••○♡Chapter 3~ The Last Kindness

Pain was no longer a sensation. It had become my reality.

My wrists burned from the silver cuffs biting into my skin as my body hung limp from the chains above. My feet were barely brushing the cold stone floor of the dungeon. My back ached from the several lashes I'd received.

Everything hurt.

They hadn't even asked me anything yet. This was just the introduction. I heard the whip rise in the air just before it tore the skin of my back again. A scream lodged in my throat, all I could do was groan and grunt. The whip had been laced with wolfsbane so each lash seeped it deeper and deeper into my blood, weakening me.

Suddenly, the door creaked open.

Selene.

I didn’t need to see her to know it was her. That smug, deliberate walk and the scent of roses.

Behind her, heavier steps followed. Lucien.

I raised my head, blinking through blood and sweat as the guards undid my bindings. My vision was blurry, but I saw him. The one person I thought might believe me. Hope flickered for the briefest second.

Then it died.

Because he wasn’t looking at me with pity. He was looking at me like I disgusted him.

Selene sighed dramatically and walked up to me, pretending to be touched by my pitiful state.

"Oh, poor thing. Aria, why do this to yourself? Why did you try to kill me? I mean, I’ve done nothing but try to live peacefully beside you"

I spat blood at her feet. She flinched back.

"You… you did this" I croaked.

Her lips twitched slightly into a shadow of a smirk, confirming my allegations. I could only imagine the terrible things she had framed me for asides trying to kill her. But of course no one would believe me.

Lucien stepped forward, eyes colder than the steel in his hand—a silver dagger.

"You were given everything," he said slowly. "You had me. My trust. And this is how you repay it?" His words dug deeper than whatever was going on. I knew he held resentment towards me but I didn't know why.

"I didn’t–Lucien, please. I swear to the Goddess, I didn’t do this. Selene—"

"Enough," he snapped.

His eyes, usually like storm clouds, were full of fire, betrayal and something deeper.

"I should’ve known," he whispered. "The signs were all there. You were always too curious. Always watching, always listening. Your kind doesn't know loyalty."

"What… what are you talking about? Lucien I didn't—"

And suddenly, the dagger flashed

“Silence!” Lucien's voice rang in my ears as blood trickled down my face.

The burn of silver was instant. He'd slashed across my cheek, and the scent of flesh and blood filled the air.

This time, I screamed. Loud enough to make Selene flinch, though she masked it with a cruel smile.

"You will confess," Lucien said darkly. "Or by noon tomorrow, your head will be on a spike"

He dropped the dagger and walked out.

Selene lingered for a second longer, crouching close to me. "You’ll die screaming," she whispered sweetly. "And I’ll wear white to your execution"

Then she followed him out along with the guards.

And I broke.

I sobbed quietly, too exhausted to even scream again. I laid on the cold, damp floor, watching my blood spread across the stone. I felt the child inside me stir weakly. I cradled my belly.

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Mummy is so weak…

♡♡~♡♡

I must’ve passed out eventually, because the next thing I knew, someone was touching my arm.

"Aria… Aria, wake up, child." My eyes fluttered open at the familiar voice.

Mira.

I felt a strange sense of safety wash over me, like everything was going to be fine. I didn't know how, but my heart thudded with relief. She was crouched beside me, her small frail hands brushing aside my hair, drenched in sweat and blood.

"You came…" I whispered. "W-why?"

"Because I couldn’t let them kill you. Not like this," she murmured. "Not when there’s a truth no one knows and you've suffered for so long"

Her words were strange, but my brain was too foggy to process them.

She helped me up. Goddess, every muscle in me burned. But Mira supported me, whispering soothing words as she guided me through a narrow tunnel I didn’t even know existed.

We emerged into the woods behind the castle, shrouded in night, the scent of dirt and dew washed over me as Mira continued to lead me through the woods.

"You’re not an Omega, Aria," Mira said as we moved slowly. "You have the mark… the blood in your veins… it’s not what they think"

"What are you talking about?" I asked weakly.

But Mira didn’t answer.

I looked up and saw we were fully surrounded.

Rogues. At least six of them, maybe more. They came out like shadows in the trees with teeth gleaming like knives. The stink of them was overwhelming.

Feral, hungry.

Mira stepped in front of me, her old body trembling but defiant.

"You will not touch her" she hissed.

The leader chuckled. "Move, old woman"

"Over my dead body."

They obliged.

It happened in a flash. One of them dashed and slashed across her chest. Blood burst out as she fell to her knees, eyes wide, reaching for me.

"Run…" she gasped.

"No—Mira!" I screamed, falling beside her.

She touched my face with bloodied fingers.

"Find him. Find the truth… He'll help you…You were meant for more…"

Her eyes dimmed. Just like that, the only person who had ever shown me kindness was gone.

Something inside me shattered.

But the rogues didn’t give me time to grieve. They circled me. One lunged forward, grabbing me by the arm. I was too weak to fight. But I had more than just myself to worry about. I screamed, kicked feebly, fearing the end.

Suddenly, a loud crack rang through the woods.

And then, chaos followed.

I didn’t see much, it all happened so fast and my head was too foggy. I caught flashes of movement. A deep guttural growl that sounded too dangerous. Rogues yelping. Bones snapping. One body flew past me, landing against a tree with a sickening thud.

And then he was there.

A man built like a god. Tall. Cloaked in darkness and fury.

Who was he?

I blinked, barely able to focus on him. His eyes met mine—intense, burning with something I didn’t understand.

He looked at Mira’s body. Then at me. He lifted me off the ground, into his arms. His voice was quiet, but it echoed in my soul.

"It’s time to go home"

And then, everything faded.