Chapter 5

At that moment, my mother, Eleanor, clutched my arm tightly, pulling me up from the ground.

"Let go of me! What are you doing!"

I struggled desperately, but her grip was too strong, making me powerless.

"Shut up! You've embarrassed us enough!"

She dragged me, pulling me towards Frostveil Pack's underground silver cage in the woods.

I was thrown into the underground cage, crafted from pure silver. Just getting close to it brought an agonizing burning sensation.

"Bang!"

The heavy iron door slammed shut, followed by the sound of a key turning in the lock.

I rushed to the door like a madwoman, pounding on the silver bars.

"Open the door! How dare you lock me up! Open it!"

Kael's voice drifted from outside.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please excuse the little interruption earlier."

"Now, my discarded ex-fiancée is reflecting in the silver cage downstairs. How long do you think it will take for her to come to her senses and beg me?"

A deafening roar of laughter erupted from the crowd.

"Alpha Kael is truly amusing!"

"This is more exciting than watching wolves fight!"

"That woman deserves it! Serves her right for being so ungrateful!"

I became the publicly displayed joke of this grand ceremony.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

I pulled it out and saw a SnapChat from Mom.

"Elara, stop making trouble. The child in Sera's belly is the future of our alliance. Her happiness is what matters most. Kneel and apologize to Kael, and this whole thing will blow over."

I stared at the words on the screen, feeling a chill run through me.

Sera's happiness matters most.

What about me?

Doesn't my happiness matter? Doesn't my dignity matter?

Do I deserve to be betrayed, humiliated, and locked in a silver cage, made a laughingstock for the entire Pack?

Music started playing outside. Kael and Sera were dancing at what was supposed to be my wedding, the applause from the guests growing louder and louder.

And I, like trash, was locked in this dark, cold silver cage.

My phone buzzed again. This time, it was a SnapChat from Sera.

"Elara, I know you're angry right now. But think about it, Kael is so amazing, what's wrong with him having a few people he likes? Just be magnanimous, give me the Luna position of Shadowfen Pack, and I'll ask Daddy to let you out."

I slid down the cold silver bars, curling into a ball on the ground.

The burning pain in my body, my family's betrayal, my lover's humiliation,

Everything, like a tide, engulfed me, pushing me into a bottomless abyss.

The sound of a key turning came from outside. The iron door opened, and dazzling moonlight streamed in.

Kael stood at the doorway, followed by a group of curious pack members, all holding their phones, their cameras pointed at my disheveled self.

"Elara, what have you decided? Ready to apologize?"

I looked up at his hypocritical face, about to speak.

Suddenly, from the direction of the ceremony grounds, a thunderous wolf howl erupted,

Followed by dense, murderous howls, one after another, growing closer and closer.