Caged by the enemy Alpha

The room

My room is not bad at all, with a bed piled high with furs, a real fireplace that throws orange light across the stone, and glass in the window that looks out over the training ground.

There was also a closet, but when I opened it, I found nothing.

No dress, no armour.

Just like my room in Blood Moon.

I remembered when I peeped through the window and saw something unusual, but I did not raise the alarm.

Had I done that, maybe the soldiers would have been on alert.

Maybe none of this would have happened.

The guilt still sits in my chest like a stone.

The door cannot be locked from the inside, and Kieran's room is next door.

I can feel him.

The bond is a live wire now, raw from the council, telling me when he paces and when he stops.

He's pacing.

I'm perched on the edge of the bed without touching it, just observing the room quietly.

A knock hits the connecting door.

"Come in," I say before I can stop myself, like I have a say here.

One of the female guards came in.

"Alpha wants you in the dining room. Now," she said, dropping another basket on the bed and leaving without waiting for an answer.

I stared at the basket.

Inside it was a blue dress with silver embroidery, a pair of small silver earrings, a hairbrush with an ivory handle.

Underneath it, was folded clothes and boots that might actually fit.

They're trying to dress me like a Luna.

I took a shower anyway.

The water was hot, and it stung my wrists where the chains rubbed me raw two nights ago.

I let it run over my head until my thoughts went quiet.

When I got out, I braided my hair.

My fingers shook, but I managed the pattern my mother taught me when I was small , sitting between her knees .

I reached for the wooden wolf bracelet and slid it on.

The female guard led me to the dining room.

The Nightbane corridors are different from Blood Moon.

Ours were stone and opened to the sky, while these are wood and torchlight, lined with furs and weapons on the walls.

The maids and servants paused as we passed. They bowed slightly, their eyes sliding over the dress and bracelet.

A pup hiding behind his mother's legs, when he saw me, lifted a small hand and waved.

I smiled and waved back.

His mother yanked him away like I'm contagious.

The family dining room is smaller than the Great Hall.

Pictures hang on every wall.

Men and women with Kieran's gold eyes.

One large portrait in the centre has to be his father because he has the same jaw, and he was not smiling.

A long wooden table.

A fire.

No packs.

No warriors.

Just Kieran, an older woman with the same gold eyes and steel-grey hair pulled back tight.

And a younger man who looks like Kieran but softer.

To his right was an empty chair for me.

To his left sat a girl.

She was really beautiful.

Nightbane blue in her braids, a silver Nightbane bracelet on her wrist, and a dress made for a Luna.

Her eyes were already on me when I walked in.

Cold.

Hateful.

And Kieran's younger brother, Darian.

He at least looked uncomfortable.

"Sit," Kieran said, not looking up from his plate.

I took the seat on his right, and the chair scraped too loudly.

"Lyra of Blood Moon," Selene called. "This is Mara. She was to be Luna."

My stomach dropped.

"And how is that my business?" I thought, but I kept my mouth shut.

The room went silent.

Mara's jaw ticked, and she lifted her cup, but her knuckles were white.

"Was," Kieran said simply.

"She is now."

He pointed at me.

Mara laughed, but it was sharp.

"Right. Because you killed her father and decided to wear his daughter instead. Very romantic."

Kieran didn't look up but his jaw clenched just as Mara finished her statements.

I kept my eyes on the plate.

Roast pheasant. Bread. Berries. My throat was too tight to eat.

Selene leaned forward. Her gaze like a hand on my shoulders.

"Tell me, girl. Do you think wearing a crown makes you one of us? My son spilled blood for that seat. Blood Moon's blood."

"Mother," Kieran warned.

"What? It's the truth."

She sipped her wine.

"Mara has been trained for this her whole life. She knows our laws, our people, our history, and she knows nothing."

She ended by pointing at me.

Mara smiled at me over the cups.

"Don't worry. I'll teach you, starting with how to kneel properly."

My hands shook under the table.

I'm counting the guards.

Two guards at the door.

One window behind me.

If I run now—

The same Nightbane girl who gave me water the other day was the one clearing the table.

A spoon slipped from the tray and clattered to the floor.

I bent and picked it up before she could.

"I'm so sorry, Your Luna," she whispered to me.

When the table was finally cleared—

"Leave us," Kieran said.

Mara didn't move until Kieran looked at her. Then she did, but dragged her feet.

The door shut.

"Thorne sent a challenge. Three full moons."

He looked toward the door Mara had used.

"And that's Mara. She was supposed to be Luna three years ago. My father arranged it. She's still here as a guest, and don't let her into your room."

"And for your personal maid..."

"The girl from the dining room. The one with the Nightbane blue beads."

He left.

I sat in the dining room with the fire crackling and the ghost of Mara's smile in my head.

I'm just getting started, I thought.

They think I'm weak because I'm Blood Moon. They think I will kneel because I'm wearing their dress.

They don't know that the girl who watched her father die doesn't kneel.

Not for Kieran.

Not for Mara.

Not for Selene.