CHAPTER THREE.

IMOGEN’s POV

I manage to force my eyes open as my body begins to feel the amount of cold water that is being poured on me, I can feel the aches all over my body and it feels like life is being sucked out of me anytime I take a breath.

This is like five days being in this dungeon and it is so tormenting and excruciating for me. I will prefer to hear the screams of the people I have killed over the years than stay in this dungeon where I am losing my mind everyday.

“Stand up, you whore” one of the guards who master Athan nicknamed Eagle snicker as the other pushed a meal towards me with his eyes glaring daggers at me like he wanted me dead at that particular moment.

They are both the lowest ranking guards of Aqua blades and that is why master put them in charge of the dungeon

“I don’t even know why the master still agrees we should give her food when she will be executed soon” the other one went on venting, “the audacity of you to even announce that master Athan is your mate”

As I hear that, my heart skips a beat. I know I will be executed soon and I am actually waiting for it. It is better to die than to live with the pain of master’s rejection over and over again.

“Eat as quickly as you can” the other guard whose name is Elliot says again, I can feel the death glare emanating from him, “I am sure this is the last decent meal you will have before you are sent back to your ancestors”

I gulp at the thought of that. I didn’t want to sound entitled but I know I have dedicated my life to Aqua blade and somewhere within me, I am hoping master Athan will temper justice with mercy.

I gently push the food away, I won’t be able to enjoy even a morsel of it.

“I am not hungry” I force the words out of my mouth with blood sipping through the crack on my chapped lips, “you can take the food away.

With each passing moment, I can feel the pain and the sting in my heart and I can’t help but feel heartbroken and helpless. A few weeks ago, I was my master's favourite and now I am on his death list.

“Very well then” Elliot answers, “soothe yourself” and before I can even say anything, the two of them begin to tie me up.

I am even too weak to say anything and I am unable to even see their faces properly as my eyes keep closing and opening at intervals.

“Hold on, I need to speak with her” a baritone voice filters into my ears and I can feel the excitement surge through my veins.

I am thinking it is master and I can’t wait to see his face again after the last time but I am disappointed when I force my eyes open and it turns out to be silver.

Silver is one of the best people in Aqua blade and he is the one who took care of me after master brought me to aqua blade. He is almost an alpha wolf and very strong. He has fought alongside master so many times to reach the pinnacle of his skills and master always commended him in front of all of us. I sometimes admire his strength and now he is the only one who has come to see me after master has me locked up in this ice dungeon.

“Why are you here?” I question him, “you should leave before master sees you and try to punish you silver, you can not be here.

He bent towards me and tuck a few strands of my loose hair to the back of my ear.

“I talked to the master and I begged him, he agrees to set you free”

My face lit up at the thought of that and I can feel the adrenaline rush in my body. Master actually agreeing to set me free is a miracle. Is he trying to make an exception for me because I am his mate?

“But on one condition, imogen” silver says again and I feel all my hope dash to the ground, I have a feeling that the condition is not going to be so easy.

“You have to complete taskS before master sets you free”

My lips curl into a small smile as I can feel the stings of pain over my whole body again. The code S means to kill an alpha werewolf which is almost impossible for someone who’s wolf is even dormant. How did master expect me to do that or is he trying to have more reasons to finish me off quickly? Master didn’t usually send me on such errands, I am more of doing quick kills and collecting information for the blade. How am I supposed to kill an alpha werewolf with my kind of skills? I have hardly even beat silver in any of our training sessions.

The fact that the Darkshadow pack and the silverRock pack are at war is the opportunity master wants me to use and eliminate one of the alphas, I am not sure what he is thinking at the moment.

“Master just wants to finish me off, silver” I told him, “how can he tell me to do that? I won’t even last a day before they kill me, I can’t even wolf out” the pain of not being able to wolf out become fresh in my heart and I can’t help but ball my already aching hands into a fist, if only I didn’t take that wolfsbane.

“Look Imogen” Silver begin to speak again, “this is the only way for you to get out of this ice hell. You know the master and you know how ruthless he can be, finishing you off will be as easy as flicking his fingers and you have to make amends for the embarrassment you caused him. If I were you” he grab my hand gently, “I will take this opportunity without even thinking twice. At least, you have another chance at life”

I was mum for a while, I didn’t know what to say or how to react to this. What if I fail? Master is going to punish me more ruthlessly than what I am going through now and If I don’t accept, he will kill me right here and now. I give a painful scoff, I am between the devil and the deep blue sea like how the master always says. He calls himself the devil which we all should be scared off and right now, I think the deep blue sea is the only way out.

“Okay” I finally speak up, “I respect the condition and I will always be loyal to the master until my dying days”

With a slight nod, silver stands up and gives me a reassuring smile,

“I know you can do it imogen” he says, “your life depends on this and I am sure you do not want to forfeit your life like this”

“It doesn’t matter now, does it?” I force another smile on my face, “I am between the devil and the deep blue sea after all”

With a nod, he turns around and walks away. This time around, the throbbing headache comes back and I can feel like a thousand and one person is in my head, the pain is too much. Before I can even get the hang of the whole thing, my eyes close and everything went Pitch black.

*****

My eyes slowly open again and I slowly squint my eyes to be able to grasp where I am. The serenity of the place get to me and I realise that I am no longer in the dungeon but on a soft bed and I can feel how my whole body relaxes on it.

I have been deprived of a soft surface for days and I badly want to lay back down but this does not look like my room. My room is not this big and exquisite. I have a feeling this is the master's mansion and I can not help but smile a little and for the fact that I had a dream where I am chasing a lone wolf with the master is still lingering in my head.

The dream is one that I didn’t want to wake up from, not when I am chatting sweetly with the master while he trained me to become who I am today. In the dream I willingly allowed the master to do what he wanted with me because I wanted his acknowledgment of me..

My thought is interrupted when the door pushes open and a maid walks in with some clothes in hand and she gently bows to me before setting the clothes on the bed.

“Master Athan has asked to see you in this main hall by 8pm” she tell me, “he has picked out this clothes for you”

At the thought of that, tears well up in my eyes. Master still wants to see me even after all I did? Maybe he still considers me his favourite.

Seeing how exquisite and extravagant the clothes on the bed look, I already made up my mind to dress up nicely so that the master will be pleased.

With that in mind, I turn my attention towards the maid again.

“Can you help me get dressed, I will not be able to do this on my own”

“Sure” she nods, “you should look your best”

A thin smile appears on my lips as I am already imagining myself in the outfit. I have never had a reason to dress up in such beautiful clothes before because I am always busy but now, since my master wants to see me in a nice dress, I didn’t want to disappoint.