Chapter 3: Take Her to the Prison

"What is going on here?"

I immediately recognized the voice. It was Alpha Cedric's. For the first time in my life, I was happy to hear his voice.

Despite being his biological daughter, Alpha Cedric had never treated me as one. To him, I was a stain on his legacy. Believing I ate his heir, his successor, he condemned me to a life of slavery.

But in that fleeting moment, I believed he might finally see me as his own, thinking he had come to my rescue. I had never been more wrong in my life.

His voice cut through the commotion with authority as I gasped for breath.

"What is going on here?" Alpha Cedric asked again angrily. "Why is everyone standing here instead of preparing for the festival?"

Delta Gareth's eyes burned with rage as he released his fists and turned to respond to Alpha Cedric.

"Alpha," he said, bowing his head slightly. "I sent this disgrace to fetch the wine needed for the festival, but instead of completing the errand, she wandered off to engage in sexual activities. I had to go retrieve the wine myself, only to find her slinking back afterward."

My stomach twisted, and I felt as if the ground should open and swallow me. My hands trembled slightly, and I struggled to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Is this true?" My father, Alpha Cedric, asked as he turned towards me.

I opened my mouth, trying to explain, but before I could say anything, Delta Gareth's voice rang out.

"She reeks of sex, my Alpha," he said with disgust, his eyes full of anger as he looked at me.

The look on my father, Alpha Cedric's face was filled with rage and disappointment. I felt the weight of my father's rage pressing down on me.

I stood frozen as my heart pounded loudly in my chest.

I was suffocating.

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but no words came out.

"Enough of this disgrace!" he commanded in a loud and angry voice. "How dare you taint the spirit of our sacred tradition? The festival is meant to be a time of purity, yet you have sullied it with your shameful acts. This is an insult to our ancestors and the values we uphold! Take her to the prison immediately!"

A wave of murmuring and dread spread through the crowd, and my blood ran cold as I heard my father's verdict.

Fear gripped my heart as two guards gripped my arms, dragging me away.

"No, please! I didn’t do anything!" I cried, struggling against their grip, but no one listened.

Alpha Cedric had already turned away, his judgment final.

As I was dragged through the dirt, the crowd parted. I fought against their grip, desperate to escape, but the warriors held me firmly.

I could still feel the pain from Delta Gareth's slap on my face as my vision blurred with tears pouring down my eyes as the realization hit me.

I am truly alone.

I could see the prison as I struggled against the warriors dragging me forward. I twisted and fought, but it was useless. They were too strong for me.

The thick iron gate of the prison creaked open, revealing a dark corridor that smelled of damp earth and decay. My stomach churned as the cold air seeped through my thin clothes, chilling me to the bone.

The warden, a burly man, stood at the entrance. His name was Warden Regan, known for his cruelty and lack of compassion. He grinned as he saw me, his eyes filled with amusement. "So, the Alpha's disgrace finally arrives."

Without another word, he nodded to the guards and threw me in a cell. I stumbled into the cold, dimly lit cell. The heavy door slammed shut behind me with a deafening clang as Warden licked his lips "We are gonna have so much fun"

I collapsed onto the filthy stone floor, my body trembling. Tears blurred my vision, and a single thought echoed in my mind.

"What did I do to deserve this?"

The cell was as small as my room, with cold and rough stone walls. The room was dark and unwelcoming. I barely noticed the thin, tattered blanket that lay crumpled in the corner of the cell.

I quickly wrapped it around myself, but it did little to keep out the biting cold. My breath came out in shaky gasps as I curled up in the corner, my body aching from exhaustion and fear.

"Will I ever escape this nightmare?"

As I paced the small cell, lost in thought about my life and everything that had led me here, my foot nudged against something uneven. Frowning, I looked down and noticed a loose tile.

Curious, I crouched to inspect it. As I pressed down on the tile, to my surprise, a part of the wall of my cell shifted slightly.

A hidden door slowly creaked open, revealing a narrow tunnel beneath the prison. The air became dusty, making me cough, but amidst it was a faint scent—something oddly familiar, stirring a strange feeling deep within me.

It felt like something inside the tunnel was calling out to me.

Hesitant yet intrigued, I stepped through the hidden door into the tunnel. Strange symbols covered the stone walls, their patterns unfamiliar yet oddly mesmerizing. A chill ran down my spine, but at the same time, I felt an unexplainable pull toward them, as if they were calling out to me.

Out of curiosity, I reached out to touch one of the inscriptions, tracing my fingers over the rough carvings. As soon as I touched it, a deep voice growled from the darkness, sending a shiver down my spine.

"What took you so long, child of prophecy?" 

Immediately, my breath hitched, and before I could react, my vision blurred as my legs gave out beneath me.