Chapter Five The Cost Of Defiance

I dropped my forehead against the door, tears already streaking down my cheeks.

“...Please…”

But he was gone. And I was alone again.

I sat in the corner, hugging my knees, shivering. My dress was damp with sweat and tears. My back ached from the hard floor. My throat burned from crying out.

Then I heard it.

Footsteps.

My heart kicked up, unsure if I should feel scared or hopeful. I dragged myself to the door. My palms pressed against the iron, my cheek resting against its cold surface as I tried to make out anything beyond it.

“Raith?” I whispered, barely able to speak. “Is that you?”

No reply.

I tilted my head towards the small opening in the door, straining to hear. The footsteps were still there… Slow, careful… getting closer.

“Please…” I said again, softer now. “I won't scream anymore. I just want to talk…”

Whoever it was, they weren’t speaking.

I swallowed hard and stepped back from the door, my fingers trembling as I slowly lowered myself to the floor again.

The footsteps stopped outside the door.

The lock turned.

The iron door opened just enough for a thin blade of light to cut into the room.

A figure stepped inside.

A woman.

She closed the door behind her with a quiet click, sealing us back into the dark, only the faint spill of light from the hall outlining her shape.

“…so this is her.”

I swallowed hard. “W–who are you?”

She didn't answer immediately. Just tilted her head slightly, the way someone does when they are trying to decide how much of themselves to offer.

The faint light from the hall outlined her clearly now. She was around my age. Dark hair loose around her shoulders. A faint smile curled her lips.

She looked well fed. Unharmed. Whole.

Blind and cruel. Those two words were not enough to describe Lucian Draveth. He was closer to a monster.

They said he collected young girls from families who could not refuse him. Used them for his twisted pleasure and discarded them when he was done. Looking at the woman standing before me I felt my stomach turn with a horrible recognition.

She might be just like me. Taken from her family. Kept here to be used as a sex slave.

And she had come down to the dungeon to see the newest one.

"Lena," she said finally.

She moved then, slowly, like she was being careful not to frighten me further. She lowered herself to the floor a few feet away and sat with her knees pulled up, completely unbothered by the cold stone beneath her.

"You stabbed him.”

"He threatened to kill me."

"Alpha Lucian says things like that when he is losing control of a situation. He rarely means them.”

"Did he send you?"

"No.” A small shake of her head. “He doesn't know I'm here. He would not be pleased if he did."

"Then why are you here?”

She didn't answer. She just watched me for a moment longer. Then she stood.

“Try to rest.”

My pulse spiked. “For what?”

“You’ll find out.”

She moved to the door and knocked twice.

The lock turned from outside.

The door closed.

The darkness came back all at once. I listened to her footsteps fade up the stairs until there was nothing left but dark and cold.

I hadn’t eaten. Not even a drop of water had touched my lips since they brought me here. Only the taste of my own sweat and tears.

I pulled my knees to my chest and stared at the iron door. The hunger clawed deeper than the pain in my chest.

My body was starting to give up when I heard footsteps. Then… a warm, savory aroma of grilled fish and fresh bread hit me.

My stomach twisted violently. It growled loud, betraying me.

The footsteps grew louder. I didn't turn. I didn't flinch. Then the heavy sound of locks turning.

The door opened.

Light spilled into the room again, a shadow followed it. The tray came in first, set down just inside the doorway.

And then… I felt it. My eyes snapped up. A body behind me. Large. Close. The warmth of him pressed against my back, a strong arm curled around me.

I shot up fast, my heart racing. “What the hell?! Who are you?!

The grip yanked me back hard, locking me against a chest that didn't move— broad and solid.

“You're so stubborn… I'm going to break you soon.”

I froze. Lucian.

“Why are you here? Leave me alone!” I yelled trying to break free from his grip.

“Shut up.” He snapped, his voice, cold and sharp like a blade.

“What are you doing? What do you want?”

Lucian stepped closer, I took a step back and soon my back hit against the wall, leaving me no room to run. His arm shot up fast and pressed me harder against the wall.

The impact echoed through the dungeon as his hand slid beside my head, keeping me in place.

“You think you are brave.” His knees shoved between my legs, forcing them apart.

“No! Let me go!” I screamed, struggling against his grip, but his body didn't budge. It was like trying to push a wall.

“I'm going to make you want me. I won't do anything without your permission.”

A slow smile ghosted across his lips. “I am very patient.”

His head tilted like he could see every inch of me. “I'll wait till you want me and come to me yourself.”

“And when the time is right…” His voice breathed into my hair, deep and low.

“I’ll make those pretty legs of yours tremble until they can't hold you anymore.”

“You’ll come to me on them eventually. Or you’ll crawl.”

Rage flared through my chest.

“You should be glad I missed earlier,” I spat. “I should have aimed lower.”

His eyebrow lifted slightly.

“Should’ve burst your sack instead of stabbing your hand.”

Silence filled the dungeon. Then Lucian laughed. Soft. Dark.

“Careful. You might convince me to stop being patient.”

“Patient?” I laughed harshly. “Is that what you call this?”

A muscle feathered in his jaw. Then he released me. The sudden absence of his weight almost made me stumble.

“You drag girls from their families, throw them in cages, threaten them, and call yourself patient?”

“Be quiet. You’re speaking to your Alpha.”

I stepped closer instead.

“Why?” I shot back. “Afraid I’ll say the truth?”

His wolf pressed against the air. I felt it like pressure on my ribs—dark, massive, angry.”

But I didn’t stop.

“They were right about you,” I continued, my voice shaking but loud. “You’re not an Alpha. You’re just a coward hiding behind power.”

“Is that what you think?”

“Yes.”

His hand shot out. Too fast to dodge. My back slammed into the wall hard enough to knock the air from my lungs. Before I could recover, his hand wrapped around my throat.

His face lowered until we were inches apart.

For the first time since he entered the dungeon… Lucian looked angry.

“You have no idea how close you are to dying right now.”

My heart pounded wildly.

But the words came out anyway. “Then do it.”

His grip tightened.

“Kill me. Prove I’m right.”