Chapter 7| Caged, Not Broken

~Daphne’s POV~

Alpha Theo didn’t smile. His lips pressed into a hard line, like stone. He took a slow step closer, the shadows in the room seeming to cling to him like a cloak.

“You thought you could run from me, huh?” His voice was low and full of anger. “Did you really think I’d just let you slip away?” I shrank back a little, chains biting into my wrists as I tried to pull my hands closer to my body.

My heart hammered so loudly I thought he would hear it. I swallowed hard, but my throat was dry. “I didn’t want to be with you,” I said, voice trembling but loud enough for him to hear. “I wanted to be free.”

Theo’s eyes darkened like a storm. “Free? You belong to me. Whether you like it or not, girl.” He reached out suddenly and grabbed my chin with a rough hand, forcing me to look at him.

His grip was cold and cruel. “You escaped. You broke my rules. And that means you must be punished.” I flinched but kept my gaze steady. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me afraid. Not fully.

He pulled back, his hand dropping to his side like it burnt him to touch me. “This place will remind you that you have no power here.” Theo’s guards stepped forward and roughly grabbed me by the arms. I tried to fight, but my body was weak.

I could barely stand on my own. He didn’t even bother to watch. “Take her to the lower cells,” he ordered. “And make sure she remembers why she should never try to run again.”

As they dragged me away, I felt his cold gaze burn into my back. There was no mercy in his eyes. No softness. Just control, and a warning that I was nothing but a possession to be controlled.

I swallowed the bitter taste of defeat but refused to break inside. If this was my prison, I would survive it. Somehow. The guards pushed me forward, their grip tight but not cruel.

When we reached the dark stone stairs, one of them reached for the chains on my wrists. I felt the cold metal bite into my skin as he unclasped them, the weight suddenly gone. Relief washed over me in a small wave.

“You’re lucky they loosened these,” the taller guard said without looking at me, his voice low. I didn’t answer. My arms felt raw but free. My legs trembled as we descended into the depths of the prison, the walls closing in around me like the night itself.

The air grew colder. Damp, smelling of moss and old stone. My bare feet touched the rough floor, each step echoing hollow and empty. I tried to hold myself tall, but my body felt broken.

In the silence, my mind screamed louder than anything else. “I have to survive. I can’t let this be the end.” I said it subconsciously. I felt like a failure; I felt like crying, but tears didn’t come. Crying wouldn’t change my fate.

It never had. I always longed for someone to love and cherish me; the last time I felt love was when my father was alive—he was the only one who ever truly cared for me. Everyone else used me, pushed me down, and treated me like I was nothing.

But he... he had believed in me. Now, there was no one left to believe in me but myself. The guard pushed open a heavy metal door. The sound scraped against my ears. Light spilt into the dark cell, weak and flickering from a single lamp on the wall.

The room was small. Cold stone walls closed me in. The floor was rough and hard. There was a thin straw mattress in the corner, stained and worn. At least I was provided with a mattress to sleep on for the night.

The guard shoved me inside. “Stay here. Don’t try anything.” The door slammed shut with a heavy clang. The lock turned, and I was alone once again. I dropped onto the mattress, the straw poking into my skin.

I curled up, but not like a broken girl. More like a warrior gathering her strength. My hands clenched into fists. My breath came steady but hard. “I am definitely not the same girl who left Alpha Bryce’s pack. I won’t be the scared girl who cries in the dark anymore.”

I pressed my back against the cold wall and closed my eyes. The pain in my heart felt like fire, but I pushed it down deep. “If I can’t run from this place”, I told myself, then I will change inside it.”

I pictured my father’s face—strong and kind. His voice telling me to never give up, to fight no matter what. I didn’t want to die here. I wasn’t ready. The world outside could be cruel. People took advantage of me and used me like a tool.

But I was going to be different. I would be stronger. I felt the rough stone under my fingers, cold but real. I breathed in the damp air. Every sound in this prison was loud—the dripping water, my own heartbeat.

I wiped the sweat from my brow, my hands shaking a little. But inside, a quiet fire was growing. A fire that would not be put out by fear or pain. I remembered Theo’s cold eyes, the way he had said I belonged to him. But I wasn’t his to break. Not yet.

I wouldn’t let this prison crush me. Not while I still had breath. I swallowed the lump in my throat and whispered to the silent room, “I’m still here. I’m not done.” The door’s heavy footsteps echoed again outside. Maybe the guards were coming back.

I straightened my shoulders and sat up tall. My eyes burnt with something fierce and wild. Whatever punishment awaited me, I would endure it. I would become someone new—someone strong.

Someone who would survive.

Suddenly, the pain came out of nowhere. A sharp, twisting stab in my lower belly stopped my thoughts cold. I gasped, nearly doubling over, my arms wrapping tight around my stomach like I could somehow hold the pain in.

It didn’t help. I bit my lip hard, trying not to cry out. My breath came in shallow, panicked bursts, and for a moment, the room spun. Why now? Why here?

I had run out of the hospital before they could do anything. I couldn’t stay there, not with those cold eyes watching me like I was nothing but a broken thing. And now I was here—in this dark cell, walls damp, the air thick with the scent of old blood and mould.

And him. Theo. He had no mercy. Locked me up like I was some animal. For some minutes I’d heard footsteps echoing down the halls. Always near, never stopping at my door. I kept telling myself they’d pass again. But this time they did.

The gate creaked open.

I tensed, curling in on myself as best I could. The light from a flickering lamp spilt into the cell, casting shadows along the walls. A figure stood in the doorway. I squinted, but I couldn’t see her face.

Still, I could tell it was a woman by the way she moved—calm, careful. She stepped in and hung the lamp on a hook in the wall. “Hi there,” she said gently.

I said nothing.

I didn’t know her. I didn’t know if she was kind, cruel, or worse. In this place, anyone could be a threat. “Don’t be scared,” she said. “I was sent by Alpha Theo to help you.”

Help? Now? After everything?

Another young girl entered with a small bowl of water and a towel. Her eyes flicked toward mine and then to my stomach. She didn’t ask questions.

“I’m the pack’s priestess,” she said, her voice soft like falling leaves. “I’m here to make you feel better.” The woman knelt down and reached for me. When her hand touched my lower belly, I flinched hard, breath catching in my throat.

Had he told her? About the baby? The loss I hadn’t even had time to grieve? “Spread your legs,” she said, her voice still gentle. I froze, my heart pounding. I searched her face for any sign that this was a trick, a trap.

But her eyes were warm, kind. I didn’t have the strength to fight anymore. Slowly, painfully, I shifted, letting my legs fall open, even though the ache deep inside me made it hard to breathe.

My thighs were sticky with dried blood. I hadn’t realised how much I bled while running. I felt exposed, ashamed—but she didn’t flinch. She just dipped the towel into the warm water and started to clean me. Careful. Quiet. As if I were something fragile.

When she finished, she handed me a small cup of steaming herbs. “Take this,” she said. “It’ll ease the pain and help you sleep.” I drank it in one gulp. The bitterness made my face scrunch up, but I didn’t complain. I needed whatever relief it offered.

The priestess stood and looked down at me, her expression calm but serious. “Just some advice,” she said. “Don’t try to escape. Try to live. This pack… it’s powerful. And the weak ones are always preyed on.”

My gaze was still locked on her.

“Theo is a strong-hearted Alpha. Avoid anything that’ll anger him. I see potential in you, girl. Use it. Or you’ll end up as a meal for the dogs.” Then she turned and walked out.

The gate slammed shut behind her. The sound echoed through the stone like a cruel reminder.

I was still a prisoner.

Her words stayed with me. “A meal for the dogs.” It wasn’t just a threat. It was a promise of what happened to those who didn’t survive here. A cold shiver ran down my spine, and I curled into myself, pulling the thin blanket tighter around me.

The herbs began to work slowly. The pain dulled, a heavy warmth spreading through me. I hated that I felt safer now. I hated that part of me didn’t want to fight anymore.

But the sleep came anyway. And this time, I didn’t resist.