Bite the hand

Chapter 2: Fractured Memories

Lila’s pov

I sat alone in the dim holding cell, clutching the hidden knife so tightly that the wrapped blade pressed into my palm. The cold stone floor seeped through my torn ivory gown, and the faint moonlight from the small barred window did little to chase away the shadows. My mind reeled, replaying every moment from the ballroom last night. The public divorce. Darius’s cold eyes. The way the entire pack had watched me break.

This morning, they had dragged me into a small hearing room just down the corridor. The pack elders sat behind a long wooden table, their faces stern and unyielding under the harsh lantern light. Their voices droned on like a death sentence.

“Lila Voss,” one elder intoned, his tone flat and formal, “the council hereby formalizes Alpha Darius Kane’s public dissolution of your bond. You are no longer recognized as luna. All ties to the Silverfang Pack are severed.”

Another elder shuffled papers and read the charges without even looking at me. “Accused of i*********e against three pack pups. Evidence includes your scent at the scene, forged claw marks, and witness statements. You are declared a traitor. Execution by silver at dusk.”

I didn’t speak. What was there to say? My wide hazel eyes stayed fixed on the table, but inside, everything felt shattered. The knife in my hand was the only real thing left. I had hidden it under the folds of my gown during the hearing, and now back in the cell, I turned it over slowly. Small. Sharp. A gift from a stranger who had whispered, “Don’t let them break you.”

Hours passed in silence. My stomach twisted with hunger and fear. I kept thinking about Darius. How had it come to this? I had loved him so completely. Been the soft luna who smiled through everything for the sake of the pack and our marriage. But the doubts had been there, growing like weeds.

My mind drifted back to that night three months ago. The memory hit me hard, pulling me into the past as clearly as if it were happening again.

I had come back early from visiting the nursery pups. The estate halls were quiet, the lamps turned low. I carried a small basket of herbs for Darius, hoping to surprise him after a long day of council meetings. Our bedroom door was slightly ajar, and I heard sounds—soft moans, the creak of the bed, heavy breathing.

My steps slowed. Part of me wanted to turn around, but I pushed the door open anyway.

There they were. Darius and Elara. Naked on our bed, the sheets tangled around them. Her sleek raven hair spilled across the pillows as she arched beneath him. His muscular back flexed with each movement, his golden eyes half-closed in pleasure. The scent of their joining filled the room—sweat, lust, and her perfume that I had smelled on him so many times before.

“Darius...” Elara moaned his name like she owned it.

I stood there frozen, the basket slipping from my fingers. Herbs scattered across the floor with soft thuds. Darius’s head snapped up, his eyes meeting mine. For a split second, I saw something in them—surprise, maybe even a flicker of guilt. But it hardened quickly into irritation.

“Lila,” he said, his voice rough. He didn’t pull away from Elara right away. “What are you doing here?”

I wanted to scream. To cry. To shift and tear into both of them. But the words wouldn’t come. My chest ached so badly I could barely breathe. This was the man I had given everything to. The alpha who had promised me forever under the full moon. And here he was, in our bed, with her.

“I... I brought herbs for your headache,” I whispered, my voice small and trembling. Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them back. “I didn’t know...”

Elara smirked, not even bothering to cover herself fully. “Poor little luna. Always so devoted.”

Darius sat up, running a hand through his messy hair. “Go back to the nursery, Lila. We’ll talk later.”

I should have yelled. Demanded answers. Told him how much it hurt to see him like this. But I didn’t. I loved him too much to lose him. The pack needed a strong alpha, and I told myself this was just a mistake. A fling because of the pressure from rival packs. If I pretended it didn’t shatter me, maybe it would go away. Maybe he would come back to me.

“I’m sorry for interrupting,” I said softly, forcing a weak smile even as my heart broke. “I’ll... I’ll see you at dinner.”

I turned and left, closing the door quietly behind me. In the hallway, I leaned against the wall, sliding down until I sat on the cold floor. Silent sobs shook my body. The image of them together burned into my mind—the moans, the way his hands gripped her, the betrayal in his eyes when he saw me standing there. But I pushed it down deep. Devotion meant sacrifice, I told myself. Real love meant staying and fighting for the marriage, not running at the first crack.

I never brought it up again. I smiled more, tried harder in our bed, ignored the nights he spent away. Denial became my armor.

Back in the present, in the dim cell, I wiped fresh tears from my cheeks. The flashback left a bitter taste in my mouth. How foolish I had been. That night should have been my warning, but I had ignored it to preserve something that was already rotting.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor outside my cell. I tensed, pressing myself against the wall and hiding the knife deeper in my gown. Two guards stopped near the door, their voices low but clear enough for my wolf ears to catch.

“...mistress Elara handled the evidence perfectly,” one said with a chuckle. “Planted the pup scents on the luna’s old cloak. Forged those claw marks with a sample from her brush. Alpha didn’t even blink when she suggested it.”

The other guard grunted. “Smart move. That weak girl was holding him back. With the new alliance through Elara’s family, the pack will be stronger. Too bad the little luna has to die for it.”

My blood ran cold. So it was true. They had framed me. Darius knew. Elara had done the dirty work, and he let it happen. The public divorce wasn’t just politics—it was a clean break so he could have her without guilt. My hands shook with anger and fresh hurt. All those years of love, reduced to this. A convenient scapegoat.

I wanted to scream at them through the door, but I stayed silent. The silver chains they had locked around my wrists earlier burned against my skin now, growing hotter as the day wore on. Dusk was approaching. Execution time.

The guards’ voices faded as they walked away. I tested the chains again with the knife, scraping at the links. My mind raced with questions. Why the pups? What bigger game was Darius playing? My growing suspicion turned into a heavy weight in my chest. He had thrown me away so easily, after everything.

As the light outside the window dimmed, the cell door rattled open. A burly guard stepped in, his face twisted in disgust. “Time to go, traitor. Alpha wants this done before the moon rises fully.”

He grabbed my arm roughly and yanked me to my feet. The silver chains dug deeper, sending sharp pain through my body. I stumbled, and he slapped me hard across the face. The sting bloomed on my cheek.

“Pathetic,” he sneered. “Crying over an alpha who never wanted you.”

Something inside me stirred at the pain. A faint, warm spark I had always buried deep. My hidden curse. For the first time, instead of weakening me, the slap seemed to feed it. A sliver of strength flowed into my veins—from him. His anger, his force. It was small, but it was there. My wolf surged forward unexpectedly.

I partially shifted—claws extending just enough, my senses sharpening. Before he could react, I slashed out with the hidden knife, catching his side. He howled in surprise.

I ran.

Bursting out of the cell into the shadowed corridors of the estate, I dashed toward a side exit I knew from years of living here. Alarms sounded behind me. Howls rose in the distance. My gown tore further as I pushed through a servants’ door and into the night air.

The shadowed alleys of the city outskirts welcomed me with their darkness. My wrists still burned from the silver, and blood trickled from the slap mark on my face. I was wounded, breathing hard, my heart pounding with fear and a strange new power.

I didn’t know if I would survive the night. Hunters would be coming. Darius’s pack would not let me go easily. But for the first time since the ballroom, I felt a spark of something real.

I clutched the knife tighter and kept running into the alleys, uncertain but alive.