Chapter 4 Torture

Daphne's POV

Slap! Slap!

Two resounding slaps rang in my ears, jolting me awake. My eyes shot open in shock, landing on the guards standing in my room. How did they get in?

Before I could ask what was happening, rough hands grabbed me, yanking me from the bed,

"Where are you taking me? What did I do?" I kept yelling in pain as they pulled me without allowing me to walk on my own. This already gathered an audience because I saw the servants pause their work as they watched me getting dragged. They didn't just stand to watch, they followed us until I was thrown to the cold ground.

I didn't need to look up to know whose feet I was kneeling before. The pink, high-heeled shoes told me everything. Luna Cynthia. Her shoes were always the classiest.

"Rise," she commanded.

I scrambled to my feet, my knees wobbling.

"We both had an agreement yesterday, didn't we?" She asked and I suddenly fell back on my knees.

"My Luna, it was-"

"Answer my damn question!" she snapped.

"Yes. Yes, my Luna"

"And yet, you still had the audacity to disobey me."

"No, my Luna! It was the Alpha who-"

Smack!

Her hand struck my face before I could finish. Her sharp nails tore across my cheek, sending a searing sting through my skin. My eyes welled with tears as I felt the warm trickle of blood.

"Beat her until she can no longer move."

Terror seized me. "No! No, My Luna, I didn't do-"

A heavy boot smashed against my ribs, cutting off my words.

"I didn't do anything!" I sobbed, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.

They didn't just beat me. They delivered kicks, punches, and relentless blows down on me like I was a traitor, an outcast.

The servants watched, unmoving. Not one of them intervened. Not one of them could.

By the time they were done, I lay crumpled on the ground, my body throbbing with indescribable pain. Every breath I took felt like knives slicing through my ribs. My vision blurred, the world around me tilting. As the guards walked away, I remained there in the pool of my own blood.

"Help..." I whispered, barely able to move, my voice cracked.

No one made a move. No one dared to help.

Darkness crept in, and I slowly embraced it.

When I woke, my body was heavy, my limbs refusing to obey me. The sterile scent of antiseptic filled my nostrils, I didn't have to look, I knew I was in the pack hospital.

"Shit..." I cussed as I raised my hand and tried to massage my head. I hissed in pain and finally dropped my hand. My face and hands were covered with bondages. I sighed as I recalled what happened that landed me here

A soft shuffle of footsteps pulled my attention toward the door. The doctor entered, her expression unreadable.

"You're awake."

"I am." My voice trembled.

"How do you feel?" she asked gently.

"Weak."

She carefully lifted my hands, removing the bandages. "Your wolf must be weak too. You aren't healing as fast as you should, which is why I had to wrap you up." She smiled faintly. "But you're strong, Daphne."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Strong? I was nothing but a battered omega.

She continued working in silence, peeling off the last of the bandages. The pain was gone. The wounds had healed. Physically, at least.

"That's better," she said. Then, after a pause, she added, "I have news."

I barely had the strength to care. The only thing I wanted was to ask if she could help me escape. If she could hide me in the hospital until I found a way out of this hell.

But her next words erased every thought from my mind.

"You're one month pregnant."

Everything inside me froze. The words echoed in my skull, over and over.

Pregnant.

Me? A barren omega? Carrying his child?

I struggled to process it as my hand trembled as I reached for my stomach. Alpha Kian's heir...

"Doctor," I breathed, my voice barely audible, "what did you say?"

"You're pregnant, Daphne. One month gone."

A strangled sound tore from my throat-half gasp, half laugh. I was pregnant. Tears welled in my eyes. I had thought I was worthless, unwanted, but... but this changed everything.

The doctor continued speaking, explaining things I barely registered. My mind was spinning. Excitement and fear tangled inside me, an intoxicating mixture of emotions. Would he be happy? Would he accept me?

Of course he would. Alpha Kian would be overjoyed. He had to be.

The doctor placed another IV in my arm, and soon exhaustion overtook me. As I drifted to sleep, only one thought remained.

I have to tell him.

The next morning, excitement bubbled in my chest as I made my way to his wing of the mansion. My steps were quick, my heart pounding; not with fear, but with anticipation.

I barely noticed the absence of guards by his room door and worse, I didn't even think to knock.

"Alpha Kian, I have news-"

The words died in my throat.

My world shattered.

There, tangled in the silk sheets of his bed, was Luna Cynthia.

Beneath him. With him.

Their bodies pressed together in a way that left no doubt. Their heated breaths filled the air.

My breath caught. The room blurred.

They turned to me, their gazes sharp, filled not with surprise, but hatred.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!"

I opened my mouth, but no words came. I couldn't speak or think.

Tears burned my eyes. My hands trembled. Why did it hurt so much?

I knew. I knew.

He was the Alpha. He was bound to sleep with his Luna. Why was I so stupid to think it would be any different?

I turned and ran.

Blindly.

Desperately.

My chest burned with every gasping sob. My vision blurred, but I didn't stop.

I couldn't stop.

Until I slammed into a guard.

"I'm sorry," I choked out, trying to push past him.

But he didn't let go.

"Please... please, let me go..." I begged, but his grip tightened.

Terror flooded me. He wasn't just stopping me-he was dragging me back.

Back to them.

The door swung open again, and I was shoved inside.

I barely had time to process before a vicious slap cracked across my face.

Pain. Sharp. Instant.

The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Alpha Kian's voice was like ice.

"Lock her up in the dungeon. No food. No water. Five days."

I gasped as I looked at him. "No, Alpha Kian, I didn't mean to! Please, I didn't mean to!" My voice cracked as the guards tightened their grip on me.

Luna Cynthia's angry gaze remained on me, but I didn't have a choice, I had to beg, "Please, please, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry!"

"Get her out of my sight!" The Luna yelled and I tried to pull away with all my strength.

"Alpha Kian, I came with some information. I just wanted-"

"Out!" she barked, her face filled with disgust.

The guards dragged me away like a ragdoll, my heels scraping against the polished floor. No one came to my aid. My cries were swallowed by the silence of the grand hall. Then, a voice cut through the air.

"What's with the noise?"

We had reached the living room when I saw Queen Luna standing at the bottom of the staircase, her sharp eyes assessing the scene.

"She wronged the Alpha and the Luna so we were asked to throw her in the dungeon," one of the guards explained to the queen Luna before I could.

"My queen, it was a mistake"

"Shut up." Her voice was smooth, dangerous. She stepped forward, eyes burning with disdain. "You've been nothing but a disgrace since the moment you stepped foot into this mansion. Everywhere you go, trouble follows. And now?" She scoffed. "Now, Cynthia has finally decided to put you in your place."

I trembled as she leaned in closer.

"I heard you spent some time in the hospital," she whispered. "Now it's the dungeon. Look at your pathetic life. You, your wretched father, and that whore of a mother-you're all filth." She straightened, her expression unreadable. "Take her away. And make sure she's whipped."

My stomach dropped.

"Please," I whispered, my hands trembling. "No, no, no, please!"

But my pleading fell on deaf ears. The guards yanked me down into the suffocating darkness of the dungeon. The heavy door slammed shut behind me. I crawled to the iron bars, gripping them with shaking hands. "Please, I can't stay here!"

The guards ignored me until one of them turned back, a coiled whip in his hand.

"No, no, no," I gasped, backing away. My body collided with the damp stone wall.

"The audacity to challenge the new Luna," he sneered. "Do you feel no shame?"

I barely had time to react before two other guards stormed in, grabbing my arms.

"Hold her down."

"Wait-!" My words were cut off as my body hit the cold floor. One guard pinned my arms, another restrained my legs. I thrashed, panic clawing at my chest.

Then, the first lash struck.

I screamed.

The whip tore through my dress, my body trembled and burned. I jerked violently, my skin scraping against the rough ground. Blood trickled down my spine.

"Please-!"

Another strike.

Then another.

The pain blurred into something unbearable. My screams faded into hoarse gasps. I lost count of how many times they hit me. I only knew that when the last lash fell, I could no longer move.

I lay motionless, my cheek pressed against the cold stone, my breathing shallow.

Darkness consumed me.

I didn't know how long I lay there, or how many days had passed but I felt the cold liquid slash on me.

I flinched, my body too weak to jerk away.

"Get up, you slut. You have a visitor."

A visitor?

My head lolled to the side, my vision blurred, but when I focused on the figure outside the cell, my breath hitched.

"Roxanne?" My voice was barely a whisper.

"Daphne..." Roxanne gasped with her hand covering her mouth, she shook her head in shock. I crawled toward her, my hands shaking as I gripped hers.

"How did it come to this?" she choked out.

A guard's voice cut through our moment. "Three minutes."

I didn't have time to explain everything. I swallowed down my pain and said the only thing that mattered.

"Help me, Roxanne."

"How?" Her hands tightened around mine.

"I can't stay here," I struggled to swallowed, "I haven't had food or water for days. I'm pregnant, Roxanne."

"What?!" Roxanne asked with wide eyes and agape mouth, "You're what?!"

"A month gone," I whispered. "I can't let my baby die in here. Please, tell the Alpha. Beg him. I never meant to interrupt him.... I was just so excited to tell him he was going to be a father." My voice broke. "Please, Roxanne, he has to let me out."

She swallowed hard, "I will. I'll do everything I can. I promise."

I nodded weakly. "And don't tell the Luna."

"I understand."

. Her fingers still intertwined with mine, her forehead against the cell as we both cried together.

"That's enough," the guard barked. "Get out before you join her."

Roxanne wiped her face and stood. Before leaving, she looked at me one last time. "We'll be okay. I promise."

I watched her walk away until she disappeared. Then, I slumped against the cold stone, closing my eyes.

Day one.

Day two.

Day three.

No sign of Roxanne. No sign of the Alpha. No sign of help.

Hunger gnawed at my insides. My body was weak, my movements slow. The only relief came from the morning dew-I pressed my trembling fingers through the high window, gathering tiny drops of water to keep my lips from cracking.

I was ready to eat anything, even the rats that scurried by. I had given up hope.

Then-on the fourth night-the cell door creaked open.

I tried to lift my head, but my body refused to cooperate. Because of how weak I was, I could hardly open my eyes, my throat was dried and my lips cracked.

A shadow moved toward me.

"Who's there?" My voice came out as a whisper, hoarse and filled with pain.

Silence.

Then, a familiar voice.

"Daphne."

My heart clenched.

It was him.

Alpha Kian.