🦋 ALTHEA
I had not gotten my bearings before he grabbed me and hoisted me onto my feet with a yank that sent pain shooting through my still-damaged shoulder. I cried out, and his grip only tightened—bruising, unforgiving.
"I asked you a question." His voice was low, dangerous, vibrating with barely leashed violence. "How did you get into a sealed storage room? Past guards. Past patrols. Past every defense this fortress has."
"I don't know," I gasped, my feet barely touching the ground as he held me up. "I was asleep. I was—I was in your chambers. And then I woke up and it was dark and I couldn't—"
"Lies." The word was a snarl. "You expect me to believe you sleepwalked through locked doors? Through stone walls? That you accidentally ended up in the one room holding evidence of my zeta's torture by your pack?"
"I didn't!" The desperation in my voice made it crack. "I don't know how I got here. Please, you have to believe me—"
