Chapter 4 Chap: Captivity

The cold stone pressed against Aria's back like ice. She lay still, staring into the pitch-black void of her cell, where time lost all meaning. There were no sunrises, no stars-just darkness and silence, broken only by the occasional water drip and the echo of her thoughts.

Malakai's voice haunted her mind. You're mine now. It replayed like a curse, gnawing at her every time she closed her eyes.

Then came footsteps, slow. Heavy. Final.

The iron door creaked open, and a figure stepped into the dim glow of a flickering torch in the corridor.

"Malakai's orders," the voice said-low, tired, male. "You're to be fed and prepared. He wants to see you."

Dread spread through her like poison.

A second figure followed behind-a woman. Slender, quiet, carrying a small bowl of watery gruel that barely looked edible. But her eyes... her eyes caught Aria off guard. There was warmth there. Sadness. And something sharper-defiance.

She knelt and placed the bowl down without a word.

Their gazes met.

"Who are you?" Aria asked hoarsely, her voice cracked from disuse.

The woman hesitated. "Elara," she said softly, glancing over her shoulder to make sure they were alone. "Eat. You'll need your strength."

Aria sat up slowly. "Are you working for him?"

Elara's jaw tensed. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm doing what I have to. But I won't let him break you. Not without a fight."

The words landed like a spark in dry kindling. Aria's breath hitched. A sliver of hope slid into her chest.

Elara leaned closer. "I'll help you prepare. We don't have time to plan an escape now. But we'll wait. Watch. Choose the right moment."

Aria nodded slowly, her hunger forgotten. "Then let's get it over with."

Elara moved with quiet efficiency, smoothing Aria's tangled hair, brushing dirt from her fur, helping her shift back into her half-shifted form. She cleaned the scrapes on her face with water from a cloth. It wasn't much, but it was enough to restore some dignity. Enough to face him.

"You'll need to act obedient," Elara said, stepping back to examine her work. "Keep your head low. Don't look him in the eye unless he forces you to."

Aria's emerald eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of defiance barely hidden under the practiced submission.

"You're ready," Elara murmured. "He'll think you're broken. Let him."

Together, they walked down the hall toward the chamber door. The wooden surface was carved with ancient runes-symbols of power and bloodlines long lost. The air grew heavier with each step, the scent of smoke, stone, and Malakai's dominance thick in Aria's nose.

At the threshold, Elara stopped. She leaned close, voice a breath in Aria's ear.

"Play the part, Moonlight One. I'll be watching."

Then she disappeared inside, leaving Aria alone before the wolf who had destroyed her world.

The chamber pulsed with power. Firelight flickered against towering stone walls. And there he sat-Malakai. His presence consumed the room, dark and commanding, the twisted crown of Kralsar gleaming faintly atop his head.

He looked up slowly and smiled.

"Aria," he said, like a lover greeting an old flame. "Finally, we meet properly."

Aria dropped her gaze, hiding the storm behind her eyes. Her shoulders were still. Calm. Submissive.

But inside, she was fire.

Malakai stood and descended the steps of his throne. His boots echoed on the stone.

"I've waited a long time for this," he said, circling her. "You look like her, you know. Your mother. The same eyes. The same pathetic resistance."

Aria said nothing.

"Your father was stubborn. Died for it. And you?" He stopped behind her, his breath brushing her ear. "Will you be smarter?"

She clenched her jaw. "What do you want from me?"

He chuckled darkly. "That fire. It's what makes this fun."

Then his tone dropped, low and cruel. "You'll stay here until I decide your fate. You should pray I don't get bored."

He turned with a wave of his hand. Guards stepped in and grabbed her.

She didn't resist-not yet.

She was dragged back down the hall, her feet scraping the stone, her heart pounding.

Back to the cell. Back to the dark, but now, the darkness wasn't empty. It was waiting.

Because Aria wasn't broken. Not yet