Chapter 146: Chapter 146

Kavian’s POV

I was taken away like a common criminal—dragged, insulted, and assaulted on the way to the dungeon by men who were far lesser than me. But I didn’t react, didn’t lift a finger to defend myself. Maybe because a part of me knew… I deserved this. I have done many bad things in my life, and perhaps this was the moon goddess finally choosing to punish me.

Yes, through all the violence and raiding I had done with my brothers and father, I had never laid a hand on a woman, never harmed a child, never touched anyone with that type of cruelty. But I had seen our men commit such despicable acts… and I had not stopped them. So yes, I am just as guilty. That is why, when Rose asked me if what Damian said was true, I said yes.

Rose’s father told no lie when he said I would be taken to the deepest and darkest dungeon—though he failed to mention that the place smelled like shit mixed with rotting corpses.

“Get in.”

I was shoved inside with force, and the heavy bars clanged shut, locked with a thick iron key.

Darkness swallowed everything. I couldn’t see a damn thing, only the fading footsteps as they walked away until silence took over… except for the skittering of rodents scurrying along the floor.

Still, I wasn’t bothered by any of it. I deserved this—every bit of it. But the longer I sat in the dark, the more I realized something terrifying:

I shouldn’t be in here.

This was a very, very big mistake.

And not because I feared captivity. No—my fear was not for myself. It was for Rose… for this pack… for this entire city.

How could I have been such a fool?

I can’t be here. I have to return to the camp, try to pacify my father before he sends his men here—or worse, before he comes himself.

If that happens… the whole place will burn.

Normally, this cell couldn’t hold me. I could have broken out easily anytime I wished. I chose to stay because I believed I deserved the punishment.

But now… now I had to escape, even if they didn’t know it—even if they hated me.

What an irony.

I moved closer to the bars, gripping them with the intention of breaking myself free—

Then pain seared into my palms, a violent, burning sting that made me jerk back immediately.

Only one thing could burn a werewolf like that.

“Wolfsbane,” I growled under my breath.

The entire bar and cell wall were coated with it. Odorless but deadly. With this lining the walls and bars, escape was impossible. Completely impossible.

But I needed to get out of here.

“Hey! Who’s there?!” I shouted, my voice echoing through the cold, quiet darkness.

“You have to get me out of here! Anyone?!”

My voice bounced off the walls, swallowed by the silence. I wasn’t even sure if anyone could hear me at all.

Rose’s pov

“Father… you can’t keep Kavian locked up in there.”

I pushed into my father’s chamber without hesitation, ignoring the cluster of officials and Beta Marcel gathered around him. My heart was pounding too loudly for greetings.

“I can, and I will,” my father replied, his tone cold—unyielding. He didn’t even look up long enough to acknowledge the desperation in my voice, but I wasn’t about to give up.

“Kavian saved my life. He is my mate. I love him.” My voice cracked despite me trying to hold it steady. “Please… you can’t keep him in there—”

“I do not want to hear it.”

His voice boomed across the room, slicing through my words. “My decision is final. I don’t understand why you insist on defending him after what you’ve heard. He himself confirmed those terrible things. What more do you need before you realize he is a terrible person deserving far worse punishment than what he’s receiving?”

“Because he went against his father to bring me back here!” I snapped, emotion spilling over as my chest tightened. “He didn’t have to—he risked everything to make sure I was safe and my rights weren’t stepped on. That must count for something.”

For a brief moment, my father actually paused. His eyes narrowed, as if something inside him wavered… but then his expression hardened again.

“It’s all an act.” His voice dropped into a low growl. “He and his family fooled us once. I won’t allow them to fool us again. He will remain there.”

I parted my lips to speak again, but he raised his hand sharply. “And that’s final.”

A heavy silence settled between us, pressing on my chest like a weight.

“…Okay. But can I at least go and see him?” I asked, my voice small despite how badly I tried to sound firm.

“No. You will return to your room.”

“But Father—”

“You will do as I say!” he barked, then turned to the nearest guard. “Simon, make sure my daughter rests comfortably in her room. Stay with her in case she needs anything.”

I didn’t need an interpreter for that—my father was turning my room into my own personal prison.

“Yes, Alpha,” the guard answered, stepping toward me.

I stared at my father, my heart breaking in a way it hadn’t in months. For most of my life, this house had always felt like a cage… but recently, for the first time, it had started to feel like a home. Warm. Safe. Free.

Now he had snatched that away again. The prison bars were back.

“My lady,” the guard murmured, gesturing for me to move.

“Don’t touch me. I can walk myself,” I snapped, then stormed out with him trailing behind me.

When I reached my room and pushed the door open, I felt him move behind me—as if he intended to follow me inside.

“What are you doing?” I asked sharply, irritation simmering in my chest.

“The Alpha said—” he began, but I cut him off with a glare.

“So do you plan on seeing me naked? Because I plan on being completely naked when I sleep,” I said without blinking.

His face flushed instantly. “O–oh, no… I will stay outside.”

“Good.”

I slammed the door shut, letting the loud crack of wood echo my frustration.

Only then did the fight drain out of me. I crossed the room slowly, my breaths trembling, and sank onto my bed—feeling the devastation wrap around me like a cold shadow...

“Where is my brother?”

The voice cracked through the silence so suddenly that my breath hitched. I snapped my head up and there he was—Arman—standing inside my room as if he’d materialized out of thin air.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed in a whisper, panic flaring in my chest. If the guard outside heard him, Arman would be in serious trouble.

He ignored my question completely, his eyes sharp and urgent. “Where is Kavian?” he repeated.

“My father had him locked up in the cell,” I answered quietly. His expression darkened instantly.

“What did you say?” Arman stepped closer, the tension radiating off him like heat.

“Damian came,” I explained, swallowing hard. “He told my father everything—about how you and your brothers used to go around destroying cities, killing innocent children, raping women… and that you planned to do the same to Ashwood.”

Arman’s jaw tightened, a muscle ticking.

“If we wanted to destroy your city, then why do you think we tried to leave today?” he demanded.

“Because your father is desperate to heal your mother,” I said. “But… it is true you destroyed cities before Ashwood. And you would have destroyed Ashwood too, if you hadn’t discovered I was the Phoenix wolf… and your mate.”

“Yes,” he said bluntly, not hiding from the truth. “We do destroy cities. And we did plan to destroy Ashwood as well.”

His voice dropped, rough with a different kind of anger. “But we changed our minds—and not because we found out you were the Phoenix wolf or our mate. It was because of the very person you’ve thrown into a cell.”

I blinked, stunned.

“Kavian begged our father for your sake and for the city’s,” Arman said, emotion rising in his voice. “He risked his life just asking for mercy. And he did it before he even knew you were his mate—before the Phoenix wolf even mattered.”

He took a shaky breath, glaring at me as if I personally betrayed his brother. “You and everyone in this city owe him your lives. Yet you lock him up?”

His raised voice trembled with fury—and hurt.

Just then, the door swung open.

“Is everything all right? Who are you talking t—”

Simon’s words froze the second he saw Arman.

“You—!”

He reached for the alarm, but Arman moved faster than thought. In a blink, his hand was clamped around the guard’s neck, lifting him clean off the ground.

Simon’s feet flailed helplessly, choking sounds filling the room. Arman’s eyes had gone feral—cold and murderous.

“Arman, no!” I rushed forward, panic surging through me. “Please, don’t kill him—please!”

For a moment, I wasn’t sure he would stop. But finally, with a frustrated snarl, he released Simon. The guard collapsed, gasping and coughing on the floor.

Arman turned back to me, his expression carved from stone.

“I need my brother out of that place now,” he growled. “Or else this city will truly burn—and it won’t matter that you are our mate.”

Before I could answer, Simon suddenly blew the whistle around his neck, the piercing sound cutting through the room.

My stomach dropped.

“What have you done?” I whispered to him, dread curling through every inch of me.