Chapter 4

_Leah's POV_

I didn’t know how many days I had spent in that dark cellar. The cold stone walls seemed to close in on me and the silence was unbearable. Every so often, the guards would come to give me some food, if you could even call it that. A few scraps of bread, maybe a piece of old meat, and a small cup of water. I didn’t even feel hungry anymore. I was just tired. Tired of being imprisoned here, of being alone, of the pain that seemed to follow me everywhere.

Time didn’t mean anything down here. I didn’t know whether it was day or night, whether it had been a week or more since they had thrown me into this miserable place. All I knew was that each day bled into the next, and my mind grew numb to the suffering. My body ached. The constant chill had settled into my bones, making it hard to move.

I curled up on the hard floor, hugging myself, trying to find warmth, trying to remember what it felt like to be free. But there was nothing left for me out there. Kayden had rejected me. My mate, the one the Moon Goddess had fated me to be with, had turned his back on me. The pain of that rejection still burned in my chest, but now it was mixed with the fear of what would happen next.

Would they leave me here forever? Would anyone come for me? Or was this my end, a slow, torturous end in the dark?

I was deep in those thoughts when I heard footsteps echoing in the hallway outside my cell. At first, I thought it was just the guards again, bringing more scraps of food, but the footsteps were different this time. They were lighter and faster. I pushed myself up, leaning against the wall, my heart pounding in my chest.

The door creaked open, and there they were: Selena and Kayden. My heart sank.

Selena looked radiant, as always, her long blonde hair flowing over her shoulders. Her face was still smug, but there was a bandage wrapped around her nose. It looked like she had suffered a little from the fight, but not nearly as much as I had. The satisfaction in her eyes sent chills down my spine. She enjoyed seeing me like this; broken, weak, and imprisoned.

Kayden stood beside her, his expression hard. There was no trace of the man I had once hoped could be my mate, the man I had dreamed about. Now, there was only anger in his eyes.

Selena’s voice was as sweet as poison as she spoke. “Look at her, Kayden. She is still alive. How unfortunate,” she said, tilting her head in mock pity. “After everything she has done to me, I would have thought she would be dead by now.”

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I didn’t have the energy to fight her anymore. I just wanted it all to end.

Selena stepped closer, her heels clicking against the stone floor. “Kayden, you see how much I have suffered because of her.” She gestured to her bandaged nose, a pout on her lips. “Every time I look in the mirror, I am reminded of what she did to me. The pain… I think she should pay for that, don’t you?”

Kayden’s gaze flickered toward her, softening. “Yes, sweetheart,” he said, his voice low. “You have been through so much because of her.”

I swallowed, my throat dry and tight. There was no escape. I knew what was coming and it terrified me.

Kayden turned to the guards standing at the door. “Bring me a whip,” he commanded.

The guards hesitated for a second, their eyes flicking to me. I saw something there, maybe pity, but they couldn’t do anything. They were under Kayden’s orders, and disobeying him meant punishment for them, too.

The guards quickly fetched the whip, a long, black leather strap that looked menacing even in the dim light of the cellar. Kayden took it in his hands, testing its weight.

“This is what you deserve, Leah,” he said quietly, stepping toward me. “You dared to hurt my mate. Now, you’ll know what it feels like to suffer.”

I pressed myself against the wall, my heart racing in my chest. “Kayden, please,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I didn’t mean to hurt her… She was....”

“Enough!” he shouted, cutting me off. “You had your chance to explain, but your actions spoke louder than your words. Now, take your punishment like the omega you are.”

The first strike came hard and fast, the whip cracking through the air and slashing across my back. I screamed in pain as the leather tore through my clothes and cut into my skin. The sharp sting was unbearable, and I felt blood begin to seep from the wound almost immediately.

I fell to my knees, my hands trembling as I tried to brace myself for the next blow, but it came just as hard as the first. Another scream tore from my throat as the whip lashed across my side, sending waves of agony through my body.

Kayden didn’t stop. He struck me again and again, each blow more painful than the last. My clothes were shredded, hanging in tatters, and blood soaked through the fabric, staining the floor beneath me. I tried to stay conscious, tried to endure the pain, but it was too much.

Each time the whip cracked against my skin, I felt myself breaking a little more. My mind was spinning, the pain overwhelming everything else. I wanted to scream, to beg for mercy, but I knew it wouldn’t help. Kayden wouldn’t stop until he was satisfied, and Selena… Selena watched with a twisted smile on her face, enjoying every second of my suffering.

My vision blurred as the world around me began to fade. The pain was too much. I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted it to stop, to just end. I wanted to die.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I collapsed to the floor, unable to hold myself up any longer. My body was drenched in blood, my skin raw and torn from the whipping. I could barely move, barely breathe. Every inch of me hurt, inside and out.

Kayden stood over me, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. He lowered the whip, finally satisfied with what he had done. “Let this be a lesson, Leah,” he said coldly. “You’ll never attempt to hurt anyone again. Especially not Selena.”

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. My body was too broken, too drained of energy to even speak.

Selena walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Kayden,” she purred. “I feel so much better now.”

He kissed her on the forehead. “Anything for you, sweetheart.”

They left the room, the door slamming shut behind them. The guards lingered for a moment, their expressions filled with pity as they looked at me lying on the floor. But they couldn’t help me. They were just as powerless as I was.

Once they were gone, I lay there in the darkness, my body trembling with pain. Every breath hurt, every movement sent sharp stabs of agony through me. I wanted to cry, but I was too weak to even shed a tear.

All I could do was beg silently to the Moon Goddess. "Please, let me die," I thought. "Please, just end this pain. I can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to live like this."

But there was no answer. No comfort. Only the cold, unyielding darkness of the cellar, wrapping around me like a suffocating blanket.

I didn’t know how long I stayed there, drifting in and out of consciousness, the pain never leaving me. My mind was numb, my body broken, and I felt like I was slipping away. Maybe the Moon Goddess would answer my prayers after all. Maybe she would let me die here, alone and forgotten.

And maybe… that would be a mercy.