Chapter 2

When I finally woke up, every inch of my body screamed in pain. My head throbbed like someone was hammering inside my skull, and my vision swam in and out of focus. I blinked slowly, trying to make sense of where I was. A small, dimly lit room with no windows.

The memories rushed into me all at once. The rogue attack, the screams, my parents lying in pools of blood, my desperate run through the woods, and those two monsters cornering me. Shouldn't I be dead? That rogue had ordered them to kill me.

I grabbed the wall for support and pushed myself up with a deep groan. My legs shook like leaves in the wind, and before I could take a proper step, my knees buckled. I crashed back to the floor, pain shooting through me like fire.

Gritting my teeth, I ignored the burning ache and tried again. This time I managed to stand, taking one shaky step, then another, walking slowly toward the door in front of me. I twisted the knob hard, but it didn't open. I yanked it with all the strength I had left, but it wouldn’t budge.

Was I trapped even in the afterlife? But why did everything hurt so badly? My mom always told me the afterlife was peaceful, without suffering. This felt too real and too cruel to be the afterlife.

Defeated, I slid down into a corner, pressing my back against the cold wall. My stomach growled loudly, reminding me how empty I was. I rubbed it absentmindedly and let out a tired yawn.

Just as I was about to curl up on the floor again, I heard the knob turning.

My eyes snapped to the door. My heart jumped into my throat as the knob slowly moved. I sat up straight, every muscle tense, my eyes staring hard.

The door creaked open, and a man stepped inside. The moment that foul, sickening rogue stench hit my nose, I knew exactly what he was.

“Finally awake,” he said in a low, rough voice, shutting the door behind him with a heavy click. “So let’s talk, Princess Cassandra.”

I blinked in shock. Wasn’t I supposed to be dead?

“Princess Cassandra? That’s not my name,” I whispered, forcing the lie out smoothly, trying to sound calm even though fear made my voice tremble. “You’ve got the wrong girl.”

He smirked, his lips curling in a way that sent chills down my spine. “Oh? You’re Natalia, right? The poor little orphan?” His tone dripped with mockery. “Funny how an orphan dresses in such fine royal clothes.”

My heart thundered against my ribs. “I... I’m just a friend of Princess Cassandra,” I lied again, my words rushing out.

I couldn’t let them know who I really was, not after hearing that order to capture the prince and princess alive.

“She gives me her old dresses when she’s done with them. That’s all.” I added.

“And a Gamma carried you on his wolf’s back?” he pressed, his evil eyes boring into me like knives.

I fought to keep my face neutral, even though panic was clawing at my insides.

“I don’t have a wolf,” I said, and this part was the honest truth. “I was with Luna Valeria when the attack started. Princess Cassandra was supposed to join us at the training field later. She was with her private tutor at the palace. But she never showed up.”

Tears started streaming down my cheeks again as the horrible images flooded back.

“The Gamma told me the princess had ordered him to get me to safety. That’s why he carried me.” I wiped at my eyes, but the tears just kept falling, hot and endless.

The rogue tilted his head, watching me closely. “Your brother said the same thing. What’s his name again...? Orion.”

My whole body went ice-cold inside, but I didn’t let it show. I kept my voice steady through the sobs. “Orion is the prince, Cassandra’s older brother. He’s never really liked me much.”

Before I could say anything else, the door burst open with a loud bang. Another rogue stormed in, breathing hard.

“We’ve found the princess!” he gasped. “She’s in the thirteenth cell!”

The first man narrowed his eyes at me, then glanced at the newcomer like he was testing if the words were true.

My heart pounded so violently it felt like it was choking me. I stayed completely still, barely daring to breathe. One wrong move and I was done.

“It’s not this one,” the second rogue said, jerking his chin toward me.

The first man gave a slow nod, shot me one last cold, warning look, then turned and walked out with the other, locking the door behind them.

Alone again, my mind spun wildly. I was Cassandra Ashmont, the real princess of Brookville. So who was this other Princess Cassandra they had just found? And was Orion my brother really here too? Captured like me?

Where in the Moon Goddess’s name was this place? Rogues had taken me, but what did they want with me? Slavery? Revenge? Something worse?

I didn’t have enough time to wonder when the door opened again. The same man returned, this time with several others I couldn’t recognize.

“Bring her out!” he barked.

Rough hands yanked me up from the floor before I could even react.

“Tighten her brace!” he ordered.

One of the men knelt down and fiddled with something around my ankle. I looked down, eyes widening in horror. It was a silver cuff. How had I not noticed it before? If I had my wolf, she would have sensed the burn instantly.

They secured it tighter, then dragged me out of the cell without a shred of gentleness. As we moved through the dim corridors, I saw other captives, men, women, even a few young ones, shuffling around in silver cuffs and chains. The silver was meant to restrict their wolves and render them powerless. All of them looked broken, defeated just like me. We were all slaves here.

I was dragged toward a row of rundown, crumbling buildings. Suddenly, loud noises broke out ahead, there was a commotion. I turned my head and saw a young girl being roughly dragged away. She was fighting back hard, kicking and twisting.

“Stubborn Princess of Brookville,” one of the men dragging me muttered with pure hatred in his voice.

My blood turned to ice. Was that the girl they thought was me?

I twisted around as much as I could while being pulled forward, staring desperately at her. She must have felt my gaze because she suddenly looked back.

Our eyes locked for just a few seconds and my heart nearly stopped. It was Rhea, my best friend, the daughter of my father’s Beta.

She didn’t hold the look for more than a heartbeat before she quickly turned her face away, pretending she hadn’t seen me at all.