Chapter 3: Escape

Luna

The stone walls of the cell blurred around me, smudged in shades of gray and crimson. My body hung limply from the iron chains, every part of my joints are aching and my bones feels like it was about to shatter. The air reeked of blood, sweat, and the faint, metallic tang of silver that kept my powers suppressed. I had lost count of how many hours or days had passed since I’d been dragged here.

“Confess,” The guard had repeated endlessly. But I couldn’t confess to something I hadn’t done. Even now, despite the suffocating agony, I clung to the thin thread of my truth.

One hour ago the Lycan agreed to Crystals whispering and make the guards locked me up and now I'm being tortured till I confessed the truth about hexing the Lycan king to become my mate.

I winced as another tremor of pain ripped through me, curling my toes and arching my back against the cold, unforgiving wall. My voice had broken long ago, hoarse from screaming, and my mind was slipping into a haze of exhaustion. My wrists were raw and bleeding from the cuffs, my wolf spirit trapped and quiet, barely a whisper in the back of my mind.

The door to the dungeon creaked open, and heavy footsteps echoed down the narrow corridor. Sorin, one of the council’s trusted enforcers, sauntered in, his lips twisted into a cruel smile. He carried a whip in one hand, its edges lined with silver that glinted wickedly in the dim torchlight.

“Well, Luna,” he drawled, mocking the name that had been twisted into an insult. “Or should I call you Lana? Seems more fitting for a filthy maid.” He tilted his head, pretending to be thoughtful. “Ready to admit your sins?”

I lifted my head, my vision spinning, and met his gaze. My jaw clenched, but I couldn’t summon the energy to speak. Sorin sighed, feigning disappointment, and cracked the whip against the floor. The sound sent a jolt of terror through me, but I swallowed the fear, refusing to give him satisfaction.

He stepped closer, the whip in hand. “You’re a stubborn little thing, aren’t you?” he sneered. “But everyone breaks, eventually.”

The whip came down, searing across my back, and this time, I couldn’t stop the scream that tore from my throat. Fire spread under my skin, and I bit down hard on my lip, tasting blood. My body trembled, hanging by the chains, and I felt the tears I’d fought so hard to hold back spill from my eyes.

“Please,” I thought desperately, not knowing who I was begging. The Moon Goddess? Mother? Anyone who might listen? “Make it stop.”

---

The torture seemed endless, a nightmare from which there was no waking. My mind wandered in and out of consciousness, memories blending with reality. I thought of the palace where I’d spent most of my life, cleaning grand halls and serving those who mocked me. I thought of Crystal, her perfect smile twisted with malice as she flaunted her place in Blade’s life. I thought of Blade himself, the Lycan King, who I’d dreamed of from afar, knowing he would never see me as anything more than dirt beneath his boots.

And now, he was the one who had ordered this. The one who believed I was capable of dark magic, of crimes I hadn’t committed.

The thought made something inside me shatter, and I felt my spirit give way, crumbling under the relentless pressure. What was the point of holding on to the truth when no one believed me? What was the point of enduring this pain when it would only end in death, anyway?

The door squeaked again and another guard stepped inside the room and said something to Sorin. I could not understand the words, but the atmosphere in changed for some reason. Sorin looked at me again, then rolled his eyes as if he could barely control his temper. He extended his hand and turned my face upwards with his hand.

“Last chance,” he hissed. “confess your crime to me or don’t tell me, and it will only take a moment.” If you reject it, then you’ll wish that you were never born.”

My throat was scratchy and painful which felt like it had been rubbed with sandpaper. The desire of letting oneself give in—to disappear from this suffering—was almost irresistible. That determination that used to be my armour became a weight I could no longer carry any longer. If I reached this point of admitting the crime I didn't commit, then what if I was clear? This must also end, I thought accusingly.

Swallowing hard, the room swam before my eyes and I felt dizzy as though my vision started to black out at corners. A part of me wanted to see the woman my mother was, and the pain she suffered before she passed on and died. But that strength is like a dream at this moment.

My lips opened and I made a sound, weak and hopeless, that I can never remember making before. “I..”

But just then I feel warm all over my body and then slowly. I heard a voice, rich and powerful resonated in my head. It was warm and smooth like the inside of the mouth, protective and firm like a blade.

“Don’t.”

The voice resonated, vibrating through my very bones. My body jerked in response, and my heart skipped a beat, a pulse of energy stirring within me. I felt a connection, fierce and unbreakable, something ancient and binding. My wolf. It had to be.

“W-What?” I croaked, my voice barely more than a whisper. Sorin’s eyes narrowed at my sudden change in expression, and he stepped closer, his hand twitching with impatience.

“Don't confess to something you didn't do,” the voice repeated, firmer now, and I swore I could feel a protective rage thrumming through the bond. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced, like someone wrapping their strength around me, holding me up when I had nothing left.

“Fight. Do not give them this victory.”

My lips closed, the confession retreating into silence, and the spark inside me, that tiny ember of defiance, blazed to life. I clenched my jaw, my broken will reforging itself, piece by piece.

Sorin’s expression darkened, his patience evaporating. “What are you playing at?” he snarled. When I didn’t answer, his hand shot out, slamming against my cheek with enough force to whip my head to the side.

Pain exploded across my face, stars bursting behind my closed eyelids, but I refused to let a sound escape.

"Stay strong, Luna.” The voice came again, but this time, it was accompanied by another, softer and more familiar, one that made my heart tighten.

"We have to leave now, Luna.”

It was my wolf, Moon, her presence gentle but insistent, a silver thread of comfort threading through my mind. She had been weakened, buried deep because of the silver chains and my witch blood, but now she was here, her spirit brimming with urgency.

"Moon?” I whispered through our bond, disbelief and relief intertwining. She had been silent for so long, a victim of our suppressed strength. But now, she was awake, alive, and determined.

"Yes, it’s me,” Moon replied. “The bond has woken me. We must escape. Trust me.”

My body was running on empty, but her words filled me with hope, a flicker of belief that maybe, just maybe, I could endure this.

I felt something shift, the restraints holding me no longer as crushing. There was still pain, still weakness, but the flames of our power were beginning to lick at the chains.

Sorin’s hand raised again, ready to strike, but I met his gaze, defiance burning in my eyes. The sting of his slap had reignited something fierce within me.

“Not this time.”

He hesitated, taken aback by the fire that had returned to my gaze. I used that moment, the surprise in his expression, to gather my strength. Moon's power swirled through me, whispering secrets of our untapped potential, urging me to fight for my freedom. I drew in a ragged breath, feeling every cell in my body scream in protest, but also feeling them come alive.

“Hold on,” Moon said, her voice a steady anchor. “I will help you.”

Then, everything happened in a blur. The chains that had shackled me to the wall snapped with a burst of energy, the silver searing my wrists but shattering as if repelled by an invisible force. I stumbled forward, barely managing to stay on my feet, and Sorin cursed, reaching for me. But Moon’s strength surged through me, guiding my steps, sharpening my senses.

“Stop her!” Sorin growled and swung at me, and I rolled to the side knowing that I had inside of me that depth of fury I never knew I had. I staggered a little and the room began to spin before steadying, the motion finally coming to a stop and my heart raced. My own pulse pounded against the walls of my head: run, run, run.

Guards outside the cell rushed to the exit and tried to stop Moon, but she acted intrusive, filling me with her basic urge to kill. I twisted sideways, manage to duck one of them and then punched the other one on the stomach. The burning sensation in my limbs surged through my body but I didn’t slow down. I couldn’t stop.

The world was reduced to the singular activity of fleeing, fleeing from this prison, fleeing from the punishment. Each inhale was painful, each step made by the woman a result of strength and determination, but Moon taught me to carry on.

“She’s almost there,” she encouraged herself, her voice, the only source of comfort in that painful process.

The last guard charged towards me and I realized I have no chance of winning here. My frail strength was exhausted horribly but just as he lunged towards me a bright flash of light flared from within me and he was violently flung back.

The walls shook and dust fell from the ceiling; I lurched through the open door and into the poorly lit hallways of the palace.

Freedom was so close, yet so far. But Moon’s voice remained strong, unwavering. “We will make it, Luna. Trust me.”

And as I bolted down the hallway, the echoes of the guards ’ shouts chasing me, a strange sense of hope sparked to life. Because now, I wasn’t just fighting for survival. I was fighting for something much bigger.