Black Luna

Chapter 7

The silence between them was suffocating. Torches flickered against the stone walls, throwing jagged shadows that seemed to dance with her heartbeat.

Lia stood frozen, her lips pressed into a thin line. Every nerve screamed at her to speak boldly, to show Alpha Kieran she wasn’t just a weak pawn for him to move around his cruel chessboard. She wanted to spit the truth in his face, that she knew about his plans, that she’d overheard him and his Beta whispering about her being nothing more than a tool.

Her chest rose and fell, rage sparking beneath her skin.

But then, she remembered.

The conversation. The damning words.

“Her blood will be useful. She’s a pawn, nothing more. We’ll break her, and then she’ll serve our purpose.”

The memory stabbed into her like cold steel, silencing her rebellion before it could take root. She clenched her fists at her sides, forcing herself to lower her gaze. Her pride burned, but survival screamed louder.

“I… I went to the woods,” she said softly, her voice steady despite the storm in her chest.

For a moment, silence lingered. Then Kieran’s jaw tightened, and his storm-grey eyes darkened, shadowed with something unreadable.

He moved suddenly. Too suddenly.

In a blink, his hand shot out, fingers coiling around her throat like a vice. Lia gasped, her hands instinctively flying to his wrist, clawing at the iron grip that cut off her breath.

“What,” Kieran’s voice was low, dangerous, vibrating with authority that seemed to crawl into her bones, “did you go to do in the woods?”

She tried to speak. Tried to force the truth or at least part of it , through her tightening throat. But the pressure was too much. Each attempt came out as a broken rasp, her lungs burning as she struggled to pull air.

Her eyes widened in panic, tears brimming as she met his gaze. He was so close now, his breath brushing against her cheek, his scent surrounding her like smoke and storm. He looked like a man possessed, consumed by something darker than dominance.

“Answer me!” he snarled, tightening his grip further.

Her vision blurred at the edges, black spots dancing before her eyes. She shook her head violently, fingers prying desperately at his hand. Finally, in a strangled gasp, she managed a single plea.

“Please…”

That one word cracked, half-broken, filled with raw fear.

It froze him. For the briefest of moments, the Alpha’s rage flickered. His eyes searched hers, as if something in her trembling form stirred a war inside him.

But then his expression hardened again.

“You lie,” he growled, shoving her back so roughly that her body slammed against the stone wall behind her. Pain shot up her spine, forcing a groan from her lips as she collapsed to her knees.

Her hands trembled, pressing to the floor for balance. She coughed, dragging air into her lungs in ragged gasps.

Kieran loomed over her, his shadow swallowing her whole. “I saved you,” he said coldly, voice echoing in the hall. “From a pack that despised you. From wolves that would have torn you apart. And this is how you repay me? Running into the woods, speaking to strangers, bringing danger to my borders?”

Lia’s head shot up at his words, her eyes blazing despite the tears streaking her cheeks.

Saved me?

Her laugh was bitter, broken. “You didn’t save me,” she whispered, shaking her head. “You only traded one prison for another. My old pack beat me, yes. They hated me. But you…” Her voice trembled, her hand pressing against her aching throat. “…you’re worse. You pretend you’re my savior, but you’re nothing but my tormentor.”

Her words struck like lightning. For a moment, the mask of control on Kieran’s face cracked. His jaw tightened, his fists clenched at his sides, and his eyes flashed with something violent.

Without warning, he bent down, seizing her arm and yanking her to her feet. She cried out as his grip dug into her skin, his nails grazing her flesh. He didn’t stop. He dragged her down the hall, past startled guards who quickly averted their eyes, afraid to meet their Alpha’s wrath.

“Kieran please, you’re hurting me!” she cried, stumbling to keep up with his long strides. Her feet scraped against the floor, her shoulder burned beneath his punishing hold.

But he didn’t release her.

He shoved open a heavy wooden door at the end of the corridor, the sound echoing like thunder. Inside was a cold, empty chamber, its stone floor bare, its walls unwelcoming.

Kieran flung her inside. Lia hit the ground with a painful thud, the air rushing from her lungs. She groaned, clutching her arm where his grip had left angry red marks.

The Alpha’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he loomed in the doorway, eyes gleaming with untamed fury.

“You think I’m worse than them?” he demanded, his voice like a whip. “You have no idea what worse looks like, Lia.”

And then he proved it.

The next hours blurred into a haze of pain.

Kieran’s punishments were brutal, far beyond anything she had imagined from the man she once thought might be her deliverer. Each strike, each cruel word, tore away another piece of her fragile hope.

Her body ached, bruises blooming across her skin, blood trickling from shallow wounds. Every groan that escaped her lips seemed to fuel his anger, as if her suffering was both proof of her disobedience and a twisted reminder of his control.

By the time he stopped, she was curled on the cold floor, trembling, her body slick with sweat and streaked with crimson.

Kieran stood above her, his expression unreadable now, the storm of rage gone as swiftly as it had come. For a long moment, he said nothing, his gaze lingering on her broken form. Something flickered in his eyes a shadow of regret, maybe even guilt but it vanished before it could take root.

“You will learn,” he said finally, his voice flat. “You will learn that in this pack, defiance has consequences.”

Then, without another word, he turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Lia lay still, her body wracked with pain. Tears blurred her vision, but she refused to let them fall. She bit down hard on her lip, forcing herself to hold them back. Crying wouldn’t change anything. It never had.

Her mind drifted back to the wizard’s words.

You are no mistake, Lia. Your power is bound, waiting for the blood or heart of your mate to awaken.

A bitter laugh slipped from her lips, cracked and hollow. If Kieran was her mate, then the Goddess must have been crueler than she ever imagined.

Her chest heaved, her body screaming in agony, but beneath it all, something stirred. A fire. A spark.

She wouldn’t break. Not completely. Not for him.

If Alpha Kieran thought she would remain a pawn, silent and obedient, he was wrong.

Because with every bruise, every drop of blood, every ounce of pain he inflicted, Lia’s resolve only sharpened.

She would endure. She would survive.

And one day… she would rise.