Chapter 33 – Worst

Chapter 33 – Worst 

Selene’s POV

It wasn’t the cold that woke me. Not really.

The chill was there, yes ... sharp and biting, lashing against my skin like invisible whips, curling beneath the thin fabric of my torn dress ... but it was the pain that truly pulled me from the black fog of unconsciousness. A dull, throbbing ache settled in every joint and bone, a chorus of bruises that sang with each breath. My wrists screamed beneath the tight coil of rough rope, and the pressure around my ankles felt like a vice grip. Even before I opened my eyes, I knew something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

The concrete floor beneath me was unforgiving, and it stank of mildew, rust, and something fouler I didn’t want to name. My cheek was pressed against it, the chill seeping into my bones. With a groan, I blinked against the darkness. The room was dim, lit only by a flickering bulb that swung lazily from the low ceiling. The walls were bare cement, cracked and damp, with mold blooming in the corners like grotesque flowers. Water dripped rhythmically somewhere behind me, each plink like a ticking clock counting down to some unseen horror.

My breath caught. My heart pounded violently against my ribs, the sudden, deafening realization crashing over me like a tidal wave: I’ve been taken.

My body jerked, muscles straining in instinctive panic ... but the ropes dug deeper, biting into my skin, and I let out a sharp cry. Pain exploded in my arms and legs. I was bound. Trapped.

Kidnapped.

“Goddess,” I gasped, my voice hoarse and cracked from disuse ... or perhaps from screaming before I blacked out. I couldn’t remember.

For a moment, I just lay there, paralyzed by helplessness. I wanted to scream, to fight, to do something, but fear sat on my chest like a stone, making it hard to breathe. My mind reeled, trying to stitch together fragmented memories ... a blur of voices, the sensation of being dragged, the taste of blood in my mouth ... and then nothing.

How long had I been here? Hours? Days?

A rustling sound beside me made my breath hitch.

Then a groan.

I turned my head slowly, the pain protesting every movement, and my heart nearly gave out with relief.

“Seris,” I rasped.

She was curled up against the far wall, limbs bound just like mine, a bruise blooming across her temple like an ugly purple flower. Her brow furrowed as she stirred, then her eyes fluttered open, disoriented and glassy.

“Selene?” Her voice was a broken whisper, soft and scared. She blinked at me, then at the room. “Where... what is this? What happened?”

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to move, inching awkwardly toward her like a wounded animal. Every inch was agony. “You were taken... like me. Do you remember anything?”

Seris’s eyes flicked back and forth, searching her fractured memory. “I was in the gardens. Alone. I heard footsteps. Then something... someone grabbed me from behind.” She winced, closing her eyes. “That’s all I remember.”

We didn’t have a second more to process.

The door burst open with a crack like a gunshot. The metal groaned as it slammed into the wall, and I flinched hard, heart lurching into my throat. Heavy boots struck the floor like war drums as two men stepped inside. Their shadows stretched long across the cracked concrete, and the air seemed to darken with them.

I recognized one instantly.

The rogue Alpha. Corven.

The same deranged man who had threatened chaos during the peace summit, whose snarling speech had been laced with madness. He looked even worse now ... gaunt, wild-eyed, and vibrating with rage. His companion, Malric, was taller, broader, and unsettlingly calm, the quiet kind of danger that didn’t need to yell.

Corven’s smile was nothing short of predatory.

“Awake at last,” he sneered. “Good. I was getting tired of watching you sleep like pampered princesses.”

He stepped closer, the shadows clinging to him like oil. “I’m Alpha Corven,” he said mockingly, as if we didn’t already know. “And this here’s Malric, my Beta. You’re here because your dear prince made a mistake. A fatal one.”

He crouched in front of me, his eyes gleaming with bitter hatred. “Your mate thought he could erase us. Bulldoze our land. Build his glittering future over our bones. Well… now we’ll see if he’s just as careless with your life as he was with ours.”

I clenched my jaw, refusing to look away.

He stood again and began to pace, voice rising with every word. “You royals... always thinking you’re above us. That your polished cities and polished lies give you the right to wipe out what doesn’t fit your perfect little picture. Our forest. Our homes. Our sacred ground.”

His voice cracked with rage. “They called it a development project. I call it a massacre.”

Then he threw something at me. I flinched as a battered phone skittered across the floor, stopping near my feet.

“Call him,” Corven ordered. “Tell your prince if he doesn’t kill the dam and surrender the project, you and your sister-in-law die before dawn.”

My stomach twisted.

I reached for the phone with trembling fingers... then froze. A horrifying realization struck.

“I… I don’t know his number,” I whispered.

The silence was immediate and lethal.

Corven stared at me, expression hardening. “Liar.”

“I’m not!” I cried. “I swear, I... ”

In an instant, he lunged, seizing my hair and yanking my head back violently. I cried out, blinking through the white-hot pain.

“I should cut out your lying tongue,” he snarled into my face, his breath foul with rage and rot.

“Alpha!” Malric stepped in, voice firm. “Let her go. We still have the other one.”

Corven growled, shoved me backward so hard I hit the floor with a gasp, then turned on Seris. “You. Princess. Try.”

He forced the phone into her bound hands.

But before she could speak, pain erupted in my lower abdomen ... sudden, blinding, and hot like fire ripping through flesh. I doubled over with a scream.

“Ah! Goddess... it hurts!”

Seris turned in shock. “Selene?!”

“I’m pregnant!” I sobbed. “Please... something’s wrong!”

Malric was by my side in seconds, hand over my stomach, eyes narrowing. “Her heartbeat’s off. The child’s too.”

Corven swore loudly, beginning to pace again, but this time there was fear behind the rage. Real fear.

“If she loses that baby, the prince will turn the entire kingdom against us,” Malric warned. “We won’t just lose leverage... we’ll be hunted like dogs.”

Corven cursed again. “Get a healer. Now.”

“Should we move her?”

“No!” he barked. “She stays here. Alive. If that child dies, we’re all dead men.”

They stormed out.

And suddenly, we were alone.

The silence left in their wake was immense.

Seris crawled closer. “You’re... really pregnant?”

I nodded, my body trembling, but my voice steadied. “Yes. But I faked the severity. The pain was real ... but I made it worse so they’d panic. So they’d leave.”

Her lips parted in awe. “Clever.”

I gave a weak smile. “We don’t have time for clever. We need to move.”

Seris summoned her wolf’s strength, her nails lengthening into claws. She sliced through my ropes, then I freed her. We rubbed our raw wrists, breathing heavily, eyes scanning the room.

The door was steel ... reinforced. No way to pick or smash through.

No windows. No vents.

Just walls. And time.

But then I saw it ... a panel high on the back wall, slightly askew.

“There,” I pointed. “That could be something.”

We scrambled, dragging broken furniture into a makeshift tower. I braced Seris as she climbed up, claws scraping against the wall.

She pried it loose and peeked through.

Then cursed softly.

“It’s another floor,” she whispered. “Not the roof. Not an exit.”

I didn’t have time to ask what that meant.

The door creaked open again.

And this time, Corven and Malric didn’t look furious.

They looked... unreadable.

And somehow… that was so much worse than rage.