The dungeon had a rhythm to it: a slow, patient drip in the stone, the shuffle of straw, the whisper of rats. Even silence had weight here, pressing against my ribs, dragging at my lungs every time I woke from fitful dozing. Last night was something I couldn't explain with Alpha Lucas' visit
But this morning felt different. Too sharp. Too still.
The weight of Lucas's offer hung like iron around my neck: become his Luna. Not a true mate. Not chosen by the Moon Goddess. A bargain. A mask.
Storm snarled in the back of my mind, claws scraping against my ribs. Do not take the trade. They will own you. Use you. Break you.
If I stay here, I die, I whispered back. Slowly. Forgotten. At least his offer gives me air to breathe.
The torchlight shifted, and boots echoed down the stairwell. My wrists throbbed where the rope had rubbed raw. I tried to keep my face calm, though every heartbeat thudded louder than the next.
The guards appeared first, unlocking my chains with a clatter. Yeah all of them gave me the…I am sorry, look..definitely..Alpha Lucas told them I'm a healer not what they thought I was, they are trying to be nice now…Behind them came the almighty liar Alpha Lucas, presence thick as smoke.
And behind his eyes, his wolf stirred. I could feel it. A coiled, dangerous thing that growled low in his chest though his lips never moved.
"You've had all night," Lucas said, his voice even but edged. "You know the choice. Be nothing or stand as Luna."
Storm snapped again. Better nothing than a lie.
But my ribs still ached from where the guards had struck me. My blood still burned with the memory of chains. Better a lie than rot, I thought. Better to live long enough to choose again later.
Still, the word refused to leave my lips.
Lucas's eyes narrowed. "Do you hesitate?"
My mouth opened, but silence stretched too long. His wolf snarled inside him, his power slamming against my skin like a storm wind. "She hides something," the wolf spat, and though his words were not meant for me, I felt their echo.
The guards shifted nervously, watching me as though expecting claws to rip through my skin.
I clenched my fists, nails biting my palms. "I'll do it," I whispered, the words cutting my tongue like glass. "I'll be your Luna."
The guards exhaled sharply, relief mixed with fear, and why is that guard even here ... must be his most trusted..Lucas's face remained carved from stone, but his eyes glinted faintly, like silver catching flame.
"Then stand," he said. "And do not falter. The pack will believe, because they must."
They led me from the dungeon, step by step, into the corridors above. Light burned my eyes after days in the dark. Every corner, every passing wolf, every pair of eyes scorched me. Their stares were knives, and I felt each cut as though I were already bleeding.
A plain robe is given to me, its fabric coarse but clean. As I sat, A female worker dabbed salve against my wounds. The sting made me hiss, but before I could flinch away, the flesh began to knit faster than it should. Too fast.
The worker looked at me, her hand hovering. "That's… unusual," she muttered.
My heart lurched. "It's your salve," I said quickly, grabbing the cloth to cover the glow of healing. "Strong herbs. Nothing more."
Her eyes narrowed, suspicion flickering, but she said no more. The guards, though, exchanged glances that tightened my throat.
Storm pressed against my mind. Careless. Too much too soon. You risked everything.
"I'm still alive," I whispered, though my stomach twisted.
They brought me to a chamber near the Alpha's hall, its walls hung with lavender bundles and smoke-stained banners. A cage dressed in silk.
I sat stiffly on the bench, trying not to fidget, when Lucas entered. He carried his authority like armor, every step deliberate, every glance sharp.
"You chose survival," he said simply, studying me as though I were a weapon he hadn't decided how to wield. "That is not weakness. It is a decision."
"I chose not to rot," I corrected. My voice was thin, but steady.
His lips twitched faintly. "Then you will not rot. You will stand beside me when needed. Speak, walk when I walk. The pack will see Luna. They will not see the cell."
"And in return?" I asked, though the answer was already burned in me.
"Protection. Shelter. Medicine. Enough to rebuild what you've lost." and start over
The words struck deep. Home. My herb garden, behind the well. A fire crackling in a hearth. The promise burned hotter than Storm fury.
Chains, she growled. Golden, but chains all the same.
"I'll do it," I said again, louder this time, sealing the contract that would brand my days.
Lucas inclined his head. "Then learn quickly. There will be a ceremony. The council waits."
Twilight smeared across the windows as I was prepared. My hair combed, the robe tied, the blood scrubbed from my skin. A stranger stared back at me from the polished bronze plate, pale but sharper than I remembered.
But whispers bled through the walls. I could hear some Elders saying,
"…the elders already have another candidate…" Elder Moses daughter
"…this one's a rogue, or whatever she says she is…she's unworthy…"
"…the Alpha insults us with this choice…"
My stomach dropped. The contract I'd taken wasn't protection; it was a direct challenge to the council's will.
When Lucas returned, I tried to speak, but his expression silenced me. He knew nothing of the whispers. Or he ignored them.
Rizzle prowled behind his eyes, restless. This one will not last. She hides her truth. She will destroy us if you let her.
Lucas did not answer his wolf aloud, but the flicker of tension in his jaw told me he heard.
The hall doors creaked open. My heart tripped, then stumbled into panic.
It was the council.
Elders in dark robes, their faces sharp as knives, their eyes colder than winter. At their head walked Elder Merek, his hand gripping a rolled parchment bound in crimson ribbon.
He stopped in the center of the chamber, gaze sliding over me like I was dirt tracked across his floor.
"This is not the Luna we agreed upon," he said, his voice cutting through the air like steel.
I stood like a doll, blood pounding in my ears.
Merek lifted the parchment, unfurling it slowly, deliberately. The crackle of the seal splitting echoed louder than thunder. A letter signed by the Elders,
Stamped with the council's authority. And on its line, written in thick black ink, was not my name.
It was another woman's.
"She is the Luna of Atlas," Merek declared, his voice rising to fill the chamber. "And your charade ends here."..Lucas rebelled, growled out loud, i choose who i want, we're mate-bond, from the moment I entered her dungeon I felt her scent..that's why she's here with me…she's the Luna of Atlas and that is final…I know all he said was a lie but he seems too protective,
The world tilted. My knees nearly buckled.
Rizzle's roar tore through the hall, rattling the walls inside Lucas's chest. His eyes flared silver, power lashing sharp as a whip.
And in that instant, I knew: I hadn't escaped chains.
I'd stepped straight into war.