Chapter 4

The room became tense; even the raging werewolf realized his mistake, and he immediately withdrew. They all had their heads slightly bowed as if they couldn’t risk looking at the Alpha’s face. I sneaked a peek at his expression, and I felt myself shiver.

“Luther, take Ragel to the cell. Lock him up for ten days. Fifty lashes of the whip every morning and hard jobs in the evenings for those ten days. Meal is once a day and should be served at lunchtime.”

"Alpha, you can’t be serious."

"You're punishing me because of her?”

“I am punishing you for your disrespect and unruliness."

"And if you challenge or disrespect me one more time, I will increase your time and punishment,” he yelled at him.

Ragel’s eyes shot daggers at me, and I knew this wasn’t the end. He was going to get me; I just knew it. I sighed, as if my life couldn’t get any worse. Then the Alpha turned to me with cold-blooded gray eyes.

“If I find out that you lied to me, death will be a piece of cake compared to what I’d make you go through.”

Knowing he meant those words only worsened how I was already feeling. My heart sank to my stomach. I gulped and took my eyes off his to stare at his muscled chest.

“Take her away.”

The cell wasn’t made for comfort. The place was semi-dark, with only a small ray of sunlight entering through the small window situated at the highest part of the wall. An obvious telltale that it was done that way deliberately to make it impossible for anyone who tried to escape. It was a large cell with four old, flat beds. The other inmates were asleep, but I couldn’t sleep; my eyes roamed the interior of the cell.

The walls were old but still showed signs of holding up for many more years. There were lots of scribbles on the unpainted wall. I heard a low squeak and watched a small mouse sniff the empty, dirty dishes kept by the cell entrance, nibbling on whatever grain of food it could find on the plates.

I wondered where the mouse had come from, as I couldn't see any holes in all the walls. My curiosity was quenched when I saw it scurry to a dark place and enter the hidden hole there. My mind went back to being worried and frayed.

Why had the Alpha decided to keep me here? What I could decipher from what happened is that I seem to be the first human the Alpha was throwing in prison. Should I be hopeful, or was it a worse fate for me?

Was it that he suspected I had lied and wanted to keep me alive to find out the real truth before he passed his death judgment on me? My stomach churned at this prospect. The Alpha was not an easy man, as I have noticed. If he could punish one of his men that way, what about me, a total stranger?

My bones objected when I tried to stand and pace because I had worked myself into a frenzied state that made me too restless to sit.

I remained seated and nervously chewed my lips and tapped my legs. Not knowing why I was kept alive was killing me. The frigid ice look in his eyes turned my heart to fractals. I couldn’t forget the looks in them.

It's been two days in this barren, dreary cell, and my mind still jumps whenever I remember his dark threat. Even his stoic face haunted my bleak dreams whenever I succeeded in forcing myself into a sleep I was aware my body desperately needed but my mind was too churned to allow.

I looked at the other three inmates, peacefully dozing away in the afternoon. Were they not bothered? For the two days I’ve been here, all they did was eat, gossip, and sleep; sometimes they made up games and played.

They’ve been trying to be nice to me since I got here, but I kept to myself. I was too antsy and scared to trust anyone. It was clear that no human had ever been given what they see as the undeserving grace of being thrown in a cell, so my fellow inmates were werewolves, I guessed.

Though the guards made sure I was nowhere near my other inmates, I was still seen as an enemy and killer of their people, even when it was clear I had no involvement whatsoever, directly or indirectly.

Okay, maybe indirectly because I came from my parents, who were the direct werewolf killers. But the werewolf prisoners wouldn’t let me be. Always trying to get me to talk or engage them.

It's not like I wasn’t noticing their efforts or didn’t appreciate them; deep down I did, but I couldn’t bring myself to trust them, especially with Mama Lia’s words whispering in my head.

"Don’t be too quick to trust my people; we can be nice and welcoming, but we can also go to any length, including offering hands of friendship, to seek revenge or vengeance."

"We never forget the wrong done to us by your kind."

The first day I was thrown into the cell and saw these women, the warning rang immediately in my ears. It was as if Mama Lia knew a time like this would surface, and she gave all the important warnings and advice because she probably knew she might not get to witness it.

One of the women stirred, and I quickly laid down, shutting my eyes tight and pretending to be in deep sleep. I didn’t want them to know I was awake; my conscience wouldn’t allow me to ignore their nice gestures again.

If it was real or phony, I couldn’t tell, and until I could find out if it was phony, I had to accept it was real. My corner was quite dark, so it would be kind of hard for them to see my face.

“She’s asleep, Allura.”

That should be Hailen, the one who stirred. But who was she talking to? Were the others awake too?

“Yes, I can see that."

"Poor girl, she couldn’t be more than eighteen, and she's already going through so much.”

I heard the sympathy in Allura’s voice.

"Such an innocent soul! I wonder what kind of family makes bad decisions that they won’t be around to suffer for, leaving their children to bear the brunt of it all?”

"Oh, you guys stop it. She might not have directly killed our people, but she’s guilty too. I wonder why she was thrown in prison; it’s unheard of for the Alpha to grant the humans such mercy; they were usually killed on the spot.”

I was shocked when I heard those words from a third person who’d introduced herself to me as Maeidan. Of the three, she’d been more kind and gentle to me. I shouldn’t be feeling this sharp stab of disappointment, but I did.

“Shut your mouth, Maeidan.”

Rebuked Hailen.

“I knew you were always a dark soul, but never this dark."

"Would you love to be punished for a crime you never participated in but everyone thinks you deserve simply because you’re their blood?”

Allura retorted, her voice tinged with disappointment.

Though she was also nice to me, I didn’t really like her because her ways were weird. It made me remember another of Mama Lia’s many teachings that said,

"Until you understand the gray side of life, you’ll never be able to distinguish between black and white. People aren’t all they seem to be; be careful, Hazel, especially with those who are always extra nice.”

"Gratefully, I don’t come from such loathsome lineage, which circles back to my point that blood is thicker than water."

"Evil will always beget evil.”

“She’s crazy, Allura.”

“Very much so.”

“You two can call me any name you like; I don’t mind."

"Truth hurts.”

They started arguing amongst themselves — more like Hailen and Allura were grilling Maeidan — when the cell opened and someone entered. My eyes were still closed, and I had to maintain my one-man drama of sleep-pretend.

But I blinked open my eyes when I felt the shocking, chilling effect of being doused with cold water.

“Get up, you filthy wench.”

I heard a woman snicker, and I immediately guessed it was Maeidan. I opened my eyes to see her sober up immediately, pretending to show concern like the others. I looked up at the guard.

Great, it was the guy who had made it his personal mission to torment me ever since I was brought in here.

“You have a visitor.”

I swallowed, fear engulfing my every being. Who was it? Was it the Alpha? What did he want with me? Maybe he’d discovered my true identity and was here to make good on his threat.

Dread squeezed my face tight, and blood drained from it. I swallowed again.

Was this how my story ended?