_Leah's POV_
I didn’t know how many days had passed but I was in constant pain. The cuts on my back, sides, and arms never stopped burning. The guards came once in a while, dropping scraps of food that were barely enough to keep me alive. A piece of old bread, a cup of dirty water and nothing to heal my wounds. My skin had become raw, and I could feel the infection starting to set in. Fever raged through my body, making me shiver uncontrollably. Sweat poured from my forehead, but I was still cold, so cold. I didn’t know how much longer I could take it. My whole body ached. The fever brought on strange dreams, visions of my past life, of what could have been. I had once been hopeful. I had once believed that my mate, Kayden, would love and protect me. How foolish I had been. Now, there was nothing left for me. No love. No future. Only pain. I lay on the hard, cold floor, staring up at the ceiling. I was too weak to move, too tired to cry. My body was failing and I knew that I was going to die soon. The thought didn’t scare me anymore. In fact, it brought a strange kind of relief. Death would be a release from this suffering, and at least I wouldn’t have to feel the constant sting of rejection and betrayal any longer. My thoughts drifted in and out of focus as the fever took hold of me again. I could hear voices in my head, faint and distant. Was it the Moon Goddess calling me? Was she finally answering my prayers? A soft noise broke through the haze of my mind. It wasn’t the usual clank of guards’ boots or the metallic scrape of keys. It was quieter, more deliberate, like someone trying to be careful. I blinked. I was struggling to focus. The door to my cell creaked open, but it wasn’t the guards. A figure stepped inside. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with golden hair that glimmered even in the dim light of the cellar. His eyes, a striking shade of blue, locked onto mine. I felt my breath catch in my throat. He wasn’t wearing the uniform of the guards, and for a moment, I wondered if I was hallucinating. “Who are you?” My voice was barely a whisper, weak and broken. “Don’t be afraid, my queen,” he said softly while taking a step toward me. “I’m here to help you.” I stared at him, my heart pounding. Queen? Was this some kind of cruel joke? I tried to move away from him, crawling backward across the cold stone floor, but my body was too weak to get far. My limbs trembled with the effort. “I’m not your queen,” I said. “You’re mistaken. Please, just leave me alone.” He knelt down beside me, his movements slow and gentle, as if he didn’t want to startle me. “Leah, I know what they have done to you, but I swear, I am here to take you away from this place.” I shook my head. This had to be some kind of trick. “Why should I trust you? You’re probably just another one of them.” His gaze softened, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I saw something I hadn’t seen in so long. Compassion. “I’m not like them, Leah. My name is Tariq, and I have been watching, waiting for the right time to save you. But we need to go. Now.” “Tariq?” The name sounded familiar, like a whisper I had heard in a dream. But it didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense anymore. I tried to push myself up, to stand, but my legs gave out beneath me. Before I hit the ground, Tariq’s strong arms wrapped around me, catching me just in time. His touch was gentle, careful not to press on my wounds, and for a moment, I felt a strange warmth radiating from him. It was a feeling I hadn’t experienced in so long; comfort and safety. “Why… why are you helping me?” I asked, my voice shaking. “I don’t even know you.” “There’s no time to explain everything right now,” he said, his eyes darting toward the door. “The guards will notice I’m gone soon, and they’ll come looking. We need to get out of here before that happens.” I nodded, even though my mind was still spinning with confusion. I didn’t have the strength to argue. I didn’t have the strength for anything anymore. All I wanted was to get away from this place, to escape the nightmare that had become my life. Tariq shifted me in his arms, carrying me effortlessly as if I weighed nothing. He moved quickly but quietly, making sure to avoid the patrols as we slipped out of the cellar. I rested my head against his chest. The cold night air hit me like a shock as we stepped out into the open. The scent of the forest surrounded us, fresh and alive, so different from the damp, suffocating air of the cellar. I took a deep breath, my chest aching, but the crisp air was a relief. “We’re almost there,” Tariq whispered as he carried me into the cover of the trees. His movements were swift and careful, his eyes constantly scanning the area around us. He was focused and determined. Once we were deep enough into the woods, Tariq gently lowered me to the ground, making sure I was resting against a soft patch of grass. I winced as my wounds protested the movement, but I didn’t cry out. The pain was a part of me now, as familiar as breathing. “Are you alright?” he asked, his voice filled with concern as he knelt beside me. I nodded weakly, though I wasn’t alright. My entire body felt like it was on fire, and the fever had taken hold of me again, making everything blur at the edges. “I… I don’t understand,” I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why are you doing this? Why are you calling me queen?” Tariq’s blue eyes met mine. “Because you are a queen, Leah. You don’t remember yet, but you’re meant for something greater than this. Kayden and Selena, they have tried to break you, but you’re stronger than they know.” I stared at him, confusion swirling in my mind. “I’m no queen,” I said, my voice trembling. “I’m just… I’m just an omega.” Tariq shook his head. “You’re so much more than that. And I promise, I’ll help you remember who you truly are. But for now, we need to get you to safety.” I didn’t know if I could believe him. Everything in my life had been shattered, and now this stranger was telling me I was something I couldn’t even fathom. “I don’t understand,” I whispered, my throat tight. “I’ve lost everything. How can I be anything more?” Tariq reached out, his hand hovering just above mine as if he was afraid to touch me. “I know it feels like that now,” he said softly, his voice filled with emotion. “But you haven’t lost everything, Leah. You still have a future. You still have a destiny. And I’ll help you find it.” His words were like a lifeline, something to hold onto in the storm of my mind. For so long, I had believed I was nothing. That I was destined to live in the shadows, to be weak and forgotten. But now, for the first time, someone was telling me otherwise. “Why… why me?” I asked, my voice trembling with uncertainty. Tariq’s gaze softened as he looked at me. “Because you’re special, Leah. You’ve always been special. And I’m going to prove that to you.” I swallowed hard, the weight of his words pressing down on me. Could it be true? Could I really be something more than the broken girl Kayden had left behind? Before I could say anything else, a distant howl echoed through the trees. Tariq’s expression tensed, and he stood up quickly, scanning the area around us. “We need to move,” he said, his voice low. “They’re coming. Can you walk?” I tried to stand, but my legs wobbled beneath me, too weak from the fever and the pain. Tariq caught me before I fell. “I’ve got you,” he said softly, lifting me into his arms again. “I won’t let them take you back.” As he carried me deeper into the forest, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time. There was a glimmer of hope._Leah's POV_I woke to a hand on my shoulder. “Leah,” Kayden said. “Get up. It’s nearly noon.”My eyes snapped open. Light cut through the curtains. The room smelled faintly of smoke and pine. For a second I did not know where I was. Then the memory of the night fell back on me like wet cloth. The dream. The fire. Kayden on the couch. The smoke in my mouth.I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. “Go away,” I mumbled. “Leave me alone.”He laughed softly. It was a low sound that held no mockery. “You said that two hours ago. You said it when I brought you tea and when I put out the small embers.” He kissed the top of my head like it was a small thing and like he was afraid of hurting me. “You can’t hide forever. The pack is eating downstairs and the food will not wait.”I curled into the blankets more. My face was hot. My throat was raw. My body ached in places that had nothing to do with sleep. The dream left a pulse behind the ribs. The shame of what I had done when I had slep
_Leah’s POV_The night was heavy. Silence wrapped around the mansion, but inside me there was no rest. My body lay on the bed but my mind was a mess. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe slowly, to convince myself that I was safe.But safety was only a shadow. The Seer’s words lingered like smoke in my chest. Tariq will come. Susan is a witch. He will not stop until he has you.Athena paced restlessly in my mind. Her claws scraped the inside of my skull.You shouldn’t close your eyes, she warned. He waits for us in the dark. Don’t let him in.“I have to sleep,” I whispered to her. My voice trembled even in my own head. “I need strength.”Athena growled but she eventually got quiet. Sleep came suddenly like a rope around my neck.I opened my eyes and I was no longer in the pack house. I stood in a cold and endless hall made of stone. The air smelled of rust and roses. It was sweet and rotting. The walls bled with shadows, and at the end of the hall, a torch burned blue.And the
_Leah's POV_I swallowed and began. The words felt rusty in my mouth, but once I started, they flowed like a broken river finding a path.“I was born to a princess,” I said. “My mother was a princess, of the Emerald Pack. She left the crown and married a common man. They raised me quietly. When I was small, they suddenly died. I remember nothing of them. I then remember staying at the BloodMoon pack. I don't know how I got there. Kayden and the others always treated me badly since I was an omega. When he learnt that I was his mate, he rejected me and threw me in the cellar. Tariq then came and saved me. I thought that he was kind.""He told me lies but I trusted him. I read his phone once and found messages. He had someone saved as ‘honey’ and he lied about it. I found a chest in Tariq’s place. It had his diary. In it, I read that he had planned to marry and sacrifice me to lift a curse. He even waited all these years until I got my wolf at eighteen. He had been waiting. He planned it
_Leah's POV_I woke to a sky full of stars and a sound like a hundred held breaths.My body felt hollow and heavy. My limbs were numb. I blinked and the light stabbed behind my eyes. For a moment I did not know where I was. Then the clearing came back in pieces—the circle of salt, torch flames and faces blurred into a ring. There were so many people. I tried to sit up and the world tilted. Someone’s strong hands steadied me.Kayden.He carried me like I was the smallest thing in the world. He held me bridal-style and I lay against his broad chest. His heartbeat was slow. The smell of him, pine smoke and sweat and something warm, made my head swim.“Easy,” he murmured. His voice sounded very far away. “Just rest.”I wanted to speak and I could not find my voice. Confusion curled thick in my chest. My mind was empty of the last few hours. How did I get here? What had happened? The clearing moved around me like a dream.Athena unclenched from the back of my ribs and hissed in my mind. Yo
_Kayden's POV_ I called the pack to the south clearing at dusk. The air smelled of pine and wet earth. The moon was high in the sky. It hung like a pale coin over the trees. We moved as one pack. Their faces were lit by torch fire. They watched Leah on the stretcher. She lay wrapped in thick blankets. The IV drip still ran at her arm. She looked calm. She looked very fragile. The doctor had protested against bringing her out. His hands trembled when he spoke. “Alpha, she could deteriorate,” he warned. “The cold, the night, the open air...she will not tolerate it in this condition.” I turned to him. “I know. But the Seer says that the moon is the key. The ritual must be done beneath the moon. We need to take the risk since there is no other way.” Fred stood by me. He had gathered the ropes and the blankets. He had also collected the night-amber. The herb smelled faintly bitter. The Seer had already warned me about its taste. “Alpha,” Fred said quietly, “the pack is ready. They
_Kayden’s POV_The Seer did not waste time. She moved quickly back to the small table where the doctor had left a silver bowl and a clean cloth. Her eyes were still on Leah. Her fingers trembled only a little as she reached for the bowl.“You will need to give me her blood,” she said without preamble. Her voice was soft. It had no question in it.I looked at Leah. Her skin was pale as milk. Her breath came in small and shallow rises. Time felt thin and fragile in the room. I swallowed. My mouth was dry.“Her blood?” I echoed. I could not imagine piercing her for any reason. But the Seer’s face was absolute. There was no doubt in her.“Yes,” she said. “A drop. It will tell me what binds her. It will open the path to a vision. I must see the origin of the dark magic.”Fred bent and checked Leah’s arm. He looked at me. “Alpha,” he said quietly, “it is the only way.”My hands felt clumsy. I thought of the knife at my belt. I thought of the last time I had touched her like this—when she wa