Chapter 5: The Limits of Indifference

The guard grew nervous and took a step back, which brought me dangerously close to him.

Finally, he began to stammer in an attempt to explain himself.

“T-the former Moon, Lyra… was taken to the dungeon… after Moon Calista told Alpha Rowan that she should be punished…”

My fingers clenched. I hadn’t given any order for Lyra to be locked up, let alone punished.

Calista.

I wanted to know what had happened, why Alpha Rowan had made that decision, when he had left Lyra’s suffering in my hands.

But before I could say anything to the guard, Rowan himself suddenly appeared, a spark of curiosity and pride in his eyes.

“You’re finally back, Alpha Mikail,” he said in a strange tone, as if he expected my return to mean something more than just a mere presence on his territory.

I held his gaze with my usual hostility.

I didn’t like that he thought he was more than he was just because he held the title of Alpha.

“I had to step away for a few hours,” I replied simply, crossing my arms, “but upon my return, I heard something interesting.”

Rowan raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, really?” he asked with feigned curiosity.

I held his gaze, enjoying the way his posture tensed.

“I heard that the former Luna, Lyra, was taken to the dungeon,” I said coldly. “That her punishment was ordered by you, at the suggestion of your future Luna.”

His face showed no immediate reaction, but I wasn’t an idiot.

His pupils dilated slightly, and his tongue subtly brushed his lower lip before he spoke. He was nervous.

“That’s right,” he confirmed after a couple of seconds, maintaining his stiff posture. “It’s none of your business, Mikail, is it?”

“Interesting,” I murmured, noticing how his jaw tightened.

I took another step closer.

“I was supposed to be in charge of her while she was here,” I said calmly, though my tone was a razor’s edge. “Since when did you override your own decision, Rowan?”

His expression darkened.

“I am the Alpha of this pack,” he growled, with a show of authority that almost made me smile.

Almost.

Because I saw it.

The slight hesitation.

The brief pause in his words before he finished them.

He wasn’t sure of himself.

“Oh, I don’t plan on contradicting you,” I murmured, letting a small smile curve my lips. It wasn’t a gesture of mockery, but something worse. “After all, it’s your territory, and she’s part of your pack.”

Rowan swallowed, without responding.

My beta, Krimson, shifted subtly behind me, ready for anything.

“Let’s go,” I ordered, without taking my eyes off Rowan.

Just as I turned on my heel, a woman’s voice stopped me.

“You look far too friendly, Alpha Mikail.”

Calista.

The future Luna of the Moonfang pack stood beside Rowan, arms crossed and wearing a smile that didn’t quite hide her disdain.

I watched her for a moment.

She didn’t impress me.

“I know how to be polite when the occasion calls for it,” I said calmly, without lingering any longer than necessary.

I didn’t miss the way his eyes followed me until I disappeared into the night.

But I didn’t care.

There was something more important to do.

***

The dungeon was in the deepest part of the territory.

And the stench of blood gave it away before I even saw it.

Krimson and I descended the stone steps, the dampness clinging to our skin.

I didn’t need to be told which cell it was. I knew the moment I saw the traces of dried blood on the floor.

I stopped in front of the barred door and looked at the figure inside.

Lyra.

Or what was left of her.

Her body was curled up in a corner, her dress torn and clinging to her bloodied skin.

Whip marks stretched across her back, some still open, others struggling to heal.

I watched her in silence.

She didn’t move.

Krimson stepped a little closer and growled in disapproval.

“She can’t regenerate,” he murmured. “She has no wolf.”

I didn’t answer.

Not because I had nothing to say, but because I was processing the impact of what I was seeing.

The punishment they’d imposed on her hadn’t been a simple display of discipline.

It had been a failed execution.

An attempt to break her completely.

Rowan had said it wasn’t my problem.

But…

My fingers clenched.

I didn’t know what bothered me more.

Whether it was the fact that she was in that state.

Or that they’d done it behind my back.

I turned slowly toward Krimson.

“Bring her here.”

My beta blinked.

“What?”

I stared at him.

“Take her to my room.”

I didn’t wait for an answer.

I just turned and walked out of the dungeon, leaving the echo of my footsteps reverberating off the cold stone.