Locked up

IRIS POV

My eyes fluttered open, greeted by a heavy, suffocating darkness that didn't feel like home. 

The first thing I felt was a cold, brutal weight sinking into my skin—a thick, black iron chain was locked tightly around my neck. 

I tried to lift my head, but the heavy links rattled against the floor, pinning me down like an animal.

The ground beneath me wasn't the soft, plush carpet of my bedroom; it was covered in rough sand and sharp, jagged stones. I was in a dungeon.

The faint, silvery moonlight filtered through a tiny window high above, illuminating the damp stone walls just enough for me to see the horror of my reality.

Two large guards stood like statues right outside the iron bars of the cage I was locked in. They didn't look at me, but their powerful, oppressive Alphas' scents filled the enclosed space, reminding me exactly where I belonged now.

My body ached intensely from head to toe. The shape of the small, sharp stones I had been lying on for hours had pressed deep patterns into my bare skin.

Suddenly, a sharp sting flared on my forearm. A massive mosquito was crawling on my arm, biting into my flesh. With a swift, desperate slap, I killed it, smearing a tiny drop of my own blood across my skin.

I pulled my legs tightly into my chest, wrapping my arms around my knees in a desperate attempt to shield myself from the biting chill of the cell.

 The silence inside my own head was deafening. My white wolf had gone completely quiet, retreating into the deepest, darkest corner of my mind. She was clearly ashamed to face me after what she had done today—after she had purred for the monster who destroyed our lives.

How could you? I screamed at her internally, but received nothing but a faint, guilty whimper in return. He is a monster. He is going to break us, and you let him kiss us.

As the shock began to wear off, the reality of my situation hit me all at once. Tears rapidly filled the brim of my eyes, blurring the sight of the iron bars in front of me. I buried my face into my knees, and I couldn't stop my mind from drifting back to the horrific events of the night.

I thought about my father. My strong, loving father, who had spent the last eighteen years shielding me from the cruelties of the werewolf world.

He had treated me like a precious jewel, raising me with nothing but love, warmth, and care. I had never known hunger, I had never known fear, and I had never known pain until tonight.

How Is he doing right now? The thought sent a violent shudder through my spine. 

I closed my eyes and could still see the image of his face, bruised and bloody, violently shaking his head and begging me not to sacrifice myself. I could still hear the raw agony in his voice. He was an Alpha, a proud leader, but he had looked so small and broken when Ryker threw me over his shoulder.

My chest throbbed with a physical, agonizing pain. I couldn't bear to imagine the torture he was enduring in this very moment. He was probably drowning in pain because his little princess was gone. He had spent his whole life protecting me, only for me to end up as a slave to his worst enemy.

Why is this happening to me? I asked the empty darkness, a bitter sob escaped my throat.

 Why did the Moon Goddess give me a majestic white wolf and a fated mate on the exact same day, only to use them both to destroy me?

A heavy, confusing thought began to take root in my mind, twisting my stomach into knots. 

Could my father really have killed Alpha Ryker's pregnant wife? Ryker had spoken with so much conviction, so much raw, unadulterated grief and hatred. I had seen the single tear that fell from the tyrant King's eye before he raised his sword. A man doesn't cry like that unless his soul has been completely ripped out of him.

But my father had sworn on his life that he didn't do it. He said he left right after he took the letters. My father was an honest man, a just ruler who hated unnecessary bloodshed. He wouldn't murder a pregnant woman. He couldn't.

But what if he did? a terrifying whisper echoed in my mind. What if there was a dark, secret side to my father that I never knew about? The thought made me feel physically sick. If my father was innocent, then we were victims of a horrific misunderstanding. But if he was guilty... then I was paying the price for a sin I had no part in.

The sudden, loud sound of a creaking iron lock abruptly jolted me out of my agonizing thoughts.

I flinched, pulling myself further back into the shadows as the heavy cell door clicked open. A guard holding a blazing fire torch stepped inside, the bright orange light instantly blinding my sensitive eyes. He didn't look at me with pity or respect; his eyes were cold, treating me like nothing more than a piece of property.

He walked over and dropped a wooden tray onto the sandy floor with a dull thud. On it sat a covered metal plate and a small cup of water.

"Eat!" he barked, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "The Alpha demands you stay healthy. A weak body cannot carry an heir."

The word heir sliced through me like a razor blade.

Without waiting for a response, the guard turned on his heel, exiting the cage. The heavy iron door slammed shut with a deafening clang, and the lock clicked back into place, plunging me right back into the dim, miserable moonlight.

I stared at the covered plate across the cell. My stomach was violently twisting, and a sharp hunger was biting at my insides since I hadn't eaten anything since the afternoon. 

But the very thought of swallowing food provided by Ryker Blackthorn made bile rise in my throat. He didn't want to feed me because he cared; he wanted to feed me so my body would be ready to be bred.

I bit my trembling lip so hard I could taste the faint metallic hint of blood. The weight of my utter helplessness completely crushed me. I couldn't run. I couldn't fight. I was entirely at the mercy of a man who viewed me as a tool for vengeance.

Unable to hold it in any longer, I let out a broken, miserable wail. I buried my face deeply into the crook of my arms, rocking myself back and forth on the cold sand as I began to sob profusely. 

The tears soaked into the fabric of my ruined birthday dress, the very dress I had felt so beautiful in just a few hours ago.

In a single night, I had lost my freedom, my family, and my future. I was no longer Iris Winter, the beloved daughter of a proud Alpha. I was just a captive, locked in a dungeon, waiting for the monster to come and claim his revenge.