Chapter 4

_Anya’s POV_

The guards dragged me across the yard as if I were nothing. I kept stumbling because I was still weak from the rejection and everything that had happened since last night. My arm hurt where Leon had grabbed me. My chest still ached from the broken bond.

“Please,” I said. “Where are you taking me?”

Neither of them answered.

They took me behind the pack house and down a narrow stone staircase. The air grew colder with every step. The smell of mold, rust and something rotten filled my nose. My heart started pounding when I realized where they were taking me.

The cellar.

I had only heard stories about this place. Wolves who broke pack law were locked there before judgment.

“No,” I whispered. “Please do not put me here. I did not poison Talia. I swear I did not.”

One of the guards unlocked the iron door. The other shoved me inside so hard that I fell onto the stone floor.

The door slammed shut behind me. I quickly turned and hit the door with both hands. “Please let me out. Please. I did nothing wrong.”

No one answered.

I slowly stood up and looked around. The cell was small, dark and cold. The floor was damp. There was no bed, only dirty straw in one corner and chains fixed to the wall. Water dripped somewhere in the darkness.

I wrapped my arms around myself and sat down on the floor.

“Maya,” I called silently.

For a moment, there was no answer. Then I felt her stir weakly.

I am here, she said, but her voice was faint.

“What is wrong?” I asked.

Something feels wrong. I feel weak. It is like something is pressing on me. Something is blocking me.

My heart beat faster. “Because of the rejection?”

No. This is different. Something was done to us.

At once, I remembered the dream. The shadow in my room. The prick on my neck. The voice saying, The job has been done.

I touched my neck and shivered. “Someone really was in my room. It was not a dream.”

Someone wanted to destroy you, Maya said softly.

Tears filled my eyes.

Time passed slowly in the cellar. No one brought me food. No one gave me water. Hunger twisted inside me until it became a dull ache. My throat grew dry. My body became colder and weaker.

The straw in the corner was damp but I sat there anyway because the stone floor was worse.

Then I felt something brush against my foot.

I jerked back in fear.

A rat ran across the floor. Soon I heard more of them moving through the dark. Once, while I was half asleep, one bit the skin near my ankle and I cried out. Another crawled over my wrist before I could shake it off. I pressed myself against the wall and pulled my legs close but there was nowhere safe in that cell.

I thought about the house above me. I thought about all the years I had worked for that family, hoping that one day they might show me kindness. Yet now, when I needed help, no one had come.

That hurt the most.

I closed my eyes but I still saw his face. The coldness in his eyes. The way he had not listened when I begged him.

“Why did he not even ask me what happened?” I whispered.

Because it is easier for him to believe the worst of you, Maya said weakly.

By the time footsteps finally came, I was curled on the floor, shivering.

The door opened. “Get up,” one guard said.

I tried but my legs were too weak. The second guard pulled me up roughly by the chain around my wrists.

“Please,” I said hoarsely. “Water.”

The guard looked at me without pity. “You can ask the Alpha for mercy.”

Then they dragged me upstairs and into the morning light. My eyes hurt after the darkness. My clothes were dirty. My hair was tangled. My lips were dry and cracked. My skin stung where the rats had bitten me.

The guards dragged me toward the Alpha’s court.

It was already full. Pack members stood around whispering.

“That is her.”

“She tried to kill Talia.”

“She is rogue-born. What else did they expect?”

My stomach twisted.

At the far end of the court sat the Alpha with the Luna beside him. Four elders sat near them. My father and mother stood below. Leon was there too, dressed in dark clothes, his face unreadable. Talia sat beside him. She looked pale and weak. The pack doctor stood nearby.

The guards forced me onto my knees in the center of the hall.

The Alpha spoke first. “Anya Taylor, you stand before this court accused of poisoning Talia Taylor, daughter of the Beta, and attempting to harm the future Luna of the Silvercrest Pack. What do you say in your defense?”

“I am innocent,” I said. “I did not poison Talia.”

A murmur rose in the court.

The Alpha turned to my mother. “Speak.”

My mother stepped forward. She did not look at me. “Yesterday morning, Anya prepared breakfast for the family. I saw her in the kitchen. She served the food herself.”

I stared at her. “Mother, you know I always prepare breakfast. That proves nothing.”

She finally looked at me. “Do not call me mother in this court.”

My chest tightened.

The Alpha nodded at my father. “Beta Taylor.”

My father spoke calmly. “Anya has always envied Talia. She has always looked at her life with resentment. She was especially bitter after the mate bond with Leon was discovered and he rejected her. She had both the motive and the opportunity.”

“That is a lie,” I cried. “I never wished Talia dead. I never poisoned her.”

“Silence until you are told to speak,” one elder snapped.

The Alpha turned to the pack doctor. “Tell this court what you found.”

The doctor stepped forward. “When Talia was brought to me, she showed clear signs of poisoning. Her lips were turning purple. Her breathing was weak. Her pulse was unstable. I examined the remains of the breakfast and found poison mixed into her food.”

I shook my head. “No. No, that is impossible.”

The doctor continued, “Later, under Leon’s order, the guards searched Anya’s room. A small pouch of rare poison powder was found hidden in her drawer. I examined it myself. It was the same poison found in Talia’s system.”

My face went cold. “That is not true. I never had any poison in my room. Someone put it there.”

My father let out a hard breath. “You expect this court to believe someone planted a rare and costly poison in your room?”

“Yes,” I said desperately. “That is exactly what happened.”

One elder leaned forward. “This poison is not easy to find. Only someone who intended real harm would obtain it.”

“I did not obtain it,” I said. “I do not even know what it looks like.”

Talia gave a weak cough and pressed her hand to her chest. She looked pale but her eyes were sharp when they met mine.

“I never thought she hated me this much,” she said softly. “Even after everything, I still treated her like family.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “You are lying,” I said before I could stop myself.

Gasps rose around the room.

The Alpha’s voice thundered. “Watch your tongue.”

Talia lowered her eyes and let tears gather there. “I did not want to believe Leon when he said she might have done it but after the poison was found in her room...” Her voice shook. “I do not understand why she wants me dead.”

“I do not,” I cried. “I swear I do not.”

Then the Alpha looked at Leon. “Leon Maxwell,” he said. “Speak.”

Leon stepped forward slowly. He did not look at me at first. “The guards searched her room under my order. The poison was found in her drawer, wrapped in cloth beneath her few belongings. The doctor confirmed it was the same poison used on Talia.”

I stared at him. “Leon, please. You know I would not do this.”

His eyes met mine for one second. Then his face hardened. “Whether she is my former mate or not, a crime is a crime. If she poisoned a pack member, she must be punished.”

My heart broke all over again. “You do not believe me,” I whispered.

He said nothing.

The Alpha rose to his feet. “Anya Taylor, you were found with motive, opportunity and poison in your possession. Your origin already placed you under suspicion and your actions have confirmed what many feared. You are found guilty of poisoning a pack member and attempting to murder the future Luna of the Silvercrest Pack.”

“No,” I gasped. “No, please. I am innocent. Someone framed me. Please, Alpha, you have to believe me.”

But his face did not change. “For this crime,” he continued, “the punishment is death.”

Everything inside me went still.

The Alpha’s voice sounded cold and final. “Because you are a wolf of this pack, we grant you the mercy of a quick death. The execution will take place at dawn in three days.”

A broken sound left my throat. Three days. Only three days until I would die. I looked around wildly, hoping someone would say something.

My mother turned her face away. My father looked relieved. Talia hid a smile. The Luna looked satisfied. The elders stayed silent. And Leon stood like stone.

The guards grabbed my arms again. As they dragged me away, I twisted and looked back at him through my tears.

“Leon,” I cried. “I did not do this.”

His face tightened but he did not move. The last thing I saw before they pulled me out of the court was Talia watching me with triumph in her eyes.

Then one terrible thought rose inside me. If I was going to die in three days, then whoever framed me had already won.

But deep inside me, Maya stirred weakly.

Don't lose hope. We are not dead yet.