Episode:1
Chapter 1: The Release.
Zariah POV-
I sat silently in my cell, staring blankly out the small window of Silver-Chain Prison. As I waited for the guards to call my number, I could feel my heart racing—just slightly. After three years behind these walls, I was finally being released.
“Number 2331, come on. It’s time for you to be processed out.”
I remained seated for a moment longer, as if I hadn’t heard him.
“Hey! Did you hear me?” he laughed, his tone turning sleazy. “Don’t tell me you’ve gotten used to being here… huh?”
I slowly turned my head and stood, my expression blank as I waited for the guard to open the silver gate.
“Still not talking?” the guard asked as he watched me step out of the cell.
My eyes flicked toward him, causing him to flinch—but I never said a word.
“Tch! Whatever. Go get your stuff and process out.”
As I walked away, I could hear the guards snickering and whispering behind me.
“She still acting all high and mighty?”
“Nah… Vega knocked that little princess attitude right out of her.”
“Serves her right after what she did!”
“Yeah… they say the Velcren girl still hasn’t awakened from her moonsleep.”
I continued toward the front, their words falling hollow against my ears. I was far too familiar with whispered venom.
“Well, well… look who we have here. Leaving me so soon, little rabbit?”
Prison guard Vega Cortez smirked as I filled out my paperwork. Licking his lips, he leaned closer and whispered in my ear.
“I’ll certainly miss the way you and your wolf screamed.”
My wolf Shira tensed inside me. A quiet cry escaping her. Still, I remained silent.
Speaking no longer mattered.
It didn’t matter when I tried to convince everyone I was innocent.
It didn’t matter when I begged and cried for my family and ex-fiancé to help me.
And it didn’t matter that I had been forced into this hell.
As far as MoonCrest Pack was concerned, I was a junkie wolf who had brutally sent a young woman into a moonsleep that had now lasted over three years.
“Is this all of your belongings?”
The clerk placed a small bag on the counter. I pulled it closer and checked inside. A phone and my journal. I had been working on ancient texts the day I was arrested.
I glanced at her and nodded.
The clerk hesitated, her brows furrowing. I hadn’t spoken a word in over a year, not since the brutal attack that left me in the hospital for nearly a month. After returning to general population, I’d learned exactly what my voice would cost me.
So I stayed silent.
STAMP!
The sudden noise made me flinch.
“Alright, Thornheart. You’re a free woman. Try not to get into any more trouble, and do your best to make amends for what you did to the victim. Drugs or not, there’s never an excuse.”
I said nothing. I simply took my bag and walked out, still wearing the same clothes I had been arrested in.
As I approached the gates, my mind spun in a hundred directions.
Make amends.
I nearly laughed.
That would be difficult, considering I wasn’t the one who attacked that girl.
No—I had been forced to take the fall after my ex-fiancé and biological parents threatened to cut off treatment for my granddam, Zelda—the woman who had raised me for over ten years after a rogue attack separated me from my family.
The moment I stepped outside, the blazing sun nearly blinded me. I paused, letting my eyes adjust. The fresh air filled my lungs, soothing both me and Shira. I glanced around, a faint smile tugging at my lips.
I was finally free.
My first thought was of my granddam. I wanted to visit her immediately. But as I neared the exit, it became clear that my plans no longer mattered.
A black luxury SUV sat waiting. My eyes darkened. I recognized the silver crest instantly.
Tristen Lochwood.
The doors opened, and he stepped out alongside one of his guards. The moment his eyes landed on me, he froze.
I knew why.
I no longer resembled the girl he remembered. My skin was pale, my frame thinner, and my once-thick hair looked unkempt.
I had once been told they were beautiful. Wide, bright, filled with curiosity and wonder as I explored the world. They had looked at Tristen with admiration that made him feel like a king.
But now…
They showed only three things.
Cold. Distant. Lifeless.
I looked at him as if he were a stranger.
Because he was.
“Zariah. Welcome home.”
His tone was casual like I had returned from a trip, not prison. I said nothing. I simply opened the car door and got in. His guard glanced between us nervously, and I could already feel Tristen’s irritation rising.
No doubt he was wondering:
Why wasn’t I happy to see him?
Why was I so distant?
Where is Shira?
That last question likely burned the most. Because by now, he knew he could no longer sense her through the mind link.
The door slammed shut.
Good.
Let him be angry.
Three years in that hell, and he never visited me once.
Why should I care?
He wasn’t even man enough to face what he’d done—to tell me himself that he had betrayed me again by ending our engagement… and announcing his new mate. Instead, I learned about it during one of Vega’s “sessions.”
I leaned back, catching his gaze in the rear-view mirror.
Whatever.
Fuck him.
The silence stretched, thick and suffocating, until we reached the Thornheart packhouse gates. Finally, Tristen turned toward me, his expression hard.
“Look, Zariah… it’s been three years. It’s time to put this behind you. You’re home now. Let’s just move on.”
I slowly turned my head, my dark eyes filled with quiet mockery.
“Move on? Should I congratulate you on your engagement to my sister as well?”
He froze. He’d known I was aware our engagement had ended, but not that I knew about Thailia.
“I—that—”
His words faltered.
A hollow laugh slipped from my lips. “No need to explain yourself.”
Any trace of guilt vanished from his face, replaced by irritation. “Cut the act, Zariah! You know why I can’t marry you! It was for political—”
“As I said,” I lifted a hand, cutting him off, “there’s no need to explain. This is for the best.”
His eyes widened… then darkened. Shock gave way to anger, then something else.
“Zariah…” His tone softened. “It doesn’t matter that I’m marrying Thailia. My wolf and I are still fond of you. I promise, I’ll still take care of you.”
This f*****g prick.
I lowered my gaze, my voice cold. “And the young woman still trapped in a moonsleep? Should she move on too?”
His eyes widened. “That’s beside the point!” He exhaled sharply. “Look… Thailia feels bad about what happened. But it wasn’t her fault! She’s been a wreck the entire time you were gone. So it’s time to move forward! When I’m Alpha, I promise I’ll—”
“I no longer need your promises, future Alpha.”
I stepped out of the car, leaving him speechless. As I walked toward the front doors of my family house, my heart began to race.
Once, I had dreamed of becoming one of the greatest keepers. Once, I had dreamed of being Tristen’s Luna.
But those dreams were gone. Now, only one thing remained. The one thing that had kept me alive through three years of hell.
Revenge.
I would make them all pay—for the pain, the humiliation, the torment.
And only then…
Would I finally feel whole again.
