Chapter 30 Chapter 30: Imprisoned
The cell was cold.
Amanda sat on the stone bench, knees drawn to her chest, staring into nothing. Her robe was torn. Her feet were bruised and dirty. She had stopped counting the hours.
Outside, guards walked past in shifts. None looked at her. None spoke. To them, she was a criminal now. A threat.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Amanda didn’t look up. Probably another guard. Another person who thought she had tried to kill Derek.
But the footsteps stopped at her cell.
“Witch.”
Amanda lifted her head. A warrior she didn’t know stood at the bars, his face twisted with disgust.
“You came here pretending to help him,” he said. “Pretending to save him. But all along, you were poisoning him.”
“I didn’t…” Her voice was rough from crying. “I was trying to save him.”
“Liar.”
He spat through the bars. The saliva hit the ground near her feet.
“You’re just like the rest,” he sneered. “You saw a weak Alpha and used him. But you’re worse. You married him. Made him trust you. Then tried to kill him.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“Save your lies for the trial, if Alpha Victor even gives you one.”
He turned and walked away.
Amanda pressed her face against her knees. Her chest ached. Every breath hurt.
She had failed. Failed Derek. Failed herself. Failed the prophecy.
Now she was locked away while Silas walked free. And Derek lay unconscious, thinking she had betrayed him.
More footsteps came, lighter and quicker this time.
“Guard, I need to speak with the prisoner.”
Riley’s voice.
“No visitors,” the guard said.
“I’m not a visitor. I’m pack. I have the right to see her as long as I’m supervised.”
A pause. Then the guard said, “Five minutes.”
Riley appeared at the bars. She carried a basket covered with a cloth. Her face was pale but steady.
“Amanda.”
Amanda looked up. “You shouldn’t be here. They’ll think you’re helping me.”
“I don’t care what they think.”
Riley glanced at the guard, who had stepped to the end of the corridor. He was watching, but too far to hear clearly.
She pushed the basket through the bars. “I brought food and water. They’ve barely fed you.”
Amanda took it with shaking hands. “Thank you.”
“How are you holding up?”
“I’ve been better.” Amanda set the basket aside. “How’s Derek?”
Riley’s face tightened. “Still unconscious. Nadia says he’ll live, but the damage was bad. Whatever hit him almost killed him.”
“Because someone reinforced the curse right before it struck,” Amanda said quietly. “It was Silas. It had to be.”
“Most of the pack doesn’t believe that,” Riley said in a low voice. “Silas has been convincing. He’s saying your magic backfired. That what you did to help Derek turned against him.”
“And Derek? What does he believe?”
Riley looked away. “He’s unconscious. He hasn’t said anything.”
“But when he wakes up?”
“I don’t know. Before the attack, you two weren’t speaking. He was already doubting you.”
The words hit hard. Amanda shut her eyes.
“I need to see him. If I could just talk to him…”
“You can’t. The infirmary is under guard. Only Alpha Victor, Nadia, and Silas can enter. And even if you could, what would you say? You were found over him with your hands glowing. The curse was attacking him. Your magic was all over the scene.”
“Because I was trying to help him!”
“I know. I believe you.”
Riley reached through the bars and squeezed Amanda’s hand.
“But belief isn’t enough. You need proof. Real proof that Silas did this.”
Amanda pulled back. “I had proof. The photos, the ritual room. But Derek didn’t believe me. Silas probably destroyed it all.”
“Then find new proof,” Riley said. “Or find a way to reach Derek. Make him see the truth.”
“How? I’m locked in a cell. Derek’s unconscious. And in a few days, the combat trials start. If Derek can’t fight, Nightfang loses the territory. Silas gets everything he wants.”
Riley was quiet for a moment. “What does your gift tell you?”
Amanda frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Your gift connects to Derek. It warned you when he was in danger. It helps you see the curse. Can you use it to reach him, even from here?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never tried.”
“Maybe it’s time to try,” Riley said. She looked at the guard again.
“You have a choice, Amanda. Give up and let Silas win, or fight. Use everything you have and prove the truth.”
Amanda met her eyes. “You really think I can reach him?”
“I think you’re the only one who can.”
Riley stood. “I have to go before the guard gets suspicious. But don’t give up. Not yet.”
She walked away. The guard followed her down the corridor.
Amanda was alone again.
She sat in silence, Riley’s words echoing in her mind.
Fight or give up.
It should have been an easy choice. But she was tired. The pack hated her. Derek doubted her. She was trapped and helpless.
What was the point of fighting?
Then she remembered Derek’s face when his wolf stirred for the first time in three years, the hope in his eyes, the way he had looked at her like she was his salvation.
And the prophecy.
United, they will break the chains. Divided, they will fall.
They were divided now. Exactly what Silas wanted.
But Amanda wasn’t dead yet. And neither was Derek.
Which meant they could still fight.
Amanda took a shaky breath and wiped her tears. “Okay. I’ll try.”
She moved to the center of the cell and sat cross-legged on the cold floor. The birthmark on her collarbone began to glow with warmth.
She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling, letting it spread through her chest, down her arms, and into her hands.
A soft golden light bloomed around her.
She had never tried to reach someone with her gift before. But her bond with Derek was real. She had felt it grow with every healing, every shared moment.
Maybe that bond was strong enough.
Amanda pictured Derek, his face, his voice, his trapped wolf.
Derek. Can you hear me?
Nothing. Only silence.
She pushed harder. The light grew brighter.
Derek, please. I need you to hear me.
Still nothing.
Sweat rolled down her forehead. Her hands trembled. The effort drained her, but she didn’t stop.
She reached deeper. Past her body. Past thought. Into the place where souls touched.
Then she felt it, a pull, faint but real.
The bond.
Amanda gasped and followed it.
The cell faded. The walls and bars disappeared.
She stood in a dark world. The sky was black and stormy. Lightning flashed. The ground was cracked and dry.
At the center stood a cage made of chains, thick and black, glowing with dark power.
Inside it was Derek’s wolf.
Amanda’s breath caught.
The silver wolf was huge and beautiful even in pain. Its fur shone like moonlight. Its eyes burned with life. But chains wrapped around its neck, chest, and legs, choking it.
The wolf lifted its head. Its eyes locked on her.
You.
The voice was not Derek’s. It was older, rougher. The wolf’s true voice.
“Yes,” Amanda said. “It’s me. I’m trying to help. I want to break the curse.”
False friend. True mate.
Her chest tightened. “What?”
He who smiles hides the blade. He who bound me. He who seeks the death of my other half.
“Silas,” Amanda whispered. “You’re talking about Silas.”
Yes.
“I know. I tried to tell Derek, but he doesn’t believe me. He thinks I’m the one hurting him.”
Then show him truth. Show him memory.
“How?”
The wolf lowered its head. One of the chains glowed brighter, pulsing with dark magic.
Touch the chain. See what was hidden.
Amanda hesitated. The chains were cursed. Touching them could trap her here.
But she had no choice.
She reached out and touched the glowing chain.
A surge of power rushed through her.
Images filled her mind, Derek’s memories.
She saw the ritual hunt three years ago. Derek, in human form, ready for his first shift. The elders stood in a circle, Victor, Moira, others. And Silas, standing beside him.
Derek closed his eyes. Bones shifted. The wolf emerged.
Then Silas moved. Quick. Precise. His hands glowed with dark light. He pressed them over Derek’s heart and spoke ancient words.
Chains wrapped around the silver wolf and dragged it down.
Derek collapsed, human again, shocked and afraid.
Silas knelt beside him, face full of false concern.
And for a heartbeat, Amanda saw it, cold triumph in his eyes.
Betrayal.