ChapterTwo
1125 Words
A cold breeze brushes over my skin. I open my eyes but all I see is darkness. The only light in the cell is from beneath the door. I can feel my brain bashing against my skull.
Where am I?
I hear footsteps approaching from far—sharp and steady.
The door creaks open, and the darkness in the room turns to light. I know the presence, even in dim lights. It’s the Alpha.
“Aria,” he voices out my name like a command.
I haul myself up, oblivious to the pain in my ribs. “You know my name now, how interesting,” I reply.
He keeps his gaze on me. “You saved my child.”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
“I know.”
He steps forward, and his scent fills the room, cutting out the stench from the sand and blood. I feel a little bit uneasy, something in me pulls me towards him. I look away.
“I want to know the truth,” he commands.
“I already told your guards—I don’t know who those assassins were.”
“It is hard for me or anyone else to believe that,” his tone hardens. “
“I can’t force you to believe me, but all I know is that I’ve said my truth!” I yell. “I didn’t attack your pack.”
He clenches his jaw, and for a moment I think I see a mixture of conflict and doubt in his eyes. Another figure steps inside as the door opens wider.
Lyra.
The diamonds on her dress send sparkles across the cell, her smile is sharp but wicked. “So you’re the one everyone is talking about?” she says softly, circling me like I’m prey. “The rogue who saved a child and touched what isn’t hers.”
“She is not a threat,” Veyron says, though his voice lacks conviction.
“She is,” Lyra purrs, as she turns her attention toward him. “You felt it, didn’t you? The bond.”
Silence fills the room.
Veyron fails to answer, but his clenched fists say enough. Lyra’s face turns cold.
Elder Mealis enters and slams the door shut. Tension fills the room. I wish the ground would swallow me whole.
“Aria!, Rogue of no pack,” Maelis says. “You have formed a forbidden bond with Alpha Veyron, do you deny this?”
I stare at the ground. “ I didn’t choose it."
“None of us do,” Maelis replies.
“She must be punished,” Lyra says with a wicked smile.
“Enough!” Veyron cuts through.
He steps between me and the Elder. “She saved my son. If you want to get to her, you’d have to go through me.”
“Then you’ll answer for her,” Maelis replies. “The debt binds you, don’t forget, Alpha.”
“That debt is to the pack,” Veyron replies with defiance in his voice.
“To the council,” Maelis corrects. “And the council demands justice.”
“What debt?” I ask.
No one answers.
Maelis locks eyes with me. “The Hunt will decide.”
The words cut deep into my soul, I struggle to breathe.“The Hunt? Please, you can’t—”
Veyron cuts through. “This is not justice! It’s execution.”
Lyra sends her gaze towards him," The Goddess will decide if she lives.”
My eyes meet Veyron’s. I try to figure out what’s running through his mind, but I can’t—maybe a mixture of fear, anger, and regret. He looks away.
“Get her ready by dawn," Maelis orders the guards.
They haul me to my feet, the chains bite deeper into my wrist as blood trickles down.
As they drag me from the cell, I hear Veyron’s voice from a distance. “Elder Maelis, there has to be another way, please”.
The elder answers in a low tone. “You should pay your debt then, Alpha. One life for another.”
The door slams shut before I can hear more.
They push me into another room, forcing me to my knees. This room is smaller-—maybe it is a room for storage. I look through the small window and see the Blood Moon hanging low, red and heavy.
As I continue to stare, I feel something strong and dangerous pulling me towards it. The bond.
I bow to the ground, trying to free myself from the pull. “Not again,” I whisper
The pull doesn’t fade, it rather deepens, my chest tightens with pain. I clench my teeth, fighting it.
Footsteps echo from afar again.
“Leave us,” Veyron orders the guards.
He closes the door.
Silence engulfs the room. I refuse to look up.
“You mustn’t be here,” I say.
“Neither should you,” he answers.
“They’ll kill you,” I say quietly.
“I’ll find a way,” he replies. “But I need you to trust me.”
I burst out with laughter. “Would you trust me if I chained you to a wall after you saved a life?”
Guilt swallows him whole, and sweat trickles down his face. “If you knew what’s at stake you wouldn’t say this.”
“Then make me understand.”
He pauses for a while-— torn between letting the truth out or keeping it secret.
“The life-debt Maelis spoke of—it binds me. He saved my sister’s life in the past. He can call in that debt anytime, and if I defy him, she dies.”
His words fill me with rage. “So you’ll sacrifice me instead?”
“No, I don’t want to.”
Somehow I can’t hate him even if I tried. His voice calms me in ways I cannot comprehend. The way he looks at me makes it even harder.
“Set me free, then,” I whisper.
“I can’t.”
He steps backwards, away from the light, his figure fading from the room. “You’ll be thrown into the Hunt at dawn, if you survive, no one will dare touch you again.”
“What if I don’t?”
He looks away. “Then I pray the goddess has mercy on you.” “No one has ever survived it.”
“Veyron!,” I shout, and he freezes.
He looks over his shoulder.
“You feel it too, didn’t you?” I ask.
He keeps mute and walks out the door, slamming the door shut.
Outside, the Blood Moon begins to fade. Dawn is coming. And with it—the Hunt.
- Writer
