Episode.2
1077 Words
Elena’s POV
When I opened my eyes again, I was in chains.
I let out a shaky breath, my gaze wandering around as I tried to make sense of my surroundings, taking in the stone walls, the cold floors beneath my feet, and the heavy metal bars caging me in.
A dungeon.
The cuffs on my wrist bit into my skin, reminding me of how useless I was. I was told to run, but I couldn’t even do that.
I bit my lips so hard they bled, frustration bubbling within me. What would happen now?
As if answering my question, two guards stormed into the dungeon. I winced as they grabbed my arms, hauling me out like a rag doll. This time, I didn’t fight. Because I soon realized that this was no place for protests.
It was the palace.
I had only seen it on TV, but I couldn’t miss the towering pillars, golden banners, and the grandeur of the kingdom’s capital.
My throat tightened.
I was dragged into a grand hall, every head turning as the guards forced me to my knees. I kept my gaze lowered, too afraid to look anyone in the eye, but their whispers slithered around me like a venomous serpent.
“Is that her?”
“The Silver Moon’s only daughter?”
“She may be from a family of traitors, but she’s a beauty.”
“An omega? How pathetic.”
“It’s no wonder they kept her existence a secret.”
“But why did the prince keep her alive then?”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to drown them out, but a voice broke through my efforts.
“Silence! The crown prince has arrived.”
I instantly recognized it, and I hated that I did.
Standing beside the throne, clad in dark armor and a crimson cloak, was the general from the tunnel. His expression was unreadable, arms clasped behind his back.
The heavy doors behind the throne swung open, and every official instantly straightened.
Silence swept over the hall, seizing the whispers.
The crown prince. Cassian Vorn of Vornia. The tyrant who seized power while the king lay bedridden.
My parents sheltered me from pack affairs, but the stories about his rule were impossible to ignore. He was a cruel man who brutally eliminated anyone who dared to oppose him. And now my family has become just another set of names on his list of victims.
He sat upon the throne, elbow propped lazily on the armrest. His silver hair fell over one side of his face as he rested his cheek against his fist, his icy gaze scanning the room with disinterest.
Until they landed on me.
My heart lurched as our eyes met, but something strange stirred within me. It wasn’t nervousness, nor was it fear, but something far more alarming.
‘Mate’
A voice that wasn’t mine echoed in my subconscious. Dull but there.
‘Mate’
No….
No it couldn’t be…
The prince froze for a fraction of a second, his eyes widening. He sat up slowly, his gaze sharpening as his nostrils flared, jaw clenched.
At that moment. I knew he felt it too. The invisible pull that sparked between us.
A cold shock rattled through my ribs.
The tyrant prince was my mate….
It was the worst possible scenario. And yet, I didn’t know why I imagined he would reach out to me. Or why a glimmer of hope bloomed within me. But then he opened his mouth to speak.
“How disrespectful?” His lips twisted into a sneer, his tone drippy with irritation. “An omega? My mate?”
Gasps rippled through the hall.
The hall quieted as the prince stood to his feet, his eyes narrowing in cold disgust. “The moon goddess must be mocking me.”
My fingers trembled behind my back. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t find my voice, even as my world unraveled around me. I knew what was going to come next, but I dreaded it still.
“I, Prince Cassian Vorn of Vornia. Reject you, Elena Reese as my mate.”
With a single sentence, the mate bond snapped like glass under a boot. I clutched my chest as the pain struck me. Sharp and instant. My body convulsed, and I found myself gasping for me, feeling my lungs burn.
The voice that whispered in my subconscious faded, leaving behind a hollow space.
An official stepped forward, unrolling a scroll.
“Elena Reese of the Silver Moon Pack,” he announced loudly, “you are hereby charged with treason, conspiracy against the crown, and rebellion against His Highness, the Crown Prince.”
I wanted to scream, to yell that my family was innocent, to yell that I hadn’t done anything wrong, but only a whimper managed to escape my lips.
The prince stepped forward, a taunting smile on his face, one that didn’t reach his eyes. I flinched as he unsheathed his sword, and with each step he took towards me, the surrounding air grew thicker. It felt as if the walls of the grand hall were closing in on me.
This was it. He must have kept me alive to deliver the final blow himself.
I braced myself, raising my head with the last bit of courage left within me. I looked up at the ceiling, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall.
But just before the sword sliced through my neck, he paused mid-strike. I sucked in a sharp breath, my heart skipping a beat.
Cassian arched a brow, contemplating. “On the other hand.” He started, lowering his sword. “The threat of the Silver Moon Pack is already sorted, and I have to reward the man who led the operation.”
I didn’t even have the luxury of being relieved. The prince glanced at the general, amusement glinting in his green eyes.
“The kingdom owes General Zayne Draven far more than medals.”
My stomach dropped.
Zayne Draven.
So that was his name.
The man who murdered his own soldiers without a second thought.
The man who killed my family and burned my pack house to the ground.
The very architect of my misfortune.
I snapped back to reality as Cassian gestured lazily toward me with the tip of his sword.
“So, consider this my reward to you, General.” A smirk tugged at his lips.
“Do whatever you want with her.”
- Writer
