Constance's Power

Chapter 4. Trapped in Shadows

Constance woke up in the small, dark cell. She was firstly scared, but the silence around gave her time to calm.

Hours passed, and suddenly the air in the cell shifted. Constance tensed, realizing she wasn’t alone. A faint scraping sound echoed through the darkness—like claws skimming over stone. Her pulse quickened as she lay still. The heavy and suffocating darkness closed in on all sides. Something or someone, was out there, just beyond her sight, waiting.

The tiny scrape repeated, even closer this time.

Her body screamed for her to move, but she remained frozen, imprisoned in the liminal place between horror and pain. It wasn't simply the fear of what waited in the shadows; it was a more profound, more consuming pain that tore at her insides.

The agonizing pain left by Keen's rejection was like a festering sore that had only become worse over time. She had known pain before, but nothing like this. It felt as if her entire being had been torn apart, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't put it back together.

How is it even possible? She didn't have her wolf, yet the broken bond was killing her anyway. It was a kind of double torture to be without a wolf, but with the pain of rejection.

Scrape... scrape.

The sound got closer again. A wave of panic washed over her. Every inch of her body felt like it was coiled tightly, ready to shatter. But then... silence.

Constance allowed herself a brief breath as the air grew still once more. Whatever had been there was gone. Perhaps it had never existed at all.

She slowly tried to sit up. Her limbs were trembling, and her body was still echoing with the sharp anguish of rejection. Her throat was dry, and her skin prickled with cold sweat as she wrapped her arms around herself. The thin fabric of her clothes did little to keep her warm.

This was not simply exhaustion. This was brokenness caused by the bond being severed. She had heard stories of mates being rejected and how horrible it was, but none of them prepared her for this.

Nobody had told her that each breath would feel like a blade piercing through her chest.

As she moved slightly, her eyes got used to the dim light. She could now see the cold stone walls of her cell. The moist air stuck to her skin, and the aroma of iron and mildew flooded the room around her. "Lyra?" she croaked.

No answer.

The heavy silence closed in on her like a veil. When it hit her just how truly alone she was, her heart started to pound in her chest. The weight of her solitude, mixed with the fear gnawing at her insides, felt unbearable.

Suddenly, a cell door swung wide with a groan. Constance's head whipped around toward the noise. A chill ran over her skin when she heard slow, purposeful footsteps down the narrow hallway. Despair coursed through her like ice water. She pressed herself against the wall. Her heart raced as if she'd been running for her life.

A tall, shadowy figure stood in the doorway. For a while, yesterday's free person, today's prisoner, was afraid—until the figure came into view.

It was one of the pack guards. His sharp features and rigid posture drew Constance's attention. They weren't cold and haughty like she’d expected. No, there was something unbelievable about him. Kindness? Care? Whatever it was, it was not the dead-eye gaze of someone who saw her as nothing more than a criminal.

He set a dish of bread and some water down on the floor, along with a thin, frayed blanket. “I brought you something to eat,” he said gently. Constance looked at the items for a moment, hesitating to make a move. Her stomach was aching with hunger, but the fear held her firmly in her spot.

"Where... where am I?" Constance finally spoke.

"The Nightshade Pack." He bent slightly and gave her a look that suggested he was assessing her. "You and another woman were found near our border."

Her chest tightened. “Lyra… is she okay?”

"She's alive," the guard murmured, but his expression remained blank. "She's being held in another prison. The Alpha will decide what happens to you both. Why were they holding them? What would this Alpha decide?

“We didn’t mean to intrude,” Constance said, slightly shaking. “We were running.”

The guard observed her for a while with a furrowed face. "Why were you running?”

“My mate, the Alpha, rejected me.”

“You're wolfless, aren't you?”

Constance sighed. She hated that term—"wolfless." It summed up her entire existence and served as a constant reminder of her vulnerability. "Yes," she mumbled.

“How is it even possible that you had a mate? And your mate is an Alpha. Don’t you dare lie to me here!”

Constance didn't reply. Honestly, she had no answer. She wasn’t lying, but she realized how hollow her words must have sound.

The guard nodded, his expression melting slightly. "It’s dangerous for someone like you here. The Alpha doesn’t trust outsiders, especially without a wolf."

Constance's thoughts were racing. She truly wasn't safe. Her pack had always viewed her as weak and a burden, but now it felt even more dire. She was simply slow, fragile prey.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "Why—why are you being nice to me?"

For a moment, the guard’s mouth twitched as if he were about to smile. “I don’t like to see people kicked while they’re down, let’s just say that.”

Their eyes met, and for an instant, a strange warmth passed between them. Constance saw something in his eyes—empathy, perhaps? Or something deeper? Whatever it was, it made him different from the other guards and created an unspoken bond between them.

“Listen carefully,” he interrupted the silence. “The Alpha isn’t someone you want to cross. Be cautious when you speak to him. And… being wolfless? It makes you an even bigger target.”

Constance swallowed hard. Her insides were seething with nervous tension. "Why would that matter so much? I didn't choose this."

“So what?” he shrugged. “Here, strength is everything. Without your wolf, you’re seen as weak. The Alpha may view that as a threat—or a human.”

She wanted to argue, to tell him that she wasn't weak, but the truth was, without her wolf, she felt exactly that. And with Keen's rejection still fresh in her soul, that feeling of worthlessness was all-consuming.

When he was about to leave, she murmured, “What’s your name?”

The guard hesitated and glanced back at her. How could she suggest that the guard would reply to her?

After a brief pause, he said and grinned, "Callum.”

When he left, the door closed with a quiet final thud. But something had changed inside her. The pain from her rejection was still there, and the fear of what was to come felt overwhelming. But now she knew that Lyra was somewhere there, and Callum could help her and become her friend. She replayed their conversation in her mind, curious about who Callum really was and why he had shown her kindness.

She had felt a sense of danger before in the confines of her cell. But now Constance understood that the real threat might just be starting. The Alpha was the real danger.