Chapter 99 Rowena's Ending

Third Person POV.

In the humid and suffocating dungeon cells of the Warpaw kingdom, Rowena rages with hysteria. Her once perfectly manicured nails now marred, she slams the cold iron bars, creating a cacophony that echoes through the damp, stone walls. Her screams reverberate, piercing the stillness of the dungeon.

"Let me out of here, you pathetic fools! Do you have any idea who I am?" Rowena's voice, sharp and insufferable, cuts through the air.

Leah, her fellow captive, looks on with a mix of fear and disdain.

The guards, unmoved by her theatrics, exchange glances. One of them smirks, responding, "We know exactly who you are, Rowena. A prisoner of the Warpaw Kingdom."

Rowena's eyes blaze with fury.

"I am no one's prisoner! Release me, or you'll all suffer the consequences."

Leah, rolling her eyes, mutters under her breath, "Consequences? Please, spare the melodrama, Rowena. They know we have nothing to bargain with."

Rowena frowns. They have already spent three days locked in this dungeon. The moment Jeremy had led Jason and his army to attack Alastair, guards had come to drag Rowena and Leah from their luxurious guest rooms and thrown them in these dungeon cells, keeping them as leverage over Jeremy's head.

The guards had told her if Jeremy tried anything funny during the invasion or if something went wrong and Jason lost, they had direct orders from Jason to execute them both on the spot.

She had thought being the mother of Jason’s child would give her some importance but it turned out it was all a charade and the Warpaw Kingdom was truly made of barbarians. Now, more days than she cared to count have passed without any news of Jeremy and Jason.

Rowena was getting sick of it and her body reeked. This was beneath her.

In a fit of rage, she slams the cell door once more, inadvertently breaking a nail. She winces and lets out an expletive that echoes through the dungeon.

"Great, just great! Now I have a broken nail thanks to you imbeciles. Do you have any idea how much this manicure cost?"

The guards remain indifferent, not bothering to engage with her any longer.

Before she can throw another fit, the dungeon gates slam open, revealing a man in a white mourning robe. In his hand, he holds a tray bearing two ominous vials. Rowena's eyes narrow with suspicion as she assesses the unwelcome intruder.

"I am here on the order of the Alpha. You shall drink this poison and say goodbye to your wolves forever," the man intones, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Rowena bares her teeth in defiance, staring the man down with a venomous gaze.

"Oh, you have another thought coming if you think I am going to let that near me. I am not so easily disposed of."

Leah, eager for any semblance of information, hastily rises from her place on the cold floor, clutching the bars of the cell. Her eyes are wide with excitement as she implores, "What happened? Where is Jeremy? Did we win? Please tell me they killed that wretched Fiona, at least."

In a moment, the man's face transforms into rage, and he seethes.

"Your cowardly husband led our Alpha to his death, and so many of our soldiers died. Prince Micah was prepared and many steps ahead of us. They killed our Alpha, and yesterday your prince Jeremy was hanged in public, stoned by the people of Alastair for betraying them. We have no place for you useless beings."

Rowena's defiance wavers, replaced by a momentary shock that flickers across her features as she hears the words.

Leah, on the other hand, crumples to the cold dungeon floor, her loud sobs piercing the air.

"No, no, this can't be true! Jeremy, my love, hanged? It can't be!"

She had joined hands with Rowena, went to such great lengths to kill Fiona and schemed and plotted all to keep her husband and now, her husband was dead making a widow out of her.

The man remains unmoved by Leah's theatrical display.

"Enough!” He says impatiently. “Drink the poison now, or face an even worse fate."

Rowena's brain spins, desperately seeking an escape from the dire reality closing in around her. In a calculated move, she throws Leah under the bus, her words sharp and unforgiving.

"I knew nothing about it. She is Jeremy's wife. I am innocent, and I am the mother of your Alpha's child. Spare me and kill her," Rowena says quickly, her eyes locking onto the man with a cold intensity.

Leah, still sobbing on the dungeon floor, looks up at Rowena with a mixture of betrayal and disbelief. "How could you, Rowena? I thought we were in this together."

Rowena, unfazed by Leah's accusatory gaze, smirks.

"Survival requires sacrifice, Leah. I won't let myself be dragged down by someone else's mistakes."

The man, however, watches her with a disdainful glare.

"Yes, we know how you stole from our Alpha and seduced and deceived him into having the child. We are also aware of your abuse of him. Alpha Jason was going to kill you regardless of whether they won or not. If not for our new Alpha, you wouldn't be receiving this poison; instead, you both would have been given the most painful death."

New Alpha that had shown her mercy?

Rowena's ears perk up, a glimmer of hope flickering within her.

Maybe, she could use this to her advantage.

"Take me to him, and I will plead my case," she says snarkily, a cunning edge to her voice. The man, however, smiles coldly.

"I don't need to take you to him; he is right here," he declares, stepping to the side and bowing his head. Rowena's anticipation rises, but as the man moves aside, her heart stops at the sight of her young son entering the dungeon.

He wears a rich, luxurious robe, his expression somber. Immediately, a smile splits Rowena's face. "Yes!" she exclaims silently, realizing they've made her son the Alpha.

So, what if she failed in marrying Micah, she could have all the power she desired this way!

"My darling son,” She cries happily. “I see they've made you the Alpha. Quickly, free your dear mother from this wretched cell."

Her son, however, stays quiet, his eyes sad.

"Mother, I have already done what I could for you. This poison will kill your wolf and give you great pain every day but at least you will be alive. Maybe, the elders will agree to free you after a while."

When he finally speaks his voice sounds way older than his age. He is just a child but he speaks with a strange authority and Rowena’s eyes narrow.

She clenches her teeth as she spits out her next words.

"My sweet boy, you don't understand. I did everything for you, for our family. I am your mother, and you cannot let them hurt me like this."

“The people of Warpaw want blood. They are looking for someone to blame for their Alpha’s death.” The cold man interjects. “The only way to pacify them is to punish you and crown his son the new Alpha. You are lucky you are not getting killed because your son pleaded with the elders for you but that’s all he can do.”

With that, he urges the child to go outside. In a fit of fury, Rowena starts screaming at her son’s retreating back, her words laced with venom and resentment.

"You useless brat! I gave you life, and this is how you repay me? You'll regret turning your back on me!" Rowena's voice echoes through the dungeon.

"I never wanted you! You were a burden from the moment you were born. I wish I had never given birth to such a worthless disappointment!"

As Rowena's verbal assault persists, the robed man, wearied by her incessant screams, decides he has had enough. With a commanding tone, he calls for the guards, and without hesitation, towering muscular men rush into the dungeon.

"Force the poison down their throats," he orders them sternly, his cold gaze fixed on Rowena and Leah. The guards, devoid of sympathy, approach them with a grim determination.

They grab her with an iron grip as she thrashes and kicks. They forcibly open her mouth and shove the poisonous vial down her throat.

As soon as Rowena swallows the toxic liquid, her body convulses, contorted by an agonizing pain that courses through her veins.

It feels as if her entire body is on fire, an excruciating sensation that engulfs her entire being. The poison takes hold, and she can sense her wolf spirit writhing within her, trapped and tortured.

Beside her, Leah too, succumbs to the same fate, her cries joining with Rowena's. The invisible flames of the poison consume them both, burning them from the inside.

They are trapped the same way they had once gleefully trapped Fiona in the burning warehouse.

Except, they are destined to be in this inferno every single day.

For the rest of their lives.