Thrown Back by the Moon Goddess

Liberty pov

I stare at my disheveled, ruined, appearance. My long chocolate brown hair is matted with blood, snot and vomit. My eyelids are swollen shut, my eyes bloodshot from all the tears I’ve cried over the past hours. 

What happened? How did I fall from being the mate of the crowned lycan prince to being a prisoner. At least I think I’m a prisoner. I’m not locked up in a dungeon yet but the door to the room I’ve been dumped in while unconscious is locked. 

The splash of cold water I throw in my face doesn’t really clear my mind much. The pain from the breaking family bonds has gone down to a throb. 

My father, mother and brother are dead. 

The pain of the breaking bonds was so overwhelming that I couldn’t ask what was happening when my mate Hartley entered the room with guards. His usually handsome face was emotionless. His brown soft eyes had a hard glint in them I’d never seen before. And certainly not aimed at me. 

When he entered I’d expected him to hold me, to help me h the rough my pains but nothing was further from the truth. He stepped away when I reached out to touch him. Ordered the guards to take me away. Without hesitation they lifted me up and carried me out. Hitting my head on the doorpost causing me to lose consciousness. 

“Follow!” Unseen, a guard has entered my room. 

“Where to?” I ask him

“The courtroom your trial starts in a couple of minutes,” he snaps back. 

My legs are wobbly, I guess they’ve not only banged my head but also fed me wolfsbane. I can feel but not reach Naveah, my wolf. The upside is that I’m not in silver cuffs. 

When I enter the courtroom a deadly silence falls. The atmosphere is hostile. I hear people hissing ‘traitor’ at me. 

Breathlessly I listen to the accusations. My entire family is being accused of treachery to the crown. My father and brother were executed on the spot on the battlefield. My mother committed suicide before they could caputure her. 

In the packhouse they found a magnitude of evidence supporting the claims. My father's Beta, Carlo, throws me a bone chilling grin when his role in uncovering the plans is mentioned. 

His triumphant grin when he’s rewarded for his loyalty with the Alpha title. I freeze. This can not be right. 

“As the mother of a future heir we will not sentence you to death but we will sentence you to prison for life,” the chairman of the council reads of the verdict.

“Take her away to the dungeons!” Hartley growls to the guards who open the cage and drag me out. 

“Lock Liberty up!” the crowd chants as I’m taken away.

Locked up in the cold dungeons I cry my eyes out. Someone has to know this is wrong. Someone has to come to my aid. Set the record straight. Clear my family’s name. 

The guards are talking amongst themselves. Laughing at me, making fun of me. Sometimes I catch a part of a sentence where they indicate what they would do to me if they could have their way with me. Sending shivers down my spine. 

“Liberty!” Hartley’s cold voice echo’s in the dungeon, I haven’t heard him come downstairs.

“Hartley? Why did you let this happen to me? I gave you everything. We were happy together. I love you!”

“I came to reject you,” he snarls at me, “I can’t be bonded to, or associated with you any more!”

“I did nothing and you know it! I have never and would never betray you, our bond or our kingdom!” I scream back at him. He glares at me ignoring everything I said. 

“I, Hartley Harding, Lycan Prince, reject you Liberty Redd as my mate. I strip you of your privileges and title. You are no longer part of the royal family.”

A sharp pain shoots through my chest and I fall to the floor in agony. 

“I Liberty Redd accept your rejection,” I manage to grit out between my clenched teeth. 

Hartley crouches down, “It was a long game to replace your father. He would never obey my orders, always insisting it was my father who needed to give them. But I need someone who is loyal to me in that position. I need to be able to use the warriors and the packs as I see fit without interference from my father….” 

His words echo in my head as I watch him leave. On his way out he growls something to the guards that makes them grin in the vilest possible way. It’s happening he’s letting me rot in the dungeons. 

The guards move closer, revelling in my broken appearance. Taunting me with my downfall. But not touching me for now. I wonder how long it will take before the first guard tries to put his hands on me. 

I don’t know how long after Hartley left I hear quiet careful footsteps coming down the stairs and a flicker of hope rises in my heart. Help is on the way!