Chapter 38: The Cage Tightens
Seraphine's POV
BANG. BANG. BANG.
I jerked awake. Heart hammering.
What the—
More banging. Loud. Metal on wood.
I rubbed my eyes. Squinted against the morning light.
A figure. In my room.
Male. Tall. Broad shoulders.
Holding a hammer.
Who the fuck—
He swung again. BANG.
Nailing something to the window.
Wood. Thick planks of wood.
He's sealing the window.
I blinked. Still half-asleep. Confused.
Then I looked down.
Fuck.
Naked. Completely naked.
The shirt from last night, stained with blood from the wound Cordelia had cleaned, lay discarded on the floor. I must have torn it off in my restless sleep.
Now this stranger was in my room. Hammering away. While I sat here with nothing on.
I grabbed the blanket. Yanked it up to cover my chest.
"What the—Get OUT!"
My voice came out shrill. Panicked.
The man didn't even look at me.
Just raised the hammer. BANG.
"Alpha's orders."
Cold. Flat. Like I wasn't even there.
He positioned another plank. Started nailing it down.
My window. He's blocking my only way out.
"Stop!" I scrambled to my knees. Still clutching the blanket. "You can't do this!"
Another nail. BANG.
I grabbed the pillow. Threw it at him.
It hit his back. Bounced off. Fell to the floor.
He didn't even flinch.
"The window needs to be sealed." Still not looking at me. "Alpha's orders."
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Three more nails. Fast. Efficient.
No. No no no—
I tried to get up. To rush him. To stop him.
But the blanket tangled around my legs.
I stumbled. Caught myself on the bed frame.
"Please—stop—"
He moved to the next plank.
I stood there. Wrapped in the blanket like some pathetic ghost.
Watching him destroy my last chance at freedom.
Helpless. Completely fucking helpless.
---
Footsteps in the hallway.
Heavy. Deliberate.
I froze.
The door swung open.
Kaelen.
He stood in the doorway. Tall. Imposing. Expression carved from ice.
His black double pupils swept the room.
Took in everything.
The small bundle on the table—my failed escape supplies. Already confiscated.
The blood-stained sheets on the bed.
The pillow on the floor.
Me. Wrapped in the blanket. Hair a mess. Eyes wide.
His gaze lingered on the bloodstains for half a second.
Something flickered in his expression.
Then it was gone.
Back to cold. Controlled. Empty.
He knows. He knows everything I tried to do.
My throat tightened.
---
Kaelen walked to the table. Each step deliberate.
Picked up my bundle. Opened it.
Food. Water. The things I'd packed to survive.
He stared at them for a moment.
Then placed the bundle back down. Slowly.
"Quite prepared, weren't you?"
His voice was calm. Quiet.
Somehow that made it worse.
He turned to face me.
Those pupils locked on mine.
Disappointed. He's fucking disappointed.
I swallowed hard. Tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
What can I even say?
Behind him, the worker kept hammering. BANG. BANG.
Kaelen didn't react to the noise.
Just kept staring at me with those cold, judging eyes.
"Continue," he said to the worker. Still looking at me.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
---
"Rowan."
Kaelen's voice cut through the noise.
Footsteps. Quick. Nervous.
Rowan appeared in the doorway. Head down. Refusing to meet my eyes.
"Clean this room," Kaelen ordered. Voice flat. "Change the sheets."
He paused. Still staring at me.
"Bring her something to wear."
Rowan nodded. Started moving immediately.
Kaelen turned back to me.
"From now on, you're not going anywhere."
Each word precise. Final.
"Rowan will handle your meals. Your needs."
My needs. Like I'm a fucking pet—
"Kaelen, I—"
His eyes narrowed.
"Don't."
One word. Sharp as a blade.
"Don't test me again, Seraphine."
The way he said my name. Cold. Distant.
Like I was nothing.
Less than nothing.
He turned to leave.
I took a step forward. Desperate.
"Wait—I need to explain—"
He stopped in the doorway. Back to me.
"There's nothing to explain."
His voice was quiet. Controlled.
Final.
"You made your choice. Now live with the consequences."
Then he was gone.
The door slammed shut.
The lock clicked into place.
His footsteps faded down the hallway.
And the hammering continued.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
---
Rowan worked fast.
Pulled fresh sheets from the closet.
Stripped the blood-stained ones.
Her movements were quick. Efficient.
She never once looked at me.
"Rowan, please—"
"I'm just following orders." Her voice was barely audible.
She bundled up the old sheets. Grabbed clothes from the dresser.
Placed them on the bed beside me.
"Alpha said you need these."
I opened my mouth to speak.
"I can't." She cut me off. Still avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry."
She finished tidying. Gathered her things.
Left without another word.
The door locked behind her.
Just me and the worker now.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
---
The final nail went in.
Three thick planks. Covering the entire window.
The room got darker. Only thin strips of light bleeding through the gaps.
The worker packed up his tools.
Didn't say a word.
Walked out.
Door slammed. Locked.
I stood there.
Staring at the sealed window.
My last way out. Gone.
I walked toward it. Slowly.
Reached out. Touched the rough wood.
Thick. Solid. Immovable.
He really did it.
He locked me in.
The bond pulsed. Faint.
Kaelen's presence on the other end.
Anger. Control. Something else I couldn't name.
He's done with me. Completely fucking done.
I touched my neck. The mark throbbed.
Dull. Constant.
Reminder. You can't escape this. Can't escape him.
---
The silence stretched.
I looked around the cleaned room.
Fresh sheets. Neat clothes on the bed.
My failed escape bundle sitting on the table like evidence.
Like a prison cell. Clean. Controlled. Suffocating.
I stood there for maybe a minute.
Just breathing.
Then something inside me snapped.
"AAAHHH!"
Not words. Just pure rage.
I lunged at the window. Grabbed the planks.
Pulled with everything I had.
"Come OFF! COME OFF!"
The wood didn't budge.
I pulled harder. Fingers digging into the cracks.
Move. Fucking MOVE—
Pain shot through my fingertips.
I looked down. Blood.
My nails had torn against the wood.
But I didn't stop.
"FUCK YOU, KAELEN!"
I screamed it. Over and over.
Pulling at the planks with bleeding hands.
"FUCK. YOU."
Tears streamed down my face.
Not sadness. Pure fury.
One more pull. Using every ounce of strength.
The wood stayed firm.
My hands slipped.
I stumbled backward. Hit the bed frame.
Collapsed onto the floor.
---
Gasping. Shaking.
Staring at my bleeding fingers.
The planks hadn't moved. Not even a little.
He won. He fucking won.
I sat there. Back against the bed.
Hands trembling. Shoulder throbbing from last night's wound.
I can't leave. Can't escape. Can't even try.
The tears kept coming.
Silent now.
Just sitting there. Defeated.
Lyralei's face flashed in my mind.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
I tried. I really tried.
But it wasn't enough.
It's never enough.
---
Click.
The lock turned.
I didn't move. Didn't look up.
The door creaked open.
Slowly.
Someone stepped inside.