05

Chapter 5

Elena’s POV

Two days.

It had been two whole days since I’d been thrown in here—into this pit of stone and silence. My stomach twisted with hunger so sharp it made me curl into myself. 

The cell was small, damp, and freezing. My bones had gone stiff and my lips pale. There was no bed, just the hard floor and the occasional rat scuttling past in the shadows.

No food. No water. Just pain—and the slow, gnawing ache of being abandoned.

I leaned against the wall, cradling my belly.

There was no denying it now. I was pregnant. The symptoms hadn’t lied—neither had the heat of Lucien’s mark still lingering at my neck like a ghost. It was now very obvious. The concealer I had used had cleaned away alongside the beads of sweat and I could feel the heat of the mark on my neck, a painful reminder of my predicament. 

And gods, I was starving.

But it wasn’t just for food.

It was for safety. Warmth. Answers.

And him.

Lucien.

I hated him. I wanted to hate him. He came into my life like a storm, turned my world upside down in one night—and disappeared like smoke. Like he was not even there. Who was he? Why was Samantha so adamant that it couldn’t be him? What piece of this puzzle am I missing?

Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes. I wiped them away fiercely. I have not been fed water and food yet somehow the tears never stop flowing freely. 

“Why would you do this to me?” I whispered into the dark, my cracked voice bouncing off the tainted walls of the cell. “Why save me if you were just going to leave me behind?”

I let my head fall back against the cold stone and closed my eyes.

“…Mama,” I breathed, “you died for this pack. You gave everything. And look what they’ve done to me. Look where I am.” I spread my arms wide as if she could see me. See how truly broken I was. I thought if I had stuck to my passion to be a pack healer, I would remain hidden but then I got mated to Damien. 

I believed I had finally found my happy ending and Damien would be grateful for what my mother did but no… he showed me why you should never trust the male species. After the endless nights where he would whisper empty promises, he rejected me and chose Samantha. 

My voice trembled. “If you’re out there—if you can hear me—please… help me. I don’t know what to do.” I pleaded, tired of sobbing. 

My stomach cramped again. Hunger. Or something worse.

I didn’t know how much longer I could survive like this—not alone, not with babies growing inside me. I had to stay strong… for them. But even the thought of their tiny heartbeats couldn’t push back the darkness pressing in on me.

Then—suddenly—the lock clicked.

I sat up with a jolt, my eyes tried to adjust to the tone of darkness. 

The door creaked open, making some noise, and light spilled into the cell.

I blinked against it, squinting my eyes to adjust. 

“Elena!” a soft voice called in a rushed whisper.

It was Ava.

My breath caught in my throat.

She hurried inside with a small cloth bundle clutched to her chest. “I brought you food,” she said, already kneeling beside me. “Bread, fruit, water—eat quickly.”

I stared at her. “How did you—?”

“I stole the key from the guard while he was flirting with one of the maids,” she said breathlessly. “I didn’t think they’d actually starve you, Elena. I didn’t—”

I didn’t wait. I tore into the bread, barely chewing before swallowing, and downed half the water in the flask. The ache in my stomach eased just a little. My stomach growled in acceptance or maybe protest. I didn't know which one. 

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I whispered, “Thank you.”

Ava placed a hand on my shoulder. “You don’t deserve this. You never did.”

“They want me to suffer,” I murmured. “They want me to give up. But I can’t. I won’t.”

“Then don’t,” Ava said, voice trembling. “You have to leave. Tonight.”

I froze. “Leave?”

“You’re not safe here. Samantha’s going to push Damien to kill you next, Elena. You’re carrying someone else’s pup. If it is the Lucien I think you met, then you are not safe here at all. She won’t rest until you’re gone for good.”

I looked down at my belly.

I couldn’t let them be born in this prison. I couldn’t let them grow up hunted or hated.

“I don’t even know where to go,” I whispered.

Ava pulled a small folded map from her apron pocket and pressed it into my hand. “The border woods. There’s a way out, past the east fence. You’ll have to run fast, and stay off the main road, but you can do it. You have to. And the Moon Goddess will guide you the rest of the way.”

I clutched the paper like it was life itself.

“Ava…” My voice broke. “Why are you doing this for me?”

She smiled through her tears. “Because… You remind me of your mother.” 

Her words shocked the hell out of me. “W-What?”

A sad smile curled around her lips. “I used to work for your mother and she was the kindest person to me. I left because Samantha’s mother wanted me to join forces to dupe you but I couldn't. Spending the past few days with you already helped in relieving the guilt.” The flesh around her face crinkled as she stared at me dearly. 

“Now that I have the means to set you free, I would gladly do that.”

I stood slowly, legs weak but heart racing.

A future.

For me. For my babies.

I looked back at the cold stone cell. At the place they thought would break me.

But it didn’t.

It forged me.

“I’m leaving. Take care.” I whispered.

Ava nodded, stepping aside. “Then go.”

And I did.