Her eyes close again, and her breathing evens out, but her words linger in the air like a faint echo. Faith in myself? In destiny? The idea feels too big, too foreign, but something in her tone makes me want to believe.
The moment is shattered by the sound of angry footsteps on the stairs. My stomach sinks as the sharp, unmistakable voice of Ravena Shadowmere rings out. “Talia!”
Before I can move, the door bursts open, slamming against the wall with a deafening crack. Ravena storms into the room, her eyes blazing with fury, her lips curled into a snarl. She doesn’t pause, doesn’t even give me time to explain, before she grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks me to my feet.
“Ungrateful little wretch,” she hisses, dragging me toward the door. Pain shoots through my scalp, and I cry out, clawing at her hand, but her grip is unrelenting.
“Mrs. Shadowmere, please!” Rhea shouts, scrambling to her feet. “Where are you taking her?”
Ravena’s eyes flick to Rhea, her sneer deepening. “Stay out of this, girl, unless you want to join her.”
Rhea freezes, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, but she doesn’t move. I shake my head at her, silently begging her not to intervene. Ravena’s wrath is a storm no one can weather.
Ravena drags me down a narrow, winding staircase, deeper into the basement. The air grows colder, heavier, the dim light fading into near darkness. I stumble over the uneven stone steps, my knees scraping against the rough surface, but she doesn’t slow.
“You think you can humiliate our family?” she spits, her voice venomous. “Dancing with the Alpha? Making a spectacle of yourself? You’re nothing, Talia Hale. Nothing but filth.”
“Mistress, please,” I manage, my voice trembling. “I didn’t—”
“Shut up!” She jerks me forward, and I stumble again, my knees hitting the hard stone floor. She spits on me, the act filled with pure malice. “You don’t get to speak. You don’t get to pretend that you have rank in this pack, because you will never be more than a worthless slut scrubbing my daughter’s toilet in your dirty rags!”
Her words cut deeper than the pain in my scalp, and I bite back the tears threatening to spill. She drags me to a heavy iron door, unlocking it with a rusty key before shoving me inside. The smell of damp earth and decay fills my nostrils as I hit the cold, uneven floor.
Ravena glares down at me, her shadow long and imposing in the dim light. “Maybe some time in the dark will remind you of your place.” She slams the door shut, the sound echoing through the dungeon as the lock clicks shut.
I press my forehead against the cold stone floor, the darkness closing in around me. My scalp throbs, my knees ache, and my chest feels like it’s caving in. Ravena’s words echo in my mind, but so do Grandma’s. ~Faith in yourself… and in destiny.~
I close my eyes, willing myself not to cry, and for the faintest moment, I feel Eira stir, her presence a fragile yet comforting whisper. ~“You are more than this, Talia. Remember that.”~
But right now, it’s hard to believe her. It’s hard to believe that this same night, I was dancing with Kael Winters, Alpha of Shadow Ridge. It’s hard to believe in anything at all.
The cold stone floor has left me stiff and aching, my body curled into itself for warmth as the hours dragged on. The faint light filtering through the tiny grate above is the only indication that morning has come. My eyes are heavy, my scalp still tender where Ravena yanked me, but the worst ache is in my chest, the cruelty of her words pressing down like iron.
The sound of approaching footsteps jolts me from my haze. I sit up quickly, muscles protesting, and squint toward the door as the lock clicks. The heavy iron door creaks open, and Sabrina steps inside, her silver dress from the ball exchanged for a simple but elegant morning gown.
For a moment, relief floods me. It’s Sabrina. She’ll pull me to my feet with a laugh and make a sarcastic comment about her mother’s scheming, like always. But as her eyes meet mine, cold and sharp, my stomach sinks.
“Get up,” she says, her voice clipped, none of the warmth I’ve come to expect. “You’re filthy.”
I blink at her, stunned by her tone, but she doesn’t wait for me to respond. She steps aside, gesturing for me to follow. “Come on. You’ve got work to do.”
I scramble to my feet, my legs unsteady as I follow her out of the dungeon and up the stairs. The air grows lighter, but her icy silence hangs heavily between us. I almost say something—anything—but the words stick in my throat.
When we reach her room, she gestures at the disarray with a flick of her wrist. “Clean this up. Wash my clothes. Kael has summoned the family to the Pack Hall this afternoon, along with all high-ranking wolves.”
Her words land like a blow, and I glance at her, confusion and dread warring inside me. “Why?”
“For the Ceremony,” she says, her tone detached, her gaze sliding away from mine. “We’ll be formally mated tonight. In front of the entire pack.”
The words hit harder than they should, and I can’t stop the slight gasp that escapes me. Sabrina notices, her lips curling into something that might have been a smirk if it weren’t so bitter.
“Here,” she says sharply, pulling something from her pocket and tossing it at me. It’s an invitation, the creamy cardstock embossed with silver lettering. It flutters to the ground at my feet, and I stare at it, unable to move.
“You’re invited,” she says, her voice flat. “Kael specifically included your name. Wash yourself up before you come. You’ll embarrass everyone if you show up looking like that.”
