Chapter 54 54

Chapter 54 54
Whisper… whisper… whisper…

The hushed voices scraped against Nadia’s ears like insects crawling beneath her skin.

Her eyelid twitched.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Moonlight streamed through a lone window, casting pale silver across a dimly lit room that smelled of damp stone and old blood.

She instinctively tried to move.

Clink.

Her body froze.

Her eyes darted downward.

She was on her knees.

Both wrists had been shackled behind her back with thick silver chains that wrapped around a solid silver pillar. Matching restraints bound her ankles, forcing her into an uncomfortable kneeling position.

The metal hissed against her skin and every point of contact burned like fire.

Nadia grimaced.

‘…I got caught.’

A bitter smile tugged at her lips.

‘Wonderful.’

Alpha Lucian Draven despised failure more than anything and as his personal assistant, he trusted her with a mission and she failed spectacularly.

A low growl rumbled from her throat as she pulled against the restraints.

The chains didn’t even budge.

Instead, the silver seared deeper into her flesh.

“Tch…”

Silver had always been one of a werewolf's great weaknesses and she wasn't immune to it for sure no matter where she came from. 

Besides, being exposed to this world’s atmosphere for so long was enough for her body to adapt to it, both the good and bad.

She pulled harder, ignoring the pain shooting through her arms.

“…Damn it.”

Another tug.

“…Come on…”

Nothing.

“I hate this weakness,” she muttered bitterly.

“Finally awake?”

Nadia lifted her head.

A crooked grin slowly spread across her face.

“Heh… So you’re that worthless Alpha’s beta, aren’t you?”

His expression darkened instantly.

“You’ve got quite the mouth.”

Then he threw a kick and it landed on Nadia’s face.

The force threw her sideways before the chains violently yanked her back upright.

Blood trickled from the corner of her lips.

Jensen’s eyes blazed gold and sharp fangs slid from his gums as a growl vibrated through the room.

“You will address Alpha Connor with respect. You’ve trespassed into Moonlit territory and this is where you’ll die.”

Nadia spat blood onto the floor.

Then smiled.

“That deadbeat Alpha of yours…”

She slowly lifted her eyes.

“…where is he?”

Silence.

“I know he’s alive so stop insulting my intelligence. Tell me the truth.”

“You…”

A hand rested lightly on Jensen’s shoulder.

“It’s fine,” a calm voice echoed from the darkness.

Jensen stepped aside as Alpha Connor emerged from the shadows.

Completely alive.

Completely unharmed.

A smug smile rested on his face.

Nadia didn't look surprised as she saw him.

“I heard you’ve been looking for me.”

He stopped directly in front of her.

“Well? You’ve found me. Are you satisfied?”

Nadia looked him up and down, then nodded without hesitation. “Very.”

Connor chuckled.

“I figured Nightfall would send someone eventually. They couldn’t ignore my death.”

His smile slowly faded.

“But everything happened exactly as those old fools wanted.”

Bitterness flashed across his face.

“My death… it was always part of their game, of course. A sacrifice to trap Lucian Draven. A move on their precious chessboard. I was foolish enough to believe they’d finally recognize me.”

His fingers slowly curled into a fist.

“They never intended to.”

He looked angry at the thought of it.

Nadia narrowed her eyes.

“If you’re standing here then whose funeral is taking place outside? Who…” her eyes widened as the realization finally clicked. “You… it was your brother. He died. In your place.”

Connor’s smile returned.

“My twin. He always wanted to become Alpha, so… I let him.”

A dark laugh escaped him.

“Unfortunately for him, he inherited my enemies as well.”

Nadia stared at him in disgust.

“So he died wearing your crown. What a pathetic way to betray your own blood.”

Connor merely shrugged.

“He died fulfilling his greatest dream. Becoming Alpha. For a few hours, at least.”

Nadia shook her head.

“You are a coward Alpha. In fact, you don’t deserve that sacred title. An Alpha protects his pack. He doesn’t hide behind his family. He certainly doesn’t sacrifice them… but then, there's no Alpha like my Great Alpha.

Then she sneered.

“No wonder you’re terrified of facing my Alpha.”

At the mention of Lucian Draven…

Connor’s smile vanished.

“Terrified?”

He laughed.

“A man who sends others to fight his battles? That’s your great Alpha? That bastard humiliated me without ever stepping foot into my territory. He sent that monster called Silas. He stripped me of my pride, and thanks to him… the elders decided I was expendable.”

Hatred twisted his features.

“But fate finally smiled upon me. I met someone. A masked man and he offered me something. Power. Real power…”

“…All he asked in return…”

Connor’s grin widened unnaturally.

“…was well… blood and…”

He raised his right hand then clenched it slowly.

Nadia’s eyes flew open immediately, and 

Nadia suddenly gasped, and he  eyes flew open immediately, feeling something wrapped tightly against her throat.

She choked. “Wh… what are you…”

He squeezed harder.

Her airway closed.

Her vision blurred.

She couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t speak.

Couldn’t even howl.

Connor watched with delighted fascination.

Just before darkness consumed her…

He released his fist.

Nadia collapsed forward, gasping violently as precious air rushed back into her lungs.

She coughed until tears blurred her vision and for the first time, fear flickered across her face.

Connor noticed and laughed excitedly.

“Yes, yes, yes!!! That’s it. That expression. I wanted to see it. You see, I’d heard stories that Nightfall Pack wasn’t like the others. That its wolves possessed impossible abilities…”

“…I didn’t believe a word of it.”

“Not…”

“…until Silas walked into my territory.”

His eyes gleamed with obsession.

“That day, I realized strength alone wasn’t enough. I needed something greater. I needed power capable of making monsters kneel.”

His smile stretched wider.

“And now… I have it.”

He leaned closer.

“Did you feel it?”

Nadia remained silent.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to understand what had just happened.

‘What… was that?’

She slowly raised her eyes.

“…Why are you telling me all of this?”

Connor’s grin became frighteningly calm.

“Because secrets only matter… if someone lives long enough to tell them.”

He crouched until they were eye level.

“And you won’t.”

“You are never leaving this place alive.”