Chapter 6
1069 Words
Chapter 6
AVALINE
The days that followed blurred together in a haze of pain and hunger. True to their word, the brothers ensured that I received no food or water through official channels. The guards who brought meals to the other prisoners were instructed to skip my cell entirely.
But they had underestimated the kindness of one particular pack member.
Helen was a woman in her fifties who worked in the kitchens, someone I had barely noticed in my previous life except to resent her occasional attempts to interfere in my treatment of Aida. She had graying hair and work-worn hands, and she moved through the pack house like a ghost, invisible to those who considered themselves important.
On the second day of my imprisonment, she appeared at my cell door carrying a small bundle wrapped in cloth. She glanced around nervously before pushing it through the bars.
"Bread and cheese," she whispered. "It's not much, but it's something."
I unwrapped the bundle with trembling hands, too grateful to speak. The bread was fresh and warm, and the cheese was sharp and flavorful. It was the most delicious meal I had ever tasted.
"Thank you," I managed to say around the lump in my throat.
Helen nodded curtly and disappeared back into the shadows. She returned twice more that day, always bringing small portions of food that she somehow managed to smuggle past the guards. Without her intervention, I would have starved.
In my previous life, I had hated Helen for her interference. She had been the one to tell me that I was treating Aida like a parasite, that I was hurting an innocent child with my coldness and resentment. At the time, I had been furious with her for daring to judge me.
Now I understood that she had been the only one brave enough to speak the truth.
On the third day, she lingered after delivering my food, her weathered face creased with concern.
"How is Aida?" I asked, the question that had been burning in my chest since they had dragged me away.
"She's responding well to treatment," Helen said, her voice soft. "Elder Mira says she'll make a full recovery. But she keeps asking for you."
The words hit me like a physical blow. "She's asking for me?"
"Every time she wakes up," Helen confirmed. "She wants to know where her mummy is, why you haven't come to see her."
I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of guilt settle on my shoulders. "What does Elder Mira tell her?"
"That you're taking care of pack business," Helen said. "But she's not stupid, Avaline. She knows something is wrong."
Helen studied me for a long moment, her expression unreadable. "I have to ask you something, and I need you to be honest with me."
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
"Do you actually care about that little girl?" she asked bluntly. "Or are you just using her as a way to get attention and sympathy?"
The question stung, but I understood why she had to ask it. In my previous life, that was exactly what I had been doing. I had kept Aida around because she made me feel needed, but I had never truly loved her. I had seen her as a burden, a complication that stood between me and the acceptance I craved.
"I care about her," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "She's my daughter. Not by blood, but in every way that matters."
Helen's expression softened slightly, but she still looked skeptical. "If that's true, then you need to think about what's best for her. If you don't actually care about her, stop giving her hope. It's cruel."
"I do care," I insisted. "I love her more than anything in this world."
Helen studied me for another long moment, then nodded slowly. "I hope that's true," she said. "Because that little girl deserves someone who will put her first."
She left me alone with my thoughts and my guilt, but she continued to bring me food twice a day. Without her kindness, I would never have survived.
On the fifth day, the sound of familiar footsteps echoed through the dungeons. I looked up to see Dion and Alistar approaching my cell, their expressions thunderous with frustrated anger.
"Still being stubborn?" Dion asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer.
"We thought by now you would have learned your lesson," Alistar added. "We thought you would have begged for forgiveness."
I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the way my body protested. Five days of beatings and sleeping on stone had left me stiff and sore, but my spirit remained unbroken.
"I haven't changed my mind," I said simply.
Their faces darkened with rage, but before they could respond, the sound of approaching footsteps made them tense. I recognized the heavy tread immediately – Alpha Monroe, their father, was back.
"s**t," Alistar muttered under his breath.
"Listen to me very carefully," Dion said, his voice low and urgent. "Father is back early. You're being released, but if you say one word about what happened here, we will make your life a living hell."
The cell door swung open, and I stepped out on unsteady legs. My entire body ached, and I was sure I looked like exactly what I was – someone who had been beaten and starved for days.
"There's a family dinner tonight," Alistar said, his voice carrying a note of warning. "Father has demanded that all of us attend, and Solaya will be serving as our personal attendant."
"Remember," Dion added, his eyes boring into mine, "Father may see you as his child, and he may treat Solaya like the maid she actually is, but that doesn't change anything. You will never compare to Solaya in our hearts."
I looked at both of them, these men who had once been everything to me, and felt nothing but pity. They were so blind to what truly mattered, so focused on their shallow obsessions that they couldn't see the emptiness of their own lives.
"I understand," I said quietly. "You've made your priorities very clear."
As they escorted me back to my quarters, I couldn't help but smile. They thought they had won, thought they had broken me and put me back in my place. But they had no idea what was coming.
Tonight, everything would change.
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