Chapter Two

Gianna's POV 

"Louisa!"

"Gianna! Where are you?!"

"I'm here, Lulu!" I screamed as I spun around looking for her.

It was too dark for me to see. But I could tell that I was getting closer. Her voice wasn't sounding as faint as it was before.

"Gianna, they're close!" She cried out, sounding frightened.

Those words sent panic piercing through my bones.

"Who is?" I asked, but I didn't get an answer. "Lulu say something!"

There was nothing from her. I couldn't hear her breathing, her voice, or her sobs. My hearing abilities didn't help at all.

"Lulu! Louisa! Where are you?!" 

The silence that greeted me back was louder than anything I had ever heard. And then suddenly—

"Gianna! Helpppp!"

"Louisa!" I screamed as I jerked up from the cold floor.

I turned around, eyes taking in the surroundings. 

The darkness was long gone, replaced by the stone walls of the Pack's prison.

I had been locked up for three days, and those days have been torture to me

It wasn't like the Alpha or his men did anything to hurt me. Rather my own worries had plagued my dreams, turning them to nightmares.

I never got to say goodbye to Louisa, and it was killing me.

"Were you born to torment us?" One of the guards said, leaning on the iron bars.

I let out a sigh. "Tell me about it."

The other guard just glared at me and walked away.

"Your friend doesn't seem to like my company," I said, gesturing towards him.

"I'm sure he'll get over it," He said, chuckling. "Besides, if I were the one, I would be pissed too. You insulted the Alpha in front of him. That was a suicide call  if you ask me."

I stared at him for a beat before looking away.

What were they expecting from me? To sit by and watch them treat I and Louisa like we didn't matter?

But after what Alpha Callum said, I knew why they had done what they did.

They saw us as children of a traitor.

But f*ck that. Like I was going to accept it. 

Still, I couldn't say that to anyone here. No one would believe me. Even the Alpha didn't seem like he had plans of releasing me.

Who knew what he had in mind to do? 

Well, I didn't have plans on waiting and finding it.

"I guess you're right," I said, my voice a little above a whisper. "I can't imagine how the Alpha felt as I—the daughter of a traitor—disrespected him."

I then turned to the guard, eyes all teary.

"Give me a chance to make it up to him. Let me see him one more time and apologize to him. Let me—"

"Like hell am I letting you near him again," The other guard cut me off as he approached the cell. "You are nothing but a sick kid with a few screws loose. And mad dogs like you are meant to be locked up for eternity."

His words sent a shiver down my spine, but I shook off the feeling the moment it came.

It's not like I had another option.

Louisa had been all alone for days. I needed to see her, to let her know that I didn't leave her alone on purpose.

The last thing I wanted was for her to think that she had no one else in her life. Not when I was still breathing.

The guard was about to walk away again after stating his point with a glare in his eyes.

"Wait!" I yelled. "You're right, I acted in the worst possible way ever, and now I know that. Three days in here have made me reflect on my mistakes, and that's why I need to apologize to the—"

"I said I'm not letting you get close to—"

"Then which do you prefer: for me to go out there and say I'm sorry or for me to remain here and make your life a living hell?!" I yelled, holding onto the iron bars.

The asshole had turned to leave. But hearing my words had made him stop in his tracks. 

Great, I had gotten him where I wanted.

"Either way," I muttered. "I'll get what I want."

***

I stayed silent as I was pulled by my arm towards the Alpha's office. 

Luckily for me, the guard valued his peace of mind more than his Alpha's ego.

"Wait here," He muttered as we got to the door. 

He knocked on it, paused for a while before walking in.

I bowed my head a little and shut my eyes as I prayed to the moon goddess.

It had to work. All of this had to work. Or else I would never get to see Louisa again.

Suddenly, the door opened, and the guard gestured for me to go in.

Great! It did.

Alpha Callum was sitting in his chair, eyes staring at some papers in his hands.

The room was covered in silence as none of us said anything.

For some reason, it was getting uncomfortable. But I knew the rules. 

You don't speak first when in front of an Alpha.

So, while I waited my eyes swept through the office.

Now this was an office worthy of belonging to an Alpha.

My eyes took in the rich, dark tones of the wood-paneled walls. 

The room smelled like old parchment, pine, and wood. A fireplace, cold and unused, sat across the far end. Books lined the tall shelves, most of them heavy volumes with leather bindings and no titles visible on their spines. 

There was a mounted map of the Pack's territory behind the Alpha’s desk, riddled with red pins and blue markings that I couldn’t make sense of.

But what caught my attention wasn’t the map or the luxury of the Alpha’s world.

It was the photograph.

Tucked in a modest black frame and sitting quietly on the far side of his desk was a picture—aged and slightly bent at the corners—of him and... him.

The Alpha and my dad stood shoulder to shoulder, arms slung around each other like brothers. My father’s smile was wide, his eyes bright and full of pride. And Alpha Callum... different.

They both looked younger.

They looked happy.

I stepped forward before I could stop myself, eyes fixed on the photo like it held the answers to every question clawing at my soul.

"You both were this close, huh," I said before realizing I had spoken.

The Alpha finally looked up.

His eyes were unreadable and cold. But I didn’t miss the flicker of something—pain, maybe—when he followed my gaze to the photograph.

He picked it up slowly and turned it face down on the desk.

“We were,” he said quietly.

A lump formed in my throat. 

“Then why—” I started, but stopped myself. I wasn’t here to demand answers. I was here to beg for a chance.

But still... I knew they were close, but the closeness I saw in that picture was something I didn't expect.

They looked like Louisa and I did in our pictures. 

Then shouldn't they be that way too?

“I didn’t come to stir trouble,” I said instead, forcing my voice to steady. “I just want to see Louisa. One last time. I’ll accept whatever punishment you give afterward.”

Alpha Callum didn’t speak. He just stared at me. 

“Do you think I’m cruel, Gianna?” He finally spoke up.

The question threw me off. I hesitated, then said, “I think you’re hurting. Just like I am.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked.

“You don’t know anything about me,” he muttered.

“No,” I said. “But I know what that picture meant. You wouldn’t still keep it if it meant nothing.”

His eyes narrowed, then he smirked.

“You are bold,” he said. “Just like your father.”

There was no warmth in his tone now. Only ice.

“But boldness doesn’t erase betrayal,” he added 

I swallowed hard. “I didn’t betray anyone.”

“No, but you carry his name. His blood. That alone is enough to divide this Pack.”

“So punish me if you must. Just don’t make Louisa pay for it.”

His eyes met mine, and this time I didn’t look away.

The silence stretched between us. Then finally, he stood.

"Do you know what he did?" He asked, staring at the guard behind me.

Before I could say anything, I heard the door behind me open and shut.

I was all alone now... with the Alpha.

"Your father—my trusted friend and Beta—had exchanged letters with someone from the dreaded Black Claw pack, spilling sensitive military information that somehow ended up in the hands of..." His voice faltered as it took on a darker edge. "Alpha Rapha."

A cold wrapped its fingers around me.

Alpha Rapha. The name alone was enough to make an infant cry.

We hadn't seen him before, but we knew him. We had stories of the things he had done.

And that made us fear him.

But why would Dad betray the Pack, and work for someone like Alpha Rapha?

 didn't buy it. I couldn't.

Dad wasn't that kind of person and I knew it.

Maybe someone had framed him. Maybe someone had lied to the Alpha. 

That was the only thing I could think of.

"Because of your Dad's betrayal," Alpha Callum continued. "The Pack's safety had been jeopardized."

"Then what do I do?" I said immediately. "What do I do to make up for it?"

That was the only thing I could think of. I couldn't tell the Alpha that someone had deceived him into thinking that my Dad had betrayed him.

But at least I could try to find out who did it and why.

And for that, I needed to be as far from that cell as possible.

"I'll do anything you want me to do, Alpha Callum," I added as I knelt before him, bowing my head to the ground. "I'll leave school and work day and night to make up for everything."

I remained there, not saying or doing anything. 

Then, I heard the Alpha approaching, his boots echoing on the marble floor.

I shivered as his fingers brushed against my chin, lifting my head.

"Anything?" He said the word like that was the only thing he had heard me say.

Still, I couldn't care less. That was what I wanted anyways. 

As long as I had my freedom, I could move around in the Pack and try to figure out who had framed Dad.

And I would also get to be close to Louisa.

It was like killing two birds with one stone.

"Great," The Alpha muttered as he straightened up and headed for his table.

I did the same. "So what would you have me do, Alpha Callum?"

A few beats of silence passed over us before he finally spoke up.

"I'll be sending you to the Black Pack," He said, turning to me as a smirk played on his lips.

He leaned on his table, eyes locking with mine before continuing.

"As a gift to Alpha Rapha."