LOCKED AWAY
1404 Words
It was barely noon when they dragged me into the pack house. The door was slammed shut behind me.
Without pity one of the guards pushed me hardly on the floor. I stumbled and then fall without help. A tiny cry escaped my lips but it’s didn’t change anything.
They didn’t care if I was hurt or not, after all they were only following orders.
I slowly looked ahead.
Then I saw him, my father.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs. His arms was crossed as he glared at him. His eyes was filled with anger. I just knew he wouldn’t go easy on me.
Next to him stood my mother.
She said nothing.
She didn’t even look at me.
They didn’t ask where I had been.
They didn’t ask why I had run.
They didn’t need to. They already knew.
“I should take your name away from you,” my father said in a low, angry voice that felt like thunder shaking the air.
I said nothing.
“I should mark you as a traitor,” he growled. “You ran from this pack, from your duty. On the night of your own engagement, you humiliated us.”
Still, I kept quiet. My throat hurt from holding back tears. But I refused to cry in front of him.
My father stepped forward. His power pushed down on me like a mountain. It was meant to scare me.
I stood tall.
“You think this is a game?” His voice was sharper now. “You’re the daughter of an Alpha, Ava. Your blood makes you Luna whether you want it or not. You will marry Alpha Andrew, as planned.”
“No.” My voice shook, but I meant it.
The slap came so fast I didn’t even see it coming.
His hand struck my cheek hard. My head snapped to the side. It didn’t hurt physically. What hurt was knowing he did it. My own father. The man who used to call me his “little moon.” The man who once said I was his pride.
Now I was nothing but a burden to him.
“You’ve embarrassed your family,” he said, his voice cold. “From now until your wedding day, you will be locked in your room. No leaving. No training. No visitors except Andrew. Do you understand me?”
I looked up at him with tears in my eyes but no fear in my heart.
“I hate you.”
He didn’t even blink. His face was stone.
“Guards,” he said calmly. “Take her to her room. Lock the door.”
The bedroom that used to feel safe now felt like a cage.
The windows were barred with heavy iron, strengthened by spells I couldn’t break. The door was locked from the outside. And to make sure I wouldn’t shift into my wolf form, they put suppressants in my food. I could feel the dullness inside me. My wolf, my other half, was silent now. Trapped just like me.
I paced the small room over and over. Time felt slow. Like the days were moving through thick mud. I lost track of how many sunrises I watched through those bars. I counted every moon that passed. I scratched marks into the wooden floor with a spoon I had hidden, just so I could feel like I controlled something.
Once, I cried.
Only once.
After that, I promised myself: they would never see me break again.
But then, on the fourth day, the door creaked open.
And he walked in.
Andrew.
My so-called fiancé.
I felt sick just looking at him.
He looked like he always did—tall, broad, handsome. His golden hair was pushed back neatly. His green eyes, the same ones I once thought were pretty, now made my skin crawl.
“Ava,” he said softly, as if nothing had happened. He walked toward me like we were lovers, not enemies. “You look beautiful. Even when you’re angry.”
“Get out.” My voice was cold.
He smiled. “Still so feisty. I like that.”
I backed away until I hit the wall.
“You don’t belong here.”
He laughed quietly. “I have every right to be here. You’re my fiancée.” He leaned against the desk in my room, too comfortable. “Soon, you’ll be my Luna.”
“I’d rather die.”
He chuckled. “You’re dramatic. I’ve missed that about you.”
“You didn’t miss me. You were too busy sleeping with my cousin.”
He didn’t deny it. He didn’t even flinch.
“It was a mistake.”
“You marked her.”
“Temporary,” he said simply. “I’ll break it. Your father is handling it. Once it’s done, you’ll be mine. Like you’re supposed to be.”
My hands curled into fists. I wanted to hit him.
“You disgust me.”
His face changed slightly. His green eyes narrowed as he tilted his head.
“Hate me all you want, Ava. But once you’re mine, you’ll learn your place.”
I couldn’t speak. Rage burned in my throat.
I turned my back to him.
But he kept talking.
“You’ll marry me. You don’t have a choice.”
Then, the door clicked shut behind him as he left.
I collapsed to my knees.
And I broke.
Three weeks passed.
Three long, silent weeks.
I scratched at the floor until my fingers bled. I watched the moon rise and fall. I cried until my tears ran dry. My wolf inside me was silent. Trapped. Just like me.
I was losing my mind.
Then one night, something inside me snapped.
I stared at the window. At the full moon glowing just beyond the iron bars.
I couldn’t do this anymore.
I had to try.
I shoved the desk under the window. Climbed up. My hands shook as I gripped the iron bars.
They wouldn’t move.
But I didn’t stop.
I kicked. I scraped. I used my spoon to pry at the screws holding the bars.
Finally, after what felt like forever, one of the bars loosened.
It was enough.
I pushed hard.
The bar snapped.
I climbed through.
And I jumped.
But I landed badly.
Pain shot through my leg as I crashed onto the ground.
I tried to scream but everything went black.
I woke up in a white room.
Bright. Cold. Empty.
I smelled healing herbs.
I tried to sit up but gasped in pain.
“Don’t move,” said a soft voice.
I looked up. The healer stood next to my bed.
“You’re in the Crescent Moon medical center,” she said gently.
I turned my head slowly. I heard footsteps. Voices. Then the curtain pulled back.
My heart stopped.
My father.
My mother.
Andrew.
And the healer.
I wanted to hide. I tried to turn away, but my father stepped closer.
“What were you thinking?” he barked.
“I’d rather break my legs than marry him,” I whispered.
Andrew scoffed. “Still dramatic.”
I looked at him with pure hatred.
The healer stepped forward carefully. “Alpha, Beta... I need to speak.”
They all looked at her.
Her face was pale. Nervous.
“There’s... news.”
I frowned.
She took a deep breath.
“Lady Ava... is pregnant.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“No,” I whispered.
“That’s impossible.”
“Pregnant?” My mother’s voice shook.
My father’s face went blank. His power filled the room like a coming storm.
Andrew’s eyes widened. Then his face twisted in disgust.
“Whose?” he hissed.
“I...” My voice cracked. “I don’t know.”
My father’s fists shook at his sides.
“You’re carrying a stranger’s pup?”
Tears slid down my cheeks as I turned my face toward the wall.
The healer spoke softly. “She’s about five weeks along. The baby is healthy.”
No one spoke.
I didn’t move.
Andrew backed away slowly, shaking his head.
My father’s anger was a living thing in the room.
But I felt... nothing.
I already knew.
Deep down, I already knew whose child it was.
The masked stranger.
The one night I let myself feel free.
And now, that freedom had become a chain I could never escape.
- Writer
