Cage's POVAs soon as the Beta and his guards exited the room, the faint echo of their footsteps fading down the hall, my focus shifted entirely to Berrilyl. The anger I had restrained during the meeting surged forward, bubbling up and demanding release. I turned to her sharply, ready to unleash my frustration. “Who do you think you are,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous, “to imply that I need you so badly, that without you my plans would crumble?” Her response was infuriatingly dismissive. She didn’t speak a word, only rolled her eyes, the faintest smirk curling her lips. “You better listen, and listen carefully,” I warned, stepping closer. “Don’t you ever try that again, or you won’t be able to handle what’s coming for you.” She raised her chin defiantly, her voice calm yet laced with exhaustion. “Stop pretending I’m lying. You do need me. If you didn’t, you would’ve killed me long ago. You’ve had every reason to do it, haven’t you? Yet here I am, alive and standing in
Berrilyl's POVI woke up in a haze, disoriented and confused, staring at the ceiling. My head throbbed, and my body felt heavy like the weight of the world had settled on me. As my mind started to clear, I felt a presence beside me. Someone was holding my hand. I turned my head, groggy, and saw the physician by my side, checking my pulse. His face was kind, and professional. But his presence did little to calm the storm inside me. What happened? The last thing I remembered was arguing with Cage. He had been furious, warning me about Grace. The tension between us was suffocating, but everything after that moment was a blur. I shifted my gaze, and that’s when I saw him—Cage. He was standing near the physician, his posture rigid, his gaze fixed on me. His eyes burned with an anger so intense, that I could almost feel it searing through me. If his mask had covered his eyes too, I wouldn’t have known how much he hated me. “How are you feeling?” the physician asked, his voice gentle
Berrilyl's POVI stared at the food in front of me, trying to force down the disgust I felt. Cage’s words echoed in my mind—*“Only the goddess knows whose toe is inside the food.”* I could almost feel the taint of his cruel words poisoning the meal. It smelled so good, though—too good. The temptation was almost unbearable, but his sick laugh still rang in my ears. He was a monster, and I couldn’t trust anything he gave me, no matter how innocent it looked. I glanced at the door. Cage had already left, his laugh trailing behind him as he slammed the door with enough force to rattle the walls. I knew it was a challenge—a test of patience, of trust, or perhaps just another one of his sick games. Part of me wanted to dive into the food and finish it all in one go, to ignore the horror of what he might have done to it. But another part of me, the cautious part—the part that had learned from all the abuse, from every twisted trick he’d played—held me back. His words stung, and the last
Berrilyl's POVI sat still in the quiet of my room, my mind a storm of confusion and frustration. My thoughts were consumed by the same question that had been plaguing me for weeks: why hadn’t William come looking for me? I had been taken from him, kept captive by Cage, yet there had been no sign of a search. No attempts at rescue. No word from him at all.I shifted uncomfortably, trying to push the thought away, but it refused to leave me. The silence from William made no sense. He had always been protective, always there when I needed him, so why hadn’t he done anything?A part of her wondered if Cage’s explanation of the situation had some truth to it. Perhaps William was too busy with other matters, or perhaps he really hadn’t known where to look. But deep down, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it, that something wasn’t right.I paced the room, the floorboards creaking under my weight. I had heard Cage mention things that didn’t sit well with me, things about po
Berrilyl's POV After the pandemonium had subsided, Cage stood his gaze looking carefully through the scene. The two men who laying dead on the floor had already been taken away. The attack had come without warning, and the deaths of his men were a painful reminder of how vulnerable they could still be.“Secure the perimeter,” Cage ordered. His voice was firm, carrying authority. The guards nodded and scattered to follow his orders. There was no time for grief now; they needed to know if there were more enemies hiding nearby, waiting to strike.He turned to the soldiers who had gathered the bodies. “Make sure the dead are buried properly. Both of them,” Cage added, his voice softer now. It wasn’t just his men who had fallen, but they were his responsibility, and that meant giving them a proper burial, no matter the circumstances.Jake, who had stood next to him, observed the men leaving. His face was strained as he turned to face Cage. He whispered, "I don't trust anyone," as he glanc
Berrilyl's POVThe cold, damp walls of the cell were growing all too familiar. I leaned against the rough stone, trying to block out the ache in my back and the faint stench of mildew clinging to the air. My wrists still showed the faint bruises from the last time they'd dragged me here, but it wasn't the discomfort that bothered me, it was the bitter taste of humiliation.Again and again, I was cast aside as if my words were but empty air.Steps rattled through the corridor; it was so narrow. I came straight up and then flicked a strand of hair away from my face. A small window on the cell door slid open, showing me an expectedly familiar face, Grace.She came into the room, her head held high, as always superior, her footsteps deliberate. This time, she didn't carry a tray of food with her just that knowing smirk, that set me on edge."You really can't help yourself, can you?" she said, crossing her arms. "Your mouth is going to get you killed one day."I let out a short, bitter lau
Berrilyl's POVI stood stiffly in the corner, the tension in the room thick enough to cut through with a knife. I could feel my heart thump as Cage took one stride forward, his gaze piercing cold upon the spies' blood-smeared forms kneeling at his feet.Who sent you?" Cage's voice was quiet, almost detached, but the weight of command behind the words left no argument.The spies didn't answer. Their heads were still hung low, their swollen lips leaking blood onto the floor. Watching them, a weird feeling twisted in my tummy, I didn’t know if it was pity and anticipation mixed up. Were they terrified or just too loyal to be sensible?When Cage spoke again, his words sent a shiver down my spine. “And while we’re at it,” he said, his eyes narrowing dangerously, “tell me if there’s another spy in this room.”There was a brief, strained silence in the room before my gaze turned instinctively to Grace. She was standing to the left of Cage, her face was blank, but I noticed her jaw stiffened
Cage's POVI stormed into my chambers. Grace trailed after me, her soft footsteps were hesitant but persistent. "I'm sorry for all that happened, it wouldn't have happened if I was careful enough all these wouldn't have happened. It's just the feud we had that day that caused it" Grace said. She kept trying to make me calm down. Everything that was happening was very annoying. All my plans were falling into place and we were working as planned but suddenly it was falling. This was the best time to execute most of my major plans only for me to find out that there were some spies in my pack.I was ready to kill whoever that person was. My long plan couldn't just easily get wasted like that"I can't believe Berrilyl would dare accuse me," she began, her tone tinged with disbelief. "After everything I've done for her. I’ve treated her with nothing but care and respect, and this is how she repays me?" Grace said her voice breaking. She sounded so sad.I didn't immediately respond. My fin
Berrilyl's POVTo my surprise, I heard that my brother's pack was left with no alpha and it had been taken over by some group of greedy wolves. The best part of it was that his Luna wife and the others were taken as concubine under the current leader apart from his wife Lucia who had gone earlier with some people of the pack who believed of in her and some of the slaves in the palace that agreed to help her escape. All the slaves he captured had been set free by Lucia but the ones who stayed due to greedy reason were now all under their new leader.In my opinion, Lucia was very lucky she could escape with some of the people I knew were righteous. The rest of them that I even had as friends were all sleeping with Owens behind my back so I didn't care what happened to them since they didn't bother deceiving me or hurting my feelings. They enjoyed my brother and Owens so they could also enjoy the aftermath. I just felt bad a little since I had many memories there but soon I realized t
Berrilyl's POV"Are you still in love with that idiot after everything he put you through?" William asked but I ignored him. What I needed was a way that I could make Cage forgive me for everything that I did. For every single thing that happened between us that I ruined, the people that died and leaving his face like that. There were just too many when I thought of it, and I didn't know how exactly I was going to make him forgive me. I figured out that I'd continue to try no matter what. He was the only true love I ever had."You are thinking about him. Aren't you?" William said looking at me with anger and frustration."Of course I am. Why not?""Really Sis? He punished you. Killed Owens. Turned you into a public slave, allowed people to mistreat you like you were nothing!""Yes, I know. And Owens's death was caused by Cage, and to me, it's a good thing because you knew that bastard was cheating on me, and you encouraged me to get married to him, and with what I did, I kinda deser
Cage's POVI arrived on the scene to witness something that I had not expected: William, cold and firm, was denying Berrilyl. The words coming out of his mouth were so bitter, as if he had no second thought, no remorse about what he was telling her. His eyes, which were usually so cold, were colder, harder than ever. He gazed at her as a stranger, as a failure, as something that could be discarded. There was no sympathy on his face, only complete disinterest.Berrilyl was before him, her own face twisted and pale with feeling. I could observe the shame and remorse reflected in her eyes.I remained in the entrance, observing them, trying to comprehend what I was seeing. A part of me that continued to resent her. The lies, the hypocrisy, that she had been an accomplice to so much pain. But part of me felt sympathy for her. She was also used, duped by the man she loved more than anyone. I was torn at the time, between my anger at her for what she'd done, and the sense that she was a vict
Berrilyl's POVI remained silent at the doorway, concealed in the darkness, ensuring I didn't make any noise. Williams was completely unaware that I was present, hearing everything he said. I didn’t want him to realize I was concealed just behind the door, listening in on what he was saying. My heart pounded while I remained frozen, wishing he wouldn’t see me because I wanted to listen to what he had to say.My heart ached as I listened to the betrayal, the secrets I never could have dreamed of. William's calm, assured tone now trembled with something evil. He spoke of manipulation, and plots to destroy us, and I was only beginning to understand the depth of the lies he had convinced me with. My Alpha, my brother, whom I had thought I could trust and at one point in time even suspected would never desert me, was the architect of my agony.Cage's men were standing in front of me and turned to look at me with their blank faces. It was time. I had heard enough. They had come to drag me fr
Berrilyl's POVI stood there in shock, my eyes fixed on Cage's. My heart was pounding within me, my head spinning from what he'd told me. He'd been so serious, as if he knew so for certain, speaking of something from my past that I didn't remember myself.I didn't believe him, I just didn't want to do that.I couldn't get the words I'd heard him say out of my head.It was William, my brother whom he had raised up, who guarded me, and who had always cared for me. Cage, however, abducted me, he enslaved me, and now he expected me to embrace his reality?I clenched my fists tight, biting the nails of my palms as I spun around and ran towards my room.I needed to get my head together.The moment I closed the door behind me, I inhaled deeply and my chest tightened in rage. My emotions were all tangled up, but one thing was for sure, I just couldn't believe Cage.I jumped at the knock at the door. My body hardened. Had Cage returned?I hesitated and crept toward the door, slowly opening it
Berrilyl's POVWhen I regained my consciousness I looked around and found myself in a very dark place that I could at first hardly see a thing. I tried raising my hands and felt severe pain; I was wounded in different places; it was so painful, and some were deep.Despite that I knew I had to get out of where I was, so I mustered all the courage in me to crawl out of the damn dark room and started shouting for help. My voice wasn't as loud as usual but I did my best to sound loud."Hahaha, oh my! See who's on the floor behaving like a snail. Who's in charge now? You disgusting asshole" I heard a voice say but couldn't clearly identify it."Does your head still hurt? I mean, does your body hurt? I remember throwing you in here, and it made a very loud thud," the man said again, and I realized it was none other than Cain. He had come back to take revenge on me. It became clear to me that all my crawling and shouting was useless and trying to run away from him was hardly going to be im
Cage's POV If someone had helped William escape from the hidden dungeon and find a way out of here, it either meant that he had brought someone with him who we didn't capture and was sneaking around then saw the perfect opportunity to let him go or we had a spy among us.The thought of having a spy in our midst left me dumbfounded. The spy must have known our pack so we'll that the hidden dungeon wasn't only unhidden but could be operated by whoever the spy was.Was I this careless to have never figured it out? When the spies were killed all of a sudden, I should have known there was still more to it, but I blamed Berrilyl since she always had more than one way of communicating with her brother, and I was caught up in so many problems that I forgot to investigate such a dangerous attempt further.Even if he had a someone with him who we didn't capture, there was no way the person would have got through the guards, the security system was tight which meant the only way he could escape
Cage's POVI wasn't that intoxicated. I was just tipsy. I knew where I was and what I was doing, still. But even with the alcohol in my system, I could feel my mind slipping, becoming less clear, less sharp. The edges of my world blurred, and everything felt a little lighter and easier to deal with.With that said, I didn't attack Berrilyl. She had already left, and something made me know it was not yet time to follow her. She was angry and scared. I could see that from her eyes as she turned her back on me. But she needed space, and I knew that if I followed her, things would just get worse. It was not the first time Berrilyl had left me, and I knew it would not be the last. So I simply released her.I did what I always did whenever I had to focus on other things instead. I took a hold of the mask again. It was more about obscuring my mind, and my emotions rather than hiding my face. My feelings. My thoughts. The mask gave me a feeling of control and detachment. Wearing it, I felt so
Berrilyl's POVIt was a day to my engagement already, and I had decided to carry out my plan. I had prepared for days now on how to escape, but the only way out that I could think of was to get rid of Cage. It was the last thing I could think of to save myself from getting married to him, and tonight I was going to carry out my plan.The night was calm as I walked down the halls of the mansion. There was just the soft thud of my steps against the quiet. My heart was racing, and I felt this crazy mix of fear and resolve. Was I going to do it? I stood before Cage's door.My mind was telling me that this was what I needed to do, but my body was tense and unsure. I'd never been more nervous in my life. I'd practiced this moment so many times in my mind, but now that it was here, it wasn't quite the same. Still, I could not go back. I had to move forward.I pushed the door inward slowly, as quietly as possible. The room was black except for the feeble flickering of candle flames at the ed