Chapter 154: The ghost in the cell

The cell door groaned, its sound like a wounded creature's scream. A cold breeze rushed in, laden with the iron smell of blood and the sickly, cloying stench of Selene's perfume, jasmine and putrefaction. My cuffs banged against me as I sat up, wrists battered and bleeding after days of writhing against metal cuffs. Torchlight flashed, casting deformed shadows against damp stone walls, and then I saw him

Grayson.

Blindfolded, wrists tied behind him, blood clotted in his black hair and smeared across his temple. Two massive guards dragged him in, their boots scraping on the raw floor. His tunic was ripped, his chest rising and falling, but his jaw set in that stubborn, resisting manner that I loved and adored.

"Grayson!”

His name tore from my throat, rough and wild.

He stiffened, his jaw twisting towards the direction of my voice. "Althea, are you hurt?"

The pain of relief in his voice destroyed me.

*He came alone. For me.*

Selene came into the cell, her laugh a razor edge of stone. "How *romantic*", she jeered, stalking around Grayson like a vulture over carrion. "The noble Alpha, charging headfirst into the den of the viper for his darling mate. Did you think that love would keep you safe? Or are you merely *that* foolish?"

Grayson struggled against his restraints, but one of Selene's guards hit him across the ribcage. The sickening *crack* of breaking bone echoed through the walls, and he sank to his knees, coughing up blood.

"*Stop!"* I screamed, pulling on my restraints until fresh blood seeped onto my wrists. "Don't hurt him!"

Selene tuned me out, crouching to wrap her fingers around Grayson's face, her nails sinking crescent moons into his skin. "Predictable," she growled. "Still playing hero. But heroes die screaming here."

Grayson spat blood onto the floor at her feet. "Who the hell are you? What do you want?"

Selene was rigid, then slowly smiled, her mouth bending into a smile that made my back hairs rise. "Oh, Grayson… don't you recognize my voice?"

She ripped off his blindfold.

Time came to a standstill for a moment.

Grayson looked up at her, his face completely devoid of color. His voice trembled, barely above a whisper. "*Celeste?*”

The name sliced through me like a blade. *Celeste.* The mate he'd mourned for years. The woman whose death anniversary he still went to visit her tomb on. The ghost that haunted us during the silent nights.

But she stood before me, hale and hearty. *Selene.*

"Surprised?" Celeste—*Selene*—trilled, tracing her finger up and down Grayson's jaw. "You buried an empty casket. I stayed in the shadows watching you weep over it, though. *Pathetic.*"

Grayson recoiled as if burned. “You’re supposed to be dead.”  

“Dead?” She laughed, high and unhinged. “I was never yours to lose. Our *bond* was a lie. A lie. We were never mates, I covered myself in powerful potions from time to time to deceive you and you fell for it, I guess you’re not the wise Alpha you claim to be. And what’s worse?” Her gaze flicked to me, venomous. “You replaced me with *this*. A thief clutching a relic she doesn’t deserve.”  

Grayson’s voice shook. “You betrayed the pack. You betrayed me.”

"*You* betrayed *us*!" she snarled, her mask breaking. "You were supposed to just die when I tried to poison you so I could take over your pack but you lived, that’s the highest form of betrayal to me. Not giving me what I want.”

Her arm flashed out, striking Grayson's face. Blood had swelled on his broken lip, but he did not stir.

"Why?" I breathed, my voice trembling.

Celeste spun, her smile set. "Why? Because the talisman's power is mine by right. I am strong enough to wield it but you, you’re weak. You do not deserve the talisman.”

She stepped closer, her breath hot on my face. “I faked my death to hunt it. To become strong enough to rip it from your chest. And now?” She glanced at Grayson, her eyes alight with malice. “I’ll make him watch as I rip you to shreds.”  

Grayson roared, thrashing against the guards. “Touch her, and I’ll tear your heart out!”

Celeste smiled. "You had your chance. Years ago." She waved a hand towards the guards. "Break him."

They descended, fists and boots crashing into flesh. Grayson's screams of pain resounded through the cell, each one a thrust to my heart.

"*Stop!*"

I screamed, my eyes blinded by tears. "You have the talisman! Just let him go!"

Celeste lifted her hand, and the guards halted. "You think I require your input?" She wrapped her hand around my throat, fingers sunk deep into my skin, digging in, leaving gashes and blood. "When I’m done with him, I’ll come for you."

She looked over at Grayson, on the floor, gasping harshly. "You'll plead for death before I'm done with you two."

Memories struck me, Grayson's ghostly look when he'd spoken of Celeste's death. She was his mate. And now she would be his executioner.

"You loved her," I whispered, the reality acrid on my lips.

Grayson's eyes locked with mine, his eyes pleading. "I thought she was dead, Althea. I saw her lifeless body, I swear—“

"Loved?" Celeste spat. "He loved a lie. A shadow. As you love him now."

She pulled Grayson to stand by the collar. "You want to save her? Beg."

Grayson's voice was steel. "Never."

Celeste's smile twisted. "Then watch her bleed."

She drew a dagger, the blade shining wolfsbane. The guards pushed me to my knees, my chains clanging.

"No!" Grayson pushed ahead, but a kick to the back knocked him off the ground.

Celeste forced the knife into my throat. "Last chance, Alpha. Beg."

Grayson's voice shook. "Please."

The one word ripped through the stillness.

Celeste stopped dead, her grip on the blade tightening. Then she laughed, a splintering sound like shattered glass. "Pathetic. You're not the Alpha I remember."

She moved closer to me, her lips on my ear as she shoved her blade into my stomach. "But don't be afraid, Althea. Your death will be the key to it all."

The pressure of the blade increased.

Then—

**Boom**

The cell door burst open.