She isn't dead yet?
"Barely hanging on," another replied. "A little more and she'll be gone. Just like she deserves."
"That's what she gets for stabbing the Alpha's mistress."
"What kind of Luna harms her own sister?"
"Half-sister," the other corrected with a sneer. "Ma'am Catherine is the Alpha's true Luna. Not some cursed stray like her."
I didn't hear the rest. Their words blended into a hum as I strained against the chains that held me. I could barely move , and even when I tried, the pain from my wounds was enough to remind me I wasn't going anywhere.
The dress I wore, that was once a symbol of power, was now torn shabbily around my body. The fabric stained with my blood and filth. My silver-blonde hair clung to my face, dirty and molded.
I couldn't speak. I couldn't even beg. My strength was gone . What remained inside me was nothing more than a flicker of life, a heartbeat that wasn't mine.
"Bring her out!"
My heart stilled. Not again. I wouldn't survive this. Not this time.
I flinched at the sound of the gates opening. The chains rattled as they neared me.
"On your feet," one of them barked.
When I didn't move fast enough, rough hands grabbed me roughly. I gasped in pain, my legs giving out, but they didn't care. They dragged me across the floor like a ragdoll.
"No—please," I managed, my voice weak and shaking. "Please, let me go. I didn't do it! She attacked me first… She tried to kill me."
The words came out desperate, but it didn't matter to them. They didn't care.
They dragged me through the corridor. I was barely aware of what was happening. All I knew was that the room ahead was the last place I wanted to be.
They threw me into an iron chair and strapped me down. I could taste the blood in the air. My blood, the blood of others. Tears welled up my eyes.
The first blow came without warning and pain exploded in my side. It was none like I'd ever felt.
I screamed, but it barely registered. Blood seeped through my torn dress, and I felt myself slipping.
"Please—please, I didn't do it!" I begged again, my voice hoarse and cracked. "She attacked me…she was going to kill me."
They don't listen, instead I'm hit again. This one across my chest. I couldn't even breathe, let alone scream.
"You deserve this, Luna," one of the guards hissed. "Alpha has longed for this! An heir to carry the name of the pack and you….you killed it! You killed our Alpha's only heir! You deserve nothing but death!"
I trembled, unable to move, my body felt like it was on fire. Every breath felt like it was pulling me farther from the world.
"I just… I just wanted… to protect…" I whispered weakly, not sure if anyone even heard me.
They didn't stop. Blow after blow, strike after strike. My vision blurred. I could barely make out the forms of the guards as they continued.
"Please…" I whimpered, my voice so small. "Let me see him. Let me see my husband."
The torture stopped for a moment, and then a voice sliced through the air, coldly.
"Enough."
My body sagged in relief, though I could barely feel it. I could breathe, even if it was a struggle.
"Bring her." Beta Calder's voice was firm, his cold gaze was filled with bitterness. He wasn't the man I once knew.
The guards yanked me from the chair, my body swaying like a lifeless puppet. I couldn't tell if I was walking or being dragged.
When they threw me onto the floor of the grand hall, I felt the impact in every bone. Pain sit up my body, but it was nothing compared to the fear that rushed through me when I saw him.
He was there.
Roman.
My husband. My Alpha.
But the man standing before me now wasn't the one I had once known. His eyes, once a stormy blue, had bled into a hatful angry red. He looked… broken. His eyes was filled with undiluted hatred.
"Roman…" I whispered weakly.
He took a slow step toward me, it was like a predator stalking a prey. The room felt suffocating, and I scampered back, trembling.
He stopped in front of me, His hand shot out, closing around my throat.
I gasped, my legs dangling uselessly as he lifted me off the ground. My fingers scrabbled at his hand, desperate for air.
"You killed my child," he growled, his voice shaking with rage. "My pup."
I tried to shake my head, to speak, but the air was gone.
"I didn't—Roman, I didn't. I'm—" I managed to rasp, but his grip only tightened.
"You stabbed your own sister! You twisted that knife and watched her bleed my pup out. You're nothing but a monster, Adina!" Roman snarled, his voice sharp with venom.
I shook my head, my eyes welling with tears. "I-I'm pregnant too."
For a moment, everything stilled. Roman's grip loosened slightly. He stared at me as if he didn't believe what I was saying.
Then he scoffed, a cruel mocking sound.. ."You?" he sneered. "You're barren, Adina." He scoffed again. "A barren, empty shell like you could never bring life into this world."
He dropped me and I fell to floor with a thud. I gasped, clutching at my neck.
Roman stood over me, cold and indifferent to my pain. He pulled out a blade, raising it to his palm.
"I, Roman Heightens, reject you, Adina, as my mate. I break the bond that ties us together." Blood dripped from his palm onto the floor.
My heart felt like it stopped beating. The bond… shattered. I screamed loudly as the pain hit me, it was unbearable, blood seeped out of my neck, signify the bond being broken.
"You are nothing to me now," he said, his voice colder than death.
He turned to Beta Calder. "Take her away."
As they dragged me away, Beta Calder spoke up. "Should we kill her, Alpha?"
Roman's eyes met mine. "No. Death is too good for her. She deserves a fate worse than death."
A cruel smirk tugged at Roman's lips. "Prepare the slaves. She'll be sent to the Southern Realm. Let the Lycan King decide what scraps of her are worth keeping."