Katrina’s POV
I stumbled as they dragged me forward, legs trembling from disuse. My knees threatened to buckle beneath me with every step, the floor tilting underfoot like I was still caught in a dream, or a nightmare.
The walls of the dungeon had pressed in for so long I’d almost forgotten what real space felt like.
My wrists throbbed. The rope burns had opened the skin hours ago, maybe longer. Blood had crusted around the torn edges, sticky and dry.
Every movement sent a spike of pain up my arms. The bitter taste of the potion still clung to the back of my throat, a cloying, medicinal film I couldn’t swallow past. It left me hollow, disconnected.
My wolf was silent, buried beneath layers of forced stillness.
The door burst open with a deafening clang.
The sound cracked through the heavy air like a shot. I flinched as light spilled into the chamber, sharp and cold.
Before I could adjust or even blink fully, hands seized me, rough, impatient. They jerked me to my feet, and I stumbled forward, blinking hard against the brightness.
My lungs expanded with a sharp gasp, air scraping down my dry throat like sandpaper.
Everything outside the cell was too loud. Too fast.
The corridor felt endless, lined with flickering torches and echoing footsteps. I had no idea how long I’d been down there. Days, maybe. Or longer.
Time had become meaningless, reduced to pain, hunger, and silence. My stomach cramped with emptiness. My lips were cracked and sore. I tried to speak, but my voice barely scratched the air.
“Where are you taking me?” I rasped, the sound barely more than a croak.
They didn’t answer.
I tried again, louder, more desperate. “Damn it—where—”
“Move,” one of them barked, yanking me forward with a jolt that nearly dislocated my shoulder.
Then the corridor opened up.
Cold air slammed into me, sharp as blades, and moonlight hit my face in a rush. It stung my eyes after so long in the dark.
My breath caught. The sky above was wide and full of stars, but the beauty didn’t soothe me. It terrified me.
Why were they bringing me outside?
Panic flared through me like fire. My feet dragged against the flagstones as they pushed me forward into the heart of the courtyard. Every step screamed wrong.
Were they going to execute me?
And then I saw them.
The Alpha stood tall on the stone dais, flanked by his councilmen. Their expressions were hard, expectant.
Cassandra stood to his right, draped in a silver robe that glittered in the moonlight, her arms folded tight across her chest.
Her mouth twisted into something vicious when she saw me, her lips curled, her nostrils flaring.
And beside them, my heart stopped when Adolphus stood.
His black armor bore streaks of blood, dirt, and ash, his dark hair windswept, eyes hard. He looked like he’d stepped out of a battlefield, and maybe he had.
The moment his eyes met mine, his face shifted. Just barely. The smallest lift of his lips. Not quite a smile, more like a promise.
And somehow, it calmed me.
Even if just for a moment.
He was alive. He was here.
But something wasn’t right.
He stood too still. Too composed. His gaze didn’t linger long. And then he turned to face the Alpha again.
The Alpha’s voice rang out across the courtyard. “Adolphus. Your defiance ends here. You will prove your loyalty to this Pack tonight.”
I blinked. Loyalty? What was he talking about?
The guards forced me to my knees at the foot of the dais. The stone was freezing beneath me, sharp and unyielding. I winced but held my posture, refusing to let them see me break.
“What is this?” I demanded, voice cracked but clear.
Cassandra stepped forward, eyes gleaming with malice. “It’s a test,” she said, spitting the words. “Adolphus fights for his freedom. You get front-row seats to his failure.”
My chest tightened.
“Adolphus…” I breathed, trying to catch his eyes again.
He didn’t look at me. But he spoke, his voice low and even, carrying just enough for me to hear. “This is the only way,” he said quietly. “If I win, they can’t deny us. They’ll have no choice but to let us go.”
And then louder, sharper, he added, “Unless the Alpha can’t keep his word.”
A ripple spread through the crowd. Murmurs, tension, confusion.
The Alpha’s jaw tightened, his gaze cutting to Cassandra, then back to Adolphus. His hand moved to his belt, where the Alpha ring gleamed under the moonlight.
“You have my word,” he said. “And my Alpha ring, if you win this battle.”