Cage's POVThe weight of Grace’s cold indifference lingered in my mind. Despite knowing Berrilyl had poisoned my meal, she didn’t seem the least bit affected by the fact that Berrilyl had nearly died. Her calm, calculated demeanour left a bitter taste in my mouth, one I couldn’t ignore.For years, I had seen Grace as a kind, gentle soul—someone who had my best interests at heart. But her reaction, or lack thereof, to Berrilyl’s suffering, made me question everything. If she was capable of such callousness, what else was she hiding?That night, as we finished dinner, Grace moved to follow me to my chambers as she always did. Her steps were light and measured, her soft voice calling out my name.“Cage, wait,” she said, her tone laced with concern.I stopped but didn’t turn to face her. The thoughts swirling in my mind made it impossible to meet her gaze.“You should rest tonight,” I said, my voice colder than I intended.“Rest?” she repeated, confusion evident in her tone. “I thought we
Berrilyl's POVThe cold, steel doors creaked open, and the guards entered with their usual impassive expressions, their boots echoing heavily against the stone floor. I had no choice but to follow them. They didn’t speak, but the glances they exchanged told me everything I needed to know. I was nothing more than an object to be moved around, controlled and confined. They had no mercy, no care for who I was, just a job to do.They led me down dark corridors, the light from the torches flickering on the walls, casting eerie shadows that danced around me like specters. My thoughts were jumbled, racing as I tried to comprehend what was happening. I had been betrayed by Cage, and now I was being punished for something I hadn’t even done. I had only tried to protect myself, to survive in this cruel game of manipulation and deceit, but it seemed that no matter how hard I fought, I was destined to lose.As we reached the door of the room where they planned to lock me up, I could hear the faint
Berrilyl's POV I sat stiffly on the edge of the stool, the velvet cushion doing little to alleviate the discomfort of the moment. The maids flitted around me like vultures, pulling on my hair and clothes with sharp, impatient fingers. Their laughter echoed through the room, grating on my already frayed nerves."Hold still, my lady," one of them said. I bit the inside of my cheek, my fists clenching in my lap as they tugged at my hair. The final humiliation came when one of the maids, a tall woman with sharp eyes jabbed a pin against my scalp while faking she was securing an earring."Ah!" I hissed, jerking back. "Watch what you're doing!" "Oh, forgive me, my lady," she said, her voice dripping with mockery. She didn't even bother to look sincere. The other maids burst into laughter at this, their giggles bouncing off the walls in cruel taunts. Anger and humiliation at this little display burned my face, but I held my tongue. Reacting would only give them more satisfaction.They
Berrilyl's POVI was standing near the edge of the grand hall, blending into the background as well as my position allowed. My eyes found Grace right away, standing behind Cage, her face tight with barely concealed anger. Her eyes flashed to me more than once, flashing in a fury she didn't bother to hide.Her display, really almost made me crack a smile. She's mad. Good. A part of me liked that this was satisfying to further inflame her, to stoke that fire of hers till she was wholly consumed by it. But the thought that did mean something on my part is with Cage and living in a world of plots of Alphas and politics barred me from pursuing this further.I clenched my fists at my sides, forcing myself to remain calm. I can’t let my emotions get the better of me. Not now.My eyes shifted to Cage, who was standing with a circle of Alphas, laughing and talking as if he didn't have a single care in the world. His smile was easy, his posture relaxed, and for one brief second, I was taken aba
Berrilyl's POVFinally, the engagement ceremony commenced. What I’d been waiting for was finally happening. It was going to take place, and I was going to ensure it became the most memorable engagement ever—not for love or celebration, but for the message I intended to send. I’d show him that no one, not even Cage, the ruthless Alpha, could mess with me.No one at all. I didn’t care that he was in a higher position than me. He would pay for locking me away for three days, for thinking he could mould me into the perfect bride with a snap of his fingers. As if I was some naive fool to be bent and shaped to his will. Even a toy deserved more respect than what he had shown me. But I wasn’t a doll, and I would endure whatever torture necessary to prove it.I remembered waking up after that ordeal, and seeing what I thought was concern on his face. But it vanished so quickly, replaced by that familiar anger, that I almost laughed at myself for thinking he might actually care. He was just li
Berrilyl's POVI couldn’t let Cage achieve his aim, not when he’d already taken so much from me. His control was suffocating, his demands endless, and his power unyielding. But today, I had done something he would never expect.I resorted to that one move, a desperate gamble born from sheer defiance because I knew how much Cage cared about his face—his reputation. The carefully constructed facade of invincibility made others cower before him. To tarnish that image, even just a little, was a victory worth savouring.And I had done just that. By letting a few choice words slip from my lips, I had struck at the very foundation of his authority. I told them that Cage had killed my husband and forced me into this marriage. The moment those words escaped me, the room erupted into chaos.Whispers rippled through the crowd like wildfire, growing louder with each passing second. My heart raced, not with fear, but with a strange, exhilarating sense of triumph. For once, I wasn’t the one trembli
Berrilyl's POVThe grand hall was a sea of faces, all turned toward me with expressions ranging from shock to horror. My heart pounded in my chest, but I didn’t falter. This was exactly what I wanted. I had already tarnished Cage’s image once, and now I was ready to twist the knife deeper.The murmurs continued among the crowd, low whispers rippling through the crowd. They were already talking about the accusations I had made before—about Cage killing my husband and forcing me into this engagement. It had caused a scandal of epic proportions, one that still lingered in the air like a storm cloud.It had made this engagement he had been planning for a long time falls and crumble. The best thing about what was going on was that he was watching it as it spoiled without being able to do anything to stop it. He must have surely never imagined that this day would end up being like this. He must have thought it would go smoothly and I was happy with what I did.But that wasn’t enough. Not y
Berrilyl's POVStanding by the grand window of the hall, the warm light from the chandeliers cast a glow on the chaos my actions had sparked. The room had finally quieted down, guests dispersing in awkward clusters, murmuring their disbelief at the spectacle I had made. But I didn't care about their whispers or their judgment. I'd made my move, and I wouldn't apologize for it.Heavy footsteps pounded their way up to me, and I sat up straight instinctively. I didn't have to turn around to know who this was. His presence smothered me."Berrilyl," his voice cut low, words dripping in anger that barely masked the frustration. "Why in the name of all that's unholy did you have to ruin my plan?I didn't answer. My hands wrapped around the edge of the windowsill, the cold biting into my palms. I kept my gaze fixed outside, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing the reaction on my face."Berrilyl," he repeated, his voice rising slightly. "I asked you a question."I still didn't answe
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