It’s been five days since I was trapped in this evil dungeon, swinging from chains and soaked in freezing water, stripped of my dignity. It feels like I’ve been forgotten—no food, no water, no one came. Why did Kade do this to me? Why? Is this really my Kade? Or is this all a dream?

I opened my mouth to scream for help, even though it never worked before, but no sound came out. Just then, the guards entered. They finally unshackled me, and my body felt like it no longer belonged to me. My skin was bruised, cut, and so cold I couldn’t even feel it anymore. I tried to stand, but my legs felt like melted butter, so one of the guards dragged me along.

They threw a threadbare cloak over my trembling frame and shoved me into a waiting van. Without a single word—just one cruel nod—they delivered me to my foster mother’s doorstep.

“Zoe… Goddess!” Her voice cracked like a tree splitting. “My baby!”

She ran to me, arms shaking, tears pouring as she cradled me. I wanted to speak, but my throat burned, and even my eyes seemed too tired to produce more tears.

If only my wolf hadn’t died… none of this would have happened. Kade wouldn’t have used me. He wouldn’t have treated me like some tool to ease his loneliness. I wouldn’t have been deceived by my inability to feel a bond.

He lied to me. He used me.

Why, Kade? Why?

My heart shattered as Mama’s gentle hands tried to clean the blood near my temple. She gasped at every bruise and touched each one as though it hurt her more than it hurt me. Every touch stung—but the real pain wasn’t in my skin. It was in my soul.

And then the memories came flooding in.

---

Flashback

I was seven—small, full of curiosity, energy, and life. I ran barefoot across the pack fields. The summer sun cast a golden glow over the long grass, little birds sang, and the leaves danced to their tune. It was a perfect day.

That was when I saw him.

Little Prince Kade.

He wore a green tunic and brown boots, a crown of wildflowers resting on his messy hair. He laughed to himself, chasing butterflies near the woods.

I smiled, drawn to his energy.

“Hi,” I said boldly.

He turned, looking at me like I was something magical.

“Want to play with me?” he asked.

I nodded without thinking.

We dashed into the forest together, chasing and catching butterflies. Our giggles echoed as leaves tickled our skin and tree branches tried to catch us. Deeper and deeper we went, our tiny feet kicking up soil and stories. We found mushrooms shaped like stars, climbed rocks, and even named a rabbit Knight of Snacks.

We got carried away. Too carried away.

The sun began to set, and shadows crept in.

“Kade… where’s the way back?” I whispered, clutching his sleeve.

He frowned, eyes wide. “I don’t know.”

Fear swallowed us whole.

Just as we turned to run back, a crackling, low sound sliced through the silence. A rogue emerged—tall, ugly, with two large, glowing eyes. His hands dripped with a black goo that shimmered like oil but pulsed like a heartbeat.

Necronite.

I had only heard stories—a supernatural poison designed to kill wolves permanently.

The rogue sneered.

“Hahaha. Finally you’re here. After all your parents’ measures, after all their security… we still managed to trick you, Kade.”

Kade froze. But I didn’t. I had been trained to be strong.

I jumped between them.

“No! You can’t hurt my friend, you big bad man!” I shouted.

“Awwn. Let’s see about that, little knightess in shining armor.”

He chuckled and hurled the Necronite-soaked blade straight at Kade. I pushed him away, but I was too slow.

The blade struck me.

Pain exploded through my veins. I went cold, then burning hot, as though my body were on a volcano. Then—darkness.

When I woke days later in the pack hospital, my parents were beside me, their faces lined with worry. The doctor hovered nearby. I looked down and saw my arms bandaged.

Then I heard it.

“She… she lost her wolf,” a nurse whispered. “It didn’t survive the poison.”

My wolf… dead?

Wolves were our strength, our other half. And mine was gone before she ever spoke to me.

A scream tore from my throat, so loud the walls seemed to crack.

I felt empty. Hollow.

But then Kade burst in. He sat beside me, clutching my hand.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. When I told him about my wolf, he promised, “I’ll protect you always. I swear it.”

And he did.

He never let go. Even though he was royal and I was just a commoner, he stayed by my side. Through nightmares, through tears, through cruel taunts at school—he was there.

Years passed. We grew up. Best friends. Inseparable. Closer than twins.

And just one year ago, Kade asked me to be his girlfriend. He told me I was still everything to him, that he could feel the bond even if I couldn’t.

“You’ll be my Luna one day,” he said under a silver moon, his lips brushing mine. “I’ll make it happen.”

And I believed him.

I gave him my heart. My trust. Everything.

---

†End of Flashback†

Now I curled up on my foster mother’s couch, wrapped in a blanket, sobbing like that child in the hospital.

She fed me soup slowly with trembling hands.

“He isn’t supposed to turn out like this,” she whispered, her eyes distant. “Kade used to be kind…”

I nodded, tears dripping into the bowl. The soup wouldn’t even go down my throat anymore.

She rubbed herbs into my cuts, chanting softly, but nothing could heal what he broke inside me.

“He left me,” I choked. “He gave me away… like trash. I can’t believe…”

She hushed me, holding me tighter.

I looked up at the ceiling, praying for my wolf to return. If only she were here, I would be strong. I would be whole.

But instead, I am just Zoe—the girl who protected the prince… and was punished for it.

My eyes burned, but I didn’t care. I cried until no sound was left, until sleep finally took me—drowning me in memories of forests, laughter, and promises that were never kept