Chapter 3
As soon as we reached his pack, Rydan’s fist slammed into my cheek before I even had time to understand what was happening.
“You humiliated me!” he roared, grabbing my hair and shoving me against the wall so hard the air flew from my lungs. “In front of everyone. In front of your parents!”
My ears rang. Blood filled my mouth. “I—I didn’t mean—”
He hit me again. The world spun.
“You don’t speak unless I tell you to!” His voice was raw, all snarl and hatred. “You’re lucky I didn't rip that cursed Thorn tongue right out of your mouth.”
He left me there, trembling on the cold floor, my body shaking so violently I could barely breathe.
When the door finally shut behind him, I tried to sit up, but everything ached. My ribs screamed with pain, my vision blurred. I dragged myself toward the small table where my phone sat. I had to call someone. I had to—
The door creaked open. One of the maids stood there, eyes wide and fearful.
“Please,” I whispered, “help me. He’s going to kill me.”
She paused, her eyes fixed on me.
“Please,” I begged, “tell my parents. Tell anyone—”
The maid looked away. “Luna Kaelina, I think you need some rest.”
I froze. “No.. I need—”
“Please try to rest. You seem tired.” She said, closing the door and walking away with hurried footsteps.
When Rydan came back that night, he was smiling. That was worse than the anger.
“You’ve been talking,” he said softly, almost kindly. “That’s disappointing.”
My heart hammered in my chest. “Rydan, I—”
He lifted a hand and I flinched. “No, no, my little Luna. I think you just need… help.”
Two enforcers stepped out from behind him, carrying silver restraints. I screamed and kicked, but the second the cuffs touched my skin, white-hot pain tore through me. My wolf howled in agony, then went silent.
They dragged me from the house as Rydan watched, smiling faintly.
The asylum was colder than any place I’d ever known. Stone walls. Metal beds. The air stank of antiseptic and despair.
They strapped me to a cot, silver biting into my wrists. A doctor in a white coat came with a syringe.
“Please,” I whispered, “don’t—”
The silver-laced sedative burned through my veins. My limbs turned heavy. My body went slack.
“Rest,” the doctor murmured, like I was something to pity. “You’ll feel better soon.”
But I didn’t rest. I drifted in and out of a fog, trapped between pain and numbness. I didn’t know how many days passed. Maybe weeks. I stopped counting.
Then, one day, I heard her voice.
“Kaelina,” someone whispered softly.
I looked up. Lira. Dressed in white fur coat. Her belly rounded with the faintest swell. And beside her—Darius.
My heart twisted painfully. “Darius,” I rasped, “you have to listen. Rydan’s lying. I’m not crazy.”
Lira gave a delicate sigh. “Oh, Kaelina, no one thinks you’re crazy. We just want you to get better.”
I shook my head weakly. “Lira, stop pretending. You—”
Darius frowned. “Kaelina, please. Don’t do this. You’re just making things harder for yourself.”
“Darius, she’s lying! She—”
Lira’s hand brushed his arm. “Could you give us a moment?”
He hesitated, then nodded and left.
The moment the door shut, Lira’s voice changed.
“Well,” she said, her tone sharp and cruel, “you really do look insane. Guess Rydan was right.”
I stared at her. “You’re enjoying this.”
“Of course I am,” she purred. “You thought you could just take everything from me? You will only get what I allow you to have, mutt. And this is what you deserve.”
“Darius will find out,” I whispered. “He’ll see what you are.”
Lira laughed softly. “He already has. He sees me. He loves me. You? You’re nothing but a pawn.”
Something inside me broke. I lunged forward, my chains scraping against the bedframe. “You witch!”
Lira screamed dramatically, toppling backward. The door burst open.
“Lira!” Darius rushed in, his eyes blazing.
“Darius, she—”
“Enough!” he barked, shoving me back. My head cracked against the wall. The pain was blinding.
He turned to the guards. “Chain her. Before she hurts someone.”
They grabbed me, forcing me down. I looked up through the haze of tears, trying to find even a flicker of recognition in his eyes. There was none.
Lira buried her face in his chest, pretending to tremble. “Don’t be angry at her, love,” she murmured. “She’s just sick.”
He held her tighter. “I know.”
As they walked away, I felt something inside me die.
When the door shut again, the silence pressed heavy against my ears.
Maybe if I stopped hoping, it would hurt less. Maybe madness was mercy compared to this.
