The cell was cold.
Not the kind of cold that bit the skin. this was deeper, heavier, settling into the bones like grief. Alpha Anderson Maya sat with her back against the stone wall, her wrists bound in silver cuffs that pulsed with a dull, burning ache. Every heartbeat sent another wave of pain up her arms, but she refused to make a sound.
Silence was strength.
Pain was clarity.
And she needed both now more than ever.
The chamber was dimly lit by a single torch flickering in the hallway beyond the iron bars. Its light barely reached her but her wolf eyes could make out every detail. the rough stones, the carved symbols of the elders etched into the walls, the scent of old fear soaked into the floor.
But beneath all of that, beneath the weight of betrayal, was the faint scent of Kade.
He was close. Very close.
"Kade," she whispered into the darkness.
A groan answered from the cell across the hallway. She moved toward the bars, ignoring the burn as the silver dragged against her skin.
"Maya?" His voice was rough, hoarse, barely more than a breath. "Are you… are you alright?"
"No," she said honestly. "But I'm alive."
He let out a sound that was half relief, half pain. "Good. I… I wasn't sure."
She gripped the bars, her fingers trembling. "How badly did they hurt you?"
There was a pause, for too long.
"Maya, don't…"
"How Bad."
Kade exhaled shakily. "The silver is deep, And they broke some ribs But I'm breathing."
Maya closed her eyes, fury tightening inside her like a storm. Rylan had crossed a line he couldn't ever return from. Hurting her was betrayal But hurting Kade, her protector, her pack brother, the one who had stood beside her through every battle, that was unforgivable.
When she spoke, her voice was quiet, but it vibrated with raw promise. "He will pay for this."
"I know," Kade whispered. "But you have to survive first."
Survive.
The word felt foreign suddenly. because survival was supposed to be a guarantee for an alpha. Yet here she was, in the same cell they used for criminals and traitors.
Footsteps echoed down the stone corridor.
Maya's posture stiffened immediately.
Kade tensed too. "They're coming."
"Don't talk," she whispered.
A guard approached, a warrior named Varron. He used to admire her. She had even recommended him for the elite patrol team. Now he avoided her gaze as if she was diseased.
Coward.
"Alpha," he said, though the title shook with hesitation. "The elders will see you at dawn."
Maya's jaw clenched. "And what verdict has Rylan given them to recite?"
Varron's jaw tightened. "Don't make this harder."
"You already have."
He flinched.
He set a tray of water and bread just inside her cell but didn't turn his back on her. not out of respect, but fear. After he left, his footsteps echoing away, silence returned.
Kade sighed weakly. "They're scared, Maya."
"They should be," she snapped. "Of what they've done. Of what's coming."
Kade let out a humorless laugh that turned into a cough. "I missed that tone."
She softened just a little. "Kade…"
"No," he said, forcing strength into his voice. "Listen to me. You need to get out of here."
"And how do you suggest I do that? Ask the silver nicely?"
"I'm serious." He shifted, wincing. "There are still wolves loyal to you."
Maya froze. "Who?"
"I don't know all their names," he admitted. "But whispers traveled fast while they dragged me through the village. Not everyone stands with Rylan."
Her heart beat faster, not with fear this time, but faint hope. "How many?"
"At least a handful. Maybe more." He paused. "But they're scared."
"They should be," Maya muttered bitterly.
"No." Kade's voice hardened, surprisingly strong. "They're scared for you."
That struck deeper than any blade.
Before Maya could respond, another scent drifted into her cell. familiar, sharp, unsettling.
Sariah.
The older wolf appeared in the hallway, her silver hair tied back, her clothing covered in herbs and ritual markings. She was one of the few elders Maya trusted or had trusted until tonight.
"Sariah," Maya breathed. "You came."
Sariah glanced both ways down the hall, then stepped closer. "I don't have long."
Kade tensed. Maya stepped toward the bars.
"What do you want?" Maya asked.
"To warn you." Sariah lowered her voice. "The elders have already spoken. Rylan met with them before the coup."
Maya felt the world shift. "So the trial…"
"Is not a trial," Sariah whispered. "It's a performance. Your fate is already decided."
Kade growled faintly from across the hall. "What fate?"
Sariah swallowed. "Exile at best. Execution at worst."
A cold quiet filled Maya's chest. "He wants me dead."
"Yes," Sariah whispered. "And I cannot stop the council alone."
Maya's eyes narrowed. "Then why are you here?"
"Because a storm is coming. One bigger than Rylan, Bigger than this pack. You were not chosen by the Moonstone by accident." Her voice trembled. "Your leadership is needed, beyond these walls."
Maya blinked. "What are you talking about?"
But Sariah stepped back. "That is all I can say. For now."
"Sariah!" Maya snapped. "Don't walk away!"
Sariah froze only for a moment. "If you want to survive, Maya… you must escape tonight."
Maya's blood pounded. "I don't have the key. And even if I did, the silver…"
Sariah flicked her wrist. Something small and metallic slid through the bars and landed softly at Maya's feet.
A key.
Her heart raced. "Why help me if the elders won't?"
"Because I still know truth when I see it," Sariah whispered. "And I know fear when I smell it."
She glanced toward the stairs.
"Rylan fears you, Maya. That is why he moved against you so violently."
Then she disappeared into the shadows before Maya could speak again.
Silence settled once more—thick, trembling, alive.
Slowly, Maya crouched and picked up the key. The silver cuffs burned, but she ignored the pain.
Kade exhaled shakily. "Maya… If you escape, they'll kill anyone who helps you."
"Then they won't know who helped me."
He chuckled weakly. "You're impossible."
She looked toward his cell. "We're getting out."
"Maya," he whispered, "you can barely stand."
"Then I'll crawl."
She inserted the key into the lock. Her heart hammered. Her wolf surged.
The mechanism clicked.
The door began to open.
But before she could step through, footsteps thundered down the hall.
Many footsteps.
She froze.
Kade's breath hitched. "Too late…"
"No," Maya whispered, fire flooding her veins. "Not yet."
She rose to her feet, eyes glowing faint gold, wolf power burning beneath her skin despite the silver.
If this was the moment the pack came to destroy her, then this was the moment she would remind them,
why she was alpha.