Rejected And Reborn As The Alpha King's Luna

Chapter 70: Unleashed

The hallway beyond was long and gray, lined with doors. Through small windows in each door, I could see other prisoners. Wolves, vampires, witches, all wearing the same collars, all with the same hollow expressions. How many people were trapped down here?

They threw me into a larger cell, maybe twenty by twenty feet. Three other men were already inside, all wearing collars. The door slammed shut behind me with a metallic clang.

"Fresh meat," one of them said, a lean man with scars covering his arms. "I'm Dante. Eclipse pack. Former Alpha. Been here eight years."

"Rook," said a younger guy, maybe twenty years old, with haunted eyes. "Shadow Creek pack. I don't remember how long I've been here. Maybe five years? Maybe ten?"

The third man didn't introduce himself, just watched me with predatory intensity. Kieran, the True Alpha I'd met earlier.

"Four Alphas in one cell," I observed. "That's either really stupid or really calculated."

"Oh, it's calculated," Dante said bitterly. "They want to see if we'll tear each other apart. Sometimes we do. Usually when someone new arrives and Kieran decides to establish dominance."

As if on cue, Kieran moved toward me, his posture aggressive. Even with the collar suppressing most of our power, I could feel the challenge rolling off him in waves.

"There's only room for one True Alpha in here," Kieran growled. "And I've been here longer. Which means I'm in charge."

"I don't want to fight you," I said, keeping my voice calm. "We should be fighting them, not each other."

"That's what everyone says at first. But down here, fighting each other is the only control we have left." Kieran lunged.

Even weakened by the collar, he was fast. His fist caught me in the jaw, snapping my head back. I tasted blood, felt rage building in my chest. My wolf snarled inside me, frustrated at being caged.

"Theo!" I shouted at the wall. "Theo, if you can hear me, say something!"

A pause, then a muffled voice from the other side. "Xavier? Is that you?"

Relief flooded through me. "Are you okay?"

"Define okay. I'm collared, caged, and separated from Luna and Thelma. But I'm alive. You?"

"About to get my ass kicked by a feral True Alpha."

Kieran struck again, and this time I was ready. I blocked his punch and countered with one of my own. The collar sent pain through both of us, but we ignored it. This wasn't about power. It was about will.

We grappled, crashing into walls, neither of us able to gain the upper hand. Dante and Rook pressed themselves into corners, staying out of the way.

"Who is she?" I gasped out between blows, still talking to Theo through the wall. "Thelma. Who is she to me? Really?"

"She's your everything," Theo's voice came back, strained with emotion. "Your mate, your partner, your reason for becoming True Alpha. You died for her once, in a way, and you'd do it again."

Something clicked inside me. A certainty that transcended memory. I might not remember the details, but my soul knew the truth. I loved her. I would do anything for her.

Including surviving this hell. I caught Kieran's next punch and twisted, using his momentum against him. He crashed to the floor, and I pinned him there, my forearm against his throat.

"I don't want to hurt you," I said quietly. "But I will if I have to. My mate is in this facility. My brother is in the next cell. I'm getting us all out of here, and you can either help or stay out of my way."

Kieran stared up at me, something shifting in his wild eyes. Finally, he nodded.

I released him and stepped back. He sat up slowly, rubbing his throat.

"Fifteen years," he said softly. "Fifteen years I've been here, and no one's ever talked about escape like it was actually possible."

"It is possible," I said with certainty I didn't entirely feel. "We just have to.."

An alarm cut me off. Loud, piercing, echoing through every corridor. Dr. Vex's voice came over the intercom, sharp with urgency. "Attention all staff. We have a code black situation. Multiple prisoners are escaping from D-Block. This is not a drill. Lethal force is authorized."

My heart was hammered. Someone was fighting back. Then I heard it. A voice, amplified somehow, reaching through vents and walls and barriers. A voice I knew in my bones even if I couldn't quite remember.

"This is Thelma, daughter of James and Catherine. I don't know most of you, but I know what you've suffered. I know what's been taken from you. No more. We break free today. All of us. Together. They think these collars make us weak? They're wrong. We're stronger than any metal, any technology, any human fear. WHO'S WITH ME?"

The response was deafening. Hundreds of voices, roaring, howling, screaming their defiance. The sound shook the walls, rattled the doors, filled every empty space with raw, primal fury.

In our cell, Dante threw back his head and howled. Rook joined him, and then Kieran, his voice ragged but strong.

I pressed my hand against the wall where Theo's cell was. "That's my girl," I said, grinning fiercely.

"Our girl," Theo corrected. "Now let's go help her burn this place to the ground."

I turned to the others. "Anyone know the weak points in this cell?"

Kieran smiled, and it was the first real expression I'd seen on his face. "Fifteen years, remember? I know every weakness in this entire level."

He moved to the door, running his fingers along the frame. "The locks are electronic, powered by the same grid as the collars. If we can overload the system..." He slammed his fist into a specific point on the doorframe.

Nothing happened.

Then, from somewhere far away, an explosion rocked the facility. The lights flickered. The collar around my neck sputtered, and for just a moment, I felt my wolf surge forward.

The door's lock disengaged with a click.

"That's our cue," I said, shoving the door open.

Chaos greeted us in the hallway. Guards running, prisoners emerging from cells, the sound of fighting echoing from every direction.

And somewhere above us, Thelma was leading a rebellion. I was coming for her. Whatever it took. Whoever stood in my way. Because even without memories, I knew one absolute truth: she was mine, and I was hers, and nothing in this world or any other would keep us apart.