Katrina’s POV
I clenched my fists, frustration pulsing through me like a dull ache. No matter how hard I tried, my powers refused to surface.
It was as if they had been drained from me, leaving me defenseless. I tried again, willing the fire within me to ignite, but nothing happened.
"Come on!" I growled under my breath, slamming my palm against the cold stone wall. I had been locked in this wretched cell for what felt like an eternity, and I needed to find a way out. But I was weak—far weaker than I should have been.
With a deep breath, I sank to the ground, exhaustion creeping into my bones. My eyelids fluttered, and I barely managed to keep them open.
Just as sleep threatened to claim me, a distant sound cut through the silence. Clashing steel. The sharp cry of a guard. My heart leaped.
Adolphus. He had come for me. He had to.
I scrambled to my feet, pressing my ear against the iron bars. The noises grew closer—shouts, the unmistakable crack of bones snapping, the heavy thud of bodies hitting the ground.
My pulse quickened in anticipation. Any moment now, he would storm in and free me from this prison.
The footsteps stopped just outside my cell. But instead of Adolphus, the person who stepped into view made my blood run cold.
Cassandra.
She stood there, a wicked smirk curling her lips, her golden hair cascading down her shoulders in flawless waves.
The torchlight flickered against her face, casting eerie shadows in her sharp eyes. I took an unconscious step back, but there was nowhere to go.
"Open it," she ordered the guards.
One of them moved forward and unlocked the heavy iron door. The second it swung open, I lunged, shoving the nearest guard with all the strength I could muster.
He barely stumbled. Before I could react, another set of hands grabbed me from behind, yanking me forward. I struggled, but my body betrayed me.
Whatever Cassandra had done to me was working, I was too weak to fight them off.
They dragged me from the cell and threw me to the ground at her feet. I lifted my chin, glaring up at her.
"Keep her here until she begs," Cassandra said with a sneer, crossing her arms over her chest.
I laughed, a bitter sound. "Beg? For what?"
"For forgiveness," she snapped. "For stealing what was rightfully mine. The power, the title, the respect! You had no claim to it. You were nothing!" Her voice rose, laced with pure hatred. "And yet, you took it all from me."
"I didn’t take anything from you," I shot back, gritting my teeth. "I didn’t ask for this, Cassandra. The power chose me."
The slap came so fast I barely registered it until my head snapped to the side, pain blooming across my cheek.
"Liar!" she screamed. "Apologize! Tell me you were wrong! Tell me you don’t deserve it!"
I licked my lips, tasting blood, and smiled. "Never."
Her face twisted with fury, and she kicked me hard in the ribs. I gasped, curling in on myself as pain exploded through my body. Another kick, then another.
I clenched my jaw to keep from crying out. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.
"Enough," a deep voice thundered.
Cassandra froze mid-kick, her foot hovering in the air before she dropped it back to the ground. The guards stiffened as the presence of someone new filled the room.
I forced my aching body to move, lifting my gaze.
A man stood in the doorway, his entire form shrouded in darkness.
A long, black cloak draped over his broad shoulders, and a silver mask covered his face. But it wasn’t the mask that made my blood freeze. It was his eyes. Dark, soulless, filled with nothing but malice. I had seen those eyes before.
The Rogue Alpha.
Cassandra had allied herself with the most dangerous enemy we had ever known.
I tried to push myself up, but a searing pain shot through my ribs, forcing me to remain where I was.
The Rogue Alpha took slow, deliberate steps toward me. I could feel the weight of his presence, the way the air itself seemed to shrink around him.
"I want her unhurt," he said, his voice smooth yet commanding.
Cassandra bristled. "She needs to learn her place."
"And she will," he replied simply. "But not like this. I need her alive and in one piece for what is to come."
A shiver ran down my spine. What was to come?
Cassandra scoffed, but she stepped back. "Fine. Do whatever you want with her. Just make sure she never rises above me again."
The Rogue Alpha tilted his head slightly, as if considering her words. Then, without another glance at me, he turned and walked away, his long cloak sweeping behind him.
Two guards moved to grab me, but this time, I didn’t resist. I was too exhausted, too pained, too horrified by the realization of what was happening.
Cassandra had betrayed the Pack. She had given herself over to something far darker than her own greed.
And now, I was trapped in the middle of it.