REJECTED BY THE ALPHA, MARKED BY AZRIEN

CHAPTER SIX

ELISA'S POV

I opened my mouth to say something else when we heard it, the sound of heavy boots and voices echoing down the stone corridor.

Azrien and I both turned to face the door just as it burst open.

Four guards stepped in, lanterns swinging in their hands. The yellow light made the cell look even more ruined than it already was, burnt rags on the floor, blackened iron twisted and broken. Their eyes widened as they took it all in.

“The hell happened in here?” the one in front barked, his voice sharp with suspicion.

Their gazes landed on me first. Then shifted to Azrien.

And instantly, I saw it in their faces. They immediately stood alert, tense, and ready for trouble.

“Who in the goddess’ name is this?” demanded another guard with a scar running across his cheek. His hand hovered straped to his thigh.

They turned back to me, their eyes narrowed. “And how did he get in here? Answer, girl!”

The way they spoke stung, but I clenched my teeth and didn’t drop my gaze.

“It’s none of your business,” I said coldly, my voice steady even though my heart beat painfully fast.

One of them let out a humorless laugh. “None of our business? You’re locked in the alpha’s dungeon, and you’ve got company. It damn well is our business.”

“And you—” another guard pointed at Azrien, stepping closer, his boots crunching bits of burnt straw on the floor. “Speak! Who the hell are you?”

Azrien stood still, tall and silent, the shadows playing across his bare chest. For a moment, he said nothing, and the tension got even worse.

“My name is Azrien,” he finally said, sounding as calm as he’d been since he showed up here.

The guards shared a look, then one snorted. “Azrien? Like the moon god?”

The others let out a low and mocking laugh.

“Fitting name for a rat sneaking into cells,” the scarred guard sneered. “What, you were born under a pretty moon?”

“He is the moon god, dummy!” The words spilled out of me, harsher than I intended. “The real Azrien.”

They froze for a second. Then they all burst into ugly, crude laughter.

“You hear that? She says he’s the moon god!” one mocked, clutching his side like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.

Another turned back to Azrien, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. “That true, then? You a god?”

Their tone made it clear they didn’t believe a word of it. They were just looking to get a good laugh.

I turned to Azrien, waiting, certain he would speak the truth like he had to me.

But to my shock, he shook his head slightly, almost as if it meant nothing.

“No. I’m not. She’s only joking,” he said calmly as he stood up to his feet, like he didn’t just make me look stupid in front of these men. “It’s a coincidence of names, nothing more.”

For a moment, my mind went blank.

What? A coincidence of...

I stared at him, words caught in my throat. Why was he lying? Why tell me one thing, then them another?

In my shock and confusion, I completely forgot that I was supposed to be crippled and quickly stood to my feet, turning to face Azrien with a frown. “What did you say? I was just joking? What do you mean I was just joking? Didn’t you just tell me yourself you were the moon god?”

At first, the guards just glared at us, their eyes still scanning the shattered window and scorched iron. But then one of them froze, his gaze dropping to my legs. His frown deepened into confusion.

“Wait… she’s standing?” he barked, his voice filled with disbelief.

Another guard’s eyes widened. “Weren’t you crippled? How the hell are you even on your feet?”

Before I could answer, more questions spat from their mouths, overlapping and growing ruder by the second, demanding how it was possible, what magic I’d used, and who exactly the man beside me was. Their shock quickly twisted into suspicion, their hands drifting to the hilts of the daggers strapped to their thighs as they waited, scowling, for an explanation I had no idea how to give.

I ignored them and turned back to Azrien. I opened my mouth, but before I could ask, a guard shoved me back, his voice sharp. “Enough from you. The alpha demands to see you, witch.”

He spat the word “witch” like it tasted foul in his mouth.

“And you,” the scarred guard barked at Azrien, “you’re coming too. You can explain to the alpha who you really are and how the hell you got in here.”

Another guard stepped forward, with iron cuffs clinking in his hands.

“Turn around,” he ordered roughly.

Azrien glanced at me for the briefest moment, but I couldn’t read what I saw in his eyes. Then he raised his hands silently, letting them clamp the cuffs around his wrists.

Cold metal bit into my own skin as they bound me too. My legs, still shaky but working thanks to Azrien, threatened to buckle under the sudden roughness.

The guards didn’t care. One of them shoved me forward, almost sending me sprawling.

“Move,” he snarled. “You can explain to the alpha how you managed to start walking again when you were crippled mere hours ago.”

They pushed us out of the cell, into the corridor. The stones smelled of mold and old blood. My mind was spinning, trying to make sense of what just happened.

Why had Azrien denied the truth? Was it part of some plan? Or had he lied to me from the start?

Every step we took echoed in my ears. The guards stayed close, rough hands ready to grab if we stumbled.

One guard leaned close. “So, you’re really walking again, witch,” he muttered. “Funny. Last we heard, your legs were dead.”

Another joined in, his voice mocking. “What, you pray to the moon god and he fixes you up? Or did your little lover boy here do it?”

They all chuckled darkly, the sound crawling over my skin like insects.

I didn’t answer them. My jaw clenched so tight it hurt.

They kept firing questions anyway.

“How long you known him?”

“How’d he get in without anyone seeing?”

“You two planning something?”

Their words blended into noise, but my anger burned hotter with every step.

None of your business, I wanted to scream again. But I kept my silence.

We passed other cells with prisoners pressed against the bars, staring with hollow eyes. Some whispered; others turned away.

Finally, we reached the end of the corridor, where rough stone gave way to dirt. We walked for what felt like eternity before the pack house building came into view. A place that used to feel familiar. Now, it felt like the jaws of a trap.

As we arrived in the pack house building, they pushed us toward the double doors. My heart thudded painfully. Beyond those doors, Alec was waiting. And I had no idea what he would do next.

Azrien walked beside me, completely silent. I wanted to turn to him, to ask Why? Why lie? Which of the stories was real? But every time I opened my mouth, a guard barked at me to keep quiet.

Questions crowded my mind, clawing for space.

Did he lie to protect himself because he was scared of anyone else finding out his true identity?

Or was he never the moon god at all?

Had he only told me what he thought I would want to hear?

I remembered the warmth in his touch. The strange calm in his voice. The way he’d looked at me when he spoke of my power, not with fear or disgust, but something close to respect.

But now… doubt crawled through my chest. If he wasn’t the moon god, then who was he? And why did he lie?