3. Torched Bonds.

Aurelia’s POV

I was cold and lonely, engulfed in darkness with the stench of urine and dirt making me uneasy. I was in the Royal dungeon. Kael had locked me up immediately after Liora had told him everything. I was a fool to think that victory would come that easily. Liora was stronger than I could imagine. She’d pounced on my mistake and found a way to manipulate Kael.

She knew everything about me. She knew that I was going to make dinner, and so she poisoned herself. A drastic move just so she could send me away. She despised me so much. The feeling was mutual. Her goal was clear—to humiliate me and take everything away from me. And she’d done just that.

The sound of footsteps echoing through the darkness snatched me out of my thoughts. I was sitting on the cold stony floor, hugging my knees as I tried to keep it together. There was no point in losing my mind about something I couldn’t save. I rubbed my stomach. My child. If only Kael knew.

“Why?” Kael spoke through the darkness.

I looked up and saw him standing behind the bars. The fluorescent lights had been turned on, and I could see the rage in those lemon eyes. How could I tell him the truth about our child? He wouldn’t believe me.

There was another person behind him. It was Ethan Crowley, his beta. Ethan had his hands in his jacket as he glared at me.

“I didn’t do it,” I replied coldly.

He grabbed the bars, his hands tightening around them. A vein popped up in his right temple as his face twisted in rage.

“You better give me a good reason, or I’m going to get you executed!” He barked, his blue echoing through the dungeon.

“You know you can’t execute her, Kael,” Ethan chipped in from behind. “She's the last primordial wolf which makes her special. Only she can sire strong heirs. Or have you forgotten the plan?”

A primordial wolf? I was a primordial wolf? I always thought that they were nothing but myths. Primordial wolves were the first and pure werewolves who possessed immense strength and also mystical powers.

That would explain my strange healing abilities but my parents had never told me this when I was a kid. Finding out from my mate who was about to abandon me was the worst feeling ever.

And the plan? My stomach churned as I heard that. Was I only a means to an end? Kael only wanted me just so I could give him an heir? I was almost like a….a surrogate. My hands balled into fists at my sides as the rage flared in my chest. I understood everything now.

Kael slammed his fist on the bars in rage and the walls of my cell shook making me flinch in fear.

“But she’s barren which makes her completely useless. And then she tried to kill my new Luna,” he said, his eyes falling on me. “Why?”

Kael’s words were like a thousand knives to my chest. My mate saw me as nothing but a tool. The way he talked about me to Ethan made me realize this. I’d been used to it my whole life. My chest ached in rage.

“You won’t believe anything I say to you, Kael. You’ve made up your mind,” I said. “You replaced me.”

Kael’s brows furrowed.

“And you almost killed her,” he growled, his voice venomous.

“We both know that I would never do something like that.”

Kael let go of the bars and the rage on his face disappeared. It looked like he had had enough. So did I.

“You leave me with no other choice,” he said calmly.

I cranked an eyebrow as I stared at him. What did he mean by that?

“I, Alpha Kael Riverstone of the Silver Fang pack, reject you, Aurelia Grey.”

My eyes widened as I heard that. I could feel my heart drop as well. He rejected me? I looked up at Kael in shock and he stood there with a blank expression on his face. He realized that I was useless and decided to throw me away. Just like a toy. I was a toy to him, a tool that he could dispose of whenever he pleased.

The rage in my chest swelled and I rose to my feet, feeling the heat of the rage burning in my veins. My wolf stirred inside ready to go rampant but I steadied it as I walked to the bars.

“I will make you regret, Kael,” I growled. “I promise you.”

He scoffed as he folded his arms.

"The only thing I'll regret is bringing you out of slavery and making a lowly person like you my Luna. You've always been a thorn in my flesh. You should be grateful I'm even pardoning you now!"

I shook my head, the rage getting hotter. I had to control myself. This was out of my control. He’d reject me and keep Liora. Even after so many years, she had still found a way to manage a win over me. The nostalgia made me nauseous and furious at the same time. I could never get the better of her.

“Kael, don’t you think we should rethink this?” Ethan asked, stepping forward. “She's a primordial wolf. We can’t just let her leave.”

Kael didn’t listen. His rage and devotion to Liora blinded him. I didn’t care anymore. I was done.

“I don’t care,” he said, jamming the keys into the lock and opening the cell. “I want you gone by midnight.”

I stepped out of the cell and glared at him.

“Don’t ever show your face again,” he warned. “If you do, I shall have you executed on the spot.”

And with that, he stormed out of the dungeon. Ethan’s gaze lingered on mine for a moment, and a flicker of pity lit his eyes before he disappeared into the shadows.

I stepped out of the dungeon, the smell of fresh cool night air filling my lungs. It was a full moon tonight. The guilt of being rejected by Kael hit me, but the rage made me look towards my retribution.

And in that moment, I felt a sudden energy surge in my veins. For a second, I felt powerful and confident. But then it dissipated as fast as it’d come.

As I stared at the night sky a question hit me. Where was I going to go from here? There was only one place I could go—the Red Moon pack.

I stared at the full moon.

“It’s time to go home.”

***

I could see it from a distance. My home. I was finally back. It’d been years since I last saw this view, but it still looked the same. The smell of fresh pine and midnight sunflowers that bloomed around the borders. It was just as I left it—the day that Kael had come to my rescue.

Nobody cared about me, but he did. And he’d saved my life. The memories hurt more as I recalled his rejection. I brushed it off my mind and continued walking.

But then, I spotted it as I walked past the borders. There was a big cloud of black smoke hovering over the pack. The heat of fire and the screams sent me rushing towards my pack. And when I got there, the scenes were grotesque.

There were invaders destroying everything in sight. The houses were on fire, and people were screaming as they ran for their lives.

This couldn’t be real. I watched, frozen in shock as the chaos spread further. It was just as the day when Kael had saved me. Chaos surrounded me.

My pack was in danger.