The Alpha King’s Broken Mate

3. Escape

Naevia

I woke up to the cold bite of stone against my skin. My eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the dim light filtering into the room. I tried to move, but the chains that held me in place gave me very little room to move. It took me a minute to realize I was in the dungeon beneath the pack house.

Just when I had thought it couldn’t get worse, it had.

Elliot shot me. Not only did he f**k Diane and conspire to take over my pack, he had actually tried to kill me, and would have probably succeeded if it hadn’t been for my wolf.

At the thought of my wolf, I realized something that made my stomach sink. ‘Auren?’ I called through our mindlink, but was met with complete stillness.

I couldn’t feel Auren. I reached inward trying to reach that constant presence that had lived beneath my skin since I was thirteen, but I was met with nothing. Just a hollow emptiness where she should have been.

Panic clawed at my throat and I began to struggle against the chains that held me in place.

“Looking for your wolf?”

Elliot’s voice cut through the cell and I looked up to see him walking into the room with Diane by his side, her hand resting possessively on his. The sight of them together, sent rage coursing through my veins.

“How are you still alive? I made sure the dose of wolfsbane was tripled. It should have killed you.” Diane’s eyes narrowed as she studied me. “Seems like your wolf is even more problematic than I thought.

That explained the emptiness. The toxin was suppressing my wolf, trapping her somewhere beyond my reach.

“You look disappointed,” I said, my voice hoarse from disuse. “Sorry for ruining your plans by surviving.”

Elliot’s lips curved into a smirk, and I would have given anything in that moment to smack the smugness out of his face. “Actually, you being alive makes things better. I want you conscious to witness this.” He stepped closer to the bars, and the dim light caught the glint of something gold around his neck. My father’s Alpha chain. The sight of it made my stomach turn.

“While you were… sleeping, the pack council voted to name me Alpha of RedMoon and Diane here has graciously agreed to serve as my Luna.”

The words felt like a slap, but I refused to let them see me flinch. “You will pay for all you’ve done Elliot, it doesn’t matter how long it takes.”

“Oh, but I haven’t even told you what I’ve really done, Naevia. Wouldn’t you like to know before you put an eternal curse on me?” Elliot mocked and Diane giggled beside him, making me fight against the chains once more.

“Your entire family was so foolish, it didn’t take long to wipe out every single one of you.” Elliot said, not waiting for my response, “Did you really think I came to RedMoon three years ago because I admired your pack? I came because I saw an opportunity.”

Something cold settled in my chest. “What are you talking about?”

“The moment I laid eyes on you at that treaty negotiation, I knew exactly what I wanted.” He leaned against the bars, studying me like a predator observing prey. “I didn’t expect your father and brother to be so foolish as to believe I would leave my pack and serve as a warrior here for the rest of my days. But the plan was quite simple, all I had to do was make you fall in love with me, and everything else would follow.”

The memories crashed over me. Our first meeting, how charming he had seemed, how quickly my father had welcomed him into our pack, how naturally he had woven himself into our lives.

“Thomas was easy,” Diane chipped in, a faraway look settling in her eyes, as if she was speaking about her favorite hobby. “I gave him your medicine once and saw how sick it made him, so I started giving it to him in small quantities everyday, causing the sickness that finally killed him.” She finished with a satisfied smile.

“As for your father,” Elliot added, “arranging his death in battle was almost too easy. He died believing he was protecting his pack, never knowing his trusted son-in-law planned the entire attack.”

The rage that had been building inside me finally erupted. “You bastards!” I screamed, attempting to lunge at them, but the chains held me firmly in place. I struggled fiercely, as I screamed my fury at them. But without my wolf, I couldn’t break out, I couldn’t shift, I couldn’t do anything.

“This is boring.” Diane’s voice cut through my fury. “Just kill her and be done with it. Keeping her alive serves no purpose.”

“There’s mercy in death, love,” Elliot said coldly, his eyes never leaving mine. “I want her to live every day in this cell, remembering everything that was taken from her.”

Diane made a sound of disgust and turned away. “Your obsession with her is pathetic. I’ll be upstairs when you’ve had enough fun watching her.”

Her footsteps echoed away, leaving Elliot and me alone in the cells. He moved closer to the bars, and even though I knew it was useless, I still tried to lunge at him.

“I could make this easier for you,” he said, his voice dropping. “Release you from this cell, give you food, a bed, clear your name.” He sighed, leaning back. “All you have to do is submit to me completely. Become my s*x slave. My willing, obedient plaything…”

The revulsion I felt was so intense I tasted bile. “You sick f**k. I would rather rot in this cell, I would rather die than let you touch me again.”

Something flickered across Elliot’s face. Then his expression hardened once again.“Have it your way then.”

He walked away without looking back, slamming the door to the cell room shut.

The days that followed blurred together into an endless nightmare of hunger and isolation. Time lost meaning in the absolute dark. Elliot came regularly, always with new torments, taunting me.

He wanted me to break, to beg, to submit to him. I refused him every time, even as my body weakened and my mind began to fray at the edges.

Then one morning, everything changed.

I woke up to shouting, the clash of weapons, and the howls and snarls of wolves. It didn’t take me long to figure out that our pack was under attack. My heart pounded as adrenaline surged through my weakened body.

Then, the dungeon door creaked open.

I flinched, expecting Elliot, but instead, a small figure slipped through the shadows. “Naevia?” Hannah called, and I felt my heart leap weakly with joy.

“Hannah!” I called out, my voice came out as barely a whisper.

She appeared at my cell door, her face streaked with dirt and tears as she fumbled with a key. “We don’t have much time.” She said as she struggled to open my cell door.

"What's happening?" I rasped, as she unlocked the chains in my hands and feet.

"The Alpha King sent troops," she said quickly, eyes darting toward the door. "They've declared war on RedMoon. They’re tearing through the pack house right now.”

I blinked, stunned. “The Alpha King?” She nodded, but offered no further explanation.

The lock clicked open, but my legs nearly gave out when I tried to stand.

“You have to get out of here Naevia. Run as far away as you can.” She hurriedly said as she helped me balance on my feet.

Even though I had been starved and still had healing wounds from all of Elliot’s torture, the hope that I felt at the thought of escape filled my body with adrenaline. I limped over to the door, but Hannah remained in her spot.

“Come on,” I said, gesturing to her. “Let’s get out of here Hannah.”

“I can’t.” She said, wiping the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. “My parents are still here, my younger sister. I have to stay back and protect them.”

“Hannah—”

“You have to go now, Naevia. You’re our only hope, so you have to survive, get stronger, then come back and take our pack from these monsters. Run Naevia, and remember that we’ll be counting on you.” She pulled me into a quick hug, before she pushed me toward the door.

I ran past bodies I couldn’t stop to identify, through smoke and screaming, I ran until I reached the forest beyond the pack house. My vision was blurry, my entire body ached from dehydration and exhaustion but I forced myself to keep going.

I ran until my legs gave out and I collapsed deep into the woods, miles from everything I have ever known. Black spots danced in front of my eyes as the world around me blurred. I was going to die here. Alone in the woods with everything I loved taken away from me.

Suddenly I heard the crunch of leaves, I lifted my head, blinking hard trying to clear my vision and I saw a familiar face looking down at me.

A face I never thought I would see again.