Chapter 19
Lyra's POV
After Kael left, the apartment fell silent once more.
I lay on the guest room bed as usual, feeling the exhaustion accumulated over these past days wash over me like a tide. My eyelids grew so heavy I could barely keep them open.
I closed my eyes and soon drifted into a deep sleep.
I don't know how long had passed when a thunderous crash jolted me awake.
My eyes flew open, and before I could process what was happening, the apartment door was violently kicked in, the door panel slamming against the wall with a deafening bang.
Kael stormed inside, his face contorted with fury, his eyes burning with a savagery I had never seen before.
He crossed to the bedside in several strides, grabbed me by the collar, and hauled me up from the bed with brute force.
My feet left the ground, my breathing instantly became difficult, the collar strangling me until I could barely breathe.
"Why did you hurt Mira?" His voice was a beast's roar. "Speak! What exactly did you do to her?"
I struggled to breathe, my fingers futilely clawing at his arm, trying to relieve the pressure on my throat.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about," I forced out these words with difficulty, my voice hoarse and broken. "I haven't even seen Mira—how could I possibly hurt her?"
This was the truth.
Since the banquet, I had stayed in the apartment the entire time, never once stepping outside, let alone going to see Mira.
"Still lying!" Kael's eyes turned bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead. "Mira has been poisoned and is still unconscious. The doctor examined her—it's a rare wolf toxin that sends werewolves into deep comas. Besides you, who else would have a motive to hurt her?"
My mind raced. Mira had been poisoned? This was all too convenient.
This was clearly a trap, a trap Mira had meticulously designed.
"Kael, listen to me," I tried to make my voice sound calm, though the pressure on my throat made every word excruciating. "This wasn't me. You can check the surveillance footage—I've been in the apartment these past few days. I had no opportunity to even contact Mira."
Kael let out a cold laugh, the sound dripping with mockery and rage. "You think I'd believe such bullshit? Lyra, I really misjudged you. I thought you just had a bit of a temper, but I never imagined you could be this vicious. You're jealous of Mira, so you wanted to completely destroy her, isn't that right?"
I struggled desperately. "Kael, calm down. I don't even know where Mira is—how could I possibly poison her?"
But Kael wouldn't listen to my explanations.
He released my collar and threw me heavily to the ground. Before I could get up, he strode to the door and shouted outside, "Guards! Take her away!"
Two uniformed guards entered, clearly startled by the scene before them.
The older guard looked at Kael hesitantly and asked in a low voice, "Alpha, are you certain? The dungeon... that's where we hold traitors. Once someone goes in..." He didn't finish, but the implication was clear.
The dungeon was the Red Fang Pack's most brutal place of punishment. Those who entered rarely came out alive.
"Did you not hear my order?" Kael spun around sharply, the fury in his eyes nearly incinerating the guard. "Or are you questioning your Alpha's decision? Do you think I lack the authority to give commands?"
The guard's face went deathly pale. He immediately lowered his head, fear evident in his voice. "Alpha, we'll carry it out immediately."
Kael turned toward me, his eyes devoid of any warmth, filled only with cold anger. "Since you dared to poison Mira, you should suffer a hundred times her pain. Reflect on your crimes in the dungeon. When Mira recovers, that's when I'll release you."
With that, he left without looking back.
The two guards immediately closed in. The older one seized my wrist with a grip that nearly crushed my bones, his tone vicious and cutting. "Miss Lyra, we dare not disobey the Alpha's orders. Be smart and hand over all your communication devices. Don't force us to search you."
Soon, my phone, smartwatch, and even the bank card with a tracking chip in my wallet were roughly confiscated and carelessly tossed into the black collection pouch at their waists. Their movements were brutal, without a shred of mercy.
Before I could react, they grabbed my arms from both sides, their knuckles digging painfully into my flesh as they dragged me toward the door.
I struggled with all my might, kicking my legs, trying to shake off their restraint, but their strength was overwhelming. Their arms locked around me like iron clamps, and my resistance was utterly futile, earning me only more violent shoves and harsh rebukes.
"Stay still! Don't waste your energy!" the younger guard snarled, kicking my shin viciously. The sharp pain nearly made me collapse.
They dragged me stumbling down the stairs, through the imposing main building of the Red Fang Pack, and descended deeper underground, entering this forbidden place that few in the pack dared approach.
The air was thick with the stench of mold, rust, and the pervasive smell of blood.
Finally, I was dragged to the deepest part of the dungeon.
There was only one solitary cell here. The heavy iron door was covered in rust, its surface marked with scratches and claw marks of varying depths, each one deep enough to see bone.
The older guard kicked the iron door open violently, producing a harsh creaking sound, then together they shoved me inside with brutal force.
I stumbled and fell onto the cold, hard stone floor, my elbow striking a sharp edge and immediately bruising.
In the center of the cell stood a thick black stone pillar, with several silver chains hanging down, heavy and freezing cold.
Silver was the natural nemesis of all werewolves. It would completely suppress a werewolf's power, sear flesh, destroy healing abilities, and render even the strongest body as fragile as a mortal's.
Before I could rise, the two guards pounced, their movements rough and brutal as they pressed me against the pillar and wrapped the cold, coarse silver chains tightly around my wrists and ankles.
As the locks clicked shut, the silver chains dug deep into my flesh, nearly embedding into bone.
The moment the silver touched my skin, a searing, bone-deep burning sensation swept through my entire body, as if countless red-hot irons were simultaneously branding every part of me.
I bit down hard on my lower lip, the taste of blood spreading in my mouth as I fought with everything I had to suppress the agony, refusing to utter a single plea for mercy.
The younger guard pulled a silver whip from his waist with an expressionless face. The whip's body was covered in fine silver barbs that glinted with a sinister cold light—this was a torture instrument specifically designed to punish werewolves. Each strike could tear flesh and allow silver poison to seep into the bloodstream.
"My apologies." Before his words had even finished, he raised his arm high and brought it down with a whistling sound.
Crack!
The silver whip struck my back viciously, the sharp silver barbs instantly tearing through skin and flesh as blood gushed out. Intense pain crashed over me like a tidal wave, nearly shattering my consciousness completely.
But what was even more terrifying was the silver poison seeping into the wound. It spread through the injury like flames, preventing it from healing.
The second lash fell, tearing a deep gash across my shoulder.
When the silver whip struck my skin for the third time, a strange sensation suddenly surged through me.
It was difficult to describe—as if some long-dormant power within me was awakening.
My pupils changed in that instant. My originally deep brown eyes turned pure amber, radiating an eerie glow. My nails began to harden, curve, and elongate, transforming into sharp claws.
A powerful force erupted from within me. Under the impact of this force, the silver chains emitted a teeth-grinding grinding sound, the links pulled taut as if they would snap at any moment.
The two guards stumbled back several steps in terror. They had never witnessed such a scene. The older guard spoke in a trembling voice, "This... this is impossible... how could the silver chains..."