Chapter 4

Athena's Pov

Alpha Ragnar sighed again and rose to his feet. “We will search for Nuella's body but you will be sent to the dungeon.”

My eyes widened. “What?” 

The guards that helped me earlier appeared behind me and forced me on my knees. 

I barely felt the marble floor beneath my knees as I now knelt before the Alpha and Luna, their gazes pinning me like a blade.

It suddenly became clear to me.

Their daughter was dead and they blamed me.

“No. I'm innocent.” I panicked.

“Do you know what you're saying, Athena?” Alpha Ragnar’s voice was calm when he asked me.

I swallowed hard. “Yes. I know what I saw. I couldn't hurt her! It was the Alpha twins.” 

“Liar!” Luna Mirabella's hands trembled before she clenched them into fists. “You're still accusing the Alpha twins? Their father, Alpha Kyros, is our ally. Both our packs signed a peace treaty and he would never go against it.”

I flinched at her words, but then I forced myself to speak. “Then ask them yourself. Look at Nuella's body. The truth is there.” 

“You're trying to cover up your crime!” Luna Mirabella snarled, raising her hand to strike me again but her hand was held back.

It was Beta Damien.

Upon the Alpha's orders, he helped carry Luna back to her throne where her husband comforted her.

“Let go of me!” She screamed. “That Omega is nothing but a traitor! She's a murderer!”

Her words stirred up the crowd and they began to whisper.

“I knew there was something off about her. So she killed Nuella.”

“No wonder. She was always jealous of her.”

“She's a filthy little whore!”

Those words hit me like whiplash, each syllable a fresh wound until the real pain came.

The first strike sent me sprawling to the ground. It was followed by a kick to my stomach then a lash of the whip against my back.

The scent of my blood filled the air. 

I curled into myself, trying to block out the whips but I couldn't.

The whip didn't stop hitting.

The pain didn't stop throbbing in every part of my body.

“Please…” I croaked.

“Your Majesty,” Damien tried to step in but the guards stopped him. “At this rate, she'll die!”

“That's exactly my point!” Alpha Ragnar said coldly.

“Brand her!” He echoed.

What?

I felt my body being lifted off the floor. “No. No. No. Please…”

“Shut her up!” 

A slap ran across my face, silencing my cries but not my tears.

A knee pressed into my back, pushing my body into an arch and then the flames came.

A hot iron pressed against my skin.

I screamed.

But no one listened.

And no one cared.

The days that came since that incident in the throne room, blurred together in a haze of pure agony.

I didn't know how long I had been in the cellar but I knew I was going to die. 

The walls were always damp, the air thick with mold and filth. My wrists are red and raw from the iron cuffs chaining them. My body was broken, brushed and burned.

I had no one.

I had nothing.

Except him.

Damien.

At first, I thought I was hallucinating when I heard the scrape of the heavy door being unlocked. 

Then, a familiar voice whispered my name. “Athena.” 

I lifted my head, peering through the fringes covering my eyes. “Who's there?”

“It's me.” He said.

“Damien?” 

A warm hand touched my forehead. “Yes, it's me.” 

I wanted to smile but my cracked lips barely moved. 

He knelt before me, concern etched on his face. 

“You look terrible.” He said, attempting a joke. 

I let out a weak, breathless laugh. “I feel terrible.” 

He sighed. “I brought you some food.” 

My stomach growled at the sound of food.

I couldn't remember the last time I ate.

“Let me help.” He said.

Keys jingled then I felt the cuffs loosen off my arms. I swooned but he caught Mt just in time.

“Woah. You're as light as a feather.” He joke” 

He crooned me in his arms, engulfing me in his warmth. 

“Here.” He pressed a piece of bread to my lips and I bit into it, slowly, wincing at the effort to chew and swallow.

Then he passed me a flask of water and I drank.

My body was weak but at least I didn't feel like death anymore. 

I looked up at Damien and he stopped. 

“What is it?” He asked, cupping my face.

“Why are you helping me?” I asked, hoarsely. 

“Because I know you didn't kill Nuella,” he said simply.

Tears pricked my eyes. “You're the only one who does.” 

He clenched his jaw. “Everyone else is a fool for not believing you.”

Then, he reached for a smoked salmon and passed it to me. “Here, eat up.”

After eating, Damien stayed with me. He always stayed.

He'd tell me stories about the outside world and he was even good at making jokes. Even though some of them were stupid. But he did all he could to make the darkness bearable.

And somewhere along the line, I started looking forward to his visits.

I started to care.

One night, he sat beside me, as usual.

“Athena.” He said softly.

I turned to him. 

There was something different in his eyes now. Something raw and nearly primal.

I almost pulled away but he caught my wrist — not rough or harsh but gentle and possessive.

“Athena…” he brought my hand to his chest and I felt his heart beating in his chest.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

“I think I'm in love with you.” He blurted out.

“Damien…” 

“I know…” he said, closing his fingers around mine. “I know about the mate bond. About the twins.”

I lowered my head, my heart clenching painfully. 

The marks on my shoulders still burned. I couldn't move on from that. Not when I could still feel them in the depths of my soul. Not when I still belonged to them.

“I'm sorry, Damien,” I whispered. “I can't accept you.” 

He exhaled slowly, still not letting go of my hand. “Is it because of them?”

I nodded.

“Because I don't want them to come after you.” I added. 

Silence stretched between us. 

Then he spoke again. This time, it startled me. “I don't care, Athena.” 

I gasped. “But —”

He cupped my face in a featherlight touch. “I don't care if they're your mates. I don't care if you never choose me. All I want is for you to live, Athena.” 

My eyes filled and tears slipped down my cheeks. “You've done so much for me already.”

“And I'll keep going more,” he thumbed away my tears. “As long as you need me.”

I pulled him into a hug. “Thank you.” 

For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel alone. 

I was wrong.

I learned quickly that kindness was a dangerous thing in the DarkMoon pack.

For weeks, maybe a month, I had only Damien to keep me sane. His presence was the only thing keeping me from losing myself in the darkness. 

His voice gave me warmth when I was cold. His words were heaven in this cold, damp hell of a prison. My hope was alive whenever he came but I should've known that nothing good lasts in my life. 

One evening, as I curled up in the corner of my cell, I heard raised voices outside the iron door. 

“You spend too much time there. What the hell are you doing?” A rough voice spoke and I recognized it to belong to Gaius, the Prison Warden.

My body tensed.

Was he talking to Damian?

“I'm just here to help. She had no one else, man.” Damien replied in a calm voice but I could sense the edge in it.

“If she doesn't have anyone, how is it your problem, Damien?” 

“It is,” Damien replied. “My job is to make sure every member of the pack is okay. Including her.” 

“She doesn't belong here and you know that. Why are you doing this?” 

“Are you questioning my loyalty, Gaius?” Damien asked.

“Of course not.”

“It sounds like you were.” 

Gaius let out a snort. “I’m not questioning you. I'm just staying what I've observed. You're treating a condemned traitor like a lost pup. It makes me wonder where your true loyalties lie — with the Alpha?... or with her…”

I gasped.

“My loyalties are to the throne alone, Gaius.” Damien declared. “Athena is just a prisoner and I was keeping her alive for questioning. Nothing more. Nothing less.” 

What?

“Good,” Gaius said triumphantly. “Then, you wouldn't mind if I reassigned you, right?” 

I bit my lip so hard, I tasted blood. 

A heavy silence filled the air.

After a few seconds passed, Damien replied. “As you wish.”

My blood froze.

No!

“Excellent.” Gaius said. “You will now guard the eastern cells. I will handle Athena personally from now on.”

No!

No! No! No!

This couldn't be happening.

I scrambled to my feet, the chains rattling loudly as I stumbled towards the iron bars. 

“D - Damien!” I called out but the door slammed shut and just like that, he was gone. 

Hagar kept to his word.

A new guard was assigned to me. A Gamma named Boric. 

If Damien had been the light in my darkness, Boric was the darkness itself. 

He enjoyed hurting me.

It began with little things — letting my food rot before giving it to me, kicking my water before I could drink it and laughing, then, it got worse.

He’d slapped me when I spoke too slow. He'd punch me when I didn't answer fast enough. And then the knife — 

I lost count of how many times he cut me just to see how fast I could heal.

“Alpha mates.” Boric hissed at me one night, dragging the silver blade along arm. “Aren't you supposed to be stronger than this?” 

Blood trickled down my arm but I refused to scream. 

But my silence only made him crueler.