Chapter 17: Chapter 17

DUSK.

As Lucius' father's thunderous voice reverberated through the room, my heart dropped like an anchor sinking through an ocean of despair. The weight of his disdain hung heavy in the air, suffocating any flicker of hope within me. This was not going to be a pleasant conversation.

"You impudent creature!" Lucius' father bellowed, his voice slicing through the silence. "Why do you persist in defying my orders? You do not have the right to flit around the pack as you please!"

You didn't give me any orders. Those words were in my throat, but I swallowed them. This was almost like the first direct contact I was having with Lucius' father, and it already didn't look like it was going to end well. His voice sent shivers down my spine and somewhat reminded me of my father.

"Father, listen to me." Lucius called, shocking me to the core. I didn't expect him to defend me in front of his ruthless father. "I have ordered for her to be punished."

"By letting her go?" A bitter chuckle escaped his father's lips. "Do you take me for a kid, son? You seem to forget that this is my pack, and I can impeach you the second I deem fit.".

Okay, this was getting personal, and I didn't like where it was leading. One thing I hated was someone taking any negative thing because of me; I wasn't worth it. That still didn't remove my hatred for him.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, my trembling hands seeking solace in each other's touch. "But sir," I managed to croak, my voice a mere whisper. "I was simply enjoying a moment with my friend, Seline, in the coffee shop. I meant no harm."

His eyes narrowed, like molten silver gleaming with malice. "Harm or not, you are a weak mate to my son, an unworthy thread in our pack's tapestry. Such freedom does not benefit you."

The room seemed to close in on me, with walls pressing against me from all sides. Panic set in as two guards advanced, their hands rough and unforgiving, as if I were nothing more than a pawn in their game.

"Why are you treating me like this? Your son bought me, and now instead of being treated the way an alpha mate should, here am I."

I shouldn't have said those words. I should reject the urge to rebel and disobey it. I didn't really need to convince myself that I shouldn't have said it. The painful impact of a hard palm colliding with my cheek almost snapped my neck out of its roots.

"How dare you, scumbag?! You think you can talk back to me because of some silly mate bond?" He sneered, settling into Lucius' chair.

"Father that’s enough. Leave Dusk alone and allow her go to her room. Are—" Lucius was interrupted by his father.

"I don't care about what you want, but right now, send her to the dungeons." He said, his disgust was unhidden.

What? Dungeon? Why? for a coffee shop that was still in the pack's territory? Why was he being so paranoid and unyielding?

The grip on my hand tightened, and I found tears welling in my eyes. I fought against their grasp, my instincts urging me to break free from this hopeless fate, but my efforts were futile.

Then, like an almost welcomed shadow, Ariadne emerged from the darkness, blocking the path of the guards. Her crimson lips curled into a sadistic smile, relishing in the torment being inflicted upon me. And just as I thought it couldn't get worse, her hand connected with my cheek in a searing strike, leaving a fiery imprint on my skin.

Well, well, well, isn't it the alpha's mate that is treated like an omega now?" Ariadne sneered, her voice dripping with venom. "You'll never be anything more than a weakling, unfit to walk among us. Remember your place." She paused. "And oh, I heard you registered for the competition? It's just a waste of time, sweetheart."

Her words struck me harder than her slap, crushing what little remained of my shattered spirit. My eyes welled up with tears, but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn't give them satisfaction. I was going to participate in a competition, and no one was going to tell me otherwise.

I wonder how Seline would feel when she knew that I was here in the cell. I passed Ethan, who looked at me with what I would consider pity, but I looked away; I didn't want anyone to pity me.

As I was dragged away, the suffocating gloom of my despair clung to every step and every inch of the stone pathway that led to the prison.

But I still tried to make sense of it all. What had I done wrong? I had merely sought solace outside of the toxic walls of the pack and my Seline. Was that now a crime? Was my existence a burden too heavy for this pack to bear?

Desperate, I struggled against the guards, my futile attempts fueled by irritation as they mocked me. But their grip only tightened, their faces masked in cold indifference. I was nothing more than a nuisance, a plaything to be discarded at their whim.

And then, like a vulture circling its prey, I found myself thrown into the darkness of the cold, damp cell. The silence of its confines echoed my despair, mingling with the whispers of doubt that now infiltrated my mind. Alone, isolated, and discarded, I wondered if this was the circle my life was meant to go around in. I listened to Seline, and I started believing in myself, but here I am, in the slums again.

But…

I vowed to fight, even in the darkest of nights, to reclaim my voice, my rights, and the love that had been unjustly stolen from me.

With a heavy sigh, I lowered my weary body onto the small, unforgiving cot, my fingers grazing the cold iron bars. I wished Seline would return immediately with Lily. They were the only two that had kept me guessing so far.