Chapter 3 Threat by my enemy

Lyrianna's POV

The stones were colder than the auction block, colder than the jeering courtyard, colder than Malakai's rejection.

By the time the guards dragged me down into the bowels of Shadowclaw's fortress, my body was more bruised than flesh. Their fists and boots had been thorough, and the iron shackles scraped my skin raw each time I stumbled. I didn't have the strength to beg them to stop, I wasn't sure I would've begged even if I did.

The dungeon smelled of rust, mold, and despair. Water dripped from the ceiling, steady as a heartbeat. Torches sputtered along the walls, their flames casting cruel shadows across cells already littered with straw, bone, and broken souls.

"This one goes here," a guard spat, wrenching me forward. His grip dug into my arm, leaving new crescents in my skin.

The second guard-broad, with a scar dragging down his cheek, unlocked a door and shoved me inside so hard my knees gave out. My palms slapped the ground, scraping on stone.

Before I could gather myself, spit hit my cheek, hot and foul.

I flinched, looking up. The scarred guard sneered down at me.

"The sins of the father," he hissed. "And of the brothers who slaughtered our kin. May you rot for them all, wolfless filth."

Another glob of spit struck the floor beside me. The first guard laughed.

"Better pray your goddess shows mercy tomorrow. But I doubt she will."

They slammed the door shut, their curses trailing down the corridor until only the dripping water kept me company. It reeked of foul smell and iron, every breath scraping my throat. Rats scurried bold through the straw, and from somewhere deeper came a low, endless groan. Water dripped steadily from the ceiling, each drop echoing like a clock counting down, not to freedom, but to ruin.

I pressed my back to the cold stone, clutching the stale bread like it might anchor me. My body ached, but it was the thought of him that set my blood boiling. Malakai. The masked Alpha. My father's sworn enemy. And now, my mate.

The Moon Goddess must be cruel beyond words. To bind me to the man who bought me like cattle, who dragged me here to humiliate me before his pack.

And worse, he was tall, commanding, terrifyingly handsome in a way that made my stomach twist. A face carved from power itself. My body betrayed me the instant our eyes locked, but my mind would not.

I will never bow to him. Not Malakai. Not my family's enemy.

If he wanted to break me, he would have to do worse than chains and rejection. I would bleed before I begged.

For a moment, I sat frozen. Blood trickled from a cut on my temple, warm against the chill. My chest rose and fell too quickly, and I pressed trembling fingers to my ribs where their boots had landed. Pain blossomed everywhere, sharp and deep.

But worse than pain was the silence inside me.

My wolf. My other half. I called for her the way I always did when the world became too dark, reaching with everything I had left.

Nothing answered.

My breath hitched, and I pressed my forehead to my knees. Why won't you wake up? Please... I can't do this alone.

The walls didn't care. The Moon Goddess didn't care. My wolf didn't care.

Hours might have passed, time was nothing in that place. Hunger gnawed at me before long, a low ache that mocked me. When the cell door creaked open again, my stomach clenched more from dread than hope.

It wasn't a guard this time.

She was small, no older than me, her frame delicate in a plain gray dress. Her hair hung in a limp brown braid, and her hands shook as she carried a wooden tray. A bowl of broth, a hunk of bread, a tin cup of water.

Her eyes flicked to mine, then darted away quickly, as if she'd be punished for looking too long.

"Here," she whispered, sliding the tray toward me. Her voice was timid, the voice of someone who had been punished too often for speaking.

I stared at her, dazed. "You're... like me," I said hoarsely.

Her lips trembled. She gave a tiny nod. "An omega. Wolfless."

The words were heavy on her tongue, like she'd been made to spit them her whole life.

"What's your name?" I asked, reaching slowly for the bread.

"Seris." Her eyes flickered up, quick and nervous. "I'm to bring your meals. That's all."

"That's all?" My laugh cracked, bitter. "As if food will make this prison a home."

She winced, as though she feared I'd turn my anger on her. "If they see me linger, they'll punish me."

I softened, guilt threading through me. "I won't keep you, Seris. Thank you... for not looking at me like I'm dirt."

Her gaze finally met mine, steady for just a heartbeat. "You're worse off than dirt here," she whispered. "Dirt can't bleed."

Seris hesitated before leaving, her hand trembling on the door's iron latch. For a moment, she glanced back, her eyes wide, uncertain, as though weighing whether to speak at all.

Then, in a voice so low I almost thought I imagined it, she whispered, "You're not the first they've brought here. But you're the first who's still fighting."

My chest tightened. I wanted to laugh, to tell her she was wrong, that I wasn't fighting, only surviving. But the look in her eyes-quiet, starved for hope, kept me silent.

"Why would you say that?" I asked.

Seris bit her lip. "Because you still look at people. Most of us learned not to." She swallowed, the words tasting dangerous. "Don't let them take that away."

Then she slipped out, leaving me with her warning echoing louder than the dripping walls with me clutching the stale bread like it was a lifeline.

I forced myself to eat slowly, even when my body screamed to devour it all. If I lost control now, I'd have nothing later. I had to cling to some shred of control, no matter how small.

But control fled the moment she came.

The sound of soft footsteps echoed, deliberate, unhurried. Then the door opened, and Ava stepped inside like she belonged in every shadow.

Her dark hair gleamed, her smile sharp as broken glass. She carried herself like royalty, though she was not one. The sister of Malakai's Beta, I remembered from the courtyard. Loyal to him, and already burning with hatred for me.

She wrinkled her nose at the stench of the dungeon. "So this is where the Moon Goddess has hidden her precious gift. Fitting."

I stiffened, my fingers curling around the tin cup. "What do you want?"

"To see you," she said sweetly, crouching until her face was level with mine. "To look at the pathetic little creature the goddess dared to call Malakai's mate."

Her hand shot out suddenly, striking my cheek with a sharp crack. My head whipped to the side, skin stinging.

I bit back a cry.

"Don't look at me like you're above me," Ava hissed. "You're nothing. Wolfless. Useless. Do you know what it does to him, to all of us, that the Moon Goddess chose you?"

My chest heaved, my nails digging into the stone at my side. "I never asked for this bond. I didn't even know who he was until tonight. I only ever heard stories of the masked Alpha of the North, the ruthless one. I didn't know it was him."

Her laugh was brittle. "Oh, he's ruthless, little omega. Do you want to know why? Because of your family. Because your father and brothers broke him long before you ever laid eyes on him. And now the Moon Goddess plays her cruel joke by tying him to you. Imagine that, a mate bound to the blood that destroyed him."

My heart lurched. "What did they do to him?"

Her smile widened, cruel. "You'll never hear it from me. That is his wound to wear. But know this, Lyrianna Starweaver, you'll never heal it. You'll never be enough."

Her words landed harder than the slap. My throat burned, but I forced myself to whisper, "Then why are you here? To gloat?"

"Partly." Her fingers brushed my cheek where she'd struck, mocking tenderness. "But also to warn you. Tomorrow is the Houndborn Moon."

The name chilled me, though I didn't understand it. "What is that?"

Ava's eyes glinted. "It's the night we stand before the Goddess's light and weigh her choices. A night for judgment. For rejection. For blood. Wolves born under it are cursed to hunger forever. Do you understand, little omega? Tomorrow the elders will decide whether to honor the bond... or tear it apart before the entire pack."

A shiver ran through me. I didn't understand all of it, but the way she said tear it apart made my stomach knot.

Ava leaned closer, her whisper poison. "And without a wolf, you don't stand a chance. Tomorrow, they will call you what you are: wolfless, worthless, unwanted. And he-" she tilted her head, her smile triumphant, "he will let them."

My lips trembled. I wanted to spit back, to claw her words apart. Instead, I said, barely audible, "Better wolfless than cruel."

Her smile snapped, rage flashing across her face. She struck me again, harder. Pain flared, copper flooding my tongue.

"You think you're strong?" she snarled. "You're nothing. And tomorrow, you'll see what it means to defy Shadowclaw."

She rose, smoothing her dress as though she hadn't just bruised me. Her heels clicked against the stone as she left, her parting words echoing.

"Pray, Lyrianna Starweaver. Pray your silent wolf wakes. Because if she doesn't, the Houndborn Moon will swallow you whole."

The door slammed shut, and her footsteps faded, leaving the cell colder than before. My cheek throbbed, the taste of copper thick on my tongue. Even her perfume, sharp, bitter-sweet clung to the air, a ghost of her cruelty I couldn't scrub away.

I pressed my forehead to the wall, whispering into the silence, "Aethonix... please. Wake up. If you don't, I'll die tomorrow."

But the dungeon gave no answer.

Only the sound of water dripping, steady as doom.