Chapter 4

I collapsed onto the cold stone floor of the cell, the weight of the chains cutting into my wrists, and the chill of the damp air biting at my skin. My whole body trembled, not just from the cold, but from the crushing reality that I had been both betrayed and rejected.

The door to my cell creaked open, and there he stood—my father. His eyes, as cold as ever, met mine. "Why should I even be surprised?" he said, his words like shards of ice. "I am not here to listen to more of your lies, so don't bother spinning them. I am here to tell you the Alpha has declared your fate. At dawn, you will be executed for conspiracy against the pack’s high ranks and for the injuries you inflicted."

My heart pounded in my chest. "Executed?" I whispered, my voice weak. "But I didn’t... I didn’t do anything wrong—" I broke out into a cold sweat. I was going to die for a crime that I did not commit.

"You’re nothing but trouble, Stella." His lip curled in disgust. "Everyone wants your blood. Even your so-called mate, Silas. You are better off dead. What pains me the most is that no matter how beautiful you are, no one will be willing to buy your corpse."

A sharp pain sliced through me. "Dad..."

His expression turned harsher. "You are not allowed to call me that!" he snapped. "I am not your 'dad.' You have no dad." And with that, he left. My sister didn’t even come to see me.

I sat in my cell, sobbing, feeling hope slip through my fingers like sand. I was truly going to die, hated and scorned. This was always going to be my end, wasn't it? I should have left this pack instead of trying to maintain peace with all those who ostracized me. I would have been better off in the human sector. If I had known. But now it was too late.

'It is not too late,' my wolf growled. 'We can escape.'

'It is too late for me,' I thought. My jail would be reinforced. If they caught me again, they would give me a fate worse than death.

Just then, Silas appeared, stepping into the cell. His presence was suffocating, his expression colder than death itself. He didn’t speak at first, just stared down at me, his jaw clenched. "I curse the Moon Goddess," he said finally, his voice low, almost a growl. "For this bond. For choosing you."

I stared up at him, my heart shattering in slow, painful pieces. "Silas... please," I whispered, my voice breaking. "I didn’t lie. They... they hurt me."

He didn't blink, his gaze burning through me. "You’re just a bloody liar. Your sister was right about you all these years."

Of course, Angela had spoken ill of me to him. This incident was now a confirmation.

He continued, "You could never be my mate. You’re not even worth the dirt beneath my feet."

His words ripped through me like claws, but in that moment of desperation, I clung to the one truth I had never told him. The one thing I needed him to know before I died. "Do you remember..." I hesitated, my throat tightening, "...years ago, when you saved a girl from coyotes in the woods? That was me, Silas. I’ve loved you since that day."

His eyes flickered, something shifting behind his cold exterior. For a moment, just a fraction of a second, he faltered. But then, just as quickly, the wall came back up.

"It’s unfortunate, then," he murmured, his voice low and steady, "that you’re not the girl I thought you were."

His words were like a dagger to my heart. He turned away, leaving me in that dark, suffocating cell, his footsteps echoing in the silence. The door slammed shut behind him, sealing my fate.

And just like that, I was alone.

Tears spilled down my cheeks, my chest heaving as I tried to breathe through the agony. I had loved him, believed in him, but none of it mattered. Tomorrow, my life would end, and he would watch without a trace of regret.

But at least... I told him. I’d said what was in my heart. Even if it changed nothing, even if it was too late.

I curled up on the cold floor, letting the sobs take over, waiting for the dawn.

---

I heard a shuffle in the darkness and woke up from the slumber I hadn't realized I had slipped into.

I scrambled to my feet, my body trembling as I rushed toward the bars of the cell. My heart pounded in my ears, my breath coming in quick, shallow bursts. I had heard something—someone had been here. But who?

My foot struck something hard. I froze, the jingle of metal catching my attention. I crouched down, my hands blindly feeling in the darkness until my fingers closed around a cold, rough object.

A key.

My pulse quickened, disbelief clouding my thoughts as I stared at it, my mind racing. It wasn’t just a key. As I reached further, I found something else—wads of cash, tightly bound. And something else—a small glass bottle. I sniffed it cautiously, my wolf rearing back in disgust. Wolfsbane.

I clenched the bottle tightly, my hands shaking. Someone wanted me to escape. Someone believed me, or at least wanted me gone. I wasn’t completely alone.

The realization hit me like a lightning bolt, igniting a flicker of hope inside my chest.

I couldn’t waste this chance.

With trembling hands, I shoved the cash into my tattered clothes and quickly slid the key into the lock. My breath hitched as I twisted it, praying it would work. A click echoed through the cell.

The door swung open.

For a second, I stood there, frozen, staring at the open door. Then I forced myself to move. I wasn’t going to wait for them to change their minds.

I stepped out, my heart hammering against my ribs. The hallways were eerily silent, the flickering torchlight casting ominous shadows on the stone walls. I had to be fast. My wolf urged me forward, every second counted.

I clutched the wolfsbane tightly in my hand, my mind racing with a hundred questions—who had helped me? Why? Was this some kind of trick? But I couldn’t stop now. I was so close.

I moved as quickly and quietly as I could, my senses heightened, listening for any sign that someone might be coming. But all I heard was the sound of my own heartbeat, thundering in my ears as I opened the door to my cell.

My heart swelled when I realized that the guards were snoring.

Freedom was close.

I wasn’t going to die here.

'What's your name?' I asked my wolf.

'Rona,' she replied.

'Let's get out of here.'

With that, despite the pain, I shifted and made a run for it through the lower levels of the pack house. I sniffed and sniffed as I ran. When I caught the scent of river water, I knew I had escaped.

As I reached the tunnels of the sewage system, I knew where I was going. I was going to where I should have gone a long time ago—the human sector.