Chapter 61: We Are Prisoners
1191 Words
Luna's POV
I had no time to think. One minute, I was flipping through the cookbook I’d found in the dusty study, and the next, the heavy door burst open and Ray stormed in, mid-shift.
His fur rippled as he leapt at the man with a snarl that tore through the silence that was between us prior to him entering the study.
Everything happened so fast.
The stranger didn’t flinch.
He turned lazily, almost like this was some kind of game he was tired of playing. Then, with one terrifying calm motion, he grabbed Ray by the throat—just like that, and lifted him into the air as if he weighed nothing.
"Ray!" I cried out, my heart pounding.
Ray's form weakened, bones snapping back into place as he shifted back to human. His feet kicked helplessly while his fingers clawed at the man’s wrist. “Let… me… go…”
I looked around desperately. There was nothing I could use. Nothing useful. Except for the book in my hand.
Just a stupid cookbook.
Without thinking, I hurled it as hard as I could at the man’s back.
It hit him right between the shoulders with a dull thud.
He didn’t even flinch.
Instead, he dropped Ray like a sack of potatoes. Ray crumpled to the floor, coughing and holding his neck.
And then the man turned his full attention to me.
Oh crap!
My breath seized. His eyes were black now. Not just dark—black.
He took a step toward me.
I took one back.
Then, out of nowhere, the door creaked open again, but this time, a woman stepped inside. She was older than the man, elegant, with strips of purple in her hair and a gaze as sharp as a knife.
She didn’t raise her voice.
She simply snapped her fingers.
The sound echoed through the room like a command from a deity.
The man froze in his tracks. His entire posture changed. He turned to her, slowly, like a puppet pulled by strings.
She leaned in close and whispered something into his ear—so quietly I couldn’t hear.
"It's time you went to bed," she said, her voice a bit louder this time.
And just like that, he nodded, turned around, and left the room without a word.
Ray groaned beside me on the floor.
The woman turned to us, folding her hands in front of her.
“I apologize,” she said calmly. “My son has a very... unique way of making first impressions.”
Your son?
“And it doesn't help, he's the prince as well, he has zero social skills," she laughed.
I felt my stomach twisting.
So that’s him? That’s the prince. The one Elena is supposed to marry?
I bent down to help Ray up. His legs trembled as he stood, and his neck was already darkening with bruises.
She watched us carefully, her expression unreadable. Then her tone shifted.
“This study is meant for family members,” she said slowly, “and family members only.”
No matter how she tried to make it sound like—that wasn’t a warning. It was a threat.
But I didn’t respond. I just nodded.
I just looked her in the eyes, and for a second…I thought I saw something move in-between her eyes.
Then, from somewhere deep in the halls of the mansion, I heard a distant scream. It was almost as if it was calling out to me for help.
“Come on,” I whispered to Ray, wrapping my arm around his waist. “Let’s go.”
We walked in silence through the cold halls, and it felt like shadows were watching us as we passed.
When we finally reached our room, Elena sprang to her feet.
“What happened? You’re both looking pale.”
Ray collapsed on the bed. I said nothing, going straight to the corner table, where the herbs were scattered.
I crushed them quickly with the heel of my hand and added drops of the healing oil we’d brought from home. Then I knelt by the bed and rubbed the mixture gently along Ray’s throat.
“It was the prince,” I said quietly. “He did this. And then his creepy ass mother came and took him away.”
Elena blinked. “His mother?”
I nodded. “She just walked in like it was nothing—like this kind of stuff happened all the time. Snapped her fingers, and he followed. It was like he wasn’t even… human.”
Elena frowned. “That’s strange. Well, from what I gathered, she doesn’t even hold any titles. Not a Beta, not a Luna. Nothing.”
“That’s odd,” I said.
Something about that fact terrified me more than anything else—a werewolf queen without a proper title is either a hybrid or not a werewolf at all.
Elena walked over to the desk and grabbed a blank piece of paper. “I’m writing a message to my mum.”
“How are you going to deliver it?” I asked.
As if on cue, a bird—small and gray, fluttered in through the open window and landed gracefully on the edge of the desk.
Elena smiled softly. “That’s how.”
She tied the note around the bird’s leg. “Fly fast my feathery friend,” she whispered. “And don’t stop.”
The bird soared into the sky and disappeared.
Later that night, after we checked on Ray one last time, Elena turned to me.
“I’ll watch the door tonight. You can get some sleep.”
I wanted to protest, but the truth was—I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.
******
The next day, I was woken by the sound of the door slamming.
Elena stood there, her face pale. Her hands were shaking.
“What is it?” I asked, immediately sitting up.
She looked at Ray, then back at me.
“Someone killed the bird,” she said softly.
My eyes widened in confusion.
“What… what do you mean?”
“Elena…” Ray croaked from the bed.
Elena’s face had no expression. “I went outside to check the perimeter, then I found it—dead. The note I had tied to its leg was half-burned.”
There was a wave of silence as we all stared back and forth at each other.
“They’re watching us,” I whispered.
Elena nodded. “And they definitely don’t want us contacting anyone from the outside.”
“So basically we’re stuck,” I said slowly. “We’re stuck here for 3 months.”
Ray cursed under his breath.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
I jumped.
A soft voice called, “Breakfast is ready.”
Elena took a breath and called back, “we’re coming.”
She turned to us, her jaw clenched. “We need to be careful. No more late-night wandering,” she was referring to me.
I nodded.
We were no longer just guests.
We were their prisoners.
And the only way out might be through…
- Writer
