CHAPTER SEVEN

~Riya~

When I woke up, everything hurt. My head throbbed, my throat burned, and for a moment, I couldn’t remember where I was.

Then the smell hit me: metal, damp air, and the faint, bitter scent of blood. I blinked into the darkness, my eyes adjusting slowly. Cold stone walls. A narrow cot. The sound of dripping water somewhere far off.

And then I remembered. The battle, the fire, and the screams.

Nightfang had fallen. I pushed myself upright, although my muscles protested. My shoulder burned beneath the bandages, but I ignored it. I needed to understand where I was. I had been imprisoned.

I got up and walked toward the door, inhaling a familiar scent. “Was he here?” I asked myself.

The same wolf from the battlefield. The one whose power had rolled over me like a storm. The one who’d looked at me, not with hatred, but with something that made my wolf growl, something I still didn’t understand.

So he imprisoned me?

Was he a guard? A soldier? Or… someone more?

I stumbled to my feet, feeling very dizzy. My fingers brushed the metal door, cold and unyielding. I pressed my ear against it just as I heard footsteps departing.

“Hey!” I shouted. “Let me out!”

No response.

I pounded on the door with my fists until the pain shot up my arms. “Do you hear me? Let me out!”

The echo of my own voice mocked me.

I hit it again. And again. Until my hands throbbed and my breath came out in ragged gasps. Finally, I slid down against the door, exhausted, resting my head against the cold metal.

I closed my eyes and saw my father’s face. His eyes were bright and proud. His voice echoed in my mind. “You are Nightfang, Riya. Born of fire, born to lead.”

My throat tightened. “What would you have me do now, Father?” I whispered. “What do I do when there’s no one left in Nightfang to lead?”

The tears came before I could stop them, blurring my vision.

I cried heavily, my heart weighed down with pain. For my father's funeral that had turned into war, for Beta Marcell, who had fallen before my eyes, for the council members who had stood their ground until the very end, for every wolf whose howl had been silenced under Darkmoon’s blades.

And for myself, because I was still alive when they weren’t.

Eventually, exhaustion won. I curled on the cold floor and drifted into a restless sleep.

*****

When I opened my eyes again, light filtered through a thin crack near the ceiling. Morning. Or something close to it. My body still ached, but there was… warmth in the room that hadn’t been there before.

I blinked, disoriented, as my eyes fell on her. “Mom?”

She was standing by the wall. I shot to my feet. “Mom!” I gasped, running toward her.

But when I tried to hug her, she stepped back shockingly.

“What the hell is going on now?” I spoke softly. “You weren’t imprisoned?” I asked, breathless. “Am I the only one here? Is there anything left of Nightfang?”

Her expression didn’t change. She looked cold and unhappy. “No.”

The word sliced through me. “No?” I repeated. “What do you mean no? There has to be something left. Someone.”

“There is.” Her voice was calm. “Me and a few wolves.”

I stared at her, confused. “You? How? How did you…”

“I made a deal,” she interrupted.

My heart sank. “A deal?”

Her eyes held mine as she lowered onto the cot. “I’m to be married, Riya.”

“What?” I choked out a laugh, but it came out sounding hollow. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“My father’s Luna, the Luna of Nightfang? To whom?”

Her silence was all the answer I needed.

I took a step back, shaking my head. “No. Don’t say it. Don’t you dare say it.”

She didn’t blink. “To Alpha Darius of Darkmoon.”

It felt like the air was ripped out of my lungs. I couldn’t even speak for a moment. “You… you’re marrying him?”

“It’s for the best,” she said softly.

“The best?” My voice cracked. “For who? For him? He murdered our people, Mother. He destroyed our home!”

She flinched but didn’t break. “You think I don’t know that?”

“Then why would you…”

“Because it’s the only way!” she snapped. “He’s attracted to me, Riya. I saw it in his eyes. After a long discussion, he offered me a choice: marriage or death. For me. For the rest of our surviving wolves.”

I swallowed hard, trying to make sense of her words. “You think marrying him will save us?”

Her eyes softened again, but her tone remained firm. “It will get us closer to freedom. I’ll be inside his walls, inside his power. I can soften him, influence him, make him see reason. We can rebuild, Riya. Quietly.”

I shook my head, tears rolling down my cheeks. “That’s not rebuilding; that’s surrender.”

“It’s survival,” she whispered.

“Then what about me?” I asked. “What happens to me?”

She hesitated, and that pause made me look at her with worry.

“According to Darius,” she said finally, “you’ll remain here. As his prisoner, you would now be nothing here, Riya. Not an Alpha’s heir. Not a Luna to be… nothing.”

My legs felt weak. “So he gets you as his Luna,” I said bitterly, “and I rot in a cell beneath his castle?”

She didn’t answer.

“Do you hear yourself, Mother?” I demanded. “You’re giving him everything! Our power, our legacy, and even me!”

Her jaw tightened. “I’m doing what I must.”

“What would Father say?” I whispered.

At that, she looked away. “Your father is gone.”

I stared at her, searching her face for the warmth I remembered, but all I saw was a stranger wearing my mother’s skin.

“Do you really think he’ll let you live in peace?” I said. “Do you think monsters like him ever stop destroying what they touch?”

Her eyes glistened, and for a moment, I thought I saw doubt there. But it vanished just as quickly.

“He promised to give me a better life, to love me… it might not be real, but at least I could use that to get us out of here,” she said instead.

“Love?” I spat. “From what? Mother, can you hear yourself?”

Her expression hardened again. “You don’t understand, Riya. This is for Nightfang.”

I took a step back. “No,” I whispered. “No, Mother, don’t do this. Please, don’t leave me here.”

She moved closer. “I have no choice, Riya.” Tears dropped from her eyes unashamed as her body melted into mine.

The words shattered something deep inside me. Then she pulled away. “I'll go now, but I'll make sure you come for the wedding,” she spoke slowly as she left.

I sank to the floor. My heart screamed for her to come back, to tell me it was a lie, a cruel dream, but the warmth had vanished completely.

I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to steady my breathing, but all I could feel was the hollow ache of loss and betrayal.

Th

e words she spoke repeated in my head like a curse:

“You would now be nothing here, Riya. Not an Alpha’s heir. Not a Luna to be… nothing.”