Chapter 3

3

Although Violet's vision was blurry from tears, she saw two men dressed in uniforms provided for the security staff of the Alpha's mansion. Also, her surroundings were dark with just a dim yellow bulb glowing over the prison iron door.

Her eyes widened and heart roared frightfully in her chest as she stared at it. The iron rods on the door were placed closely together with a lock made of pure silver. She recognized that lock and instantly her body rose in a sitting position.

She was in the darkest prison cell in the darkest part of the underground dungeons built beneath Alpha Arnold's mansion.

Violet was met with a new shock when she realized she was completely naked. She tried to cover her body but the guards grasped her hands. 

“No, let go!” She squeaked but the guards worked on an impulse. 

“Pin her down and spread her legs apart!” One of them barked. 

Strong hands instantly seized Violet's knees. She wriggled on the cold floor as her thighs were forced open. The guards snickered and licked their lips, enjoying the view. 

Violet screamed and even threw her legs, however, the guard laughed at her futile attempts. 

" You are in the deepest part of the dungeons. Chances of your screams being heard is very slim. I suggest you cooperate with us."

A snake of trepidation slithered around Violet's body. She froze as her mind flooded with images of Kiara. They were best friends. Kiara trusted her like a sister. As for Ben, she found out he was her mate just a few hours ago.

How could she trust him and throw Violet into the dungeons without listening to her side of the story? Their bond wasn't so weak. They understood each other even if their thoughts weren't verbalized.

"Help! Help me! Kiara, where are you? Kiara, please save me! Kiaraaaa!"

Violet screamed before she plummeted into darkness.

~~~

When she gained her senses back, she sat straight with a gasp. 

“W-where am I? I… I was in the dungeon.” She flicked her eyes and rubbed them before she looked around again. 

But it was real! The thing she was seeing was real. 

“How's everything white? Where's the sky, the land, trees, birds, buildings? What place is this?” Violet tried to stand up and a current of pain shot up her limbs. 

Her body was aching. It felt like she was pushed deep underwater and she had to fight her way back to come on the surface.

She practised deep breathing to calm her body and get a grip on herself. During this time, she cast a glance around again. 

Everywhere she looked, it was white. It felt as if she was placed in a room painted all-white. From ceiling to floor, the walls… Everything. 

“What am I doing here? Wasn't I in the dungeons before?” Violet finally succeeded in standing up and started walking ahead. 

Suddenly she ceased all motions as she realized that she had been in the dungeon cell struggling to save herself from two guards, who were attempting to take advantage of her. 

Her breathing faltered as her hands rose to touch her body. 

"How is this possible? I... I was naked, weren't I? T-the guards were all over me. T-they..." Violet trailed off as she touched a hand between her legs.

She trailed her hand to her inner thighs, fearing that she would feel pain. She felt nothing though. 

"Am I dead?" She blinked her eyes and looked around again. 

“I guess not. Neither heaven nor hell looks like this. And besides, you don't dress up like this after you die. Wait! The clothes? Why am I in these clothes?!” Violet's eyes widened because she was clad in all leather clothes like a warrior's. 

A short, sleeveless top revealed her toned midriff and belly button while for the bottom she had glistening leather pants. Strapped to her back were a bow and a quiver of arrows as well. 

“These arrows and bow— why do I have these? I'm not an archer. I don't even know how to fight. So why's this here?” Violet touched a hand on the string of the bow. 

“Wait, what's this?” She had a tattoo on her forearm of an arrow piercing through a crescent moon and above it were five stars aligned in a semi circle. That's not all, Violet also had bronze bracelets around her wrists. 

They had ancient runes etched on them. A crescent moon was engraved in the middle of the bracelet, which glowed when she touched the bracelets. A ball of light emitted from the glowing crescent and filled the white space around her. 

Suddenly a violent wind blew around her. She felt like it was a storm. Covering her face with her arm, Violet crouched down to protect herself. But then, the wind stopped and menacing silence filled the space.

When she looked up again, her mouth set agape. 

"What the... How is this possible?" She remarked because what was just an endless space of flawless white has now metamorphosed into an otherworldly realm.

There were soft fluffy clouds of dreamy mix of pink and white color drifting lazily in the sky. The atmosphere had transformed into soft pink and rose-gold wherever she looked. Tall slender pillars of the color rose-gold lined on both sides of her. 

There was a fountain flowing overhead. It was suspended in mid-air as though invisible ropes held it in the air. Violet stared wordlessly because instead of water, vibrant rose-gold sparkles flew from the fountain.

The place looked like a corridor of a divine castle, belonging to a rich king, or a deity.

"Lyra, you're here, pup?" Violet's body froze as a melodious voice called out from somewhere.

She peered around her as confusion crossed her features. She was alone in this magical place, so she wondered who was Lyra here.

“Lyra, darling, I'm talking to you. Why are you looking around? There's no one here besides you.” The voice sounded again.

It was so peaceful and attractive, Violet couldn't help but follow it.

She barely walked a mile and froze in her spot when she saw a massive cage of silver appear before her. It was pure silver, and every bar of the cage crackled with visible electric currents.

Inside the cage was a woman with long silvery hair that touched the ground. Her beauty seemed otherworldly. Violet held her breaths because she looked like a beautiful goddess. 

"Who are you? And why are you in a cage?" Violet asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

"You don't remember me, child? I'm your creator. Your Moon Goddess, Selene." The woman smiled and Violet narrowed her eyes at her sharply. 

"Moon Goddess… And you? That's hard to believe. Why are you in a cage held like a criminal if you're the Moon goddess?" 

"It's unbelievable, right? I don't feel happy to have you see me like this either. But the truth is… My powers are stolen from me and dark magic is used on this cage to trap me here. I'm no better than a human under this cage, child. But I'm glad you came. You can save me, Lyra." The Moon Goddess's lips trembled into a smile of hope. 

But Violet moved back warily. The Moon Goddess looked through her emotions and sighed. 

"I never wanted to meet you while I was in a cage, Lyra. But that's why you're here! So you can free me.” 

"Free you?" Violet's eyebrow curled up. "Can't you just melt the bars and come out if you're the Moon Goddess?" She moved closer to the cage.

"I wish I could. But as I said, I don't have my powers. Vorgon and Malakai stole them from me. There's nothing I can do. You have to do it, Lyra."

Violet looked at her face and then at the cage. She was about to touch one of the bars sizzling with visible bursts of electricity when the Moon Goddess screamed from inside, "NO! Don't touch it. You'll burn to ashes, child. What surrounds this cage isn’t mere electricity. It is raw lightning that was ripped from the sky and bound around the cage using dark magic. Don't try to do this again lest you'll burn to ashes.”

Violet moved back. She can see black smoke emitting from the crackling currents of electricity too.

"Then how do I free you? Is there a way?"

The Moon Goddess nodded vigorously, "Go down to earth and find your allies—the other two warriors, Aria and Kael. You'll have to find them before Vorgon and Malakai and bring them up here. Together with your powers, you will be able to break the dark spell and release me. That's not all, your reunion will also help me gain back my powers. But you need to work on it, Lyra.”

“Okay, where do I find them? And how do they look?”

“They could be in any part of the world… And I don't know how they look, sorry. But you'll have to search for them. Only when the 3 of you come together to free me will I be able to get out of this cage.”

Violet chuckled mockingly, “Are you joking with me? It's impossible to find someone without proper details. Besides, I don't believe you yet.”

“Lyra, I….” the Moon Goddess trailed off as her head shot over her shoulder to look behind her. “Oh, no! They're coming. You must leave, Lyra. Leave before they kill you.”

“Who's coming?” Violet stiffened watchfully. 

“I can't tell everything to you, Lyra. Search about it. You'll find the information in the history. Dig up the libraries, check old testaments. You'll have all your answers.” 

Violet's skin burned with goosebumps when a terrifying shriek echoed in the air. There were loud, heavy footsteps too. Before she asked what was going to happen or who it was, a gust of wind emerged out of nowhere and everything started scattering around. 

“Go back to earth and find your affiliates before Vorgon and Makalai find them. I don't have much time." 

Violet covered her face again because the winds were too harsh. 

“But I don't know who Vorgon and Malakai are. Why are they after you? And where will I find Aria and Kael?” Violet said. “I think you're mistaking me for someone else. I'm an omega. I am not strong.”

“You're my warrior, Lyra. But you still don't know who you are. You'll have to find your true identity while you look for your allies.”

Violet's chest rumbled with growing emotions.

“Warrior? Me? But I am—”

"Listen, Lyra. This is your last chance. If you fail to save me this time then the entire wolf kind will disappear with me. The world will come to an end." She said in a tear-smothered voice.

Seeing her in distress made Violet struggle to breathe too.

That confirmed that she was indeed Moon Goddess because her pain was causing Violet to feel the pain, after all she was her creation. 

“Give me a cue, at least. How do I—” Aria winced because the winds have turned into a tornado, and she was being sucked into it. 

She was caught in the middle of the tornado as she heard the last few words from the Moon Goddess, "Vorgon and Malakai have unlocked their powers but they haven't restored their memories. But it won't be long before they do. So, you'll have to find your affiliates sooner, Lyra."

"And remember, it's the final war. You'll have to win it, child. For me, for our kind, and for everything else."

Violet's mind spun. She was rotating in the middle of the tornado. The force seemed to rip her apart.

A blood-freezing pain shot through her body as Violet watched the realm vanish. Before she could understand anything, the force of the tornado weighed down on her and she passed out.

Tbc...