4

ELARA

My head was pounding with a terrible headache. I groaned under my breath and pushed myself upright. The floor underneath me was so hard that it felt like the stones might dig into my flesh any moment.

Still groaning in pain, I blinked open my eyes. It didn’t take much time to adjust my vision because everything around me was already drowning in darkness.

I released a slow breath and shook my head. After another wince, I finally focused in the darkness to see where I was.

I remembered saving that Alpha and then getting attacked in the forest.

Goosebumps rose on my skin. I straightened my back and looked around.

This hard floor, the dark room, the small space—Everything pointed towards one conclusion. I was in a dungeon.

Holy Shit!

Who took me? Did Lucien find out that I knew everything now? Did he cage me in here?

My hands began shaking. I grabbed one with the other and slowly sucked in a long breath.

This was not the time to panic.

“ You are right. This is not the time to panic, little girl. ” A female voice hummed.

I jumped in my spot, my heart missing a beat. “ What the— ”

“ Did I scare you? ” She spoke again.

This time, I could tell from the voice that she was an old woman. My nerves calmed down a little.

“ I can not see you or sense you around. That’s why I got spooked for a moment. ” I sighed.

“ That’s because there is no light in here, and without a wolf, you have no way of seeing in this dark. ” She replied, amusement dripping from her tone.

“ Yeah. That's right. ” I nodded instantly.

But then, I froze.

I was a werewolf, and no one knew…that I didn’t have a wolf.

A lump formed in my throat as I looked towards my right, where the voice was coming from. A wave of cold rushed down my spine, making me shake in my spot.

“ Who— ” I started, but she cut me off.

“ You should be asking where you are. ”

I closed my mouth, feeling it going dry. My pulse quickened until I could feel it drumming in my ears.

“ Where— ” I licked my lips to wet them. “ Where am I? ”

Silence fell after I asked the question. The stillness in the dungeon was nerve-racking. I felt this immense need to scratch my skin, to grab my ears and rub them so I could make out sounds—any sound.

“ You are where you were always supposed to be… ” The old woman whispered in the dark.

Slowly, I sensed something getting closer to me. Sweat trickled down my back as I kept my eyes on the dark to my right.

“ What does that mean? ” I whispered, waiting for her to emerge, to get close to me.

“ Your destiny has called you to this place, child of the Goddess. And the time has come. ” Her voice turned sharp.

“ What does that mean? ” My lips were trembling.

“ The day is close. The day when the whole world of werewolves will gather together to rip each other apart. ” Her voice rose before she chuckled eerily. “ When that time comes, this place will become the place of your death and your shrine. They will worship you like the Goddess you are, but you will be long gone. You must die…for the curse to end. ”

Suddenly, a bright light flickered in front of me. I gasped as the old face of a woman appeared in my view. One of her eyes was closed shut and scarred, while the other was a deep blue. Her silver hair flowed down her shoulders, chopped in a disarray.

“ Serve your purpose. ” She shrieked. “ And your life will come to an end soon. The suffering…will end. ”

I screamed as the light burned into my eyes. My hands reached for my face, scratching and rubbing, but nothing helped.

It hurt so much. So damn much.

I screamed louder until I felt rough hands grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. My breath stilled as I opened my eyes and looked at the man looming over me.

Frantically, I glanced to my right. Then to my left. I was still in the dungeon, but there was no sign of that woman anywhere.

“ What happened? ” The man squeezed my shoulders. “ Why are you screaming, woman? ”

Still trembling, still breathless, I leaned back and fixed my gaze on the stranger’s face. He was not one of Lucien’s warriors.

“ Who— ” I choked out. “ Who are you? Where am I? And what have you done to me? ”

“ Thank fuck, you are not screaming anymore. ” He huffed as he grabbed my elbow and began pulling me up.

“ I asked— ”

“ I suggest you keep that mouth shut if you don’t want to annoy me more. Or else, I don’t guarantee taking you to the Alpha without a gag. ” He snapped, his sharp green eyes meeting my scared gaze.

I closed my mouth. I was scared shitless of anything that restricted my voice, my breath, my movement. I would lose my mind if he tried to gag me.

He scanned me from head to toe and shook his head. “ Let’s go. He is waiting for you. ”

He started pulling me out of the door, and I didn’t resist. I followed him to see what or who was waiting for me out of the small, dirty dungeon.