Chapter 13 Chapter 13
Chapter 13 Chapter 13
Aveline’s POV
“For Aveline.”
The words didn’t register immediately.
They hung in the air, heavy and unreal, like something that hadn’t quite settled into place yet. My mind repeated them slowly, trying to make sense of what the guard had just said.
For me?
I hadn’t even known there was a prisoner.
My fingers curled slightly at my sides, my body going cold in a way that had nothing to do with the night air.
“Who?” Fenrir asked, his voice sharp, controlled—but there was something beneath it now. Something darker.
The guard shook his head quickly. “We don’t know, Alpha. He refuses to speak to anyone else.”
He.
My stomach twisted.
“How long has he been here?” Fenrir pressed.
“Brought in this evening,” the guard replied. “He was found near the southern border. Suspicious movements.”
My chest tightened.
Southern border.
That was the direction I came from.
That was where my past still lived.
“Did he say her name?” Fenrir asked.
The guard hesitated, glancing at me again.
“Yes.”
My heart skipped.
“What did he say exactly?” Fenrir’s tone was colder now.
“He said…” the guard swallowed, “he said Aveline would come.”
A strange, uncomfortable silence fell between us.
I felt it settle into my bones.
That certainty.
She would come.
Like whoever this man was—he wasn’t asking.
He was waiting.
Like he already knew the outcome.
“That doesn’t make sense,” I said quietly, more to myself than anyone else.
I didn’t know anyone here.
No one who would come looking for me.
No one who would risk stepping into this pack just to say my name.
“Aveline.”
Fenrir’s voice pulled me back.
I looked at him.
His eyes were on me, studying my face carefully.
“You know who this is?” he asked.
I shook my head immediately.
“No.”
But something inside me twisted.
Not recognition.
Not exactly.
More like… unease.
Like a feeling sitting just beneath the surface that I couldn’t quite reach.
“I don’t know anyone who would come here,” I added, firmer this time.
“Think carefully,” he said.
“I am.”
My voice came out sharper than I intended.
Because I was thinking.
Too hard.
Running through every face, every memory, every person I had ever trusted.
And none of them fit.
None of them were reckless enough to walk into a place like this.
None of them were stupid enough to call my name like it meant something here.
“I don’t know him,” I repeated.
Fenrir held my gaze for a moment longer.
Then he turned back to the guard.
“Where is he?”
“In the lower cells.”
Fenrir nodded once.
“Take me to him.”
The guard hesitated.
“Alpha… he specifically said—”
“I heard what he said,” Fenrir cut in. “I don’t care.”
Silence.
The guard lowered his head.
“Yes, Alpha.”
I stepped forward before they could move.
“I’m coming.”
Fenrir didn’t even look at me.
“No.”
My jaw tightened.
“This is about me.”
“That doesn’t mean you walk into something we don’t understand.”
“I’m already in it,” I snapped.
That made him turn.
His eyes met mine, and for a second, neither of us spoke.
“You heard what he said,” I continued, my voice lower now. “He’s not asking for you. He’s asking for me.”
“That’s exactly why you’re not going.”
“And you think keeping me away will change anything?”
“Yes.”
I let out a short, humorless laugh.
“No, it won’t.”
His expression hardened.
“You don’t know that.”
“And you do?” I shot back.
Silence.
Tension stretched between us, sharp and heavy.
I stepped closer.
“I’m not hiding behind you,” I said quietly. “Not when this is clearly about me.”
His jaw clenched.
“You don’t even know what you’re walking into.”
“Neither do you.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“I can handle it.”
The words landed harder than he probably intended.
Something in my chest tightened.
“And I can’t?” I asked.
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s exactly what you said.”
He exhaled slowly, like he was trying to rein something in.
“This isn’t about what you can or can’t do.”
“Then what is it about?”
His gaze held mine.
“For once,” he said quietly, “it’s about not letting you be used.”
That stopped me.
Just for a second.
Because of the way he said it.
Not cold.
Not dismissive.
Something else.
Something I didn’t want to look at too closely.
“I’m already being used,” I said, my voice softer now. “By your uncle. By whatever that thing was earlier. By my own father.”
I swallowed.
“What difference does one more make?”
His expression shifted.
Just slightly.
Like he hadn’t expected that.
“I’m going,” I said firmly.
Silence.
Then—
“Fine.”
The word came out tight.
Controlled.
But I heard the edge beneath it.
“But you stay behind me,” he added. “And you don’t speak unless I tell you to.”
I almost argued.
Almost.
But something told me this wasn’t the moment to push further.
“Fine,” I said.
His gaze lingered on me for a second longer.
Then he turned.
“Move.”
—
The walk to the lower cells felt longer than it should have.
The further we went, the colder it became. The stone walls narrowed, the air growing heavier with every step.
The torches along the walls flickered weakly, casting long shadows that moved in ways that made my skin crawl.
I stayed close behind Fenrir.
Not because I was afraid.
Not entirely.
But because something about this felt… wrong.
Not like the courtyard.
Not like whatever had been watching us.
This was different.
More real.
More dangerous.
We reached the bottom of the stairs, and the guard stopped in front of a heavy iron door.
“He’s inside,” he said quietly.
Fenrir nodded.
“Open it.”
The guard hesitated.
“Alpha… he’s been—strange.”
Fenrir’s expression didn’t change.
“Open it.”
The door creaked loudly as it swung open.
The sound echoed through the corridor, sharp and unsettling.
I felt my breath catch as my eyes adjusted to the dim light inside the cell.
At first, I didn’t see him.
Then—
Movement.
Slow.
Deliberate.
A figure shifted in the corner of the room, stepping into the faint light.
My heart stopped.
No.
No, that wasn’t—
It couldn’t be.
“Aveline.”
My name left his lips like he had been waiting to say it.
Like he had been holding it in.
I took a step forward without thinking.
“No…”
Fenrir’s hand shot out, stopping me instantly.
“Stay back.”
But I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
Because I knew that face.
Even through the bruises.
Even through the dirt and blood.
I knew it.
“Luca?” My voice came out barely above a whisper.
His lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile.
“You remember me.”
My chest tightened painfully.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice shaking now despite myself.
Luca.
My best friend.
The one who had begged me to accept my father’s deal.
The one who had told me it was the only way to save everyone.
He looked worse than I had ever seen him.
Thinner.
Weaker.
But his eyes—
There was something wrong with them.
Something I couldn’t place.
“I came for you,” he said.
My stomach twisted.
“Why?”
His gaze held mine.
“Because you’re in danger.”
A cold laugh escaped Fenrir.
“She’s been in danger since the moment she got here,” he said. “That’s not new information.”
Luca’s eyes flickered to him.
For a brief second, something dark passed through them.
Then it was gone.
“You don’t understand,” Luca said quietly.
“Then explain it,” Fenrir replied.
Silence.
Luca looked back at me.
And for the first time—
I felt something I didn’t expect.
Not relief.
Not comfort.
Fear.
Because the way he was looking at me—
It didn’t feel right.
“Aveline,” he said softly.
My chest tightened.
“Yes?”
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
The words sent a chill down my spine.
“I didn’t have a choice,” I replied.
“There’s always a choice.”
“Not for me.”
Something flickered in his expression.
Almost like regret.
But it didn’t stay long.
“Then it’s already too late,” he said.
My heart skipped.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, his gaze shifted slightly—
Past me.
For just a second.
Then back again.
“You need to leave,” he said.
“I can’t.”
“You have to.”
“I said I can’t!”
My voice echoed slightly in the small space.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Then—
Luca exhaled slowly.
“Then listen to me carefully.”
Something in his tone made my stomach drop.
“Whatever happens next—”
He paused.
Like he was choosing his words carefully.
“Do not trust anyone.”
My chest tightened.
I almost laughed.
Because that wasn’t new advice.
“I already don’t,” I said.
His eyes held mine.
“No,” he said quietly. “You don’t understand.”
A chill ran through me.
“What don’t I understand?”
His lips parted slightly—
Then closed again.
Like something was stopping him.
Like he was holding something back.
“Say it,” I pressed.
He shook his head slowly.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Silence.
Then...
“Because he’s listening.”
My breath caught.
“Who?”
Luca’s gaze shifted again.
This time—
Not past me.
Not around the room.
But—
No.
No, no, no—
“Aveline,” Fenrir’s voice came low and sharp beside me.
But I had already felt it.
That same pressure from before.
That same weight in the air.
Stronger now.
Much stronger.
Like it had followed us.
Like it had been waiting.
Like this—
This was what it wanted.
“Do you feel that?” I whispere
d.
“Yes.”
My fingers started to tremble again.
Not from fear.
From something else.
Something building under my skin.
Luca let out a quiet breath.
“See?” he said softly.
My chest tightened.
“See what?”
He looked at me.
And this time—
There was no hesitation.
No confusion.
Just certainty.
“You were never meant to leave.”
Everything inside me went still.
Before I could respond—
The torch beside the cell flickered violently.
The flame stretched unnaturally—
Then went out.