The Alpha's Lost Queen

Chapter Three

Avaline’s Pov

The cell was dead quiet, save for the heavy breaths coming from across the space. Cassian had managed to fall asleep. He’d been coaxing me all night to get some rest, but rest never came. He seemed to have accepted his fate already—defeat. At least, that’s what it looked like. Or maybe it was just the potency of the wolfsbane. My bones felt weak and hollow.

I exhaled, exhausted.

We had both been denied by the Royal Alpha. Darius. It was an evident renouncement. We had been stripped bare, discarded like nothing.

We had no way of proving the seer wrong. If not for the blind faith the pack had in her and her gift, it wouldn’t have been this difficult to overturn such an allegation.

My thoughts and the cold kept me company in these four walls. I’d never dreamed I’d see the inside of this place as a prisoner—much less being sent here by the one who I loved the most.

Every time I closed my eyes, I would see him. The unwavering look of betrayal dancing across his eyes. The once intense gold discs I loved staring into were no longer warm. They were empty. But I kept my eyes closed regardless.

The sharp creak of the cell doors jolted me awake. They barked some words I couldn’t comprehend; my mind was foggy. I hadn’t realized how weak I was until the guards grabbed me roughly, forcing me to my feet, I almost lost my balance. One of them, not wanting to waste time, pulled me along, his gloved hand rubbing coarsely against my skin. Cassian was being dragged along not too far ahead of me.

My stomach sank as a thought ripped through me.

It was time.

I had no idea how long we’d been in the dungeons, but the sunlight piercing into my eyes was the least thing I expected. They’d kept us till morning. Why? I gauged to strength of the sun; it was most likely high noon.

We were dragged past the halls, leading to the wide courtyard where Darius usually gave announcements. Maybe we had a chance. I tried to keep the little fire of hope in me.

The guards shoved us into the midst of the pack members gathered. Most retraced their steps, recoiling as if to avoid catching the illness of betrayal dedicated to us. I tried not to pay attention to them, letting my eyes roam up to the stand where Darius sat.

We locked eyes. Those gold orbs, intense as ever, bore into mine. His jaw visibly clenched before he danced his gaze away from me, as if looking at me any longer was unbearable. My heart ached at the motion.

Sage came into the courtyard, dressed formally. The crowd of pack members began to murmur as she walked towards the stand, her movements were calculated. Almost graceful. She gave Darius a sly smile before taking a seat on the empty space beside him.

My seat.

I felt sick to my stomach.

I’d been replaced. It was clear as the high sun in the sky. She flashed a grin my direction, a taunt, a mockery of everything I had lost.

I made to protest when Darius stood, silencing the murmurs.

“As we all are aware,” he began, his voice sharp, “the traitors before us have committed a betrayal against me; the Royal Alpha.” He spat. “Adultery.”

The crowd jeered, just as excitedly as last night. In the midst of the chaos I could see pitying glances, disgusted stares and satisfied smirks. The good, the bad, and the ugly had come out to tear me a new one.

I thought I’d had hope left.

But nothing like that had existed in the first place. I was a fool for thinking so.

“You two are officially stripped of your titles,” Darius continued coldly, “and you must be out of the kingdom before the evening.”

“Darius—

“Silence.”

He stepped off the stand, walking towards me in slow, deliberate steps. He stopped just in front of me, and for a second I hoped. I hoped he could see the truth in my eyes. That he would tell me this was all a dream, and that he’d been wrong about all the things he said.

But the voice that greeted me was not the one which I remembered. This was ice cold, stale and rigid.

“You betrayed me.”

I shook my head, tears bundling down my face for the first time today.

“I didn’t.” I rasped. My throat ached from dryness, but I kept repeating the words, staring into his gold orbs, willing him to hear me.

“And for your troubles,” he continued, “I’ll see to it that you never come back here.” He glared into me. “Ever again.”

“Please, Darius. Please don’t do this to me.” I wept, my voice barely above a whisper. “What of everything we promised each other?”

“You should have thought of that before you rolled in the sheets with him.” he side glanced Cassian who kept his bent low, avoiding his gaze. “What? Nothing more to lie about?”

“With all due respect, Royal Alpha, that seer is a lying fraud.” He shot back. “I committed no crime. That’s all I have to say.”

“Denial to the very end.” He scoffed then turned on his heel. “Take them. And make sure their filthy feet never cross back into my kingdom again.”

The guards grabbed us again. Where cassian struggled, I stayed still, allowing them nudge me to mobilize my limbs in movement. I merely stared at the Darius’s back as he walked away from me for the final time.

Cassian may have had a will to fight at the moment, but I—I wanted to die.

The burning pain from our broken mate bond seared through me, sending my wolf in a pained rampage. It was too much to bear, the burn. I couldn’t breathe.

The warmth, the love, our bond. Gone.

All of it was gone to a place so far away I would never reach it, and he would never bother to search.

The crowds accompanied the guards in pushing and tossing us around like ragdolls. They wanted us gone. We were traitors, filthy animals, useless creatures with no sense of propriety, honor and respect. But even through all of that I managed to see one smile.

Sage’s.

She waved, wriggling her fingers at me until I was too far away to notice anymore.

How did we get here?