His Betrayal Was My Salvation

SALEM I struggled to open my eyes, the sharp light stabbing them before I could protect them. I blinked, trying to make sense of the dampness and the cold walls surrounding me. I wanted to scream but it was at that moment I realized my mouth was covered with a fabric that reeked of blood, sweat and dirt. Perhaps, my own blood? I couldn’t move either as my hands and legs were chained. How long had I been kept here? Every part of my body screamed in agony. Everything felt wrong and then, I looked down. My stomach was ... flat and empty … no. My baby! I was pregnant. Nine months pregnant. Just about to go into labor when I fell into unconsciousness. How did I get here? I yanked against the chains, letting out muffled screams but the chains were not coming off. It refused to buckle. “It’s with a heavy heart….” I suddenly heard the voice from outside the walls, not too far from where I was. Gannon! He had found me. He would save me. I tried to stand even though I was hurting. Was he even aware I was locked in here by whoever had kept me here? “… that I have to remind us that our Luna; Luna Salem is no longer here with us. Death took her too soon.” My heart dropped immediately. Death? “We all know she died during childbirth.” Gannon continued. I could hear the grief in their voices, my people mourning me. I tried to shout, to call out to them and make them realize I wasn’t dead, I was simply locked away…. Or was I truly... no. I wasn’t. “We mourn her. We honor her.” What on earth was happening? Gannon kept talking. I tried harder, the chains rattling against the stone, echoing through the cell and I hoped someone would hear it. Someone had to hear it. My throat burned from screaming against the gag. My wrists were raw and bleeding where the chains had bitten into flesh. But none of it mattered. Not until I escape. And then… I heard footsteps. I froze, my heart racing. I strained, trying to see who it was through the darkness of my cell. I hoped it was help. The footsteps suddenly stopped and every hope I had was drained off. Slowly, the footsteps resumed, quite slower this time. A shadow stood by the entrance and then I looked up at him. It was Louie; one of Gannon’s most trusted guards. He looked... older. Different somehow. Hadn't I just seen him the day I went into labor? How many days had I been in here? Perhaps, he was stressed? I however ignored that, relief washing through me immediately and I tried to make every noise I could, jerking my head frantically, my eyes pleading. “I’m here to help you, My Lady.” He whispered and glanced over his shoulder as though he wanted to be sure no one was watching. “But promise me you won’t scream or shout.” He instructed and I nodded desperately. Of course, I would do anything to leave this place. The smell was nauseating. He loosened the fabric from my mouth and I let out a gasp before taking in a mouthful of air. “What’s going on?” I managed to whisper, my throat tried from thirst and weakness. “Are we under attack? Where is my baby?” He lowered his head and let out a sigh. My brows furrowed as my heart began to race. I rasped, my voice barely recognizable. “Louie, where is my baby?” “My lady….” He looked away from me immediately, not able to look me in the eyes. “I’m sorry but the young prince didn’t … survive the birth.” “No….” My voice broke. “That’s not….” “I’m sorry, my lady but there is something else, something worse you need to hear.” He glanced at the door as if to be sure no one was coming before moving even closer. “The Alpha wants you dead.” I stared at him. The words made absolutely no sense. Gannon wasn’t just the Alpha. He was my first love, my mate and the absolute love of my life. The father of the baby I had just… lost and although we had been together for just four months before we got mated and I conceived, he was never cruel or wicked to me. He was to be crowned as the Alpha after the birth of our child and I would become the Luna. “You’ve lost your mind.” I managed to speak, this time, clearer. “How dare you….” “He’s the one who chained you here.” His voice was faster this time like he was in a rush to leave this place and not be caught. “Think about it. Who else could order the future Luna to be imprisoned? Who has the audacity to….” “No. He would never…” My voice broke as I doubted my own words. Who would dare without Gannon’s order? “He told us you are a traitor. He said so many things about you, things I cannot even say. My lady, I would never lie to you. He wants you to be eliminated quietly.” Gannon’s voice drifted to me once again. “…my deepest appreciation to Cyra for standing beside me in that dark moment of my life, even till now.” Cyra? My step sister? The one I had told him had tried to poison me six different times in eight years? If he wanted to cheat on me, she was the one he considered worthy? “It’s my honor...” I heard her respond, her voice filled with false modesty. “...to stand in my sister’s place.” My eyes stung as tears formed in them. How could Gannon do this to me? How could he make my step sister, the one who wanted me dead, who would do anything to get rid of me, the new Luna? “She’ll be formally recognized as the Luna in two days.” Gannon continued and I literally felt my heart break. I had seen them together in the days before my labor. always hovering close, always finding reasons to be near him. I'd dismissed it because I trusted and loved him. How could Gannon do this to me? A tear fell from my eyes as both physical and emotional pain threatened to devour me whole. “The Alpha ordered your execution by dawn.” He held my hands in his. “He would have done it already but he wanted to wait after the announcement. “His hands flew to the chains bounding me to the wall. “I have to get you out of here. “When my mate died during childbirth, the Alpha did absolutely nothing about it. You have been good to me; my lady and I don’t want you to die. I won’t let him murder you.” The shackles dropped and so did my arms. It was weak, tired and a little difficult for me to carry. My legs buckled the moment the chains fell away and thankfully, Louie caught me, his arms helping me find balance. “Can you walk?” He probed. I stood still, unable to find an answer. Something nagged at the back of my mind. Gannon had never been this cruel or cold to me even when pack politics demanded it. He had always found another way. This didn’t make sense but then again, neither did waking up in chains to discover my baby was dead and my mate had replaced me. “My lady, we have to move now.” “My baby….” “Is gone.” He responded briskly, almost with no emotions. “But you don’t have to be. Please, my lady.” Suddenly, I began to hear footsteps behind us. Multiple footsteps in fact. “He’s coming to check if you are still breathing.” He whispered. “He’ll make sure you’re not.” I looked at the passage and back at the door. A part of me wanted to escape through that passage and a part of me, the one that still loved him, wanted to go through that door, to find Gannon and demand answers, to see his face but… I had heard everything with my own ears, him declaring me dead and making that snake the next Luna, and Louie was right. Gannon would never spare those he deemed enemies and I was one now. The footsteps grew louder and louder, in unison with my heart. “My lady!” I dropped to my knees and crawled with him into the darkness.