we don’t get too strong or aggressive," Laesh replied, his tone tinged with a quiet sadness. "Whether they make us gladiators or..."—his voice faltered briefly before he pushed through—"sex slaves, the most important thing for them, before we shift, is to suppress our greed for freedom. They need us to be hopeless and obedient. You know what happens once a beast shifts."

Laesh offered Rhaegar a knowing smile, one that carried a mix of pain and reluctant acceptance. Rhaegar hesitated but managed to mirror the expression, though his heart twisted.

In truth, Rhaegar didn’t fully understand what his new friend was talking about. He had spent his entire life on the run, always in hiding, and the only person by his side during that time was Cara. She had refused to shift, knowing that doing so would release enough pheromones to attract his father’s scouts.

But the most significant complication lay within his own body. Upon his birth, his late mother had sealed away his beastly powers, making it impossible for him to shift, even when the time inevitably came. His hand absently moved to the back of his head, his fingers tracing the faint shape of the seal beneath his thick, curly hair.

I wonder what will happen to me once they find out I can’t...

Rhaegar forced himself to look at Laesh again, masking his unease behind a strained facade of confidence. "How exactly do they stop you from shifting?"

"They make potions," Laesh replied, shrugging his bony shoulders as though discussing something completely ordinary. "Then they inject us with them. It slows down our physical development somehow. Tayiid tried explaining it to me once, but I guess I’m too dumb to really get it. Something about certain herbs that can mess with our system... or something like that."

"But what’s the point?" Rhaegar pressed, his voice taut with frustration. "If they want you to be gladiators, wouldn’t it make more sense for you to shift as early as possible?"

He wasn’t sure why this struck such a nerve with him. After all, he couldn’t shift even if he wanted to. But the irrationality of it gnawed at him, as if he could feel the injustice pressing down on every child here.

Laesh shrugged again, his casual demeanor a stark contrast to Rhaegar’s rising agitation.

"We get stronger this way—at least that’s what Tayiid says. After being denied the shift for so long, once our bodies finally transform, the power we’ve been suppressing is unleashed all at once, faster and with greater intensity. Same goes for our... sex drive. Shifting means our bodies are ready to mate."

Rhaegar couldn’t help but let out a weary sigh. The more he listened to Laesh’s explanations, the more bizarre and complicated everything sounded.

Perhaps it was his own ignorance—after all, he had spent nine years knowing only what Cara had managed to teach him. Or maybe she simply hadn’t known much herself.

Then again, it was entirely possible that Cara had deliberately shielded him from anything related to the beasts. For my own good, he concluded silently.

"What makes someone... a sex slave?" Rhaegar asked hesitantly, his voice low. He noticed Laesh’s expression change slightly, a faint redness coloring his cheeks.

"You have to be... pretty," Laesh replied carefully, and Rhaegar caught the flicker of pity in his golden eyes. "Pretty, but strong. They say that’s what humans want. Most of the sex slaves are girls, though. It’s rare to catch one, but when they do..." He trailed off, his lips tightening for a moment before continuing. "It seems they prefer gladiator slaves the most. The traders are always hunting for the stronger rogues."

Something clicked in Rhaegar’s mind at Laesh’s words, and he realized something he hadn’t noticed before—there were no female slaves in the pit. His curiosity sharpened, and he leaned forward slightly.

"Where do they keep the girls?"

"They treat them a lot nicer," Laesh said, a faintly melancholic smile tugging at his lips. "But I wouldn’t say that what awaits them out there is better than what we’ll have to face. They start being called for once they turn thirteen... At least, that’s what I’ve heard from my pack."

Rhaegar felt his heart sink at Laesh’s words. He wasn’t completely ignorant when it came to such matters. Cara, though sparing him the grim details, had explained what mating was—and what kind of fate sex slaves were forced to endure.

Hearing that the girls were subjected to such horrors made his blood run cold.

Leaning back against the rough, icy surface of the stone wall behind him, Rhaegar let out a weary exhale. His body was beginning to heal, but the lack of food and clean water made recovery slow and grueling.

Determined to get some rest, he turned his head to the side. His gaze landed on a small group of boys around his age, climbing a thick rope tied to the uppermost level of the carved-out cells. Arching a brow, he tapped Laesh on the shoulder and nodded toward them.

"What are they doing? I thought we’re not allowed to train until we’re ready to shift."

Laesh watched the boys for a moment, silent, before turning back to Rhaegar with a sly grin.

"They’re not training for slavery," he said, his golden eyes gleaming with quiet defiance. "They’re training for freedom."