Chapter 212 The dungeon

Chapter 212 The dungeon
Chapter 212

ASTERIA

Two days.

I'd been in this cell for two days, and I'd lost count of how many times I'd questioned my decision to come here.

The dungeon was freezing: stone walls that seemed to leech all warmth from the air, a floor covered in grime I tried not to think about, and bars that were rusted but still impossibly strong.

They gave me food once a day—a piece of stale bread and a cup of water that tasted like metal. My stomach cramped with hunger, but I forced myself to eat slowly, to make it last.

I was so tired. So cold and alone. Guards came by regularly, and each time, I braced myself.

"Look at the Mooncrest spy," one of them sneered, leaning against the bars. "Thinks she's special."

Another spat through the bars. The saliva landed near my feet, and I didn't move.

"Pathetic," he muttered. "They're sending children to spy now?"

I kept my head down, my arms wrapped around my knees, saying nothing.

Responding would only make it worse. But inside, shame burned through me. What had I become? Sitting in filth, being mocked by strangers, too weak to even defend myself.

A female guard stopped by on the second night, her eyes cold and merciless. "You know what we do to spies here?" she asked, her voice almost conversational.

I didn't answer.

"We take them to the training grounds," she continued. "Let the young wolves practice on them. Keeps them sharp."

She smiled. "You'll be screaming within minutes."

Then she walked away, her laughter echoing down the corridor.

I buried my face in my knees, my body shaking. Not from fear—though there was plenty of that. But from exhaustion, grief and the crushing weight of everything I'd lost.

But I forced myself to observe. To learn.

The guards rotated every six hours. Three at a time, stationed at different points in the dungeon. They were sloppy; overconfident, talking loudly about pack business whilst prisoners listened.

I learned that Redfire operated on pure strength. The weak were culled regularly and children who couldn't fight were abandoned. Loyalty wasn't given freely, it was earned through blood, through proving you could survive.

This wasn't a family. It was a war machine. And I'd walked right into it.

On the third day, everything changed.

Heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor. It’s different from the guards' lazy shuffling. These steps were deliberate, controlled, threatening.

A massive figure appeared outside my cell.
He was the largest man I'd ever seen; easily seven feet tall, with shoulders so broad he had to turn slightly to fit through the doorway. Scars crisscrossed his face, his arms, every visible inch of skin. His eyes were flat, emotionless, like he'd seen every horror imaginable and felt nothing anymore.

"Get up," he ordered, his voice a low rumble.

I struggled to my feet, my legs weak from sitting for so long.

He unlocked the cell, and two guards grabbed my arms, dragging me out. They took me to a room down the hall. There were stone walls, a single chair bolted to the floor, tools hanging on the walls that made my stomach turn.

An interrogation room. They shoved me into the chair and chained my wrists to the armrests. The massive man circled me slowly, studying me like I was an insect under glass.

"My name is Kade," he said. "I'm the head enforcer for Redfire Pack. And you're going to tell me everything you know about Mooncrest."

I swallowed hard, my mouth dry. "I already told the guards—"

"The guards are idiots," Kade interrupted. "I'm not. So, we're going to start again. And this time, you'll tell me the truth."

He leaned down, his face inches from mine. "Mooncrest's defenses. How many warriors? Where are the weak points?"

I forced myself to meet his eyes. "The northern border is the weakest. Only twelve guards on rotation."

It was true, but it was also outdated information, Richard had reinforced that border months ago.

Kade's eyes narrowed. "Richard Pike's strategies. How does he handle conflicts?"
"He's defensive," I said, my voice shaking slightly. "Prefers to fortify positions rather than attack. Relies heavily on pack loyalty."

Also true, but vague enough to be useless.

"Darius Pike," Kade continued. "The heir. What are his weaknesses?"

I hesitated, my chest tightening.

Even now, after everything, saying this felt like betrayal.

"He's emotional," I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Protective of the people he loves. Exploit that, and you can manipulate him."

Kade studied me for a long moment.

Then he straightened, crossing his arms. "You're holding back."

"I'm not—"

"Yes, you are," he said flatly. "You're giving me just enough to seem useful whilst keeping the valuable information locked away."

He walked to the wall and picked up a blade. It’s long, curved, wickedly sharp.

My heart hammered in my chest.

"I could make you talk," he said casually, testing the blade's edge with his thumb. "Pain is very effective but it's also messy and time-consuming."

He set the blade down and turned back to me.

"So, I'm going to give you a choice. Tell me everything now, and I'll recommend to Alpha Austin that he hear you out. Or refuse, and I'll spend the next few days teaching you exactly how creative I can be."

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

"I need to speak to Alpha Austin directly," I said, my voice stronger now. "What I have to offer is worth more than border patrol schedules."

Kade stared at me for a long, tense moment.

Then he smiled, a cold, humorless expression. "The Alpha will see you tomorrow," he said. "If he doesn't like what you say, I get to kill you slowly."

The next day, they came for me.

Guards dragged me from my cell, up flights of stairs, through corridors lined with weapons and bones. My legs barely supported me after days without proper food or movement.

They brought me to massive double doors and threw them open. The throne room was a nightmare. Bones decorated the walls—wolf skulls, human skulls, some I couldn't identify. Weapons hung like trophies—swords, axes, claws mounted on plaques.

The floor was polished stone, dark with old bloodstains that had seeped into the grain. And on a throne of blackened wood and iron sat Alpha Austin.

He was massive, not just tall but built like a predator, all muscle and coiled strength. Scars covered his exposed skin, telling stories of countless battles survived. But it was his eyes that froze my blood. The color was wolf-gold, ancient, utterly devoid of mercy. The eyes of someone who'd killed so many times it meant nothing anymore.

The council of Redfire elders surrounded him—ten old wolves, their faces marked by time and violence, each one studying me with cold calculation.

I was forced to my knees before the throne, chains binding my wrists, my body trembling from exhaustion and fear.

Austin leaned forward, his voice filling the chamber. "Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you as a Mooncrest spy."

I looked up at him, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst. And I laughed.

The sound was broken, slightly hysterical, but genuine. "Because I hate Mooncrest more than you do," I said, my voice cracking. "They took everything from me."

Austin's expression didn't change. "Explain."

The words poured out, raw and desperate. "My sister is the MoonWolf. Ravenna. She stole my mate—Darius Pike, the heir to Mooncrest. She destroyed my future, my happiness, my entire life."

My voice broke completely. "I had nothing. I was nothing. And she took the one thing that could have made me something and claimed it for herself."

I was crying now, tears streaming down my face, all pretense of strength crumbling. "And now she has power. Ancient power. The kind that could reshape the supernatural world. She's the MoonWolf—the first carrier in a hundred years."

Austin leaned back, his eyes narrowing with interest.

"Proof," he demanded. "What proof do you have?"

I wiped my face roughly with my chained hands. "The power wave at the Moon Festival. Hundreds of wolves knocked unconscious simultaneously. The Council investigated and confirmed it."

I continued, desperation making me speak faster. "I've seen what she can do. The moon responds to her. Gives her strength, power, abilities no normal wolf possesses. And she's unstable, can't fully control it yet."

"Weaknesses?" one of the elders asked sharply.

"Silver disrupts her power," I said. "And she's emotionally vulnerable. Tie her emotions in knots, and her control slips. She's new to all of this. You know still learning, still weak in many ways."

I met Austin's eyes directly. "I can tell you where she is, when she's most vulnerable and how to get to her. Everything you need to know."

The throne room was silent except for my ragged breathing.

Austin studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable.

Then he spoke, his voice cutting. "Why would I trust the word of a rejected she-wolf?"

The words hit like a physical blow. Rejected. That's all I was to them. To everyone.

I lifted my chin, meeting his predatory gaze, and said the only thing I had left to offer. "Because I'll do anything to destroy her. Even become your mate."