Chapter 3 Dragged into darkness

Rose's POV

"Rose... Rose... wake up." Dorothy's voice came softly as she gently tapped my back.

My eyes were heavy, still swollen from the flood of tears I'd cried last night. The morning sunlight spilled through the window, casting a golden hue across the room, warm and uninvited.

After sobbing in the woods like a wounded animal, I'd somehow dragged myself back to the palace. I couldn't even recall walking to my room, I just remembered collapsing on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Numb. Empty.

My thoughts were a tangled mess. Alpha Jackson's words echoed in my mind, each one a dagger. Tears slipped from the corners of my eyes again, uninvited but relentless. I had always believed meeting my mate would finally bring joy into my life, that everything would change for the better. But it hadn't. It was the opposite. The worst version of a dream turned into a nightmare.

I'd never known love. Not truly. From the moment I could remember, it had been painful.

Before I came to this Pack, my foster father nearly killed me,if not by his fists, then by starvation. While he gorged himself, I got the crumbs. He never missed a chance to curse me, to remind me that I wasn't wanted. He always said he wished I'd never been born.

The only blessing was that he was barely ever home, always chasing some business deal. That gave me time to sneak into the kitchen and steal just enough food to survive.

But everything fell apart the day he sold me.

Traders came, paid a few coins, and just like that, I was property. A slave to this Pack. He said I was a burden. That getting rid of me would give him peace.

I was told my parents died when I was just a pup. Maybe that's why the villagers always looked at me like I was dirt. Like I didn't belong.

My mate had been my last hope. But instead of saving me, he crushed me.

Rhea, my wolf, had gone silent. Of course she had. She was heartbroken. And I didn't know how to comfort her, how to comfort either of us. The pain sat like a stone in my chest.

At some point, sleep pulled me under, my sorrow dragging me into unconsciousness.

Now, Dorothy's voice cut through the fog. "How are you doing, dear?" Her palm was soft and warm against my cheek. Concern filled her eyes. "And why does your face look so swollen?"

I didn't want to relive last night, not even in conversation. My heart was still too raw, and the pain was too close to the surface.

Stretching with a fake yawn, I tried to steer the moment elsewhere. "I was just really tired yesterday from all the chores around the Pack," I said lightly. "I made some pasta before bed, you know how fast that is to cook."

It was a lie.

But I hoped she'd believe it. Pasta was high in sodium. Maybe that would explain the puffiness.

Because the truth? The truth was far more devastating than a late-night meal.

"Hmm..." Dorothy said, pursing her lips thoughtfully.

"I see... Maybe that's why your eyes are swollen too."

She stood up, adjusting her dress as she prepared to leave. "I'll make a cold compress for you. It'll help reduce the swelling."

A small, grateful smile crept onto my lips. For once, someone cared, genuinely cared.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Dorothy said, heading over.

A maid stood outside, her posture stiff. "Mistress Diva sent me to fetch Rose. She demands her presence immediately."

Dorothy and I exchanged puzzled glances. Her brow furrowed, mine raised. What could Diva possibly want with me?

Diva? The one betrothed to Alpha Jackson?

What business could she possibly have with a commoner like me? And how did she even know my name?

Maybe... maybe she just wanted to assign me some task. Or perhaps she wanted to make me her handmaiden.

Or maybe, I was just overthinking.

"I'll see you later, Dorothy," I said with a faint smile, wrapping her in a warm hug before following the maid, who led the way in silence.

Over fifteen minutes passed, yet we were still walking. My legs ached, my feet dragging beneath me. What confused me even more was that we had left the palace grounds entirely.

Why?

Curiosity gnawed at my insides. My head pounded, my vision blurred from hunger, I hadn't eaten since yesterday. Still, I couldn't afford to collapse now. I just needed to hear what Diva had to say, then I could go back and rest.

Thank the goddess Dorothy was on my side. At least I had someone. But nothing could have prepared me for what came next.

The place we arrived at was completely foreign, isolated and eerie. Not a soul in sight, rats scurried across the filthy ground. Skulls and bones littered the corners like some forgotten burial site. Was this... a cave?

It didn't feel real. I'd only seen places like this in horror movies.

Without warning, the lights dimmed.

Cold sweat broke out across my skin. My heart raced wildly in my chest.

Was this a joke?

Then I heard it. A soft, feminine chortle echoing through the silence, light, mocking, bone-chilling.

"Who's there?" I whispered, my voice shaky as I turned in all directions, trying to locate the sound. The laughter stopped, the room fell deathly silent.

My chest rose and fell rapidly, my eyes widened in terror. And then, I saw her.

Diva.

She stood just a few meters away, strutting forward with deliberate grace, hips swaying like she was on a runway. Her maids trailed behind her silently like shadows.

She began clapping slowly, her expression twisted into one of mock admiration.

"Well, well, well... You little succubus," she sneered. "So this is how you seduce men above your station?"

Her voice oozed contempt, each word slicing through the air like a blade.

"Do you know," she hissed, voice rising to a scream, "I could ruin your pathetic life in a second?!"

Her neck tensed with rage, green and red veins bulging grotesquely.

"I'm Diva," she spat. "Alpha Jackson's betrothed. Your future Luna."

She folded her arms, hands resting on her waist like a queen passing judgment.

"How dare you try to seduce my fiancé?" she demanded, her tone dropping to a venomous whisper.

Her eyes narrowed as she stalked closer, voice low but saturated with bitterness.

I stared at her, stunned, mouth parted in confusion.

I didn't understand what she was talking about, what any of this was.

"Don't you dare act like you don't know what I'm talking about," she scoffed, eyes blazing.

Of course, I knew who she was, Diva. The infamous fiancée of Alpha Jackson.

But did she know that Jackson was my mate?

And how dare she accuse me of seducing him? If only she knew how much Jackson despised me... If only she knew the coldness in his eyes every time he looked at me, she'd choke on her own words.

"No... I was asked to,"

I didn't even get to finish before she snapped, her voice like a crack of thunder, "Get me the chain whip!"

Chain whip?

My heart stuttered. What in the goddess's name did she plan to use that for?

One of her maids rushed forward and handed it to her.

My breath caught in my throat.

The whip was the most terrifying weapon I had ever seen. Forged from steel, it had jagged, serrated blades along its coils, carved like the body of a snake. Its massive, spiked tip gleamed under the dim light, and just the sight of it made my knees buckle.

"By the time I'm done with you," she said with a wicked grin, flicking the whip through the air with a sharp crack, "you'll regret the day you were born."

Without hesitation, she raised her arm, and the first strike landed.

The pain was instant. More than agonizing.

The steel blades tore through my flesh, sending electric shocks of pain through my entire body. I screamed. My voice shattered the silence, but no one came. No one stopped her.

Strike after strike came, relentless, blood splattered across the walls and floor. My skin ripped open with each lash. My eyes, nose, ears, every inch of me burned and bled.

She was no longer a woman, she was a demon wielding pain like a weapon.

I wanted to die. I begged the gods silently for death to come. Anything to make it stop.

But it didn't.

"This," she hissed, her breath ragged, "is just the tip of the iceberg. Don't ever get close to my man again... or next time, you won't be leaving here alive."

And with that, she turned and stormed out, the echo of her heels clicking against the stone floor as the room fell back into silence.

I tried to move, tried to lift myself from the bloodied ground, but collapsed again. My body was broken.

Pain didn't even begin to describe what I felt. It was as if every bone had been crushed, every nerve shredded.

Blood and something thicker leaked from my wounds. The metallic tang of it filled my mouth. My skin was slick with it. Warm, wet and endless.

Still, somehow, I pushed myself up, groaning in agony. My limbs trembled. My vision blurred. It felt like I was carrying the weight of a thousand stones.

One step and another..

Each movement sent stabbing pain radiating through my limbs. Blood dripped from me with every limp forward. I was dizzy, thirsty, my throat dry and cracked.

My head pounded violently. The world spun, I couldn't do it.

I couldn't take another step.

And just as I felt myself slipping, collapsing into the void, a strong, muscular arm caught me.

My vision dimmed, the world growing quieter... colder... And then. . .Darkness.

Complete and consuming darkness.