Chapter 12: New Cage
1076 Words
Dahlia’s POV
“Hey… you can leave now.”
The voice dragged me out of a foggy sleep. I blinked hard, trying to make out the tall silhouette hovering above me. A palace guard. His armor gleamed even in the dim cell.
“Huh?” My voice cracked like it didn’t belong to me.
“I said you can leave. Alpha Asher ordered your release.”
For a moment, I just stared at him. Release? From here? My mind couldn’t catch up, but my body didn’t wait. I pushed myself off the cold floor, limbs trembling, and stepped out of the prison before anyone changed their mind.
The corridor spun as I limped my way back to my tiny room. Confusion mixed with the ache in my bones. Why would a Blue Moon guard care? Why would Alpha Asher?
The moment my door shut behind me, I collapsed onto the bed, clinging to the brief softness. I barely let myself breathe before…
Knock. Knock.
A groan slipped out of me. “Who is it?” I yelled, unwilling to move.
“Will you open the door?” The voice was sharp, familiar.
I froze. The head maid.
I scrambled up and dragged the door open. She stood there, her gaze sharp enough to peel skin. Her eyes burning with the same hatred they always held for me.
“Get changed. The Alpha has requested you in his office.”
No explanation. She didn't even give room for questions. She just spun on her heel and left.
I stood there, stunned. The Alpha wants me? My heart thudded with something I couldn’t name. Could it be fear? Confusion? Maybe even… hope?
I washed quickly, scrubbing the dirt and cell-stench off my skin. I had nothing decent to wear, so I slipped into my usual worn-out clothes. No point pretending I could look presentable.
My hands were still damp when I reached Alpha Daniel’s office.
Inside stood his Beta, Alpha Asher, and Alpha Daniel in the middle, arms crossed.
My mouth dried instantly.
Before I could speak, Alpha Asher’s eyes flicked to me. “Get dressed. You’ll be going with me to my palace.”
The words landed like stones.
Going… with him?
I stared at him, unsure if I had heard correctly. My heart kicked against my ribs.
What was this man talking about?
Why me?
I turned to Alpha Daniel, waiting. Hoping for him to say something, anything. A correction. A punishment. A command that made sense.
But he didn’t even look at me. His gaze slid away, jaw tightening as if he couldn’t stand the sight of me.
I shifted to his Beta, searching for answers.
Nothing. The same empty silence. The same refusal to meet my eyes.
A tremor ran through me.
Was this real? Was this… freedom? Or another twisted game?
My breath hitched, and for the first time in years, a spark of something unfamiliar stirred in my chest.
Hope.
Terrifying, fragile hope.
Blue Moon Pack Border
The journey to the Blue Moon Pack felt unreal.
One moment I was standing in Alpha Daniel’s office, barely understanding Alpha Asher’s command. The next, I was thrown over the back of his massive black horse, my wrists bound, my thoughts spinning faster than the wind whipping against my skin.
I wasn’t given a chance to speak. Not a chance to breathe. Alpha Asher moved with single-minded determination, ignoring every confused glance I cast his way. He didn’t say a word to me the entire ride, not even when my weak body swayed dangerously or when pain jolted up my legs.
When we finally slowed near a towering line of trees marked with Blue Moon symbols, reality hit me like a blow.
Finally…
We were at his pack’s border.
Asher’s grip tightened on my arm as he yanked me down. I stumbled, my feet barely catching the ground.
“Walk,” he muttered, his voice cold enough to frost the air.
I forced my shaky legs forward. “Why… why am I here?” I tried asking, but he didn’t answer.
He didn’t even look at me.
The guards stationed at the border stiffened when they saw us approaching.
One of them stepped forward, eyes widening.
“Alpha… Is that?”
“My prisoner,” Asher cut in sharply. “Open the gates.”
The word dug straight into my chest.
Prisoner.
He couldn’t have chosen anything that hurt more.
The bond tugged painfully at me, the faint pull between us tightening like a chain I couldn’t see.
The guards exchanged uneasy glances but obeyed. The heavy gates opened with a groan, and the moment we stepped inside…
Silence fell.
Dozens of Blue Moon warriors turned at once.
Their stares sliced through me.
Shock. Confusion. Disgust.
Whispers broke out instantly.
“That’s her?”
“The Alpha’s mate?”
“She looks like a slave…”
“Moon Goddess… look at her arm…”
Heat crawled up my neck.
I kept my eyes on the ground, wishing it would just open up and swallow me whole.
My clothes were torn. My wrists bruised. My hair tangled. I must have looked exactly like what they saw, a broken girl dragged into a world she never belonged in.
Asher didn’t slow down.
He didn’t defend me.
He didn’t even correct them.
He just kept dragging me deeper into the heart of his territory like I was something he didn’t want but could not get rid of.
My breath trembled. Why bring me here only to humiliate me? If I was a prisoner, why release me from the Moon Stone cells? Why claim me at all?
My head spun with questions, but fear swallowed them whole.
Then… something made me stop.
A shiver prickled up my spine.
I lifted my head for just a second, and my heart froze.
Beyond the warriors, past the training fields and the border walls, the woods stretched out in thick, shadowy layers.
And in those shadows…
A pair of glowing eyes stared back at me.
Unblinking.
Unmoving.
Watching me with an intensity that made my knees weaken.
I tried to look away but I couldn’t.
Those eyes weren’t human.
They weren’t welcoming.
And they weren’t friendly.
They felt like a warning.
Or a promise.
The air around me shifted, cold, sharp, electric.
Something out there was waiting for me.
And I had no idea if it meant harm or something far worse.
- Writer
