Chapter 2
Thud.
The door slammed behind me, sealing out the last trace of light and warmth.
I was alone.
The corridor of solitary confinement stretched before me—long, cold, and suffocating. Harsh fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting sickly pale glows on the stained concrete walls. The air reeked of bleach, rust, and something metallic that clung to the back of my throat.
Blood. Old and fresh.
Black-and-white photos hung along the corridor, each more grotesque than the last. Rebels. Rogues. Traitors. Their bodies twisted in unnatural poses, eyes glassy with death. The Silver Moon Pack’s favorite warning.
A message to all who dared defy them.
Including me.
Night One
Heavy boots echoed down the corridor.
I didn’t look up. I didn’t have to.
He stopped in front of me. The Lead Warrior. Towering, silent, a wall of cruelty wrapped in uniform and power.
Then—Crack!
He stomped down on my right hand, hard.
The bones gave way like twigs. Pain shot up my arm in a white-hot burst. I doubled over, choking on a scream.
“Welcome to Silver Moon’s hell, former Luna,” he said, voice flat and mechanical. “Alpha Andrew left you a message.”
He crouched low. The scar on his forehead, the one I gave him years ago, was bright under the light.
“Betrayal has a price,” he whispered. “And you're going to pay it in blood. The title of Luna means nothing here.”
I could barely breathe as the pain throbbed. Then, with a click, the shackles on my ankles activated.
Thin, precise needles stabbed into my skin.
“Agh—!”
I screamed as tiny metal points laced with venom dug into the flesh around my bones.
A white powder hissed from the cuffs.
Silver Bane.
It settled into the cracks of my bleeding fingernails, eating away at the raw flesh. The scent was sharp—metallic, chemical, and unholy.
“How does it feel?” he asked coldly, gripping my charred fingers. “That’s the taste of betrayal.”
Night Five
The cell door exploded open. Four Gamma warriors stormed in.
They didn’t speak.
They just slammed me face-down onto the freezing concrete, holding me down by my wrists, ankles, and neck.
Then came the stench. Boiling Silver Bane, bubbling in a tin pot, emitting thick, green smoke.
“Hold her still,” a woman’s voice snapped.
I didn’t see her. But I heard the gleam in her tone.
The scalding solution poured over my back. Sssshh—My skin screamed before I could. Flesh sizzled, nerves lit on fire. The cell filled with the scent of burning meat.
A woman stepped into view. White coat. Gloves. A shiny metal scraper in hand.
“The former Luna’s skin really is thicker than most,” she mused, kneeling beside me.
She dug the scraper into the charred mess of my back.
I felt it. Felt every inch as she scraped through the skin, past the muscle, down to where my spine was exposed.
“This area’s sensitive. Full of nerve endings,” she said. “You’ll remember this every time you breathe.”
She scooped out a handful of dark green salve and smeared it over the exposed bone. It foamed instantly, reacting to open wounds.
The pain wasn’t pain anymore—it was pure white agony.
My body convulsed, trembling violently.
I wanted to die.
I didn’t.
Night Seventeen
Perfume hit before she did. A thick, floral scent I’d smelled on Andrew’s collar more times than I cared to count.
Serena.
She sauntered in wearing blood-red heels and a black leather skirt that clung to every curve. She looked me over like I was an insect.
“How pathetic, sister,” she purred, lips curling. “Posture is everything for a Luna. Especially... those pretty little ankles.”
She gestured to the Gamma behind her.
He stepped forward, holding something.
A thick iron bar embedded with three spiraling steel spikes.
It whistled through the air.
CRACK.
The pain was instant. Sharp. Blinding.
The spikes drove deep into my right ankle, grinding against bone. Blood flooded the floor.
Serena didn’t flinch.
She walked over slowly and placed the pointed tip of her heel onto one of the spikes.
She smiled.
“The sound of bones breaking…” she said sweetly, “is almost melodic.”
Then she twisted her heel.
Creeeak.
Bone grated against metal. The noise echoed through the cell, louder than any scream I could muster.
My wolf soul whimpered, retreating into the shattered space between my spines.
They broke more than bones.
They broke her claws.
Serena crouched beside me and whispered, “Tell Andrew that his ex-wife’s Achilles tendon is... officially gone.”
No.
My wolf surged.
I lunged.
Electricity flared blue at the base of my skull. The chip implanted there sparked violently—Bang!
I shifted mid-air. Fur burst through my skin. Claws extended.
I almost reached her—But Serena slammed her heel down one last time.
Right onto the spike.
Snap.
My body collapsed.
The Day I Was Freed
My right foot was useless. Deformed. Every step felt like knives grinding against bone. The steel spikes they’d left inside rubbed with every movement, digging deeper.
But I walked anyway.
The gate creaked open. Sunlight poured in, blinding me after so long in darkness.
And then I saw it.
Pinned on the announcement board, printed on thick cream cardstock in blood-red ink:
“Alpha Andrew & Serena Request the Honor of Your Presence at Their Full Moon Wedding.”
His signature was at the bottom. Still the same sharp script. Still cutting like the iron rod that shattered my bones.
I stared at it. Licked my dry, cracked lips. Tasted blood.
Good.
Let the world dress in white. I’m coming red. Let the wolves howl their blessings. I’ll be whispering curses.
Let them celebrate under the full moon. Because before the next one rises—I’ll burn their legacy to ash.
