1. Falling deep

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 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 clear my mind much. The pain from the breaking family bonds has gone down to a throb. 

My father, mother and brother all 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. 

I expected him to hold me, to help me through 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 mother of the young heir we won't sentence you to death but we will sentence you to prison for life,” the chairman of the council concludes 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. Naveah howls in my head. The sound breaks my heart even further.

“I Liberty Redd accept your rejection,” I manage to grit out between my clenched teeth. My acceptance of the rejection sends yet another sharp pain through my body. Naveah can only whimper. 

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.”

He narrows his eyes and takes a deep breath, ”You were my fated mate and I accepted you because I expected your father to be more accommodating to my needs if his daughter was my fated mate. But you were useless in that aspect as well. I never loved you, you were a means to an end, a good fuck. You birthed me an heir and by doing so fulfilled your purpose.”  

He stands up, spits on me and turns on his heels leaving me alone to rot in the dungeon. 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. Making it clear that he gave them carte blanche to have their way with me. 

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. 

Lying on the ground Hartley’s words echo in my head. He lied to me. Everything was a lie. I was just a tool for him. Someone he needed to achieve his goal. The realisation that I’m disposable to him almost hurts as much as the breaking bonds. 

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.

“Oh dear, what a pitiful sight you are,” Candy’s nasal voice echoes against the stone walls. 

“Candy!” I whisper yell. Candy can help me. She and I go back to our teenage years. We weren’t close friends but we had a lot in common. Both alpha’s daughters from powerful packs we met in the academy. 

She crouches in front of the bars and I frantically crawl towards her, tears running down my face. Everything will be alright I tell myself. It has to be. This can not be happening, not to me. 

“Candy, you have to help me. You know I’d never commit treason. Everyone I love is dead or has been set up against me. You know me. You have to help me get out so I can find who is responsible for this.” A scream escapes my lips when my arm touches the silver bars while reaching for Candy.  

“I need you to take Blake and MacKenzie to somewhere safe. I need you to help them get away before they are killed too. MacKenzie can prove my innocence,” I plead with her. 

A cruel smile paints her thin lips and a hard cold look comes in her eyes as she leans closer.

“MacKenzie is already gone. Exiled for being your accomplice. Last I heard she's been caught by the rogues. And we all know what they do with pretty weak omega’s….”

My eyes go big in horror, “No! not MacKenzie, she's innocent!” 

“You had it all, but you deserved none of it. Now it’s all mine for the taking. Only Blake needs taking care off. But he’s already tainted by you and your treason. No one wants a king born from a treacherous bloodline. All I need to do is give Hartley a son.”

Candy rises, looking down she spits on me, “It took years of planning but it’s all worth it. I’ll ask Hartley if you can be present when I am crowned as his queen. My belly will be round with a worthy heir, MY heir.”

Candy fakes a compassionate expression, “You have no idea how long Hartley and I have been planning your family's downfall. In the end it wasn’t even that difficult. Viera and Verity were very helpful. Their father will be rewarded with the Alpha title. You see you never earned anything. That made you an easy scapegoat with no real friends. Hartley never loved you. He only wanted you because you were his fated mate.” 

/She smells like Hartley/ Naveah’s voice sounds broken. Our fated mate, the one we loved, we gave ourselves completely too has betrayed us for Candy?