Novella sent a warning pulse through my chest.
"You're going to find Elias? How dare you try to get close to him again!" Liv's eyes were savage. Something had taken hold of her, pushing her into hysteria. "Everyone says you're the traitor! Why won't you just admit it? If you'd confessed earlier, Elias would already be mine!"
Her beautiful face contorted as she screamed. Too bad there was no mirror to show her what she looked like.
"Serenity, you shameless bitch! Seducing another woman's man—you're nothing but a homewrecker!"
I almost laughed at the absurdity. I had no idea what she was even talking about.
"Liv, do you have things backward?" I glared at her. "I'm Elias's mate. What exactly are you?"
Her face went white.
"Elias loves me!" she shrieked.
"So what? Even if he loves you, it doesn't change the facts. From every angle, you're the dirty little secret. You're the underground mistress!" I looked at her coldly. "You have no right to stop me from seeing my own mate!"
Liv's eyes went blood-red, the whites crawling with veins.
She looked terrifying. I quickened my pace toward the door, but she lunged at me like a madwoman.
"Where do you think you're going?" she howled. "I need to teach you a lesson!"
Her nails clawed at my face. I instinctively jerked back. She used my retreat to slam her other hand into my shoulder.
I cried out. My first instinct was to protect my stomach, so I couldn't brace myself. My back slammed into the cabin wall. Dull pain exploded through my nerves. I bit down hard to keep from screaming.
"I won't give you the chance to tattle to Elias." Liv blocked the doorway, her smile sharp as a poisoned blade. "Guess what I'm going to do, Serenity? I've been wanting to do this for so long!"
Dread flooded me. I scrambled up and rushed for the door.
Too late.
BANG.The heavy iron door slammed shut in my face, followed by the click of a key locking it from outside.
"Think about what you've done in there, Serenity." Her laughter rang out, bright and grating. "Let's see how long you last. You'd better hope someone knows you're in here."
No, no, no?—
She was serious. She really intended to lock me in here. To let me die.
This cabin was built purely for storing ceremonial supplies. There were no windows. Once the door was completely shut, there was only endless darkness inside.
My breathing turned ragged. Intense fear of the dark and confined spaces overwhelmed me, pushing me to the edge of collapse.
When I was little, still living in the Keller pack, my siblings' favorite way to torment me was locking me in dark, cramped, suffocating storage rooms. Every time, I would scream and cry all night, but even when my voice gave out, no one came to save me.
"Help! Is anyone there? Let me out!"
This cabin had a reinforced security door. Even a werewolf couldn't easily break through. I pounded on it desperately, but it was useless.
I trembled in the darkness, slowly sliding down the door to sit on the floor. Outside, the ceremony seemed to have begun. The pack's howls drowned out my cries for help. No one—no one could save me.
"Elias..."
In my terror, I whispered his name without thinking.
Every time I'd been in danger before, Elias had appeared to rescue me. Whenever I was truly in trouble, he'd show up like a hero.
