Rhiannon's POV

Before I could even complete my words, they suddenly lunged forward.

I didn't even get the time to catch my breath and say the last words before Knox's voice rang out, issuing a command and almost immediately, dozens of guards rushed at me.

I widened my eyes, gasping as shackles came flying straight at me, my body reacting before I could even think properly.

But I was too slow.

Just as I tried to spin my heels, I felt something hit me against the upper part of my skull. It was not meant to kill me, but hard enough to make me fall to my knees and almost pass out.

I didn't even realise I had fallen when suddenly, they rushed at me once again, shackling my wrists with silver cuffs behind me. I writhed, biting down on my lower lips to stop myself from screaming….I didn't want to give them, especially Knox, the satisfaction of seeing me at my lowest.

“Make sure she doesn't break free” Knox ordered again, his voice booming above me.

As I twisted my wrists, the chains seemed to dig deeper into my skin, bruising me.

“The Alpha was threatened by her..” I heard one of the council members roar. “That's against the pack laws, Treason!”

“Tsk….cursed I tell yee, cursed!” Another sneered accusingly. “I told y'all, that mark on her chest is far from ordinary!”

“She's deadly!”

Their words should have made me scared, especially when they were all against me.

But, I wasn't, not even. The slightest.

I forced myself up, tilting my head upwards to stare at Knox through the strands of my damp hair. My mouth was already bloody from the beating I had received, my wrists bleeding and already filled with blisters from the chains I was shackled with, an intense amount of pain pulsing through my veins but still, I didn't show weakness, instead, I spat at his feet.

“Knox…..” I muttered under my breath, my voice barely above a whisper but I knew he could hear me clearly through the chaos. “I…I gave you everything….and yet, you chose to give me chains”

Knox's expression remained cold, he didn't even flinch for a brief moment and the worst part about his demeanor was his face…..cold, distant, carved of stones and no emotions. Be just stared down at me as though I was dirt beneath his boots, one he couldn't wait to get rid of.

“Drag her to the dungeon, now” he ordered, his tone dripping with venom, void of any form of emotions.

I didn't even get to go through a trail to defend myself, I was just sent straight to the dungeon.

No one dared stand up for me….not even the wolves I had trained beside, not even his mother who stared down at me with an unfathomable hate as though she knew I'd fall since the day I was born.

According to Knox’s orders, I was dragged through the broken stone ground of the pack, through the courtyard, then down the black maw which was beneath the packhouse, where the air smelled badly of rot and fresh blood.

Once, I had dreamed of being something great, something even more than just a Luna.

But as fate has it, I had ended up in chains.

Fuck fate.

******

Immediately I was dragged into the dungeon, the door shut tightly behind me.

I sighed softly, dragging my bruised body to the corner and laid on the stone floor, the cold air biting into my skin, causing me to shiver.

With each breath I took, the scent of blood and disgust filled my nostrils, making me want to puke. The silver cuff pulsed in the dark, it was reacting to my wolf, suppressing her and making her weak and unable to shift. But again, despite everything, I tried to shift, to at least try to reach out to my wolf but she was silent, like she couldn't bear being close to me now.

Through the slight crack of the marble wall, the moonlight seeped in, casting a warm shadow in the dungeon.

I tilted my head upwards, staring at the sky through the tiny crack, my heart clenching tightly.

“I’m…. I'm not weak….” I muttered to myself, my lips slightly moving. “I'm…. I'm not fucking weak….” I said again, my voice cracking as I shook my head.

But at this moment, even I found it hard to believe.

Now after I was humiliated in front of the pack, rejected by my mate and labelled a traitor, not when I'm shackled and imprisoned like a criminal. Not when the man I had given my entire life to, preparing to be his perfect Luna had stared me dead in the eye and condemned me to prison for speaking against him.

******

I don't know how long I've been locked up here, how long I was curled up on the ground with no food, water and not even the slightest bit of sunlight.

Hours….maybe even days, I couldn't tell.

There was literally no sun down here and the crack seemed to have sealed up by itself. The only company I had were rats which squealed, rushing up at me, trying to bite on my toes, and the quiet thumping of my heart.

******

But the quietness of the dungeon was broken when I heard it.

Rapid footsteps above the dungeon, voices ringing out throughout the pack house with alarm and a strong hint of panic.

I widened my eyes with curiosity as I pressed my ear against the wall, trying to listen.

“He's…. he's coming..” I heard someone say. “He's here…oh, goddess!”

"Rael Thorne has crossed the border!" someone shouted. Not because they were scared, but because they were in awe and dread. It was like saying his name had brought death itself. The Lycan King. Everyone knew the stories.

He was born during a bad eclipse, had stone-like skin and icy eyes, and his heart got weaker every time he showed mercy. He ruled the Crimson Province like a winter god.

Nobody dared to defy him, but nobody welcomed him either, because when Rael Thorne visited a pack, someone always ended up dead.

"Last time he came south, an Alpha bled for three days."

"He tore the heart out of the council, saying they disrespected him."

"He never leaves the mountains unless he smells death."

My fingers tightened in my lap. I didn't move or make a sound. I was too scared. Why was he here? Why now? What did it mean that the King of Wolves was showing up at Stormfang on the same night I was brought there?

******

The knock came hours later, just one loud clang against the bars. Then a voice, deep and icy, said, "Get up." I didn't move fast enough, so rough hands grabbed me and pulled me up, silver hurting my skin.

They pulled me through corridors I'd never seen before, up twisting stairs until I saw torchlight. Then they washed me in silence, not being gentle. I stood shivering, naked in a stone tub, while they poured cold water on me, scrubbed me hard until my skin hurt, and then put a thin silk robe on me.

Fancy clothes. I knew what they meant right away. Red and gold, with a bare strip down the middle. They were supposed to show respect, beauty, and obedience.

Not for prisoners like me, and not for wolves who'd just been marked as traitors. I saw my reflection for the first time in days. My face looked empty, my eyes like dark glass.

The silver mark on my chest was still glowing. The maid put makeup on my eyes anyway, like I was some pretty thing to show off to important people. And maybe that's what I was.

After they had dressed me up, I was dragged through the garden, already prepared for the coming of the dreaded Lycan king, lined with torches and from a distance, I could already hear the music at its peak, war drums crying out.

It was the Grand Ball; an occasion that was barely held in the werewolf province.

But, it was for him.

The entire pack had gathered, draped in colourful silk and fake, forced smiles dancing on their lips…but behind their pretentious façade, their teeths bared.

I scanned the hall and in the middle stood the man I had come to despise.

I scoffed, half laughing as he stood as though he was a golden god.

How fragile he looked..how fucking petty.

He didn't even glance at me as they dragged me into the hall, still bound in shackles, but his mother did.

“Let her be put to good use” I heard her mummur, her eyes filled with hate and disgust as she stared at me. “At least for once in her miserable life”

I scoffed again, trying to suppress the urge to break free and lunge at her.

Instead, I was yanked toward the center of the marble dais.

Almost immediately, the music changed. This time, slow, familiar and to me, almost insulting.

It was a ceremonial dance and I was to perform for the entire pack.

My body shuddered with a slight hint of fear.

Slowly, I took a deep breath and tilted my head upwards and immediately I saw him, my stomach churned, a dark feeling of dread washing over me.

He was here already. The almighty Rael Throne.

And he was seated on a high platform, his cloak dark as midnight itself, armor glowing faintly in the torchlight and his eyes…. goddess….dark, cold, deadly and the moment I moved, locked onto me.

And next to him stood a monster, even worse than I'd heard. It had black scales, was twice as big as a direwolf, with a dragon's jaws and a wolf's tail, and its eyes glowed like hot coals.

This was the wolf-dragon, and people said it only listened to him. I started to dance. At first, my body moved stiffly, like I was ashamed. The fancy clothes stuck to my skin, my bruises hurt, and the chains dug into me with every step. But then something inside me ignited….anger.

I was angry not just at Knox, but at all of them, the wolves who watched with smug smiles and his mother who nodded like I was putting on a good show.

I stood up straight and let my anger fuel me. I danced, but not to impress them. I danced to survive. Every move I made was like a fiery declaration, every step a refusal to give in.

I looked Rael Thorne straight in the eye and didn't bow. The crowd stopped breathing. Then Knox stepped forward, holding up a black ring.

"She stole this," he said loudly. "It belongs to the Crimson throne."

The crowd gasped, and his mother grabbed her chest.

It was a trick, and not a very good one. I knew what they were planning as soon as I saw the ring, it was made of dark stone with a rim of frost. They wanted to break me, and they wanted him to kill me.

Rael didn't say anything, he just raised his hand and pointed. "Bring her here." The silence was broken, and it was loud like thunder.

I was pulled in front of him, my knees scraping against the marble floor. My lip was bleeding, and my hair was messy. The air was thick with fear.

The wolf-dragon moved closer, its growl shaking my body. It opened its mouth, but I didn't react. I didn't cry or scream.

"I didn't steal anything," I whispered, my voice barely heard. The beast stopped, snarled, then whined and stepped back. Everyone saw it, and gasps filled the air.

Knox stumbled forward, looking desperate. "She's yours to do what you want with! She disrespected the Crimson throne and threatened an Alpha, she's worthless!"

Rael Thorne stood up and walked down the stairs with a powerful stride, like he owned the world.

The marble floor was quiet. He stopped in front of me, raised his hand, and put one finger under my chin.

He lifted my face up, and our eyes met. The whole world seemed to freeze.

"Mate," he said softly but coldly, like it was a fact.

The gasps turned to screams, and chaos broke out.

I couldn't breathe.