2

Leah

My mother’s dress was unrecognizable as I was dragged harshly to the east wing, where the cells were placed. The temperature dropped to a minus as I was thrown harshly into the dark cell, the whole place rattling harshly as the rogues slammed the door behind me. 

I curled into myself in the corner of the pitch black cell, knees pulled to my chest, the memory of the previous event echoing in my head. Seth, my beautiful, bright Seth, was snatched from me in just the twinkle of an eye. I would never hold him again. Never sleep in his arms again. He was… gone. 

My breath came out in uneven gasps, and I pressed my fists to my mouth, desperate to muffle the sound. But my sob seized in my throat, and my heart leaped in my chest as chains rattled opposite me in the cell, making me know I wasn't alone like I thought I was. 

“Who–” I rasped, voice cracked, raw from screaming, and I moved away, pushing further into the edge of the cell, “Who’s there?”

 A low, rasping cough answered, followed by a voice I knew better than my own.

“Leah.” 

My breath stuttered. “Father?”

I scrambled forward blindly until my hands were met with cold iron. On the other side, chained and bloodied, was Alpha King James. His face was swollen, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth, as he struggled to sit upright. 

“Leah, my little wolf,” he whispered, straining against his silver chains to reach me. “Are you hurt?”

“No Noo, I’m fine.” The lie slipped out as tears poured down my cheeks. My hands pressed against the chains, reaching for him. “You’re bleeding. He, he hit you, he—”

“I’ve survived worse,” Father rasped, a grim smile tugging at his broken lips.

“But why? Why is he doing this? He killed mum, he killed Seth… why?” My words broke into a sob.

My father’s hands reached for mine through the chains, offering me comfort. “Leah, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. It’s mine,” he sighed. “I was so desperate to protect you, protect your mother, I stood against his father when he wanted to risk the safety of our people for his own selfishness. Ares’s father was not the man you’ve been told. He wasn’t some honorable Alpha. He was dangerous, reckless. He sought to sell our people to the rogues in exchange for more power.”

“He would have destroyed this kingdom. I tried to reason with him, but he attacked.  I killed him and banished Ares and his mother.”

I saw how he struggled with those words.

“ I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was protecting you. Protecting your mother. Protecting our people. But Ares was only a boy when I sent him away. And he’s hated me ever since.”

He let out a shaky sigh. “It’s all my fault,” he broke into a sob. “If I had just left him and his mother despite turning against the kingdom, if I didn't try to be a hero, Mum would still be here. Seth would still be alive. But because I acted, Ares has come back for vengeance, and now he’s taking everything from us.”

“Oh, Father. It’s not your fault–” I started to console him, but he stopped me.

“It is, Leah. But I do not regret anything. Apparently, I was right,” he rasped, voice cracking, but his words fierce. “What I did, I did for you. For your mother. For our people. I will never regret it.”

“I did what was right, no matter how much he tries to twist the truth.” He gripped my hand harshly, his eyes filled with anger. “Leah, you mustn’t let him poison your mind. You are my daughter. You are your mother’s child. When the time comes, you will avenge her. You will avenge Seth. And you will end Ares.”

His words sank, leaving me speechless. Father was not innocent, but he was right. Ares did turn out to be a monster, taking my man away from me. 

And for that, he would suffer a great deal. I fisted my hands. He would feel the same pain that caused me.

Before he could say any more, the door to the cell slammed wide open, and the guards stormed into the cell, ripping it open. “Time for coronation,” they snarled, fangs gleaming in the darkness.

“Get your hands off him!” I cried as two rogues yanked Father upright by his chains, forcing him onto his knees with a grunt. His head snapped back from the force, but his jaw stayed locked.

“Leah!” he barked, thrashing against their hold as they reached for me next. “Stay strong. Do not let him break you. Do you hear me?”

I fought, clawing, kicking, my wolf snarling, but rough hands closed around my arms, pulling me off the ground. I screamed as they ripped me away from Father, his bloodied hands slipping from mine, as they tore apart.

“No! Father!” My shriek echoed through the stone hall as they dragged us in opposite directions through the corridor.

The walls blurred past until I was shoved through the grand double doors of the main hall.

And my heart twisted at the sight.

The place where I was meant to marry Seth… where my dreams had died only hours ago… had been remade into a nightmare.

Blood everywhere. White petals soaked red. My dream turned into a nightmare.

 But that wasn't what stood out.

The symbol of our kingdom above the throne was now swapped for the rogue symbol, and beneath the flag, Ares sat in his throne, my father’s crown in his hair, and a woman sat in my mother’s throne, which had been empty for years. 

His eyes met mine, and he smirked evilly.

“The party favours are here.”

The rogues cheered loudly as my father was dragged in through the main entrance, flogged and bloodied, forced onto his knees at the center of the hall. He could barely stay upright, his body bloodied and torn.

I gasped. “Father!”

His face was barely recognizable, swollen from fresh blows, his lip split and bleeding. He coughed, spitting red onto the floor.

“Bring her closer,” Ares ordered, and the rogues dragged me till I knelt opposite my father.

He rose from his throne with the regality of a king hw wasn't, his eyes pinned on my father as he crouched in front of him, forcing him to look up. Then, without warning, his fist shot forward, crashing into Father’s jaw with a crack that echoed through the hall.

“Father!” I screamed as blood sprayed from his mouth. He collapsed sideways but forced himself upright again, panting.

My father grunted, wiping blood from his lips with his chained hands. “You can beat me bloody, but you’ll never be Alpha. You’ll never be king.”

Ares’s lips curved into a sneer. “Oh, James. That’s where you’re wrong.” he turned to the head of the council. “Finish the ceremony.”

The head of council shook as he recited the ancient words meant for coronation. 

I shook my head, tears streaking my face. “No… no, this isn’t right.” My voice cracked. “You can’t—”

“Silence her,” Ares ordered casually, his eyes never leaving my father.

A rough hand clamped over my mouth, muffling my cry.

“No…” my father whispered as Ares sealed the coronation by spilling his blood on the seal. 

Ares smirked as the crown was placed on his head, sealing his fate.

“All hail King Ares.” The whole court chanted thrice, leaving me shocked to my core.

“Bow,” Ares growled at my father, kicking him in his belly. “Bow, you animal!” 

“Stop!”I screamed, catching his attention. 

“Even if he bows, it won’t make you a king. It won’t make you more than the bastard you are!” I gritted with venom in my voice.

The whole hall fell hush, and my heart beat wildly at what I had just said

Ares turned his predator-like eyes towards me, and I ignored the shiver the mate bond caused as his eyes awoke my wolf. “What did you say, princess?”

Ignoring all my instincts that said to shut up, I stared him in the eye as he towered over me. I ignored his intoxicating scent, focusing all my anger on my glare. 

““Force him to his knees. Force them to crown you. But you’ll never rise higher than the bastard you are. You’ll still die a bastard, and you’ll die hated, unloved, and no crown will save you.”

I spat in his face. “Monster.” 

Gasps echoed through the room as Ares wiped away my saliva, and a humourless chuckle left his lips. “Cute.”

My heart slammed harshly against my chest as hatred flashed through his eyes. “Like father, like daughter.”

“This is James’s legacy,” he said, his voice piercing through the silence. He swept his hand roughly, gesturing around us. "A broken kingdom. A broken Alpha. And his daughter,” His cold eyes met mine. “This quivering girl. His successor. His priceless gem.”

I was about to recoil when he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me forward, pulling me over the stone floor until I was kneeling in front of him. He held me up by my hair like some prized trophy, forcing the court to look.

“From this day forward,” his words echoed, “She is mine. My whore. My breeder. My plaything until I tire of her… and when I do, I’ll spill her blood as I spilled her groom’s, her guards’, her people’s.”

Dread filled me as he stared right into my eyes. Breeder? Nausea filled me as my fate sank in. 

His gaze found my father once more. 

“Every humiliation, every scream, every use of her…” His lips twisted into a sneer. “It is all on you. You will watch her suffer for your sins, James. Until there is nothing left of her but ash.” He gestured to the guards behind me. “Now take her away, and rub her clean. I need to enjoy the spoils of the war.”

My father roared in protest as I was dragged away, but I could only think of one word as I was dragged away. 

His Breeder. 

Ares thought he owned me now. Thought he had broken me into nothing but his whore, his plaything, his prize.

But I was still James’s daughter. I was still my mother’s child. And I swore on their graves. 

One day, he would choke on every word he spoke tonight.

One day, I would make him bleed for every drop he had taken from me.

And when that day came, it wouldn’t be chains holding him down.

It would be me.