Locked in

Locked in
Amanda’s POV

I collapsed on my bed, the mansion’s silence was heavy after kicking Cassandra out.

Her desperate eyes, her attempt to seduce me, her refusal to explain her absence - it had all fueled my rage, Arwen’s warning about a spell to control me and take my wolf’s strength made Cassandra a suspect since she has magic.

My room was dark, the curtains drawn. I curled under the blankets, my body exhausted but my mind wasn't as I think of Sophia’s betrayal, Nelson’s lies, Landon’s war, and now Cassandra’s secrets.

The herbs Arwen gave me had cleared my head, my wolf's strength coming in faintly, but vengeance was a fire I couldn’t douse, even as sleep pulled me under.

Morning light pierced the curtains, sharp as it dragged me from a restless dream of claws and blood.

I blinked, as I held my throbbing head, the herbs’ working but fragile, and then I froze as I looked up - my father stood at the foot of my bed, his broad frame looming, his gray eyes heavy with something worse than anger: disappointment.

His presence was a shock, his scent - pine and old whiskey -flooding me with memories of childhood, before Sophia, before Nelson, before I became this stranger fueled by rage.

My heart lurched, as I sat up, clutching the sheets, my voice hoarse. “Dad? What are you doing here?”

He didn’t move, his hands clasped behind him, his face etched with lines deeper than I remembered, his voice low, a rumble of pain. “I need to talk to you, Ama,” he said, his eyes searching mine, finding nothing but the wall I’d built.

“I don’t know you anymore. My daughter-the girl who laughed,who loved, who trusted - she’s gone. I look at you, and I see a stranger, consumed by something dark. What happened to you?”

His words cut deeper than any blade, a truth I couldn’t face, my chest tightening as I looked away, the weight of his gaze unbearable. “You don’t understand,” I whispered, my voice trembling, my hands clenching the sheets.

He stepped closer, his voice rising, a mix of grief and fury.

“No, Amanda, you’re lost,” he said, his hands unclenching, shaking. “Last night, Nelson was attacked - Landon’s rogues ambushed him on his way to a council summons. He barely made it to Ethan’s. And you - you’re mixed up with Landon, aren’t you? Feeding this war, this chaos. I see it in your eyes, the same fire that’s burning you alive.”

I froze, my heart started racing fast, Nelson’s attack was a jolt I hadn’t expected, but my face stayed blank. Landon’s rogues, the festival looming.

My silence was long, as my eyes darkened, my dad's voice dropped to a growl. “You don’t even care, do you?” he said, stepping back, his hands raking through his gray hair. He looks so tired and frustrated.

“I’m begging you, Ama-whatever crazy plan you’ve got, whatever Landon’s promised you, walk away. He’s poison, and he’s using you. I told you to stay away from him, and you didn’t listen. You’re breaking my heart.”

My throat tightened, tears burning, but I acted defensive. “You don’t get it, Dad,” I said, my voice rising, my hands shaking as I stood, the sheets falling.

“Landon’s my way to make them pay - Sophia, Nelson, they destroyed me! I’m not your little girl anymore, I’m fighting for myself. You can’t stop me!”

His face hardened, his eyes glistening, not with anger but with loss, a pain that cut deeper than my rage. “Enough!” he roared, his voice shaking the room, his hand slashing the air, silencing me.

“I don’t know you, Amanda. My daughter wouldn’t drown in vengeance, wouldn’t ally with a monster like Landon. You’re not the girl I raised, and I can’t watch you destroy yourself.”

He turned, his shoulders rigid, his voice breaking as he reached the door. “Guards!” he called, his tone cold, final.

“She doesn’t leave this room. Lock it, keep her here.”

The door slammed, the lock click sending a sound that echoed like a cage closing.

I sank onto the bed, tears spilling, my heart a battlefield of rage and grief.

My father’s words “I don’t know you” were a wound I knew wouldn't heal, his love a light I’d lost. Nelson’s attack, Landon’s rogues, the council’s trap - it all pointed to a deeper game, one I was playing with Cassandra, with Landon, but Arwen’s warning about a spell lingered, a crack in my resolve.

My wolf stirred, stronger than yesterday, but trapped in this room, my vengeance felt distant, a fire I couldn’t reach.

I paced, as I felt the room shrinking, the walls pressing in, my father’s guards outside a reminder of my prison.

Sophia’s face - her pregnant glow, her betrayal - burned in my mind, Nelson’s lies a fuel I clung to.

But my father’s pain, his fear, stirred something else, a doubt I couldn’t shake. Was I really lost, as he said? Just as Arwen had said? Was the spell - Cassandra’s magic, or someone else’s - driving me, not my heart?

The Lunar Eclipse Festival was days away, my chance to make them pay, but I'm locked here, with my father’s words echoing, I felt the ground shift beneath me.

I stopped pacing, as my hands trembled, my eyes were fixed on the locked door, the guards’ shadows moving beyond.

My wolf growled, restless.

I was trapped, but not lost - not yet.

My father thought he could cage me, save me, but I’d find a way out, a way to burn them all.

I pressed my hand to the door, my voice a whisper, fierce and trembling, my heart raging with anger.

“You can lock me in, Dad,” I said, my tears falling, my wolf rising, “but you can’t stop me. Sophia and Nelson will pay, and I’ll be free, no matter what it costs.”

“Let me out!!!” I screamed like crazy as I held the door.

“Please Ma'am. Be calm.”A guard said.

I glared at the door in anger as my eyes almost fell from their sockets.

“OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR AND SAY THIS TO MY FACE. YOU BASTARD!!! I roared out loud as I hit the door again.

“Arghhh!! Can you please just shut it Amanda. I'm trying to concentrate here.” A voice said.

“Alex??” I whispered in surprise.