Chapter 4

I wake up to darkness, my head pounding like someone’s taken a hammer to it.

For a moment, I don’t move, don’t breathe. I keep my eyes closed and feel out my surroundings the way I always do when I wake up in a new place. I’m cold. My hands are stiff, my body sore. The stone beneath me feels rough and unwelcoming. My senses come online slowly, piecing together the details like a puzzle, but it’s a twisted version of the place I grew up—a place that would never feel like home.

The scent of blood and sweat fills my nose. My blood. My shoulder aches where the wolf’s claws tore into it, but it’s not bleeding anymore. My wounds aren’t healing completely either, which means I must’ve only been out for three or four hours. Someone kept me alive, kept me chained here, and for what?

I open my eyes, and the world swims into focus. Stone walls. Thick iron bars. A cage. No.

I push myself up onto my knees, ignoring the pain, and look around. It’s a small cell, barely big enough to stand in. The only light seeps in through a tiny window high up on the wall, dust swirling in the air like trapped fireflies. It looks like daybreak already.

I stumble forward, carefully scanning the bars. The metal is shiny, unscathed, indestructible. I know it too well. It’s silver.

They know exactly how to trap people like me.

I'm not stupid enough to try and grab hold of it. I know that silver burns or wounds take forever to heal, at the rate of a Human... Even if I did try to break the bars, my strength isn’t enough. The bars hold, unforgiving and cold and the silver would immediately weaken me.

A sound pulls me back—a heavy footfall echoing down the stone corridor outside my cell. My heart races, and I step back, leaning into the shadows of my cell, every muscle tensing as I wait. The footsteps grow louder, closer, until they stop just outside the cell door. The air feels thick, oppressive, as if it’s alive with something dark and powerful.

The door creaks open, and he steps inside, the shadow stretching over the threshold like a beast moving into a trap. It's the same Alpha that captured me... I don’t need to see him to know. His presence fills the room, dominating every inch of space, pressing in like a storm.

He doesn’t speak at first, just stands there, watching me. His eyes are like ice, hard and calculating, his gaze heavy, as if it’s dragging me down...

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, crossing into my territory,” he says, his voice low, smooth, and laced with something deadly. “Do you have a death wish, or are you just stupid?”

I don’t answer. My fingers curl into fists, nails digging into my palms as I meet his gaze, refusing to give him the satisfaction of any reaction. I try my best not to be afraid of him but there's something chilling about the way he talks, the way he moves...

The silence stretches between us, thick and heavy, but I don’t break. I’m not here to play into his game, whatever it is. I don’t flinch. Let him stare all he wants.

He cocks his head, his gaze sweeping over me like he’s trying to pick me apart, piece by piece. “Do you know who I am?"

Still, I say nothing. I won’t play along. Not with him.

His mouth twists into something close to a smirk, but there’s no warmth there. If anything, it’s colder. He’s enjoying this. He’s enjoying the power he has, the control.

“Speak,” he commands, his voice sharp as a blade.

I lift my chin, defiant. “Why should I? You’ve already made up your mind about me, haven’t you?”

His eyes narrow, that icy mask cracking just a little.

“You’re a rogue. I know all I need to.”

“Then why am I still breathing?” The question is out before I can stop it. “Aren’t you supposed to kill rogues on sight?”

A flash of something crosses his face, too quick for me to catch, and he steps forward, his presence pressing down on me like a physical weight. “That’s my choice. Not yours.”

"My name is Octavius..." He tells me and I feel my blood run cold completely. The only Alpha I know with the name Octavius... is the Alpha of the infamous Raven Moon... I’ve heard the stories. Ruthless. Cold. Deadly. He’s known for tearing down any wolf that dares to cross him, a reputation that’s earned him enemies and a whole lot of fear. And yet here I am, alive, against all odds...

"I'm on... Raven moon territory..." I gulp inaudibly, finally connecting the dots.

"Maybe you aren't stupid after all..." He tells me and I blink a few times, looking around the cell. It's going to be nearly impossible to get out of here alive, so I need to think of something... and fast...

Behind him, I notice two more figures entering the cell—a tall, dark-skinned man with steady brown eyes and a hard set to his jaw, and a woman with sharp features, mixed-race by the look of her. Her gaze locks onto mine, her expression cold and hostile, as if I’ve personally wronged her by existing. It’s clear she doesn’t want me here.

The man speaks up, his voice calm but firm. “Alpha, do we really need to waste time with this one? She’s a rogue, nothing more...”

The woman scowls, stepping closer, her eyes flashing with something almost feral. “She doesn’t belong here. I say we end it now..." She suggests and judging by their scents I can tell that the man is the Beta and the woman, a Gamma.

I smirk at them, the defiance in me sparking up again. “What’s the matter, Gamma? Am I that much of a threat?”

Her face twists with anger, and in a split second, she lunges at me, grabbing me through the bars of the cell and pulling me forward. I grab hold of the bars unintentionally, causing them to burn my hands immediately just as I let out a pained groan, struggling to fight her powerful grip.

"I'd watch it if I were you... no here here seems to have the patience for your bullshit." She seethes, her grip making it almost impossible to breathe.

"Alright, Miyuki. She's had enough." Octavius speaks out and the Gamma soon lets go of me, but not without shoving me back powerfully, making me stumble backwards as I gasp out for air, groaning and wincing as I stare down at my hands.

"You fucking crazy bitch..." I hiss out, looking down at my hands as continue to burn, just as I look back at her and meet her satisfied smirk.

The Alpha’s gaze focuses on me as he steps closer to the bars, continuing to watch me carefully. “Remember. You’re not in a position to make threats, rogue.”

“Then why am I here?” I ask, letting the words slip out before I can stop myself. “If I’m not a threat, if I don’t matter, then why am I still breathing?”

He steps closer, so close I can feel the heat radiating off him, the cold steel in his eyes burning into mine.

“You’re here because I want answers.”

“About what?” I snap, my pulse racing even as I try to keep my voice steady. “About why I was passing through? I don’t owe you anything...”

The woman—his Gamma—lets out a snarl. “Need me to teach her another lesson?” "Not yet," Octavius answers her and I glance at her, unimpressed.

“Let me out of these cells and let's see how tough you really are. Silver? Really? What are you? Hunters?"” I snap at them, knowing that that is the ultimate insult to any Werewolf. Our race may have many enemies, but Hunters are the worst of them all.

The Gamma lunges at me again, but the Alpha’s hand shoots out, holding her back without looking away from me. His fingers curl, and I see the faintest flicker of something—rage, maybe—before it’s gone...

“Enough, Miyuki,” he says, his voice a deadly calm. “She’ll get what’s coming to her soon enough.”

I meet his gaze, the silence between us crackling with tension. “Do what you want. I’m not telling you anything.”

His eyes narrow, and for a split second, I see something—an intensity that sends a shiver down my spine. “You don’t understand what you’ve walked into...”

“Maybe I don’t,” I say, refusing to look away. “But I’m not afraid of you.” He laughs then, a low, humourless sound. “You should be."

I hold his gaze, every muscle in my body tense as I watch him, soon he steps closer to the bars. I know he means it. And for the first time, a flicker of doubt stirs in my chest. But I won’t let him see it. Not now, not ever...

He turns and gestures to his Beta and Gamma, who fall into step behind him as they leave. The door slams shut, and I’m left alone, the echo of his cold laughter lingering in the air.

For the first time, I feel a sliver of something I haven’t felt in a long time.

Fear...

I need to get out of here, and fast..