Chapter 3

~ Elara's POV ~

My body trembled violently against the frozen stone floor as I curled into myself, desperately trying to preserve what little warmth I had left. The thin fabric of my dress clung uselessly to my skin, offering no protection against the merciless cold gnawing into my bones.

After Alpha Kael ordered me to be locked away, I had first been thrown into a heated dungeon... a cruel illusion of mercy, only for his guards to return later, drag me off the floor like a common criminal, and toss me into this deathly cold dungeon.

The dungeon was dark… suffocatingly dark.

I couldn’t see my own hands, yet the cold felt alive, crawling across my skin like invisible claws, biting, sinking, claiming me piece by piece. The stone beneath me felt as though it had been carved from ancient ice, determined to freeze the life out of me.

Goosebumps covered my fragile skin as my body shook uncontrollably, like a helpless creature abandoned to freeze to death.

God… I needed warmth.

I needed a warm bath, then a huge blanket to wrap myself in, but I knew I wouldn't be getting any of that. I was nothing more than a rogue’s daughter in the eyes of the Timberwolf Pack.

I didn't need to guess before I knew it was that heartless monster who ordered me to be locked up in this cold dungeon.

If he was going to treat me this way, why did he spare my life?

Killing me would have been kinder than this slow, cruel torture.

Tears slipped silently down my temples as memories of my family flooded my mind. If they were still alive… we would be together right now.

We might've been living in a small forest with nothing but tents for shelter… but we were happy. Truly happy.

My father… my mother… my brothers… the rogues who were like family to me… they loved me. Protected me. Treated me like I was something precious. Like I was their little princess.

If Alpha Kael had not painted our forest red with blood… we would be gathered around the fire right now, sharing warmth beneath the dark sky.

My father, our leader, would be telling stories — stories that never really happened, yet somehow sounded real when he told them.

My mother would be braiding my hair, humming softly, making sure I looked beautiful.

My brothers would be play-fighting with their swords just to make me laugh. I'd laugh so hard whenever they pretended to be in pain.

Afterwards, my family and the rogues would eat fresh meat together, laughing and cracking jokes.

We were rogues, but we were happy together and supported one another.

But Alpha Kael had to ruin my little home, and to make it worse, the Moon Goddess had to make him my mate.

My mate… was the man who slaughtered my family.

I couldn’t stop the tears.

The more I cried, the colder the floor seemed to become, as if even the earth hated me.

This was cruel... so cruel.

I hadn’t done anything to deserve this. I was just a girl… raised to be gentle… fragile… never trained to fight, never prepared to survive something like this.

I needed my mother.

I needed her to pull me into her lap and stroke my hair and tell me everything would be okay.

But she was gone.

My tears didn't stop falling as the coldness of the night became worse. I hadn't had anything to eat. My throat was dry, and my stomach was begging for food.

Alpha Kael had given the order for water and food not to be given to me.

Lying on the floor, I struggled to resist the cold. My teeth were chattering, and I was starting to turn into ice. I thought I'd die, but unfortunately for me, I didn't, I only passed out.

When I woke the next morning, a faint sliver of light seeped into the dungeon. The cold was gone… but my body burned with a fever.

My head ached from crying all through the night.

I felt sick.

So sick.

What was Alpha Kael saying about me? Would he keep me locked in here forever, or worse, would he kill me?

As I thought about this, the huge iron doors of the dungeon opened, and two guards entered. The bright light from outside pierced into my eyes, nearly blinding me.

They didn't give me a chance to adjust to it or even speak before they yanked me up, dragging me out of the dungeon.

My knees scraped across the rough ground, tearing my skin open, but they didn’t care.

With every pull, blood smeared across the ground behind me.

Pain exploded through me, but they didn’t react... not to my cries, not to my gasps.

They threw me to the ground when we reached our destination. My face slammed into the dirt. Sand filled my mouth, scratching my skin.

I then heard footsteps approaching me. Terrified that it would be Alpha Kael, I buried my head in the sandy ground.

"I see you're the rogue's daughter," a female voice said, making me snap my head up.

She was dressed like a royal consort. The red lip rouge on her lips would be enough to use for ten maidens.

I wouldn't say she looked pretty… because she wasn't. And the way she stared at me gave me the instinct that she didn't like me at all.

"I was really pissed when I learned about Alpha Kael sparing your life. An ugly weak wolf like you should've just died with your family," she said.

Ugly? She dared to call me ugly?

Have she seen herself in the mirror? The only thing saving her was the numerous layers of makeup on her face.

But I dared not say it to her.

"I'm Ysoria... Alpha Kael's woman?" she said, wrapping her arms around her exposed chest as if she was so proud of being that monster's woman.

Why was she even telling me when I didn't even ask her?

I guess she had no idea that I'm mated to that Alpha.

Even I hated the fact that I was his mate. I hated him so much. I had never hated anyone the way I hated that monster.

Ysoria took a closer step to me, then deliberately crushed my fingers under her heel.

"Ouch!" I screamed out in pain.

She smirked wickedly as she added pressure in pressing my fingers with her heel.

"You're nothing but a weak wolf, and a weak wolf like you should answer to me when I speak!" she spat and landed a slap on my face.

I fell to the ground, my autumn-colored hair mixing with sand.

"Pick her up," she ordered.

Instantly, the guards picked me up. Ysoria smiled and slapped me again. I didn't fall because of the strong arms of the guards.

Ysoria continued slapping me until my face turned red.

Hot tears streamed down my face. No one had ever hit me before. Not even my brothers. They loved me too much to ever hurt me.

Ysoria grabbed a fistful of my hair, caring less if it hurt.

"For some reason, I don't like you, rogue, and as exciting as it could be, my Alpha Kael said I could do anything I want with you," she smirked.

I stared at her. I could sense how strong she and her wolf were. My weak wolf and I could never fight her.

"You're really so weak, rogue, which even makes it more exciting," she said, smiling, then her smile faded into something darker.

"Tie her up," she said venomously.

The guards dragged me to a tree and tied me so tightly that the ropes cut into my skin.

"Let me go..." I whispered weakly.

I couldn't even move my body because of how tightly the ropes were tied to my skin.

Ysoria, with a wicked grin, stepped closer to me. "This is just the beginning of your nightmare, rogue."

Before I could understand what she was saying, werewolves emerged from everywhere.

Some were of higher breeds and some were of lower breeds.

They were all glaring at me.

"She's a rogue's daughter," one of them hatefully said, pointing his fingers at me.

Suddenly they began throwing stones at me.

Pain exploded across my body as rocks struck me again and again, tearing my skin and drawing blood.

I screamed.

"Alpha Kael said we can treat her however we want!" another shouted.

"Yeah!" they purred as they continued throwing stones at me.

Ysoria watched, smiling, satisfied as my blood soaked the ground beneath me.

"Please stop!" I begged, my voice breaking into desperate sobs.

But no one listened. The stones kept coming, each hit stealing another piece of me.

Alpha Kael is a monster.

I'm supposed to be his fated mate!