Berrilyl's POVHe got himself a bottle of wine and watched as I was beaten. I was the one who didn't see what was coming. It was so unbelievable that I told him that there was no way that was possible. I couldn't have told him. I didn't know what type of witchcraft he was using but he was always so accurate and it made me wonder if we truly had a past.When he was replaying the recorded audio I thought it was to get me angry. I didn't know that it was a trap, a punishment for trying to ruin his plans. I thought I would be able to get my brother to save me with that.I knew there was no way I would be able to say the exact words I said in the same way but I tried my best and was beaten mercilessly. I kept failing and kept receiving lashes while he enjoyed looking at me in pain. He laughed anytime I screamed. If he didn't say they should stop the lashes were sure to go on forever. It was very painful but slowly the intensity with which I was whipped reduced. I looked at Jake and guesse
Berrilyl's POVI stepped into the room with trepidation, my heart racing as I scanned the dimly lit space. It was just like before.Memories of that day replayed in my mind like a melody. How I was forced to dance, and so on. My gaze fell upon the table, where rows of liquor bottles stood like sentinels. I knew he was next to the table, but I deliberately avoided looking at him. The mere sight of his shirtless torso made my brain malfunction as if an inexplicable force drew me to him.I wasn't the type of girl who would become head over heels for someone based solely on their physical appearance. Behaviour mattered to me, which is why I had never been swayed by Cain, despite his chiselled physique. But Cage was different. I was helpless against the pull I felt towards him.If it were up to me, I would never have set foot in this place again. All it had ever brought me was humiliation and pain. The threats to my husband's safety, the agony of being torn from my pack and the fact that h
Berrilyl's POV"Back to something important. What kind of work should I assign to you that would be suitable for you to handle? Cain reported that you don't finish your work portion but you yell and insult him""He deserves it," I said before remembering what would happen to Owens's body but Cain deserved it after trying to force himself on me still I knew I overdid some things."Still sharp-tongued? Hmm. So what did he do to you to deserve that?" he asked and I didn't reply. I hardly knew how to control my mouth once I opened it. "Well, since your mouth can still move fast regardless of the work you do in the mine. It seems like I would have to find you another one that would make you too busy to talk and insult. You'd be serious with it. So Berrilyl get ready" he said smiling and I didn't want to imagine what kind of terrible work he was going to give me. What I would rather spend time imagining was how to get out of his pack."I'm read...d" I said and he laughed maniacally. "Cat's
Berrilyl's POVI went out of his chamber and outside I saw Jake positioned in his usual spot. It was my time to answer him about all the nonsense he said about my mouth being sealed with a sigil. Then something came to my mind, if he was always here, how on earth did he have time to watch movies? I was confused but I went to him."Jake, you were luck–" "Oh!" He shouted make me, "I get it. He must be calling me right. Okay. I'll be there immediately. Bye," he said and he left after cutting me short knowing fully well I wanted to lash out at him. "But nice sigil," he said before he ran inside. I felt like exploding but as usual, I could do nothing they rendered me helpless but I wasn't going to relent that easily. His behaviour with Cage was quite strange. Cage was usually cold with everyone around him even Jake but it felt like they were in another universe. They were free with each other or rather Jake was free with the Alpha than anybody else I had seen him with. Their friendlines
Cage's POVAs I took a sip of wine, I heard Jake's voice from the other side of the door: ''But nice sigil!'' He then entered the room hurriedly."You asked for me so here I am" Jake said with enthusiasm. "What did you find out?" I asked him."Ohh, about Owen, her ex-husband" he exclaimed. "Most of them are on my phone with me but some are in files and not here so let me go get them" he said."Didn't she tell you that I said you should come prepared?""Prepared? Oh shit. She couldn't tell me because I ran away" he said. I was getting disgusted with his ways."Ran away? Why the hell were you running away from her? She was surely not holding a knife to kill you when she left this place""But you know what I mean. She was about to kill me with her words even though she had a sigil on her. She might be like Scarlet Witch. How did you do it?" he asked."Shut up and let me see what you've found about him," I said to Jake, he smiled and handed over his phone to me and just when I was about
Berrilyl's POVLiah's eyes gleamed with determination as she explained our escape plan. "We need to pass through the slave quarters secretly. We slaves are usually exhausted after a long day's work and sleep soundly. Even if someone wakes up, they'll be too tired to follow us or raise an alarm."I nodded, my heart racing with anticipation. "Okay, what's the next step?""You follow me to the garden ahead," Liah whispered. "What's the plan when we get here?"Liah smiled mischievously. "That is where we make our escape."I frowned, confused. "The garden? But how?"Liah chuckled. "You'd be surprised. The garden stretches all the way to the outskirts of an urban city."My eyes widened in amazement. "We can reach the city through the garden? That's incredible!"Liah nodded. "I know, right? It's the perfect escape route."I turned to her, curiosity getting the better of me. "So, why haven't you escaped before now?"Liah's expression turned sombre, and she looked down at her feet. "I was sca
Berrilyl's POVWe ran past the guards, our feet pounding the ground in unison. For a moment, I believed we would actually make it. But the guards were too strong, too fast. They quickly gave chase, their shouts and footsteps closing in on us.I wished for the moon goddess to help make the right thing happen as I ran.After what felt like an eternity, we were finally caught by the guards. They grabbed us roughly, holding us in a tight grip. I struggled against them, but it was no use. We were trapped, and our bid for freedom had been lost forever.I tried to wolf out and maybe I could still fight but I was too weak, all my strength was gone. I've not been eating good food since. I looked at Liah and she looked at me terrified, I felt so bad for her. She would have been sleeping if not for me going to pressurize her into telling me about the exit and, convincing her to come."Aren't you the one the Alpha wants to marry?" The guard holding me asked."No, I'm the one the Alpha is forcing
Berrilyl's POVI couldn't believe he would give me her head as a wedding gift. It was the worst thing ever. I thought maybe I had a wrong impression about him when he was talking with Jake but I realized I was mistaken.What was I even thinking? A heartless person like him would never even flinch or feel anything after doing something as heinous as this. I was horrified by the sight. Even if he wanted to kill her, I didn't know why he had to kill her that way. The way she looked at me before she died was registered in my brain. I couldn't think properly seeing her whom I assured that everything was going to be okay no matter what lay on the floor headless.After discussing something with Jake, he looked at me and asked "Are you going to take your gift or not?""Nooo!" I screamed with rage."That's a very good decision. Guards grab her. It's time for her next punishment" he grinned at me and immediately two guards grabbed me and started dragging me as I was defiant to follow them."Wha
Cage's POVHe instantly understood what I said and in a jiffy, new secret guards streamed in and surrounded the rouges.The rouges stumbled backwards, their eyes darting wildly as they struggled to process the sudden turn of events. Their leader's face contorted into a mixture of disbelief and fear. His shoulders sagged as his confidence fell. He looked at me with regret, his composure almost slipping."This shouldn't be happening!" He exclaimed, his voice shattering into a thousand pieces. "Fight back. Fight With your best," one of the rogue leaders ordered as he saw his rouge warriors getting overpowered."It's way too late for that. The probability of you guys winning is too thin. You better accept defeat" I looked him straight in the eye and told him.He unleashed a fury of rage, launching himself at me with tremendous force. Anticipating his attack, I swiftly moved away, blocking it. With a loud growl, he sped past me and slammed into the wall."Oops," I grinned with satisfaction
Cage's POVThe instant the scream from Berrilyl reached my ears, my heart contracted in a way it shouldn't have. My body had moved well before my brain kicked in and I turned sharply in the direction of her voice. I caught her running toward me, a look of concern twisting her face, along with something else, it was fear.In That split second, the distraction almost cost me my life.A rogue caught me out of focus and charged at me, his blade was aimed right at my exposed side; I barely had time to react. Instinct kicked in, and I twisted my body in time, the blade grazing across my ribs instead of burying into my flesh. The pain was sharp, but I pushed it aside, countering it with a vicious strike that sent the rogue stumbling back.I hadn't had a chance to finish him off.Berrilyl was too close now, too close."What are you doing?!" I snapped at her, latching onto her arm and yanking her behind me. My grip was firm as my heart still hammered in my chest from the near miss.The rogue
Cage's POVTonight, the air is weighted with unvoiced challenge. I sit at the far edge of Mansion's yard, my body bent and tensed on guard. The torches from behind the stone walls seemed to threaten and would violently hang, casting malicious shadowing alongside me in silence. Miliano stood on my right-hand side, still as a ghoulish smile stretched his tanned skin from nose to neck end."Bring the secret guard and surround the Mansion," I ordered, having my voice drop steady, emotionless when inside me chaos brewed.Miliano nodded profoundly. "Aye." And with that, he turned on his heel and motioned for the men we had trained in secret to take their position. They shifted like ghosts and moved into their positions, efficient but silent; slipping into darkness as if they were spawned from it.Just as we were going to make our move, I felt it, the unnatural shift in the air, followed by the distant yet unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps. Lots of them. My instincts screamed a war
Berrilyl's POV I was sitting in my room, my mind spinning from everything Cage had shown me earlier. The pictures, the messages, the so-called evidence. I couldn’t make sense of it. My thoughts were all jumbled, and no matter how hard I tried to push them away, they kept coming back.How could Owen—someone I thought I knew—do something like that? He wouldn’t cheat on me, especially not with someone like that young mistress. And how does Cage have all this evidence? The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. It just didn’t add up. But I had no answers, and all I could do was try to sleep and hope my mind would stop racing.I was lost in thought until my eyes started closing up. As soon as I started to drift off, the loud sound of an alarm shattered the silence. My eyes shot open, heart racing. The sound was so harsh, so urgent. Then came the footsteps—the hurried thud of boots across the floor, the sound of people running. My mind couldn’t catch up to what was happening,
Berrilyl's POVI couldn't believe that Cage could still fabricate evidence to fool me. All along, I knew he was clever and knew how to play the game-twisting realities to his advantage-but never did I think he would go that far. It was using my emotions, trust, and vulnerability to his advantage, and it seemed in the worst possible way-a betrayal.I stood there, frozen in absolute disbelief as Cage laid before me what felt like a mountain of photographs, messages, and documents. Overwhelmingly, each bit of "evidence" that he had in his hands seemed to lead me further down the path on which I really did not want to tread. How could he do it? How could he lie to me so in my face, knowing how much I love Owen?A rage bubbled in my chest, and I couldn't hold it inside anymore. "You're lying!" I screamed, my voice cracking. The words tasted bitter in my mouth, but they needed to be said. There was no other way. "You're just trying to manipulate me, Cage. You think I'll believe this garbage
Cage's POVThe next day, I made a maid bring Berrilyl to my chambers. As she entered, I was relieved to see that her complexion was better. The dad's circles under her had faded, and her skin had regained some of its natural glow.I felt glad that she was finally out of being a public slave, even though it was me who turned her into one. The humility from that young mistress annoyed me and it was time to make her pay and maybe make Berrilyl hate her more.But I didn't show my relief; I remained in my usual stoic expression, not wanting to give away concern for her well-being. I had specifically ordered the kitchen not to disturb Berrilyl for a few days, and to just deliver her meals at the appropriate time. She had to gain her strength before she would be able to do anything. I wanted her to rest. What I put her through was hard, not only for her. It was also hard for me to keep her there but sometimes I convinced myself that she deserved it. As u looked at her, I could see the ex
Cage's POVI was sitting in my room, lost in thought when a guard burst in. His was distorted, and I could tell from his exasperation that he had run all the way here."Sir, Beta Milano and his group have returned", he said, but his voice was laced with a sense of urgency that baffled me."What is it?" I asked, my mind already racing with possibilities; I hope it wasn't true."Sir, he and his group are injured" the guard replied, his voice tight with concern. "They're in the infirmary"I didn't hesitate. I rushed to the infirmary with my heart pounding in my chest. I just hoped that whatever happened wasn't so severe and he was still okay.When I arrived, I was met with a scene of chaos. Most of the warriors were injured, some more seriously than the others, but I didn't see any dead bodies, so I was thankful, although I wasn't sure.Milano himself was lying on a bed, his face pale and drawn. His injuries and those of other warriors were been taken care of.I rushed to his side, my mi
Berrilyl's POVI watched him go, storming off heavily in anger and frustration. I hesitated a moment before stepping from behind the screen of shadows. Talia stood there, her back to me, but I could see her shoulders quivering a bit."You're not even going to ask how long I've been standing there?" I said, stepping closer. My voice was calm, teasing even, but my words didn't weigh quite as much as usual.Talia didn't flinch. She didn't turn around in surprise as I had anticipated.I already knew you were there, she said in a low voice.That threw me off. Talia was never anything but sharp-tongued, always ready with either an acid comment or a glare to dismiss with. Now, however, her voice came soft and unreadable, and her face finally turned toward me. But what was surprising was tears in her eyes, swimming at the edges, threatening to spill, she kept blinking over and over again trying to push them away.For whatever reason, that expression in that pose got through. Sympathy, perhaps
Berrilyl's POVI wasn't eavesdropping not this time, anyway and I certainly wasn't trying to spy on them. Curiosity held me firmly in my hiding place, though, when Jake's voice started rising in frustration."Talia," he started, his words tight with frustration, "Why have you been avoiding me? What have I done to treat you like the monster that makes you shun me?Talia hesitated. Not seeing her face, I could sense her uneasiness at the long silence that followed. She always faltered in confrontation."It's not that, Jake," she said finally, barely above a whisper. "I'm not avoiding you because you've done anything wrong. I just don't want to. The others to misunderstand."Jake scoffed. “Misunderstand what, exactly? That we’re friends? That we’ve known each other for some time now? Is that something to be ashamed of now?”His frustration was palpable, and it wasn’t hard to see why. Jake had always been a straightforward kind of man, someone who spoke his mind without worrying about jud