The Original Choice

Elira

Two full days in this cell, and my body is completely breaking. No food, no water, just the harsh, cold stone floor and the iron chains cutting deeply into my wrists.

I lie tightly curled, staring fixedly at the small window where the mocking moonlight spills through.

My wolf is barely a whisper, fully drained by the mate bond's relentless pull, by Kael’s brutal rejection. Is he actively planning my death, or has he entirely forgotten I exist? I do not know which fate is worse.

The heavy cell door screeches violently open, the sound like a sharp blade slicing the silence. I do not look up at the noise. No one ever approaches me with kindness—not a cursed slave like me.

“Get up, you filthy dog,” Liora’s voice snaps, sharp as a whip's crack. I lift my heavy head, and there she stands, a crown glinting upon her hair. Luna already? My stomach violently twists at the repulsive thought.

I drag myself painfully to a sitting position, my weak limbs heavy, my head dangerously spinning. “What do you want here, Liora?” I rasp out, my voice cracked and rough from severe thirst.

She steps closer, her silk gown rustling like dry leaves, and grabs a fistful of my hair, yanking my head brutally back. “Look at your state,” she sneers. “Chained exactly like the animal you are. How does it truly feel, Elira? To be utterly nothing?”

I jerk my face away from her painful grip, pain flaring sharply in my scalp. “You have already taken absolutely everything,” I say, my voice low and dangerous. “Why are you truly here? Just to gloat over my misery?”

Her laugh is pure, cold malice, slicing right through the cell’s silence. “Gloat? Oh, I am only just getting started. You think you can sit here, playing the pathetic victim? You are a fool if you think you will outlast me.”

I laugh, a weak, bitter sound that actually makes her flinch slightly. “You are scared, are you not?” I say, opening my eyes to meet her furious gaze.

“You and your mother murdered my father and the king. You took my place. You stole my life. But the absolute truth will eventually come out, Liora. It always does in the end.”

Her grip tightens painfully, her nails digging into my scalp. “You are truly delusional,” she snaps back. “Talking this dangerous nonsense to save your completely worthless hide. No one will ever believe a cursed slave.”

I lean forward as much as my chains allow, the iron clinking loudly, my voice dropping to a harsh whisper. “I know that you and Veyra killed my father,” I say. “And I know you killed the king. You cannot hide the truth forever.”

Liora’s eyes flash quickly, a tiny flicker of fear before her arrogant sneer instantly returns. “You have no proof,” she says, dismissing me. “Just the desperate ravings of a moon-marked killer. Keep talking, Elira. It won’t change one single thing.”

“You are absolutely wrong,” I say, a faint, defiant smile tugging at my lips. “One single truth can burn all your carefully crafted lies to ash.

What happens the moment Kael learns I was the one he was genuinely meant to marry? When he was a young boy, my father and his made a binding deal—it was me, not you. You successfully stole my entire life, Liora.”

She yanks my head back violently, her face mere inches from mine. “You genuinely think Kael will actually care?” she whispers, her voice filled with pure venom. “You are a curse. A blight. He will never, ever choose a creature like you over me.”

“Then why are you so truly afraid?” I shoot back, my voice gaining strength despite my terrible weakness. “If I am truly nothing to him, why are you actually here, personally threatening me?”

Her smile is chillingly cruel, her eyes glinting with malicious intent. “Because in precisely three days, you will be permanently gone,” she says, her voice dripping with absolute mockery.

“Somewhere no one will ever manage to find you. No one will ever hear your pathetic lies again.”

My heart stumbles violently, fear clawing at my chest. “Gone where?” I demand, leaning forward as far as the heavy chains allow. “What exactly are you planning now, Liora?”

She laughs, releasing my hair and taking a slow step backward. “Oh, you will absolutely find out on your own,” she says, her tone dismissive. “A slave like you does not deserve to know any more information.”

“Tell me!” I shout, my voice echoing desperately off the cold stone. “What are you and Veyra planning now? Where exactly are you sending me?”

She tilts her head slightly, her crown catching the painful moonlight. “Keep begging me,” she says. “It is quite amusing. But it will not change your certain fate. You are nothing, Elira. You never truly were anything.”

“You are wrong,” I say, my voice now shaking with pure, unadulterated anger. “I was truly my father’s daughter.

I was meant to become Luna. You successfully stole that, but you can never steal the final truth. Kael will eventually see it one day.”

Liora’s final laugh is sharp and utterly cutting. “Kael? He deeply despises you,” she says with certainty. “He feels the mate bond, yes, but he will never choose to accept it. You are simply a curse, and he knows that fact.”

“Then why has he still not rejected me?” I snap back, my wolf stirring faintly, feeding off my final defiance. “If I am truly so worthless to him, why does he choose to keep me alive and breathing?”

Her cruel smile falters, just for a brief, critical moment, before she quickly recovers her composure.

“Because he is fundamentally weak,” she says. “But do not worry yourself. I will personally make absolutely sure he completely forgets you. In three days, you will be nothing but a faint, old memory.”

“What does that truly mean?” I demand, my heart now racing uncontrollably. “Where are you finally sending me, Liora? Tell me right now!”

She turns toward the door, deliberately ignoring my frantic pleas. “Guards!” she calls out, her voice sharp and commanding. “Get this pathetic slave out of here. She is not resting—she is going to work. No breaks, no mercy for a killer.”

The guards instantly step in, their faces hard as solid stone. “Move, cursed one,” one growls, a tall man with a scar across his jawline. “You heard the Luna’s direct command.”

“Luna?” I say, my voice filled with bitter contempt. “She is not Luna yet. And she truly never will be, not authentically.”

The guard snarls fiercely, grabbing my heavy chains and yanking me violently to my feet. “Shut your mouth permanently,” he says. “You are incredibly lucky we do not gut you right here and now.”

“Liora, you cannot do this awful thing!” I shout as the other guard violently grabs my arm, his claws digging deeply into my skin. “You won’t get away with this final act! The truth will absolutely come out!”

She glances back one last time, her smirk cold and dismissive. “Keep dreaming, Elira,” she says. “No one’s coming for you. Not Kael, not anyone who matters.”

I struggle weakly against the guards, my legs giving out, my vision blurring completely. “One day, you will surely pay for your ultimate sin,” I say, my voice raw, defiant, as they drag my broken body from the cold cell.