The dungeon is my domain. Cold, damp, unforgiving. I knew every stone, every drip of water, every scream that ever echoed here. This place broke rogues, silenced traitors, and buried cowards. And tonight, one more sat in it like she owned it.
She is small. Too small to have outrun those rogues. She probably did something to her fellow filthy brethren, even as blood caked her torn dress, crusted down her side. She should've been dead already. But there was a power in her that irritated me to my bones.
I should've ended her life at the border when she was brought to me. One strike, leave her for the crows. But the Alpha had spoken: Spare her. For now. So I obeyed. I always obeyed. Didn't mean I had to like it.
I leaned against the bars, arms folded. She stayed silent, lips cracked with blood, body trembling but never giving in. I'd hit her, twisted her arm, enough to break most men. She gave me nothing. Silence.
A sharp yelp echoed from a neighboring cell. The woman thrown in earlier shifted, struggling against her chains… These are the things I enjoy: low key, resentment and fear mixed..not that uneven rogue
I raised an eyebrow. The rogue didn't even move or answer, but her lips twitched…definitely she doesn't seem to hear anything…or maybe she's dumb
A low groan came from another corner. The hybrid, wizard that almost killed Mr Freeman…the people brought in the dungeon today are the worst set, A dumb rogue, a thief, and that silly hybrid
I kept my eyes on the rogue, noting the subtle moves. She didn't flee from danger; she studied it, cataloged it. That was the dangerous part.
"Commander Wood," Elder Moses's voice cut through my thoughts. He stepped closer, his hands twitching. "She is… unusual. I've felt it before. Something… ancient."
I scowled. "Speak plain, Elder. I have no use for riddles."
"Old prophecies," he whispered. "Whispers of one marked by violet eyes. If it's her… she doesn't belong in chains. She belongs in fire."
I ignored him and focused on the other prisoners. The woman was now muttering curses under her breath, chains rattling as she kicked at the floor. She smelled faintly of stolen herbs and bread. Petty, but she had the fear in her eyes that only comes from being powerless.
The hybrid strained again, his muscles flexing against the metal. He had sharp teeth, claws curled against the floor. I could see the tension radiating off him in waves. The rogue's attention flicked briefly, enough for me to notice, then back to me. Calculating.
Two young guards whispered behind their spears. "…Alpha shouldn't have spared her."
"He's gone soft. His father would've killed her on sight."
My wolf growled low inside me. I stepped forward, and both men snapped straight, pale with fear. Their words hung in the stale air. If warriors doubted Alpha Lucas, the pack could face riot.
Elder Moses leaned toward Elder Kain at the far end of the corridor. Hushed tones reached me. "…the Alpha risks the pack." "…his mercy is weakness. Wolves need strength." "…if he falters again, we must act."..seriously it has gotten that bad for Alpha Lucas when the Elders start talking trash…considering he's still young..those old bunch of wolves are too old… they feel things fast..but the way they behave, it's like they're up to something not genuine.
I stalked back to the rogue's cell. She never flinched. Always watching. Maddening.
"She's alive because Lucas willed it," I muttered. "Not because she earned it."
Gamma Rane stepped in. His shadow fell long, disappointment written on every line of his face. He glanced at the rogue, then at me. "She's… alive," he said flatly.
"Alpha spared her," not my fault.
Rane's gaze returned to her. "Do you see what she is?"
The rogue shifted slightly in her chains, subtly, but enough that tension coiled in the air. She wasn't just surviving, she was observing. Watching. Waiting.
Rane's wolf stirred inside me. Something was off, and even he felt it. "A threat," he muttered under his breath. "…if she moves wrong, it will be fire or death."
I pressed my jaw tighter. "We'll see if the Alpha knows what he's done," I said, letting the words hang like smoke…from the far end,
the hybrid muttered again, claws scraping against the stone, watching everything around him with a mix of suspicion and recognition. The woman spat at him. "Back off, beast, or you'll wish you had."
The dungeon air thickened, heavy with unspoken threat. I glanced at the rogue again. She remained calm. Unfazed. Calculating. And I knew, without fully understanding how, the pack itself might not survive her.
Footsteps echoed, deliberate and commanding. All eyes of my own, Rane's, the prisoners' turned as the dungeon seemed to still. Authority clung to the air like armor.
Alpha Lucas…what is he doing down here, he said he would come by dawn, he walked directly to where the rogue was He looked into her cell like he just saw a princess, why I don't know
"Open it," his husky voice commanded. The lock clicked…
Alpha Lucas stepped in, locking gaze with the rogue girl, silencing the room…but something tells me from that moment Atlas Pack should be ready for what is to come.