Five

FAITH

I had run out of tears after a few hours and had sat blankly, staring at the cold, brick wall, too terrified to move in case the chains did the same. 

I had lost all feeling in my hands a while ago, but before I did, I had managed to rip strips off my dress and shoved it between the metal and my flesh. 

It was my one reprieve from the pain, but they had already soaked through with my blood, and the fabric itself was starting to irritate my injuries. 

My wolf hadn’t stirred, no matter how I tried to coax her back, and the longer I sat with the empty feeling where she once was, the more nervous I became. 

It was bad enough that my body felt weak and limp, the rejection having sucked all strength and life from me, but I couldn’t feel her at all.

I jumped when the door to the dungeon burst open, hissing as the chains moved and a strip of the blood-soaked fabric landed on the floor with a splat. 

“Well, well, well. Clever little bitch, aren’t you?” The guard snapped, unlocking my cell as two women came in behind him. “It’s time.” 

My eyes widened when they landed on the white dress they brought in, and I shook my head. 

“Please, you know me. I was your Luna for years. You have to know I didn’t touch Sable. If you take me out there, Alpha Cain is going to kill me.” I begged the guard, tempted to reach forward and grab his shirt in desperation, but I knew that would just result in another hit.

I was fairly positive one more hit to the head without my wolf might be the end of me from how badly it was already throbbing.

“And you won’t get one. Not here, anyway.” He said, his eyes shamelessly roaming my body as the maids began to cut me from my destroyed gown from last night, leaving me exposed to his stare before getting me into the white strapless dress they had brought in. 

I knew the dress all too well as I had worn that same one before with Ryan.

It was designed specifically for mating ceremonies. The strapless gown allowed the male the ability to mark his bride easily and for all to see his claim as the couple walked back down the aisle, but I would rather throw myself down the stairs before I let Alpha Cain claim me. 

I had resisted going into the gown and had even smeared some blood on the skirt as they pulled it on me to stall in hopes they would need to get a new one, which would give me a few more minutes to come up with an escape plan, but they didn’t care. 

Once they had done their job and I was in the bloody dress, they left. Two more guards came in and proceeded to grab me by each arm, dragging me up the cold metal steps of the dungeon, outside, and to the large chapel in the middle of town. 

“They don’t like to be kept waiting.” The guard growled as I stumbled when they released me, just as the double doors were pushed open, and I fell to the floor. 

There were hundreds of gasps and groans as I tumbled onto the aisle, my chains rattling loudly, but no one said anything to stop it, though several people looked bothered.

They couldn’t do anything, though. They had to pick a side, and they chose to submit to their Alpha out of either fear or duty.

Even without my wolf, I could feel the power emanating from the room. I kept my eyes down as I was grabbed by my hair and pulled back to my feet before being shoved forward again. 

At least five alphas had confirmed their attendance to witness Sable’s mating with Alpha Cain, and even with my human hearing, I could hear their whispers of confusion that it wasn’t Sable limping and stumbling down the aisle to the monster at the end. 

They knew me. They had been at my first mating ceremony with Ryan, the man standing beside Alpha Cain, ready to officiate the ceremony.  

The man who I had been mated to for years was about to give me away to a cruel, abusive man, and he didn’t look like he cared at all. 

In fact, he was too busy staring at the beautiful blonde sitting in the front row to even spare me a glance. Sable.

Alpha Cain glared at me, a silent warning for me to speed up, but I kept my pace slow and steady, still hoping that at the very least, one of the other packs would say something to delay or pause the ceremony.

Yet, even they had turned their backs on me. 

My chains rattled louder as I reached the three steps leading up to the platform and found that while I managed to stumble and limp my way down the aisle, the stairs would not be possible in my broken and weakened state. 

I was lucky to be able to walk, let alone remain conscious. The only thing driving me forward was how stubborn I was not to let them see just how weak I was. 

“Get up,” Alpha Cain growled, grabbing the chain around my wrists in his tight grip before yanking me up the steps by them, seemingly not affected by the silver at all.

It felt as if the shackles were going to slice right through my wrists as he lifted me by them. 

My body was shaking with agony, and I was panting as he set me on my feet in front of him roughly before dropping his hold on me. 

“Thank you all for coming,” Ryan bellowed for all to hear, and I hadn’t even realized that music had been playing during my entrance until it cut off when he started speaking. “We are gathered here today before the goddess to unite Alpha Victor Cain and Faith Collins.” 

My head shook back and forth as my chin wobbled. When I pictured my death, this wasn’t how I had pictured it, but I could see it so clearly now. 

I was too weak to survive long, and as Ryan began the ceremony, I began to consider what I would find in the afterlife. 

The sound of the double doors being thrown open and slamming into the walls made me jump, and several wolves began to growl before ducking to cover their loved ones as all the windows on both sides of the chapel shattered, raining shards of glass down on the guests. 

A thick cloud of smoke began to fill the room, and I watched, stunned, as lower-ranked members of the pack slumped over before quickly covering my mouth and nose with the top of my dress.

The Alpha striding toward us wore no protection from the gas, though, and I stared at him in horror. 

His black hair and unique black eyes gave away exactly who he was: Alpha Kaiden Reed, our number one enemy. Our packs had been at war for years, and not only had he just knocked out most of our pack, he had taken out the majority of our allies. 

The only ones not falling to the gas were the ranked wolves and those who had bought a couple of extra minutes by covering their mouths. 

Something about him filled me with both hope and fear, and I knew this distraction would be my last and only chance to attempt an escape. 

“Cain. I was so sorry to hear my invitation got lost in the mail, but I still wanted to bring you a wedding present.” The man said, and my breathing came out faster as he lifted the burlap sack from his side and tossed it forward. It landed with a loud smacking noise before rolling toward us, stopping only feet away as the contents escaped. Two empty eyes settled on me as the head stopped moving. A small squeak ripped from my mouth as I quickly stepped back, but Alpha Reed just chuckled. “You forgot this among my ranks. I thought you might want him back.”