"Lock her up!"
"No!" Althea's voice cracked. Her legs buckled as two bulky guards dragged her down the hallway. "Please… don't do this!"
Her hands scraped against the stone floor, nails breaking as she fought to hold on to anything. But she was too weak. Too small. They yanked her like she weighed nothing.
"Luna Meena! Please, I beg you!" Althea cried out toward the woman standing behind the guards. "Don't leave me down there! I'll do anything. I'll stay out of your way. Just don't lock me in that place!"
But Luna Meena didn't flinch. Her face was stone. She turned away. The heavy dungeon door slammed shut behind Althea.
She collapsed to the floor, biting her lip hard as tears streamed down her face. She crawled into a corner, pulled her knees to her chest, and whispered to herself through trembling lips, "Everything will be alright, Althea."
But even she didn't believe it.
It wasn't the first time she had been locked in the dungeon. But this time… it felt different.
This time, her father had committed treason against the crown. While the rest of her family fled for their lives, she had been left behind.
Locked away. Alone. As if she weren't one of them. As if they had already decided she was as good as dead.
She didn't know how long she'd been in that cell. Minutes? Hours? Days?
The cold seeped into her bones. Her stomach twisted, empty and cramping. The floor was damp. Rats scurried nearby.. Somewhere, a man coughed… long, wet, and dying. Her thin dress offered no warmth at all.
The silence that followed was worse.
"I don't want to die…" she whispered.
Her breath came in short, panicked gasps. She tried to stay calm, but her body shook, and the tears wouldn't stop.
Then…
A loud creak echoed through the dungeon as the door opened.
Althea flinched. She didn't look up at first. But when she did, two royal guards towered over her, faces blank, eyes cold.
One grabbed her by the arm.
"W-Where are you taking me?!" she cried.
They didn't answer. But the golden werewolf crest on their chests said enough.
The South had fallen. Her father's pack was gone. Her home… taken. Her father… a traitor. And now… She was being taken to die.
But when they dragged her into the grand hall, what she saw made her blood run cold.
Everyone was there. Her family. Her father's mistresses. Her siblings. Even the servants.
All on their knees. Heads bowed.
Waiting.
Then… a scream. THUD.
Her half-brother's body crashed beside her, a pool of blood spreading like ink across the marble floor. Althea choked back a scream.
A familiar man stepped forward, face blank, blade dripping. He wiped the sword on her brother's sleeve without a second glance.
"Anyone else care to beg for mercy?" he asked, calm as if talking about the weather.
No one moved. No one breathed. Then his gaze landed on her. He wasn't just a guard. His silver-trimmed armor and the force of his presence made that clear. He was, in no doubt, one of the Alpha King's most trusted warriors. Gamma Simon.
"That one's human," he said, eyeing Althea. "No need for silver." A guard reached to shackle her anyway.
"Move, traitor-blood," the guard snapped, shoving her forward.
Althea stumbled. Her eyes lifted, just for a second, and met the guard's gaze.
His sick thought hit her like a slap. 'She's the most beautiful of Alpha Cain's daughters. Killing her would be a waste… I will love to make her mine. I wonder how she tastes when I-'
She quickly looked away, her stomach twisting.
She hated this curse… this ability to hear people's thoughts through eye contact. It had saved her life more than once. But some truths were too disgusting to bear.
"You know the law," Gamma Simon said coldly. "Alpha Cain committed treason. His bloodline must pay."
He looked around at the kneeling pack members inside the hall.
"If the rest of the pack bends the knee, they might be spared. But the traitor's family…" he let the silence drag, "…their fate belongs to the Alpha King."
Everyone knew what that meant. The Alpha King was ruthless.
Just then…
"The Alpha King approaches."
Silence fell like a hammer. Althea's head snapped up. And there he was. Gavriel Kingsley. The Alpha King.
He stepped into the hall like a storm wrapped in skin. Tall. Broad. Sharp eyes that didn't miss a thing. He didn't speak. He didn't need to. Everyone felt his power the moment he entered.
Althea's breath caught. Her eyes met his, just for a moment-
Nothing. She heard nothing.
Her gift, the one that always worked, failed.
'Why can't I read him?' she thought, heart pounding. She quickly looked down.
"They are all here, Alpha King," Gamma Simon reported. "Except for Alpha Cain, his son Rett, and his Beta Lucio."
Still, Gavriel said nothing. He walked slowly, cold eyes scanning each face. Each trembling child. Each sobbing woman. Then he stopped in front of Luna Meena.
The woman quickly bowed her head, hitting the floor.
"Please, Alpha King!" Luna Meena cried. "We didn't know anything about Alpha Cain's betrayal. Please, have mercy! We'll do anything! Spare us!"
Silence.
Then his voice, deep and cold: "Will you die to save them?"
Gasps. Stillness. Luna Meena's face went pale.
"The punishment for treason is death to the traitor's bloodline," Gavriel said. "But I will grant mercy. If one of you takes responsibility."
He stared at Luna Meena. "One life for the rest. Yours."
Luna Meena hesitated. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Althea didn't need to hear her thoughts to know what she was thinking. But she did anyway.
'Why should I die? I'm the Luna. Noble. Important. That weak girl should be the one. Let her die!'
Then the words left Luna Meena's mouth, sharp and full of venom.
"Take her!" she screamed, pointing at Althea. "Take her life instead! She was Cain's favorite! The reason he lost his mind! Kill her and end this!"
******
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