Chapter 46
Chapter 46
The hood smells like wet cloth and copper. Every breath drags that stink down my throat, thick and sour, settling heavy in my chest.
The rope cinched around my wrists bites through skin, damp with sweat and blood. I can’t see, but I know the sound of these hallways–the echo of boots against old stone, the distant drip of water, the hollow silence
between turns.
Wade’s. This is the hallways Wade and Ariel are staying at.
My heart hammers in a steady, controlled rhythm. Panic is a luxury I can’t afford. I keep my breathing quiet, shallow, letting them think I’m docile. The guards drag me forward without a word, hands bruising my arms.
There are at least four. Their scents are familiar–wolves from Wade’s inner circle, the ones who smile when they break bones.
We stop. A door groans open, metal scraping against stone. Warm air hits my skin, thick with iron and sweat. Torches crackle somewhere ahead.
They shove me inside. My knees hit the floor hard enough to sting. The echo tells me the chamber is wide. hollow, maybe underground. Perfect for screams.
Bootsteps. Slower this time. The sound of a predator circling.
“Well, well,” Ariel says. Even through the hood, I feel her presence like oil sliding over skin. “Look who couldn’t stay away p>
I don’t move until I hear another pair of boots come. It’s Wade. I can smell him.
He crouches close; I feel the heat of him near my face. “Thought you’d be smarter, Sorin.” His voice is smooth, mocking. “But I guess you always did like playing with fire p>
The guard beside me shifts. “Alpha. We caught her just like you said p>
Of course they did. They always think they’re smarter.
Wade’s fingers brush the edge of the hood, deliberate and absolutely teasing, “Not yet,” he mutters. “I want to
hear her first p>
Silence stretches. I keep my head low, pulse steady, counting each breath
Then another set of footsteps–lighter, uneven, panicked Someone being dragged.
A woman’s voice breaks the air. “Please–no-
“Put her on the chair,” Wade orders.
Chains clatter. She’s shoved down, metal scrapes as they lock her in. Her breathing is ragged, terrified. She’s small. Omega,
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Something’s wrong.
Fabric tears–not from my head. Gasps ripple through the room.
Wade laughs softly. “Got you p>
He thinks it’s me.
My mind snaps back. Flash–two corridors earlier. Alaric’s hand on the back of my neck, his voice low against my car, “Trust me.” He’d switched us fast, a trembling Omega shoved forward under my hood, my scent masked beneath his power. The guards never noticed. I’d been yanked into the shadows, bound and hooded again, a ghost trailing behind.
The hood comes off me, not her. She chokes back a sob as they all think it’s me
Ariel grips her jaw still under the hood “You think you can humiliate me and walk away?” Her voice sharpens. “Not anymore p>
“I’m not-” she stammers.
“Shut up.” The slap cracks through the chamber. Her cry bounces off the stone.
I flinch inwardly, not outwardly. She’s breathing in my place.
While here I am, kneeling in the shadows, hooded and breathing through the stench, waiting for the second everything snaps.
The courtyard smells like wet stone and iron. Torches hiss against the wind, smoke curling into the night. Wade’s boots crunch over the gravel as he drags the decoy forward, chains rattling loud enough to echo off the dungeon walls. The girl’s hood covers most of her face, but I know exactly what she’s wearing–my torn clothes, blood smudged on her skin. The perfect little scapegoat Alaric has prepared.
He wants to see exactly what they would have done to me had I been the one in that place. That girl is suffering just for her King to prove a point.
Ariel makes her entrance like she’s on a damn stage. Her pale dress flutters dramatically, one hand pressed to her abdomen, the other gripping her “stab wound” as if it’s actually hurting. Her cheeks are flushed, eyes wide with fake terror.
“It’s her, Wade! I just know it’s this woman, wearing exactly this.” she screams, pointing at the girl. “She tried to kill me and my baby! It’s Sorin, Wade p>
Her voice cuts through the night like nails on glass. I flinch even though I’m hidden deeper inside the shadows of the dungeon.
“You say it’s Sorin p>
Wade doesn’t look at her, not immediately. His expression is blank–stone cold. “We’ll take her back to the pack,” he says, loud enough for everyone to hear. “I want everyone to see her face when justice is done p>
Justice. The word makes my stomach knot.
Chapter 46
The guards surrounding him nod. Some look uneasy, others eager. Cowards, all of them.
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Ariel steps closer to the girl, squinting, her painted lips twisting. She’s searching. I see the exact moment suspicion sparks in her eyes. Her shoulders stiffen, and her voice snaps like a whip.
“That’s not her p>
Wade turns on her, finally, his jaw clenching. “Ariel p>
“I’m telling you,” she hisses, glaring at the decoy. “Her hair’s wrong. She’s shorter. That’s not Sorin. We have to get Sorin p>
“Enough,” he says, sharp. “We don’t have time for this p>
Ariel stares at him like she wants to claw his eyes out, but she reins it in, probably remembering her place. Her jaw ticks, but she gives a sweet little smile to the crowd. “Of course, Alpha. My mistake p>
She’s seething though. I can see it even from down here. She doesn’t believe this bullshit, but Wade doesn’t care. The chains rattle again as they drag the girl toward the gate.
“I thought you were sure it’s this woman.” Wade mutters.
“B–but I’m sure it was Sorin who p>
“This is the same woman we arrested running away, Ariel. What are you trying to say?” He argues, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a stressed look.
Alaric was swift with how he exchanged us both. But proving his point shouldn’t be at the cost of anyone’s life. Not that woman’s life. He’s a monster.
“I want her killed, Wade.” She mutters before looking away. “Even if it’s not the real Sorin,” she adds.
This woman… she’s determined to kill me.
I press my back against the cold wall, heart hammering so hard I feel it in my ears. The stone scrapes my skin through the thin fabric. I don’t breathe until the sound of boots and chains fade down the path.
Ariel follows after them, her fake limp gone the second she thinks no one’s watching. Her eyes sweep over the courtyard one last time, sharp as a hawk. For a terrifying second, I think she’s looking straight at me.
But she turns away.
She leaves.
I’m still here.
Alone.
The dungeon door slams shut with a deep, final thud. The torchlight outside grows faint, I pull the hood of my fingers stiff and trembling. Sweat sticks strands of hair to my forehead, and the air in hore smells like mold, piss, and blood. The silence that follows is deafening.
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I sink onto the cold floor, legs giving out beneath me. My wrists ache from the shackles, skin raw where the metal rubbed too long. My breaths come in uneven bursts, the kind that make your chest feel bruised.
From outside, two guards linger by the gate, their voices low but clear enough in the still night.
“They’re gone,” one mutters. “The Alpha of the Woodridge pack looked real pleased p>
“About time,” the other replies. “Fucking nightmare, this whole thing. At least it’s over p>
Over.
If they only knew.
I press my palms against my face, trying to steady myself, but my body’s trembling uncontrollably now. Not from fear. Not anymore. It’s something sharper. Exhaustion, yes, but underneath it—a rising, burning fury that’s been simmering too damn long.
They almost killed me. They were ready to string me up like a traitor. And the only reason I’m breathing right now is because some poor girl was close enough for me to disappear behind it.
Ariel’s not done. She’ll come back. She’s too smart not to.
My back hits the wall, and I slide down until my ass meets the damp stone. The chill seeps through me. I let out a sound I didn’t plan–a strangled, broken laugh that turns into something else.
Tears spill before I can stop them. Silent at first with just hot streaks sliding down dirty skin. My chest tightens, a pressure that’s been building for days, weeks, years. The sob that escapes me is raw, scraped from somewhere deep.
I press my forehead to my knees and let it happen. The sound echoes off the stone walls, ugly and unrestrained echoes. For once, I don’t try to swallow it down.
When it’s over, my eyes burn, throat raw, but my mind is sharp again.
I survived.
Barely.
The hours drag. The torches outside burn lower. The dungeon grows colder, the kind of cold that sticks to your bones. I curl up on the floor, staring at the ceiling through the darkness. My stomach growls, but hunger’s the least of my problems.
The creak of the iron door snaps me upright. My heart lurches into
my throat.
Footsteps echo down the stone hallway–measured and heavy. Not the jittery shuffle of guards. I know that
walk.
Alaric.
That monster.
Chapter 46
55 vouchat
He steps into view wearing a dark cloak, hood pushed back. His eyes catch what little light is left, glowing faintly amber–gold. His face gives away nothing.
I freeze. My hands instinctively grip the chains still hanging from my wrists. My breath fogs in the cold air.
For a moment, he doesn’t say a word. He’s simply standing there, looking down at me. At the blood on my arms. The dirt. The broken edges of me.
“They took her instead,” I whisper. My voice barely works. “They think it’s me p>
Something flashes in his eyes. Not surprise. Something darker. He steps closer, the leather of his boots creaking softly.
“Good,” he says.
I blink. “What p>
He crouches, grip wrapping around the bars as though he could rip them apart if he wanted. His gaze pins me in place.
“Good,” he repeats, his voice low and lethal. “I don’t want a hair on you hurt p>
My pulse spikes, loud in my ears.
“Are you insane?” My voice cracks, rising despite the tightness in my throat. “That girl–they’re going to kill her, Alaric. Ariel pointed at her like she was meat even though she knows it wasn’t her! She wanted me and yet still took the girl!” I scream.
“Do you even understand what’s waiting for her back there? They’ll drag her in front of the entire pack. She’s going to die because of me p>
He doesn’t even flinch.
“If that’s the price,” he says evenly, “then so be it p>
The floor tilts. For a second, I genuinely think I misheard him. “You can’t be serious p>
He leans closer, golden eyes glowing brighter, voice a dangerous calm. “If it keeps you alive, I’d send ten more in her place. A hundred. Whatever it takes p>
My hand quickly stings as it meets his face a slap. I grit my teeth as tears slowly fill my vision. His face turn to the side before slowly looking at me.
I shake my head slowly, disbelief clawing at my chest. “You’d sacrifice innocent girls to save me? Do you hear yourself? ”
His jaw flexes, a flicker of something feral crossing his face, and without a second thought, he answers, “ Yes p>
I let out a sound between a laugh and a sob. “That’s monstrous p>
“No,” he growls, low enough that it vibrates against the bars. “What’s monstrous is them chaining you in the
dark like an animal. What’s monstrous is them letting that snake of a woman frame you and plan your execution while your so –called mate stood there like a coward. It already happened before and I wasn’t able to do anything.” He grits his teeth, those crimson eyes staring at me with burning passion.
His hands find their way on my cheeks as he wipes one tear that fell, “I won’t let them touch you again p>
I press my fists to my temples, tears streaming unchecked now as I step back. “You can’t just–those girls didn’t do anything. They’ll die screaming, Alaric. They’ll believe they’re dying for something real. And you’re fine with that? ”
His silence is the worst part. Not hesitation. Not guilt. Just… certainty.
His eyes lock onto mine, and for the first time, I see it without the mask–this is the Lycan King the world whispers about in fear. No mercy. No compromise. A beast wrapped in human skin.
He tilts his head, almost gently. “I’d burn down an entire kingdom if it meant keeping you breathing p>
I stumble back until the cold wall catches me. The chains clink as my hands drop, trembling. I can’t decide if I want to scream or laugh or both.
“You’re out of your fucking mind,” I whisper. “This isn’t saving me. This is trading one nightmare for another p>
He doesn’t move nor does he soften. “You’re alive. That’s what matters p>
His certainty is terrifying. And somewhere deep down, it scares me because a part of me understands it. The world we live in is already cruel. But this–this is something else.
“I want those girls back, Alaric.” I mutter.
His eyes burn into mine, and for the first time in what feels like forever, the fog in my head clears. He isn’t horrified. He isn’t here to pity me. He’s planning. Always planning.
His next words are a whisper that slides straight down my spine.
“Do you want revenge p>
The question hangs in the air, thick and heavy. I don’t answer out loud. I don’t need to. My eyes say everything.
Yes.
Cedella
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.