Chapter 4
1051 Words
Selene – POV
The cold floor beneath me sent sharp chills through my skin as I sat with my back pressed against the stone wall. My hands were tied, my wrists aching from the tight ropes that dug into my skin. All around me, the once-proud women of my pack—my cousins, my friends, my royal guards—were slumped in silence. We were no longer warriors or princesses. We were captives.
I had woken up hours ago with a splitting headache, hoping everything had just been a terrible nightmare. That the betrayal… the blood… the war… were all figments of my imagination.
But the heavy chains. The cries. The thick scent of fear hanging in the air. They all reminded me this was no dream.
And what shattered me most was the sight of him.
Kairo.
The man I was supposed to marry. The man I had fallen for. The man who promised me love, but instead dragged me into hell.
I never saw it coming. I never questioned his touch, his eyes, his lies. I saved him. Nursed him back to health when he stumbled into our territory injured and alone. I brought him into our home. I opened my heart to him.
And now… he was the monster that brought my people to ruin.
The iron door screeched open, making us all flinch. I raised my head just enough to see several guards walk in—tall, muscular, eyes cold with pride. They carried bundles of cloth in their arms. But as they began to throw the garments on the floor before us, I realized they weren’t clothes.
They were costumes.
Short. Tight. Barely more than undergarments. Designed not for protection or comfort… but for show.
“What’s this?” one of the girls beside me asked, her voice trembling.
“You’ll change into these,” one of the guards growled. “You belong to the king now. And his warriors will be rewarded tonight—with you.”
My heart stopped.
I stared at the flimsy, revealing pieces of fabric in disbelief. They wanted to parade us like trophies. To use us as entertainment. To strip us of everything—not just our freedom, but our dignity, our very souls.
“I can’t do this!” someone screamed.
It was a girl from the eastern wing of the palace—young, maybe fifteen. She pushed the garments away, eyes wide with fear and defiance. “I’d rather die!”
The guard closest to her didn’t hesitate. Without a word, he drew his knife and thrust it into her stomach.
The scream that followed will never leave my mind.
She dropped to the floor, blood pouring from her mouth as she gasped and writhed. Then… stillness.
Everyone froze.
Silence swallowed the room.
And in that moment, we all knew.
We had no power left. No choices. Only survival.
I picked up the piece of cloth thrown at me with shaking fingers. The fabric was so thin it might as well have been air. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I stood slowly, turning away from the others to dress.
Shame. Disgust. Humiliation.
They all sank into me like poison.
“This is my fault,” I whispered, my voice broken. “If I hadn’t saved him… if I hadn’t welcomed him…”
“Selene,” my cousin Olna whispered as she changed beside me, her tone gentle but firm. “Don’t do that.”
I didn’t look at her.
“Don’t you dare blame yourself,” she said again, more firmly now. “Even if you hadn’t loved him… even if you hadn’t helped him, he still would’ve found another way. He was sent to destroy us. One way or another, this would’ve happened.”
“But I made it easy for him,” I muttered. “I gave him the key to everything. To my heart. My trust.”
Olna reached out and squeezed my hand. “You’re not a weapon, Selene. You were just a girl who saw someone in pain and tried to help. That’s not weakness. That’s what made you human.”
Human… I didn’t even feel that anymore.
Once we were all dressed, the guards forced us into a line. Like animals being led to s*******r. The cold night air bit into our skin as we were paraded out into the open court, where fires burned high and drums thundered in celebration.
They were celebrating our downfall.
The men cheered and roared with laughter. Meat sizzled over flames. Ale poured from golden jugs. It was a victory feast for them. And we were part of the menu.
Then I saw him.
Kairo.
Seated on a raised platform, dressed in a rich black and gold robe, with a crown resting on his head. His dark hair was swept back, his expression composed, regal… and heartless.
He looked like a god among his people.
Powerful. Deadly. Handsome enough to make your breath hitch.
But all I saw was a liar. A traitor. A man I once wanted to build a life with… now the one who destroyed mine.
His gaze met mine for a second, and I saw something flicker in his eyes—hesitation, maybe even regret—but it vanished quickly.
I turned my face away.
My hate for him burned brighter than ever, but I knew better than to rebel. One wrong move, and I’d end up like that poor girl in the cell. No one was safe here.
I had to obey.
Even if it meant standing here in scraps of cloth, heart bleeding and pride shattered.
I clenched my fists as one of the guards approached, gesturing toward me and two others. “These go to the inner circle. The king’s elite.”
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat.
I was about to be given away. Like an object. A toy. A slave.
The drumbeats pounded louder, and I took one shaky step forward, my legs weak but moving.
I didn’t know where I’d end up tonight. I didn’t know who I’d be forced to serve. Or what torment waited for me in the shadows of this wicked palace.
But one thing was clear.
The man I loved was gone.
And I… was completely alone.
- Writer
