Chapter 3: Loyalty isn't words
1286 Words
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The heavy door groaned open, and a sliver of torchlight cut through the shadows. Kaelen stepped inside, his presence filling the small, cold cell. His amber eyes searched Luna’s face, searching for a trace of the woman he once thought he knew.
“Luna,” he began hesitantly, his voice thick with confusion. “Please… tell me the truth. What really happened? Why is your scent so… different?”
Luna didn’t look at him. Her jaw was tight, her posture stiff. The fire she once reserved for him had turned to ash.
“I don’t care anymore,” she said flatly, voice cold and distant. “I’m tired of explaining. Tired of fighting for a truth you don’t want to see.”
Kaelen’s brow furrowed, his confusion deepening. “But—”
She cut him off with a bitter laugh, eyes still fixed on the cold stone wall. “You don’t know what to believe anymore. Neither do I.”
The silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating.
Kaelen took a step closer, but Luna remained unmoved, her indifference a shield he could not breach.
“I wish I could fix this,” he whispered, almost to himself.
But Luna only shrugged, her spirit hardened by betrayal.
“I don’t need fixing,” she said quietly. “And I don’t need you.”
The dim light flickered weakly as Kaelen’s footsteps echoed softly in the cold dungeon. He stopped just infront of her, his eyes searching hers for answers she no longer had the strength to give.
“Luna,” he said quietly, voice heavy with regret. “Please… talk to me.”
But Luna’s gaze dropped to the cold stone floor. Her lips pressed into a thin line, refusing to form words.
After a long moment, she finally spoke—not with anger or pain, but with icy calm.
“Just leave me alone.”
Kaelen blinked, stunned by the finality in her tone.
“I don’t want to hear your excuses,” she added, her voice steady but distant. “I don’t want to argue, or explain, or pretend there’s still something between us.”
She looked up then, eyes sharp and unwavering. “Go. Let me be.”
The silence that followed was thick, filled with everything unsaid.
The flicker of the torchlight barely touched the cold walls as Kaelen weighted with exhaustion and hope.
“Luna,” he began softly, “I can’t just leave this—leave you—like this.”
She sat against the damp stone, arms wrapped around her knees, eyes hollow but burning with defiance.
“Why should I believe you?” Luna’s voice was sharp, laced with bitterness. “You followed a scent that wasn’t mine. You trusted Serah over me.”
Kaelen’s face tightened.
She shook her head slowly, pain and anger swirling in her gaze. “If you were truly mine, you would have fought harder. You would have protected me. But you didn’t. You let her steal what was ours.”
His jaw clenched. “I’m trying to make it right.”
She met his eyes steadily. “Loyalty isn’t just words, Kaelen. It’s action. And I don’t see yours.”
The silence that fell was heavier than the chains around her wrists.
Kaelen’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Luna,” he said softly, voice trembling with uncertainty. “I… I don’t know what to do anymore.”
She sat against the cold stone wall, arms wrapped tightly around her knees, her eyes dark with pain and disbelief.
“What do you mean?” Luna asked, voice sharp.
Kaelen’s gaze dropped. “The council has decided… Serah and I are to take our mate vows soon.”
The words hit Luna like a blow. She had heard nothing of this—no warning, no chance to fight or speak.
“You’re marrying her?” Her voice cracked, disbelief and hurt tangled in every syllable.
Kaelen nodded slowly. “It’s what’s expected. What’s decided. But my heart…” He faltered.
Luna’s eyes burned with bitter anger. She thought it didnt matter that Serah stole her mate but the reality of hearing it from him gripped her heart it made it hard to breathe, “How could you? After everything? You were supposed to fight for us.” Luna's eyes started to show a glint of tears, she didn't cry for days. She tried so hard to keep it together, deep inside hoping for Kaelen to come and claim her again because he will know Serah is only using her scent to fool him.
Kaelen looked lost, torn. “I want to believe in you, Luna. I do. But the pack, the council—they’ve made their choice. I’m bound by more than just my own feelings now.”
She pulled her knees closer, voice low and almost crying but still kept it fierce. “And what about me? Am I just something to be discarded when it’s convenient?”
Kaelen swallowed hard, unable to answer.
Luna’s silence spoke louder than words.
Luna’s breath caught, the words echoing in her mind like a cruel verdict.
They’re going to marry.
She felt the cold stone beneath her grow even colder, seeping into her bones as if trying to freeze the fire inside her. The weight of Kaelen’s confession crushed the fragile hope she had been clinging to.
Her eyes burned—not with tears, but with a fierce, raw pain that threatened to unravel everything.
“How could you?” she whispered, voice breaking but laced with fire. “After everything we’ve been through… after everything I’ve lost… you just… give up?”
Kaelen’s eyes pleaded for understanding, but Luna looked away, unable to meet them.
“This isn’t just about us anymore,” he said quietly.
“No,” Luna said bitterly. “It’s about what they want. About what’s easier for them.”
Her fists clenched tightly around her knees. “I fought for us. I begged for you to see the truth. But if you’re ready to move on, then maybe you never truly cared.”
The silence between them stretched, thick and suffocating.
Luna’s voice softened, but the fire never left. “You can go. Marry her. But don’t expect me to wait. I’m done hoping for someone who’s already chosen to let me go.”
Kaelen hesitated near the doorway, his figure cast in flickering torchlight. He didn’t leave.
Instead, he stood there, caught between regret and uncertainty, his amber eyes searching Luna’s face for some sign—some crack in her armor.
Luna sat rigid against the cold stone wall, arms wrapped tightly around her knees, staring ahead into nothingness. The silence between them was thick and heavy, filled with words neither dared speak.
Minutes stretched into eternity.
Kaelen’s voice finally broke the stillness, soft and strained. “I don’t know what to do.”
Luna’s gaze didn’t move. “Maybe… there’s nothing left to do.”
He took a tentative step closer. “I wish things were different. That I could undo the mistakes.”
Her jaw tightened. “It’s too late for wishes.”
The silence returned—heavier, more painful.
Kaelen’s shadow loomed closer, but Luna didn’t flinch. They were two souls bound by broken trust, trapped in the same cold cell, but worlds apart.
Neither spoke again.
The weight of everything hung between them, suffocating and unresolved.
"I'll come back...for you."
Kaelen’s shoulders sagged as he turned away, leaving Luna alone in the shadows—her heart shattered, but her spirit burning brighter than ever.
I hope when you come again, I'm not here anymore.
- Writer
