My tortured Luna

Chapter 3

Sages POV

My dreams were always filled with chaos. I walked through fire, the flames consuming every inch of my body until I could no longer tell where they ended and I began. They burned beneath my skin, filled my lungs and stole every breath I tried to take, yet I never feared them. Pain had become my oldest companion. It was the only thing that reminded me I was still alive.

Whenever he tortured me, I welcomed the pain like a long-lost friend. It grounded me, pulled me back to reality and reminded me that no matter how badly he broke me, I was still breathing. Over the years, I had learned to rely on it. Pain never lied to me. Pain was predictable.

Fire was all I knew.

I walked through hell without looking back, silently begging the flames to consume what little remained of me. Anything was better than returning to the life waiting on the other side.

---------------------

No pain. No screams. Realization hit me like a punch to the chest. Why was the world so quiet? Had he finally done it? Had he finally gone too far? Sia? I called out to my wolf, hoping she could tell me what was happening, but all I was met with was silence. No growling. No pacing. No comforting presence inside my mind. Had you left me?

The thought alone made panic settle in my chest. I felt someone touch my arm, but my body refused to respond. A sharp prick followed before everything went numb again. No warmth. No pain. Nothing. New scents slowly drifted toward me, unfamiliar yet strangely comforting. I could feel someone watching me, their gaze lingering as though they were waiting for me to wake up. I forced my heavy eyelids open, only to squeeze them shut again as an unbearable brightness flooded my vision.

"Turn off the lights." The deep voice cut through the silence. It wasn't a request. It was a command. Almost instantly, the room grew darker, and I slowly tried opening my eyes again.

Hospital equipment slowly came into focus as my eyes adjusted to the dim light. Machines surrounded the bed, their rhythmic beeping echoing through the room while blurred figures moved around me, their faces impossible to make out. My gaze instinctively searched for the one person who hadn't moved at all.

He stood in the darkest corner of the room, leaning casually against the wall with his arms folded across his broad chest. He was tall. Much taller than Jack had ever been. Dressed in an expensive black suit that looked almost too small for his massive frame, he watched me in complete silence. His black hair was cut short at the sides and longer on top, slightly tousled as though he'd been running his fingers through it. Sharp features framed a face that should have belonged on the cover of a magazine, but there was nothing warm about the way he looked at me. His cobalt blue eyes held the calm patience of a predator, studying its prey before deciding whether it was worth the chase.

Panic settled deep inside my chest. Who was he? Why was he here? Was he here to kill me?

Sia... please.

His gaze was too much. Too intense. It felt as though he could see straight through me, stripping away every wall I'd spent years building around myself. I lowered my eyes, but they refused to stay there. Instead, they wandered over him, searching for every possible threat. His entire presence radiated quiet authority, the kind that didn't need to be announced because everyone around him simply obeyed. He wasn't trying to intimidate me. He didn't have to. The room itself seemed to belong to him.

Even the nurses kept their distance, moving quietly around him as though they were afraid to interrupt whatever was happening between us. I looked at his hands. No blood. No trembling. Nothing. They rested calmly across his chest, completely still, yet somehow they frightened me more than if he'd been clenching them into fists. I could hear the steady beeping of the machines, my own uneven breathing... and his heartbeat. Strong. Slow. Unwavering. It never changed. Not once.

How could he be so calm? Why wasn't he saying anything? What did he want from me?

"Alpha Jack is dead." His deep voice finally broke the silence, making my eys snap up to his. Dead? That couldn't be right. He couldn't be dead. I searched his face for any sign that he was lying, but his expression never changed. Those piercing cobalt eyes remained fixed on mine, studying every tiny reaction I couldn't hide.

"I killed him." The words hit me like a punch to the chest. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. A strange ache spread through my body, tightening around my heart until it almost hurt. I wanted to feel relieved. I should have felt relieved. Jack had tortured me for seven years, yet all I could feel was an emptiness I couldn't explain.

Why did it hurt?

Why was I sad?

Jack was my mate. A low growl rumbled through the room. The sound was deep enough to vibrate through my chest, making every muscle in my body tense. My eyes snapped back to the stranger standing a few feet away. He hadn't moved, yet something about him had changed. His jaw had tightened, the muscles beneath his skin flexing ever so slightly, as though he was fighting against something. His hands, which had rested calmly across his chest only moments ago, had curled into fists down his side, and for the briefest second his cobalt blue eyes flashed crimson.

I stopped breathing. The red disappeared almost instantly, swallowed once again by the impossible blue I'd noticed the moment I opened my eyes. He drew one slow, controlled breath, and the suffocating pressure that had settled over the room vanished as though it had never been there. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would've convinced myself I'd imagined the whole thing.

Then something stirred inside me. Not fear. Something warmer. Something familiar. Sage. Relief crashed over me so suddenly that tears filled my eyes.

Sia? I whispered.

I'm here. Only a whisper.

I thought I'd lost you.

Never.

Her voice sounded tired, almost distant, but hearing it again felt like taking my first real breath in years. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, silently thanking the Moon Goddess before opening them again.

Sia? She didn't answer. Instead, I felt her attention shift away from me, and before I realized what she was doing, I found myself looking at the stranger once more. He was still watching me with that same unreadable expression. Look at him. I blinked. I am?

Really look at him. I frowned.

What are you talking about? Silence. Then...

He's our mate.

"No." The word escaped my lips before I had the chance to stop it. The stranger's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

No. I shook my head harder, my pulse hammering in my ears. You're wrong. I'm not. Yes, you are. I've never been more certain.

"No!" I shook my head violently, panic rising in my chest.

"I just escaped one mate. I can't survive another." For the first time since I'd opened my eyes...

He moved. Just one step. His expression never changed, but something in his eyes hardened.

"You don't have to do anything." His voice remained calm. Cold. Controlled.

"I don't want another Alpha," I whispered. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

"You won't answer to me." I stared at him, unable to understand what he meant. He turned towards the door, his polished shoes barely making a sound against the floor. His hand closed around the handle, but before opening it, he stopped.

"I'll have someone bring you food." Then he walked out without another glance. The door clicked shut behind him. I kept staring at it, trying to understand what had just happened. He hadn't threatened me. He hadn't shouted. He hadn't even tried to convince me. He had simply... left.

If Jack was our mate... Sia's quiet voice pulled my attention away from the door...then why did I only wake up when I felt him?

The question stole the words from my mouth. I opened it anyway, ready to tell her she was wrong, ready to repeat everything Jack had told me over the last seven years. Nothing came out. Because for the first time...

I didn't have an answer.