Chapter 2: Unhealed Wounds

"Luna, are you okay?"

The voice came slowly—deep and trembling—like a hand reaching out from afar, touching me without truly touching.

I saw him—a tall figure clad in black armor, reflecting the dim light of the torches on the cave walls. He stood there.

His eyes—I knew them. Not the cold, condescending stare of Kaelus. Not the disgusted looks from the guards. His gaze… was different. Filled with unease. With pain. And deep within, there was concern.

He looked at me as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

His face tightened, his jaw clenched, and his breath caught—like he was trying to hold back a rising storm inside him.

And somehow, just by standing there, he pulled me from the darkest pit that had swallowed me whole. As if his mere presence became the final thread brushing against the edge of my frayed soul. As if his voice—the voice that once called my name on the battlefield, the voice that once proudly addressed me as Alpha Moonveil—still remembered who I truly was, and refused to let me disappear.

I sobbed, soundlessly. My body was too weak to cry out loud.

But my soul—for the first time in a long while—trembled.

Dareth.

Beta of the Blood Moon Pack.

I tried to speak. My voice was hoarse, dry, barely audible.

"I… truly thought… I wouldn’t make it out of here alive…"

Dareth knelt immediately, moving closer, yet kept a respectful distance. He didn’t touch me. He only knelt before me, like a soldier before a wounded superior.

"Forgive me, Luna," he said softly, his voice strained. "We were too late. We didn’t know…"

My eyes trembled, struggling to contain the wave of emotion inside me. My body shook—not from fear, but from a tension that hadn’t yet eased. "Who… sent you?" I asked quietly.

Dareth looked at me, hesitating briefly. "There was no official order," he finally said. "I… caught the scent of blood near the border during patrol. I knew it wasn’t ordinary blood."

My head dropped. It felt like a slap.

So… not Kaelus. He wasn’t the one who came for me. He wasn’t the one who cared.

"So this was… a coincidence?" I asked, my voice bitter and low.

"No, Luna," Dareth answered firmly. "I followed that trail because I recognized the scent. Because I knew… it was yours. And I couldn’t let the Luna of Blood Moon vanish at the hands of those bastards."

His voice didn’t shake. There was no emotional promise, no whisper of comfort. Just plain, solid words. But within them, there was respect. Responsibility.

And somehow, that saved me more than any embrace could.

I lowered my head and gave a faint nod. "Thank you, Beta Dareth."

Dareth nodded briefly. "That's my job, Luna."

I didn't answer. That name—Luna—sounded like a joke now. What did it mean to be Luna if my mate didn't even look for me?

He then stood and signaled to the four soldiers behind him. "We’re taking Luna back to headquarters. I’ll make sure you receive medical attention immediately."

The sound of steady footsteps approached. Two female soldiers helped me to my feet, carefully—as if they knew my body could collapse at any moment.

When my hand touched their shoulders, a sharp pain raced down my arm—the whip wounds still raw. I winced, but stayed silent.

My steps were unsteady. My body was unused to movement after days of being hung and thrown like carrion. The only reason I was still alive was likely because those rogues enjoyed dragging out the torment. I could still smell my own dried blood on my skin and tangled hair.

"Stay strong, Luna," one of the women said gently. "We’ll be out of here soon."

I gave a small nod. Even that took more strength than I had.

We walked through the narrow, damp corridors of the cave. Chains and manacles still hung from the walls—remnants of prisoners before me. Some were rusted, smeared with blood. I stared at them, silently wondering: how many had died here, never rescued?

We ascended the steep path to the cave’s mouth. The night wind greeted me the moment we stepped outside. The fresh air, meant to be a relief, stabbed my lungs—too used to the stench of iron and rot. I coughed quietly. Dareth quickly approached, standing nearby—still keeping his respectful distance.

"Luna… I’ve sent word to headquarters. The medics are on their way," he said.

"Thank you," I replied softly.

I swallowed hesitantly, then turned to Dareth. "Did Kaelus… know I was missing?"

Dareth stared at me for a moment, then looked up at the night sky. "I’m not sure, Luna. There was no search announcement. No orders. Not a single patrol was tasked to find you."

My breath caught. "How long… was I gone?"

"Three days."

I was stunned for a while, and smiled bitterly.

Three days of torture, stripped of dignity, crawling and spat on. Three days… and no one came looking.

Not because they couldn’t. But because they chose not to. That hurt more than any whip ever could.

The journey back felt long. They placed me in a horse-drawn cart usually used for supplies. I didn’t complain. Even this rough wooden bed on straw felt like luxury compared to the cold stone floor where I was thrown each night.

I stayed silent the whole way. Dareth rode alongside the cart on horseback, speaking only to issue orders. But I could feel his gaze, flickering toward me from time to time. Maybe he wanted to ask a hundred questions. But he was wise enough not to.

Now and then, the cart jolted over bumps in the road, and my wounds screamed in response. But there were no cries. I was used to pain. What I wasn’t used to… was the emptiness inside my chest. Like something was missing, and I didn’t know what.

Or maybe I did.

Trust.

***

A few hours later, we arrived at headquarters just as the sky began to pale toward dawn. The sky was still deep blue, but a thin light brushed the horizon.

The gates opened, and a group of soldiers awaited us. They fell silent upon seeing my condition. Some turned away, others bowed their heads—whether out of guilt or simply unable to look at me, I couldn’t tell.

A healer approached swiftly. Dareth gave sharp orders, and I was taken to the infirmary.

"I can walk on my own," I whispered, as two people moved to lift me.

The healer looked at me, uncertain, then nodded. "Very well, Luna. But allow us to stay by your side."

My steps were slow, stiff, but deliberate. My body was weak, but my dignity—barely breathing—still tried to stand.

The treatment was quiet. They cleaned the wounds on my back gently. Some were too deep and had to be stitched. I made no sound. Physical pain no longer felt worth reacting to. The only thing I feared was silence—because in silence, truth echoed louder.

At one point, when the healer pressed a wet cloth to a gash on my shoulder, I flinched. Not from the sting, but from the sudden thought of Kaelus—his touch, his scent, and how foreign it felt now. How betrayal could turn something once familiar into poison.

"Hold still, Luna," the healer murmured.

I nodded faintly. My throat felt clogged, but no words came out. I had nothing left to say.

Afterward, the female healer dressed me in a clean robe. I glanced at my reflection in the small mirror in the corner.

My face was pale. My lips cracked. My eyes… empty. My long hair, matted and filthy, hid parts of the bruises on my temple and neck.

I barely recognized myself.

"Luna," the healer said softly, "shall we call Alpha if you wish?”

I turned slowly. Silence.

"That won’t be necessary."

She bowed deeply and left me alone in the room.

And when the door shut behind her, I finally let the tears fall. Not from pain. But from the cold truth that hit me like a blade.

I was alone. Not because I was left behind. But because I had never truly been seen.

Not long after, the door knocked. "Luna, it’s Dareth. May I come in?"

I took a long breath. "Come in."

He entered, this time without armor. Just simple soldier’s clothes. He carried a scroll.

"Official report," he said, placing it on the table beside me. "We have to log this incident for the internal archives, though it won’t be published to the council."

I looked at him. "Why not?"

"Because Alpha hasn’t given permission," he said quietly. "I’ve submitted my findings, but… there’s been no response."

Silence settled again. My chest felt like it was being pulled apart from the inside. Even after everything, Kaelus still chose silence. Still chose absence.

"Beta Dareth."

"Yes, Luna?"

"I want to know something. Honestly. Do you know… who Kaelus has been spending time with lately?"

He didn’t answer right away. His eyes shifted.

"I… heard a few things. But I’m not sure you want to hear them now."

"That’s not an answer."

He inhaled deeply. "There’s a human. Since about three weeks ago. She’s been coming to the castle. They… seem close. I don’t know more than that."

I closed my eyes. I didn’t need more. That was enough.

So that was the unfamiliar perfume I smelled on Kaelus’ skin. That sweet, poisonous scent that clung to him that night—the night before I was taken.

Perhaps… the night he let me leave alone on purpose.

And for the first time, it wasn’t just my heart that shattered—

But my dignity as Luna.

***

I couldn’t sleep. Even though my body screamed for rest, my mind refused to quiet down. The healer’s herbs dulled the ache in my wounds, but nothing could dull the hollowness gnawing at my chest.

The infirmary was silent, save for the faint crackle of a torch burning in the hallway. Every flicker of its light stretched shadows across the stone walls, shadows that felt alive, creeping closer, whispering doubts into my ears.

Kaelus should have been here. Even if he hated me, even if he despised my presence—wasn’t it his duty, as Alpha, as my mate, to at least pretend? But he hadn’t come. He hadn’t sent anyone. Not even a word.

It was Dareth who stood outside the door. I could sense him, his presence steady and unmoving, like a sentinel carved from stone. He didn’t intrude, didn’t ask unnecessary questions. He simply remained there. And somehow, that quiet loyalty pierced deeper than any declaration.

"Luna," his voice came at last, low and restrained from beyond the door. "If you need anything, call for me. I will not leave this hall tonight."

For a moment, I almost answered. Almost told him that I didn’t need water, nor medicine, nor food—what I needed was something no one could give me. A truth. A hand that chose me without hesitation.

But the words never left my lips. My throat tightened, and I let silence answer for me.

The night stretched endlessly. Every beat of my heart replayed the same memory, Kaelus’ back as he walked away from me, carrying a scent that wasn’t mine. That perfume. That betrayal.

And beneath it, another memory rose—one I tried so hard to bury. The moment I swore to give up my title as Alpha of Moonveil, to stand beside him as Luna of Blood Moon. I had thought I was building peace. Instead, I had built my own cage.

My fingers curled weakly around the bedsheet. The fabric was clean, warm, but it felt suffocating. I wondered if tomorrow would be any different. If Kaelus would finally look at me. Or if I had already ceased to exist for him.

Outside, a wolf howled in the distance. The sound echoed through the night, wild and mournful, carrying with it a pain that resonated in my own bones.

And I knew, with a certainty that crushed my chest—

Even in a fortress filled with soldiers, surrounded by walls and guards, I had never felt more abandoned.