Chapter 87 Cracks in the Facade
Seven months into captivity, young Sera received a message that changed everything.
She sat in Thomas’s study for her weekly communication with the Northern Kingdom. Thomas stood behind her as always, reading over her shoulder. The routine had become familiar. Almost comfortable.
But this week’s message from Kael was different.
“Sera, we have a problem. Diana has been captured. She was leading a rescue operation in the Westbrook Pack when their Alpha ambushed her team. Three warriors are dead. Diana is being held, prisoner. The Westbrook Alpha is demanding ransom. We need your guidance. What should we do? - Kael”
Young Sera felt ice flood her veins. Diana. Sweet, brave Diana who had rescued young Sera from Thomas’s warehouse. Who had become a leader in the Omega Protection Network. Who had saved so many others?
Now Diana was captured. Possibly being tortured. Definitely in danger.
And young Sera was trapped here. Useless. Unable to help.
“No,” young Sera whispered. “No no no. This cannot be happening.”
“What is it?” Thomas asked, reading the message himself. “Ah. Your friend Diana. That is unfortunate.”
“Unfortunate? She might die. She might be tortured. And I am stuck here. I cannot help her.”
“You agreed to stay for one year. That agreement stands regardless of what happens outside.”
Young Sera turned to face Thomas. “Let me go. Just for a few days. Let me help rescue Diana. Then I will come back. I promise. Five more months. I will honour the agreement. Just let me save her first.”
“No.”
“Please. Diana saved me. I owe her this. I cannot sit here doing nothing while she suffers.”
“That is not my problem. You made a deal. You stay for one year. No exceptions.”
Young Sera felt rage building. Hot and fierce. Thomas had spent seven months pretending to care about omega rights. Pretending to be someone better than he was. But now, when an omega was in real danger, his true self emerged.
He did not care about Diana. Did not care about any omega except as a tool to manipulate young Sera.
“You are a liar,” young Sera said coldly. “You released omegas and donated money and gave speeches. But you do not actually care. You just wanted to manipulate me. Diana is in danger and you do nothing. That shows who you really are.”
“I am being practical. Letting you leave breaks our agreement. Opens questions about whether you will return. I cannot risk that.”
“So you let Diana die to keep me trapped here. That is who you are. A monster who pretends to be good when it benefits him.”
Thomas’s expression hardened. “Be careful, Luna Queen. I have been patient with you for seven months. Do not push me too far.”
“Or what? Will you show your true face? Will you stop pretending? Good. I prefer honest cruelty to fake kindness.”
Thomas grabbed young Sera’s arm. Not hard enough to hurt. But firm. Controlling. “You think I am the villain in your story. But I have treated you well. Given you comfort. Supported your network. And you repay me with constant suspicion and accusations.”
“Because you earned that suspicion. You kidnapped me. Everything after that is tainted by that original sin. You cannot buy forgiveness with donations and speeches.”
Thomas released her arm. Stepped back. His mask of patience was slipping. Young Sera could see the anger beneath. The entitlement. The rage at not getting what he wanted.
“Go to your room,” Thomas said quietly. “Think about your attitude. When you are ready to be reasonable, we will talk again.”
“I will never be reasonable about Diana dying while I do nothing.”
“Then you will stay in your room until you learn. Guards, escort Luna Queen Sera to her quarters. She is not to leave until I say otherwise.”
Guards entered and took young Sera’s arms. Led her out of the study. Up the stairs. Into her bedroom. The door locked behind her.
Young Sera paced. Desperate. Helpless. Diana was in danger and young Sera could do nothing. Could not even send a response to Kael. Could not offer guidance or support.
She looked out the window at the gardens below. Guards patrolled. Watched. Made escape impossible.
But she had to try something. Had to find a way to help Diana.
Young Sera searched her room for anything useful. Something she could use as a weapon or a tool. But Thomas had been careful. Nothing dangerous. Nothing that could help her escape.
She was truly trapped. Truly helpless.
Hours passed. Then a full day. No one came except a guard who brought food and left without speaking. Young Sera was being punished for defying Thomas. For calling him out. For seeing through his facade.
The isolation was crushing. Young Sera had been lonely before. But at least she could walk in the gardens. Could move around the house. Could have some illusion of freedom.
Now she was locked in one room. Completely cut off. With no way to know what was happening to Diana.
On the second day of isolation, someone knocked on the door. Not a guard. The knock was different. Softer. Hesitant.
“Who is there?” young Sera called.
“It is me. Maya.”
Young Sera rushed to the door. “Maya? How are you here?”
“Thomas brought me. To talk sense into you. He thinks maybe you will listen to another omega. Can I come in?”
A key turned in the lock. The door opened. Maya slipped inside quickly. The door locked again behind her.
Maya hugged young Sera tightly. “Are you okay? Thomas said you have been refusing food.”
“I ate some. But I am not okay. Diana is captured. Thomas will not let me help. I am trapped here while my friend is tortured.”
Maya pulled back and looked at young Sera carefully. Then she spoke in a whisper so quiet that young Sera almost could not hear. “Thomas does not know I brought this. Check under your mattress after I leave.”
Young Sera’s heart raced. “What did you bring?”
“Shh. Not now. We are being watched. Just trust me. Check after I leave.”
Maya spoke louder then. “You need to eat. You need to be reasonable. Thomas is trying to help you. He just wants you to honour your agreement.”
They talked for another twenty minutes. Maya is pretending to convince young Sera to cooperate. Young Sera is pretending to consider it. Both of them are acting for whoever might be listening.
Finally, Maya left. The door locked behind her.
Young Sera waited five minutes. Then carefully lifted her mattress. Found what Maya had hidden underneath.
A phone. Small. Basic. But functional.
And a note written in Maya’s handwriting. “This phone is connected to the Northern Kingdom network. You can communicate without Thomas knowing. Delete all messages after reading. Destroy the phone if discovered. Be careful. - Maya”
Young Sera felt hope surge for the first time in days. She had a way to communicate. Had a way to help Diana.
She turned on the phone. Found messages already waiting from Kael.
“Sera, if you can read this, we need your help. Westbrook Alpha wants fifty thousand dollars for Diana’s release. We have the money but negotiations are difficult. He keeps changing terms. We think he wants more than money. What should we do? - Kael”
Young Sera typed quickly. “Do not give him money yet. Find out what he really wants. Alphas like him always want more than they say. Stall. Buy time. I will find a way to help. - Sera”
She deleted the messages. Hid the phone back under the mattress. Her mind was racing. Planning. Figuring out how to help from inside her cage.
The next morning, Thomas came to her room.
“Have you thought about your behaviour?” Thomas asked. “Are you ready to be reasonable?”
“Yes,” young Sera lied. “I am sorry. You are right. I agreed to stay for one year. That agreement stands regardless of what happens outside.”
Thomas looked surprised. “You agree? Just like that?”
“I was upset about Diana. But Maya helped me understand. I cannot help Diana from here. All I can do is trust my pack to handle it. And honour my agreement with you.”
Thomas studied her carefully. Looking for deception. But young Sera kept her expression neutral. Submissive. Defeated.
Finally, Thomas nodded. “Good. I am glad you have come to your senses. You may leave your room. Return to normal activities. But no more outbursts. No more accusations. Understood?”
“Understood.”
Young Sera was released from her room. Returned to her normal routine. But now she had the secret phone. Had a way to coordinate with the Northern Kingdom.
Over the next week, she learned more about Diana’s situation through hidden messages with Kael.
The Westbrook Alpha did not just want money. He wanted political concessions. Wanted the Northern Kingdom to stop interfering in other territories. Wanted the Omega Protection Network shut down in his region.
He was using Diana as leverage to destroy the work young Sera had started.
“Do not give him what he wants,” young Sera messaged Kael. “We do not negotiate with terrorists. Find another way to rescue Diana. Military option. Infiltration. Whatever it takes. But do not shut down the network.”
“That is risky. Diana could die.”
“Diana would not want us to destroy the network to save her. She told me that herself once. She believes in the work. We honour that belief by continuing it.”
“You are asking me to risk her life.”
“I am asking you to make the hard choice. The same choice I made when I traded myself for you. Sometimes we sacrifice to protect what matters most. The network matters more than any one person. Even Diana. Even me.”
Kael did not respond for several hours. When he finally did, his message was short. “You are right. We will plan a rescue. No concessions. Diana would want it this way.”
Young Sera felt relief and guilt mixed together. She had just sentenced Diana to continued captivity and danger. But she had also protected the network. Protected all the future omegas who would need help.
It was the right choice. The hard choice. The kind of choice Luna Queens had to make.
But it still hurt.
Thomas noticed young Sera was different after that week. She was calmer. More agreeable. Less hostile during dinners. He thought he was winning her over. Thought his patience was paying off.
He did not know she was secretly coordinating Diana’s rescue. Did not know Maya had given her the tools to undermine him while pretending to submit.
Two weeks after Diana’s capture, Kael sent a message. “Rescue successful. Diana is free. Three casualties on our side. Westbrook Alpha is dead. Diana killed him herself during the escape. She is recovering. - Kael”
Young Sera read the message three times. Diana was safe. Diana was alive. Diana had survived.
Young Sera deleted the message and cried with relief. Cried for the three warriors who had died. Cried for everything this had cost.
But Diana was safe. That was what mattered.
That night at dinner, Thomas looked pleased with himself.
“I heard interesting news today,” Thomas said. “Your friend Diana escaped. The Westbrook Alpha is dead. Quite dramatic.”
Young Sera kept her expression neutral. “That is good news. Diana is safe.”
“Yes. Safe. Without you having to do anything. See? Sometimes staying out of situations is the right choice. You could not have helped even if I let you go.”
Young Sera bit her tongue. Did not say that she had helped. That she had coordinated the rescue through secret messages. That Maya had risked everything to give her that phone.
Instead, she just nodded. “You are right. I am glad it worked out.”
Thomas smiled. Satisfied. Thinking he had proven his point. Thinking young Sera was finally learning to trust his judgment.
He had no idea young Sera had been working against him the entire time. That she had found a way to be Luna Queen even while trapped. That his control over her was an illusion she maintained only as long as it served her purpose.
Four more months remained of her year in captivity. Four more months of pretending to consider bonding with Thomas while secretly working to undermine him.
Four more months of playing the role of submissive prisoner while actually being exactly what she had always been.
Luna Queen Sera. Fighter for omegas. A leader who made hard choices. A woman who refused to break no matter what cage she was locked in.
Thomas thought he was winning her over. Thought his patience and manipulation were working.
He had no idea he had already lost. That young Sera was counting down the days until she could walk away and never look back.
Four more months. Then freedom. Then returning to the Northern Kingdom and was herself again.
Four more months of this game. She could survive it. She had survived everything else. She would survive this too.
With secret phones and hidden allies and the absolute certainty that she would never, ever bond with Thomas Reed.
No matter what he did. No matter how long he tried. No matter what he offered.
She was done being anyone’s prisoner. In four months, she would prove it.