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Luna Katelyn's heart pounded as she raced back in the direction of her residence in shock and horror at what she had just done. Her eyes kept darting around with fear, scared of seeing her husband, but she forced herself to keep running.

She could see that people were staring at her, their expressions shifting from surprise to confusion, then to alarm at what they were seeing but she didn't care.

"Is that the Luna?" someone murmured behind her.

"Why's she running like that?" another voice echoed.

"What's happening?"

She heard the whispers and the shocked gasps as she bolted past them, but she couldn't give a damn about that now, not after what she had just done.

'How could I let myself do that? Why hadn't I controlled my damn temper!" Her thoughts spun wildly, her mind caught between anger at herself and sheer terror.

The Alpha would know what she did, there was no doubt about it.

She'd only remembered their connection a few seconds after she'd laid hands on Bellatrix, but it was already too late by then.

Bellatrix was her husband's mate, so whatever pain she felt, he would feel it too, and knowing her husband, he'd definitely seek revenge on whoever had caused that pain.

Her stomach twisted at that scary thought. How could she have let herself forget that one crucial fact?

She finally got to her room and her hands shook as she fumbled for her door. She finally managed to shove it open, before slipping inside and slamming it shut.

Then she locked the door, bolted it shut and even used a chair and table to make sure it was firmly blocked. She still wanted more protection, so she didn't waste another second before running into her bathroom and locking herself inside.

The heavy wooden door was heavy, solid and felt reassuring against her back as she sank to the floor with a sigh. She hugged her knees to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut as the cold and undeniable truth set in.
She had messed up and now she was dead game. There was no escaping it now; She had gone too far this time.

"Oh, moon goddess, what have I done?" she muttered, her heart pounding with anxiety beneath the surface.
She gripped her sides with her hands, her fingers digging in painfully as if that hurt could somehow save her from spiralling into panic. But the fear was too strong, suffocating her as she sat huddled on the bathroom floor, breathing in shallow and quick breaths.

"But it wasn't my fault." She cried to the empty room.
"It was that damn breeder's fault! She started it! If she wasn't being so damn proud and stubborn, then I wouldn't have touched her!"

She could remember seeing the proud look in Bellatrix's eyes, she could see the raw hatred, the smug superiority, and Katelyn knew that if she didn't cut her wings now, they would grow too big for all of them. She just wanted to teach the girl a little lesson, that was all.
But that wasn't all, in her heart, Katelyn knew that she passionately hated Bellatrix, not just for her attitude today, but for the hold she had on the Alpha.

She'd thought that if she maybe punished Bellatrix a little bit... well, she hadn't really thought at all, had she?
It was just pure rage that had taken over, blinding her to the consequences. And now... now she was going to pay the price.
 A sob slipped through her lips as the fear of her mess up began to crash down on her. She buried her face in her hands allowing the hot tears to come freely now.
...

She had turned on the shower to stop anyone from coming in, but she barely noticed the shower running above her.
The water poured down on her like a drumbeat as it mixed itself with her own choked breaths. Time became meaningless as she sat there, the water soaking through her clothes, clinging to her skin as if it could somehow wash away the fear of what was coming.

After what felt like an eternity, she felt her body surrendering to exhaustion and her eyes closing against her will. Her head slumped on the wall beside her, and sleep claimed her, pulling her under even as the cold seeped into her bones.

\-

Some moments later, Katelyn woke up to see complete darkness all around her.

Normally werewolves could still see fairly well at night, but now the darkness around her was so thick that she could barely even see her surroundings.
A chill crept over her, and she blinked, feeling confused and struggling to make sense of her surroundings.
The familiar scent of her bathroom was gone and it was replaced by a damp, foul, disgusting and unmistakably grim smell.

She tried to find her door, but panic flared as she reached out but her hands only hit the cold stone on one side and rough metal on the other.
She pushed herself up, feeling the rough walls around her as the dampness entered her fingers.
Soon enough, a single, dreadful thought rose to the surface of her mind, and she choked back a gasp of shock and disbelief.

She was in a cell. The same cell where they kept the dirty disgusting criminals!

"No... no, this can't be," she whispered, her voice echoing in the cold room.
Her hands grabbed at the metal bars in front of her, trembling as she finally realized the truth. She wasn't just in any cell. She was in solitary confinement, with no one to help her.

"Help!" She yelled.
She pulled and banged at the bars, gritting her teeth as she tried to open them but her strength felt oddly drained. Her muscles were weak, and unresponsive, as if some of the power inside her had been stripped away.
"It's Wolf's bane!" She froze as the realization hit her. "I've been poisoned with wolfsbane!"

They must have injected her with several doses while she was unconscious. The poison was rushing through her veins to dull her senses and weaken her strength so that she would be rendered helpless.
Her mouth opened to scream, but all that came out was a hoarse whisper as her voice cracked halfway through. The sound barely echoed in the cell's hallway and it was swallowed by the oppressive silence.

"Is that all you've got?" A mocking voice called out from the darkness beyond her cell.
She squinted, not seeing clearly.
  A guard stepped forward, but his face was not very visible in the faint light from a single torch down the hall. He smirked and folded his arms as he leaned against the bars, looking down at her with a mix of amusement and mockery.

"Well, look at that," he drawled. "The mighty Luna, brought to her knees by her temper. Bet you didn't think you'd end up here, did you?"
Luna Katelyn glared at him p anger flaring in her chest, but it was a weak, pitiful thing compared to the overwhelming fear that kept her silent. She turned away, biting her lip as she pressed her back against the cold stone wall, trying to steady her breathing.

"What, you have nothing to say?" he taunted, his tone thick with obvious mockery. "Not so tough now, are you? Well, you should've thought of that before you went after the Alpha's mate."

Another guard joined him in laughing as he looked her over. "I'll tell you what, I almost feel bad for her. She really thought she could get away with it. She actually thought locking a few doors would stop the Alpha from punishing her, which is stupid because I don't know anyone who in their right mind would try to attack the Alpha's mate."

"She was probably jealous," the first guard sneered. "Typical. She couldn't stand the fact that the alpha's breeder was favoured by the Alpha, so she lashed out at her. Unfortunately for though, that was not enough to take her out and reclaim her place."

Their laughter echoed down the hall, filling the silence like a cruel reminder of her fate.
Katelyn clenched her fists and forced herself to ignore them, after all, they were all pit guards who were far below her status.
  But still, their words cut deeper than she wanted to admit and she knew what they were saying was true, that her attack on Bellatrix had been born out of a twisted mix of jealousy, anger, and desperation.

She had foolishly wanted to prove herself, to remind the Alpha of who she was, to make him see her again, if only for a moment.
But now... now it had all backfired, leaving her stranded, powerless, and despised.

The guard leaned closer, his eyes glinting in the dim light. "You know he's coming for you, right? The Alpha. He'll probably want to see you for himself, make sure you understand the consequences of your actions."
 She shivered, hugging her knees tighter as the truth settled in. There was no escaping this. Her husband, the Alpha, would come, and when he did, he would definitely make sure she paid for what she'd done.

The second guard shook his head, chuckling softly. "You think he'll be merciful? Maybe he'll let her explain?"
The first guard snorted. "Merciful my foot! After what she did? I doubt it. If anything, he'll want her to suffer, to feel every ounce of pain she tried to inflict on his mate."

Her breath caught in her throat, her hands shaking as she listened. She wanted to deny it, to argue, to defend herself, but there was nothing left to say. She knew she'd crossed a line, that she'd taken a risk that no Luna should ever take, and now she was paying the price.
A faint voice echoed down the hall, and both guards straightened, exchanging glances before stepping back from the cell.

"Enjoy your last moments, Luna," one of them muttered with a dark smirk. "I have a feeling you'll be seeing the Alpha very soon."
They walked away, their footsteps fading into the darkness, leaving her alone in the silence of the cell. She hugged herself tightly, the weight of their words pressing down on her, suffocating and heavy.
 She could feel the wolf's bane seeping deeper into her system, draining her strength, her hope, her very sense of self. She was weak, vulnerable, a shell of the Luna she'd once been.

For the first time in her life, Katelyn was truly afraid.

Tears pricked at her eyes, but she blinked them back, swallowing hard as she tried to steady her breathing. She had to be strong and had to find some way to endure this, even if it meant facing her husband's anger and punishment. She'd made her choice, and now she had to live with it.

She closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against the cold metal bars, her mind a chaotic mess of fear and regret. In the end, she was just another pawn, caught in a game she couldn't control, a game that had finally turned against her.
 A shiver ran through her as she whispered to herself, barely audible in the darkness, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry."
But there was no one left to hear her.
Only the thick and unforgiving silence that stretched into the endless night