The Alpha and the slave princess

A beautiful lie

Elara’s POV

The boy’s words felt like the second beating I had had tonight. My breath hitched in my throat, sending a sharp, stabbing pain through my side, but I didn't let go of his arm.

What? My survivors. My people. The few who had escaped the fire and the silver-traders were being brought here to be slaughtered or enslaved by a blood oath. No!

"How many?" I whispered, my voice cracked and desperate. "Leo, how many are left?"

"Twenty, maybe thirty," he murmured, his eyes darting to the heavy oak door. "They’re being held in the old grain wagons outside the north gate. Ashanti says the Alpha wants to make an example of them. He wants to show the pack that the Silvermoon line is dead."

I looked at the crumpled piece of paper in my hand. My fingers were shaking so badly I could barely smooth them out. It was a crude map of the servant passages that ran behind the stone walls of the keep. A small 'X' marked a spot near the kitchens, leading to the drainage tunnels that emptied into the ravine.

"The tunnels," I said, looking at the boy. "Are they guarded?"

"Not the ones under the wash-house," Leo whispered, already reaching for a damp cloth to start dabbing at the blood on my face. "They think they’re too narrow for a wolf to shift in. But you’re small, Princess. You could make it."

"I can't leave them, Leo. If I run, Julian will kill every single one of them in the wagons."

"Ashanti says you have to," the boy insisted, his voice rising in a panicked hiss. "If you stay, he wins. If you get out, you can find the northern clans. You can bring help."

Help. The word felt too shallow. The northern clans had stayed silent while my father’s lands burned. They wouldn't move fornothing that can't benefit from, they would rather run away from facing the Alpha’s wrath. But if I stayed here, pinned under Julian’s thumb, I would just become a witness to my own extinction.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed in the corridor. Leo jumped, nearly knocking over the basin of water.

"I have to go," he scrambled back toward the hidden panel in the wall. "The healer is coming. Hide the map!"

He vanished into the darkness just as the panel clicked shut. I shoved the paper under my pillow and slumped back against the headboard, trying to mask my frantic breathing with a mask of exhaustion.

The main door groaned open. It wasn't Julian. A middle-aged woman with graying hair and a stern face walked in, carrying a leather bag. She was the healer, and behind her stood two guards, their faces unreadable.

She didn't speak to me. She moved with automatic efficiency, pulling back the silk sheets to inspect the damage. When she saw the purple-black swelling along my ribs, she let out a short, sharp breath, and from her, that was the only sign of emotion she showed.

"Stay still," she commanded.

She began to wrap my chest in tight linen bandages. Every pull of the fabric made me want to scream, but I bit my lip until I tasted blood. I couldn't look weak. I couldn't let them see the spark of hope that Leo had just ignited within.

As she worked, I watched the guards. They were focused on the door, their hands resting on the hilt of their swords. They weren't looking at the broken chair on the bed. They were more focused on the threats that may arrive from outside.

They are arrogant, I realized. Julian thinks he has broken my spirit, and his men think I am too injured to crawl, let alone run, they would never think I can escape, I don't pose as a threat.

"Drink this," the healer said, handing me a wooden cup filled with a bitter, murky liquid. "It will dull the pain and help you sleep."

I took the cup, but I didn't drink. I waited until she turned back to her bag, then tipped the liquid into the thick fur of the rug beside the bed. I needed my head clear. I needed to be awake when the keep went quiet.

"The Alpha wants you ready by dawn," she said, packing her tools. "He expects you to be standing at his side when the wagons are brought in." Of course, but he forgot to mention what he has in those wagons.

"I will be there," I whispered.

She glanced at me then, a flicker of something, perhaps pity, perhaps warning. . . in her eyes. Then she turned and left, the guards following close behind her, and then the lock clicked shut.

I was alone.

I waited for what felt like hours. I watched the shadows of the trees stretch across the floor as the moon climbed higher. My body throbbed with a dull, constant ache, but the adrenaline was starting to take over.

I pushed myself off the bed. My ribs screamed, and for a moment, the world went black at the edges. I leaned against the bedpost, gasping for air, waiting for the dizziness to pass. I should be healing already!

I couldn't wear the ruined gold dress. I looked around the room and found a heavy, dark cloak draped over a chair near the hearth. I pulled it around my shoulders, the thick wool hiding my undergarments and the white bandages.

I moved to the hidden panel Leo had used. I felt along the molding, my fingers searching for the catch. My heart was hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. Please, let it open. Please.

Finally, my thumb pressed against a small, recessed button. The stone shifted with a soft hiss.

I didn't look back. I stepped into the narrow, dark passage. I closed the panel behind me, plunging myself into total darkness.

I crawled. On my hands and knees, I navigated the cramped space, following the faint scent of the kitchens, onions, fat, and woodsmoke. Every movement was agony. My breath came in ragged gasps that sounded too loud in the confined space.

Find the north gate. Find the wagons, I continue to tell myself.

I reached a small iron grate that looked down into the hall. I paused, peering through the slats. Below me, the Great Hall was empty, save for a few guards patrolling the perimeter. The remains of the Mating Ball, shattered glass, spilled wine, and torn gold silk, were still scattered across the floor.

Then I saw him.

Julian was sitting on the steps of the dais, a single torch burning behind him. He looked smaller than usual, his head resting in his hands. He wasn't the monster I had seen in the hall. He looked. . . haunted.

I felt that cursed pull again. The bond was a weight in my chest, drawing me toward him even now. My wolf whined, wanting to go down there, wanting to comfort the man who had just destroyed my life.

No, I told myself, clutching the map. He is the one who put your people in those wagons. He is the one who killed your father.

I turned away from the grate and kept crawling. I reached the end of the passage, where a small wooden door led out into the servants’ courtyard.

The air was freezing, biting into my skin, but it felt like freedom. I stayed in the shadows, moving toward the north gate. I could see the wagons now, dark, heavy shapes lined up against the stone wall. I could hear the soft sound of muffled crying and the low murmur of voices.

"Princess?"

A figure stepped out from behind a crate. It was Ashanti. Her face was bruised, and her arm was in a sling, but her eyes were bright.

"We don't have much time," she whispered, grabbing my hand. "The guards change at the second bell. I have bribed the gatekeeper, but he won't wait for long."

"The wagons, Ashanti. We have to open them."

"We can't," she said, her voice breaking. "The Alpha has the keys. And the locks are silvered. We have to get you out first. If you are safe, they have a reason to hold on."

"I am not leaving them!" I hissed, my voice cracking with desperation.

"You must!"

Suddenly, a horn blasted from the watchtower. A sound of alarm that cut through the night like a blade.

"Escape!" a voice shouted from the keep. "The prisoner is gone! Search the grounds!"

Torches began to flare up all along the walls. The quiet night exploded into chaos.

"Go!" Ashanti shoved me toward the small postern door in the gate. "Run, Elara! Don't look back!"

I looked at the wagons one last time. I could see a pair of eyes looking through the slats of the nearest one, a child, no older than Leo.

"I'm coming back for you," I whispered.

I turned and bolted through the door, disappearing into the black maw of the forest just as the first set of guards rounded the corner.

I ran until my lungs felt like they were on fire. I ran until the sounds of the keep were a distant echo. I didn't stop until I reached the edge of the Silver River, the water rushing white over the rocks.

I stopped to catch my breath, leaning against a tree. The forest was silent, but I knew he was coming. I could feel him. The bond was screaming now, a white-hot vibration in my skull.

He was close.

I looked at the water. If I crossed, I might have a chance. If I stayed...

A twig snapped behind me.

I turned, my heart stopping.

Julian was standing in the clearing, his eyes glowing like twin silver moons. He wasn't in his human form anymore. He was a massive, black wolf, his fur matted with the dew of the forest. He looked like death itself.

He didn't growl, he didn't move, he just watched me.

"I'm not going back," I said, stepping toward the edge of the cliff. "I'd rather the river take me than you."

The wolf took a step forward.

"Stay away!" I shouted, my foot slipping on the wet moss.

I looked down at the churning water below. It was a long drop. A drop that would surely break what was left of my body.

I looked back at Julian. For a second, the wolf's eyes softened, and I saw a flash of the man who had kissed me, but I couldn't fall for that.

"You're a beautiful lie, Julian," I whispered, and then, I let myself fall.