The Prisoner
836 Words
Chapter Fifty-Three: The Prisoner
Kaiden's POV
Pain.
That was the first thing I felt.
Every bone in my body ached.
My wrists burned where heavy black chains dug into my skin.
The air was cold.
Damp.
Dark.
I slowly opened my eyes.
Stone walls.
Iron bars.
A single torch flickered outside my cell.
"Where..."
My throat was dry.
"...am I?"
Silence answered.
I tried reaching my wolf.
"Aiden?"
Nothing.
Fear settled into my chest.
"Aiden!"
A weak voice finally answered.
"I'm here..."
His voice sounded distant.
Weak.
"They're suppressing us."
I clenched my fists.
"What do they want?"
Aiden growled softly.
"I don't know..."
"But it has something to do with her."
Her.
I already knew who he meant.
Elara.
The name twisted painfully inside my chest.
I closed my eyes.
The last time I had seen her...
She had stood beside another Alpha.
She hadn't looked broken anymore.
She had looked...
Happy.
That memory hurt more than the chains.
---
Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway.
The iron door opened.
A tall man wearing a silver mask entered my cell.
Behind him stood two Hollow Court guards.
He studied me for several long seconds.
"So..."
He finally spoke.
"The famous Alpha heir."
I glared at him.
"What do you want?"
He ignored my question.
Instead...
He walked to the center of the room.
"I've been watching you."
"You rejected her."
My jaw tightened.
"I did what I thought was right."
The masked man laughed.
"No."
"You did what your pride told you to do."
Anger flashed through me.
"You know nothing about me."
"Oh..."
His smile widened beneath the mask.
"I know everything."
He crouched in front of me.
"I know you rejected a weak Omega."
"I know you believed she would never become Luna."
"I know you thought your future belonged to someone stronger."
Each word felt like a knife.
Because they had once been true.
---
The masked man stood.
He pulled a crystal sphere from inside his cloak.
Dark magic swirled inside it.
He placed it on the floor.
The crystal glowed.
An image slowly appeared.
At first...
I didn't understand what I was seeing.
A battlefield.
Thousands of wolves.
Hundreds of vampires.
Then...
I saw her.
Elara.
Standing in the middle of everyone.
Silver and crimson light surrounded her.
Draven stood beside her.
King Cassian stood behind her.
Alpha Alaric.
Luna Seraphina.
Entire armies surrounded her.
Not because she was weak.
Because they were protecting her.
Because they believed in her.
The crystal shifted.
I watched Elara defeat the monster.
I watched her collapse.
I watched Draven catch her before she hit the ground.
I watched the Vampire King run to her.
Then...
I heard the words that shattered what remained of my heart.
"My daughter."
The crystal showed King Cassian kneeling beside her.
"She's my daughter."
Then Alpha Alaric spoke.
"And our granddaughter."
My breath caught.
"No..."
The crystal faded.
Silence returned.
The silver-masked leader watched me carefully.
"Now you understand."
I stared blankly at the floor.
"The girl you rejected..."
He smiled.
"...is the lost Princess."
"The Eclipse Heir."
"The future Queen."
Every title struck harder than the last.
Not because of what I had lost.
Because of what I had failed to see.
She had never been weak.
She had only been alone.
Aiden whimpered inside me.
"We failed her."
Fresh tears burned my eyes.
"I know."
---
The masked man stepped closer.
"I can give you another chance."
I looked up.
"What?"
"Help us capture her."
His voice became smooth.
"Bring her to me."
"And I'll set you free."
For one brief moment...
The offer tempted me.
Freedom.
Revenge.
A chance to erase my mistakes.
Then I remembered...
Elara standing in front of an entire army.
Protecting people who had once been strangers.
She had even wanted to save me.
After everything I had done.
I slowly lifted my head.
"No."
The masked man frowned.
"No?"
"I won't betray her."
His crimson eyes narrowed.
"You already did."
Pain filled my chest.
"I know."
I closed my eyes.
"And I'll regret it..."
"...for the rest of my life."
The masked man stared at me for a long moment.
Then...
He laughed.
"You've finally learned."
He turned toward the door.
"But you've learned too late."
The heavy iron door slammed shut.
Darkness swallowed the room once more.
Aiden spoke quietly.
"Do you still love her?"
I smiled sadly.
"No."
Not the way I once thought I did.
"I love..."
I looked toward the tiny window high above my cell.
"...the person she became."
"And I hope..."
My voice broke.
"...she never has to become that lonely girl again."
Miles away...
Inside Shadowmoon Castle...
Elara laughed with the family she had finally found.
For the first time...
I realized...
She had never needed me.
She only needed someone who saw her worth from the beginning.
Someone like Draven.
I leaned my head against the cold stone wall.
And silently prayed...
That he would never make the same mistake I did.
- Writer
