The Dungeon
1031 Words
Suddenly, as Amaris stood looking toward the balcony, a wolf moved to attack her from behind.
But as if he had been there all along, Kael stopped him, gripping his neck firmly with his strong hand.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” he said, his voice laced with both coldness and anger.
The wolf who had previously been defeated by Amaris ran off as soon as Kael released his grip.
Amaris flinched slightly, but tried to mask her awareness.
“I’m sorry… I got so distracted I didn’t see him coming,” she said, trying to sound natural.
“I didn’t save you because you matter to me. The only thing that matters about you is your womb. Nothing else.”
Amaris let out a sarcastic laugh, but there was no fear in it.
“Yes… that’s already clear. Nothing else matters, right, Alpha?”
That tone irritated him more than it should have.
“Aldo!” he shouted.
His best friend appeared immediately.
“What is it?”
“Take her to the dungeon. Twenty-four hours. No food.”
Aldo frowned, confused.
“Kael… you just married her.”
“Do it,” he ordered, leaving no room for argument.
He didn’t raise his voice, but there was no space to question him.
Amaris stepped forward.
“I haven’t done anything to deserve that.”
Kael approached her slowly.
“You mocked me. And here… no one mocks me. Learn your place. Just because you’re my wife doesn’t give you any rights.”
Amaris met his gaze, her chin held high.
“Then learn to hear the truth.”
That was enough. Kael pulled back sharply.
“Take her, Aldo.”
Aldo hesitated for a second, but obeyed.
The dungeon was a place of darkness and cold.
When the door shut behind her, the echo rang in her ears.
Amaris stood still for a few seconds, breathing deeply, trying to hold herself together.
Then she slid down against the wall.
Her hands trembled… but it wasn’t just fear.
“Fine…” she said. “So this is what you are.”
She closed her eyes for a moment.
“Then I’ll have to be smarter than you.”
Meanwhile, Kael stood in his study, unable to focus. The maps in front of him were useless.
His mind kept returning to her—her laughter, her gaze, how she hadn’t backed down.
The door opened without warning.
“You were wrong,” Aldo said.
“No.”
“Yes. You’re not correcting your wife… you’re reacting.”
Kael lifted his gaze.
“She needs to understand her place.”
“No,” Aldo replied. “You need to stop seeing her as if she were Belilah.”
Silence took over for a moment.
Kael stood abruptly.
“Don’t mention her again.”
“Then stop acting like she still controls everything you do.”
Kael didn’t answer. But the tension in his jaw gave him away.
He simply returned his gaze to the maps he had been studying.
Time in the dungeon was impossible to measure.
There was no light, no sound… except the distant echo of dripping water.
Amaris sat against the wall, silent, her eyes open in the darkness.
A noise broke the stillness. Her senses sharpened instantly.
It wasn’t a guard. The footsteps were slower… more deliberate.
Amaris didn’t move. The cell door opened with a faint creak. Then silence—followed by breathing.
“So you’re the new Luna…” a deep voice said from the darkness. “You don’t look like much.”
Amaris slowly stood up.
“They say you’re weak…” the man continued, stepping closer. “That you come from an insignificant pack—and that the Alpha only wants you to give him an heir.”
Amaris took a slight step back, measuring distance.
The man advanced confidently—and that was his worst mistake.
When he reached out to grab her, Amaris moved fast.
She pressed a point on his wrist, and his arm gave way instantly.
Before he could react, she twisted her body and struck behind his knee.
The wolf fell.
“What… did you do…?” he growled.
Amaris didn’t answer. She moved again, aiming for his neck, pressing harder.
The wolf’s body tensed… but he didn’t go down.
He was stronger. He roared and slammed her against the wall.
“Damn you…”
He lunged at her.
Above, Kael suddenly went still, lifting his gaze from the papers.
He could feel something was wrong.
It wasn’t a sound. It wasn’t a scent.
It was… a pull in his chest.
His wolf reacted before he did.
“The dungeon,” he said aloud.
Without thinking, he rushed out of his study and ran down at full speed.
Back in the cell, the impact was brutal.
Amaris managed to dodge part of the blow, but she fell to the ground. The man advanced again, this time without hesitation.
“Game over.”
Amaris clenched her teeth. Her hand slipped into her pouch and found what she needed.
As the man leaned over her, she threw the powder straight into his eyes.
The scream was immediate.
“What the hell?!”
Amaris didn’t hesitate. She got up and attacked. She struck precise points, one after another. Her body moved with precision.
But he was still standing. Slower… but standing.
“I’m going to—”
The door burst open. The sound echoed like thunder.
Kael stood there.
His eyes glowed in the darkness.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The wolf barely had time to turn.
Kael grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground.
“A-Alpha… I was just—”
He didn’t let him finish.
Kael slammed him against the wall with brutal force.
The guards rushed in immediately.
“Take him away,” Kael ordered.
They dragged him out.
Kael didn’t take his eyes off Amaris.
She stood there, breathing heavily from the effort.
Without saying a word, Kael stepped forward, lifted her into his arms, and walked out of the dungeon—his power radiating as he carried his wife.
- Writer
