Chapter Two: If Betrayal Had A Name.

Amaya – Point of View.

I didn't know how long I had been locked away in this dungeon. A day, maybe longer. No food. No water. Just the cold bite of iron chains gnawing at my wrist and the silence that clawed at my sanity.

As much as part of me wanted to give up, I did not want to be sold off like some bargaining token. I didn't want to be handed over to Alpha Caius as his wife, but it didn’t matter what I wanted. The decision had already been made.

His name alone was enough to turn the blood of warriors to ice. Alpha Caius. Ruthless. Unforgiving. Feared across the South and beyond. He was more than a leader, he was a force of destruction, a walking death sentence. His pack, the Blood Howl Crest, was forged in the fires of war, its members born to fight and trained to kill. They didn’t just protect their borders, they crushed anyone foolish enough to cross them.

Alpha Caius was a wolf written in blood. Towering. Scarred. Merciless. He led every war himself, cutting through enemies like a blade through flesh. And he never retreated because he never needed to. No Alpha dared challenge him. Not only because of his unmatched strength, but because of the rumors about him that clung to his name like a curse.

And yet, somehow, my father did.

He crossed him.

I still didn't know exactly what my father did to earn his wrath. But whatever it was, it cost him everything, when Alpha Caius helped Alpha Damon crushed my father's empire and burned it to ash.

Now, I was given to him as his fifth bride.

He had taken four mates in his lifetime and all of them were dead. Whispers claimed he killed them, one by one. Others said he was cursed. No one knew the truth.

I didn't care which story was true. Because the truth was I wouldn't last longer either.

Tears pooled in my eyes and quickly slipped down my cheeks. No one would come for me. No one cared. The only one who truly cared was stripped away from me as a punishment. All I had left was myself and the Goddess, if she still looked my way.

I hastily wiped my tears as footsteps echoed down the hallway leading to the dungeon. My heart beat violently as I knew what that sound meant. They were coming to take me. But my fear melted into confusion when Freya stepped into view.

I pushed myself upright, chains rattling with the movement. “What are you doing here?” I asked, anger bubbling inside me. The memory of her smug smile was still fresh in my mind.

She tilted her head slightly, wearing the same mask of concern she always wore when lying. “Why don't you run, Amaya? You had your chance. Do you love being tortured and humiliated?”

I let out a bitter, broken chuckle. “Drop the act, Freya. Innocence doesn't suit you. You're a bitch. You caused this. You set me up and I'm sure you're thrilled now that I have been sold to Alpha Caius.”

Her innocent mask slipped almost immediately, replaced by the face of a vicious woman. The sight of it shocked me to my core. “You deserve everything that happened to you. You and your family, and I hope you died in the hands of Alpha Caius just like his four wives.” she spat, her voice cold and venomous.

I shook my head, my heart twisting in confusion and betrayal. What did I do wrong?

I was the one who carefully planned every detail, how Alpha Damon could defeat my father. I did it with Freya side by side. I gave them everything they needed, every secret, every weakness. I thought once they broke free from him, I would finally be free too. But instead…. I was captured, tortured, then I was turned into the pack’s slave.

I love Damon with all my heart. Everything I did, every betrayal, every risk, was so I could finally be with him and end my father’s cruelty. But in the end, they both betrayed me and my life was reduced to nothing but endless torture.

I smiled through the tears gathering in my eyes. I’d been such a fool to trust them. If betrayal had a name, it would be theirs.

“I was suffering just like the rest of them, even more,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “And I never supported my father's cruelty, you knew that but still you chose to betray me.”

“I did not betray you,” she snapped. “I owe you no loyalty. I wanted Damon, but you stole him from me using that fated mate bond trick.”

I finally understood her now. It all came down to Damon. That was what this had always been about. I thought she understood that mate bond is out of my control, something I never asked for. I never meant to hurt her.

“The bond wasn't my choice, you know that.”

“But you didn't reject it,” she hissed. “Instead you welcome it hoping you will become his Luna but look at you now, you are nothing but a chained up bitch waiting to die.”

My heart clenched. I had never seen her like this before. Not even in our worst moments.

She stepped closer, dropped a piece of stale bread into my lap.

Then came the real betrayal.

She slipped a key from her pocket, unlocked the chain on my wrist. For a breath, I thought she was freeing me? But before I could move, she looped the chain around her own throat and let out a piercing scream, her cries echoing off the dungeon walls.

Footsteps thundered down the corridor. Within seconds, the guards and Alpha Damon burst into the dungeon. From the way it looked, it seemed as though I was the one choking Freya with the chain. Alpha Damon turned to me.

He didn’t ask.

He didn’t speak.

He struck.

His claws tore across my face, hot pain exploding as my skin split open. I stumbled back, the metallic scent of blood filling the air.

Freya collapsed into his arms like a fragile thing. “I was only trying to help her,” she sobbed. “I thought she’d changed, but she’s still Kain’s daughter.”

“That's not true!” I cried, clutching my face, blood slipping between my fingers. “I didn’t touch her! I didn’t do anything!” I cried out, looking at Alpha Damon hoping he would believe me but the look on his face told me he didn't. In his eyes, I was the villain. The omegas who dared to harm his mate.

“You vile creature,” he growled, eyes blazing. “How dare you lay a hand on my mate?” He turned, voice thundering. “Guards! Take Amaya to the pack hall. She is to be lashed and it doesn't stop until Freya says so.”

I was dragged out of the dungeon, but not before I caught the satisfied curl of a smile on Freya’s lips. She planned this. She wanted this.

All because I chose to honor the mate bond by loving Damon, even though he only used me to get what he wanted. Freya knew everything I’d been through, how shattered I already was. And yet, it wasn’t enough for her.

They hauled me into the pack hall like I was some bloodthirsty murderer. The entire pack already gathered, their eyes sharp with judgment… and gleaming with bloodlust. I didn't resist. I simply took a deep breath and knelt down ready to be whipped.

Freya, Alpha Damon, and the pack elders arrived soon enough, their eyes brimming with hatred as if just the sight of me poisoned the air.

“Yes!”

"Kill the bitch."

Muffled voices rose from the crowd, cruel and eager. They murmured with sick delight as the lashes began, each one slicing across my skin like fire. I lost count. The pain blurred into one endless scream inside me. By the time Freya finally ordered them to stop, I could barely breathe, let alone move.

I was taken back to the dungeon, my body limp, my spirit hollow. Nobody came to help me. I lay there, lifeless, and swallowed by darkness, until I finally passed out.

*********

Days passed in pain, hunger, and silence. A slow deliberate torture.

By the third day, the dungeon gates creaked open. The guards walked in, followed by Alpha Damon, their eyes cold and unreadable.

“They’re here to get you,” one of them said.

I was taken from the dungeon and led back to my room, where the omegas were already waiting.

“They will dress you up,” the guard added curtly.

Before Alpha Damon took his leave, he turned to me. He leaned in, his voice cold and ruthless.

“Do your best to impress Alpha Caius. If by any chance he sends you back here, I will make your life a living hell, so unbearable that even if you beg for death, it won’t come.”

**********

I was ready in no time. My wounds had been tended to, since they can’t heal on their own because I didn’t have my wolf anymore.

The dress they put me in was a soft silver gown, delicate and flowing, the fabric smooth against my bruised skin. It was the finest thing I had worn since the night my pack was invaded and my father was killed. But it couldn’t hide the hollow look in my eyes.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, barely recognizing the girl looking back. A shadow of who I used to be. I doubted Alpha Caius would ever be interested in someone like me. And even if he was I wouldn’t survive it. I wiped away my tears just as the guards came to get me.

Outside stood Alpha Damon, with two large, strong-looking men I had never seen before. They were probably from Alpha Caius’s pack. Their muscles showed clearly under their dark clothes, and they looked dangerous, even without moving.

“That’s her,” he said coldly. “She’s Alpha James’s daughter, so make sure your Alpha knows. She needs to be handled with an iron hand. She’s a vicious, vile thing.” At his words, the expression on the men shifted instantly, twisting with disgust as they looked at me.

One of the men handed a file to Alpha Damon. “The land will be yours once you sign this, and the warriors will be dispatched soon,” he said.

My breath caught in my throat. I nearly burst into tears. I wasn’t traded for power or something grand, just a piece of land and some warriors. That was all I was worth.

As I watched him sign the contract, I knew he wasn’t just handing me over. He was signing my death certificate.

Freya stepped out of her room, her face masked with a sorrowful expression that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Even after everything, even if you tried to kill me, you’re still my best friend. I wish you luck,” she said softly, pulling me into a tight embrace.

Then, she whispered coldly into my ear, “I hope you die soon, just like all his other wives did.” She smiled sweetly as she pulled away, leaving no room for me to respond.

With practiced ease, she began to cry, putting on a show for the watching pack members. Murmurs of sympathy rippled through the crowd.

“I can’t believe it,” someone whispered.

“After all Amaya did to her, she still cares so deeply.”

And just like that, Freya played the victim again while I stood there, silenced by truth no one would ever believe.

“Alpha’s mate is such a good person.”

The words kept echoing, over and over, like a cruel chant. Something snapped inside me, maybe it was Freya’s fake tears, or maybe it was everything they’d done to me. Either way, I couldn’t stay silent any longer.

“I didn’t try to kill you,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm inside me. “And stop pretending you care about me, you never did. I hope you finally get what you want in my absence, because that’s the only time you ever could.”

Alpha Damon’s eyes flared with fury. He raised his hand to strike me. I shut my eyes, bracing for the slap, but it never came.

Cautiously, I peeked one eye open. His hand was frozen midair, caught in the firm grip of an older woman, one old enough to be his mother. And yet, there was nothing fragile about her.

She held his gaze with quiet strength, and for the first time, Alpha Damon hesitated.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Alpha Damon. This lady belongs to Alpha Caius now, unless you want a war,” she said with so much authority, it made me wonder who she really was.

Was she Alpha Carius’s mother?

“Let’s go, child,” the woman said, pulling me along as we walked toward the waiting SUV. The car door opened, and she got in first. I paused, glancing back one last time, Freya stood there fuming, beside Alpha Damon and a few of his pack members.

I climbed into the car, closing the door on everything I had known. As we pulled away, the pack house faded behind us, swallowed by distance and silence.

We drove in silence until the woman finally spoke.

“What is your name, child?”

“Amaya,” I replied quietly.

She hummed in response, then said nothing more.

The car continued down the long road, crossing the pack border and heading north. I stared out the window, trying to feel something—anything. But all I felt was a strange heaviness in my chest. Because deep down, I knew…This wasn’t a rescue. It was only the beginning of my misery.

Chapter three

Amaya— Point of view

After what felt like forever, we reached the Southern border. The clouds above were getting darker now, heavy with the threat of rain.

No one had spoken a word to each other. The only sound was the low hum of the engine. The silence made my skin crawl.

I glanced sideways at the woman sitting next to me. She still hadn’t moved. Her posture was perfect, her face unreadable, eyes locked on the book on her lap. But even without looking at me, her presence was chilling. The air around her felt colder, heavier, like she brought the storm with her. I could feel it pressing against my skin, crawling up my spine. Every instinct in me screamed to stay still, not to breathe too loudly.

I looked away, my fingers nervously fiddling with the hem of my dress. The silence fel