Word Count: 2188

~Lavelle

I lie with the covers bundled up to my chin, my mind spinning.

I want to be anywhere but here. I want to be far away from every reminder of Zyre and Avi. Yet, I'm a prisoner here, left wondering if I'll ever escape.

A soft knock on my door sounds, but I ignore it, rolling onto my side. It's either more food or Zyre, and I'm not in the mood for either.

A moment later, it clicks open.

"Oh Elle..." The soft, pitiful voice drifts to meet me.

I immediately turn, the covers tangling around me as I take in my visitor.

"Mel!" I exclaim brightly. "I'm so glad you're here."

She wanders over, collapsing into my arms before she rests beside me on the bed. She looks and smells like I remember, like my old life, and it's exactly what I needed.

"My presence was requested by my new Alpha," she tells me, giving me a knowing look. "My transport was escorted here personally by his guards."

I frown. "Really?"

"Oh yes. I wanted to come sooner, but everything is insane down at the village." She tucks her sleek, dark hair behind her hair, a furrow caught between her brows. "Did you have any idea this was happening?"

She gestures around to encompass the palace, Zyre and this entire mess.

"No, of course not. He killed Avi right in front of me!"

Her eyes widen. I'm sure rumours a circulating down at the village, and by now, everyone knows Avi is dead. But no one else had to hear his throat being slit, and then see his dead body slumped on the ground as he bled out.

"Shit, are you okay?" Mel twists her body to face me, crushing my spare pillow beneath her.

I swallow. Am I okay?

I want to tell Mel that I'm heartbroken about losing Avi, that a chasm has opened up inside me now that he's gone. I want to tell her that I've been laying up here for over a week now thinking about how I want him back, need him back.

While it does haunt me, what has gotten to me even deeper is Zyre's betrayal.

I hate that I care. I hate that I've let it get to me, and it's what has kept me pinned to this room more so than his murderous tendencies.

"I'm fine, I guess. Still reeling, you know?" I smile weakly. "Zyre and I are married now."

"So I heard. Surely you can end this union."

"Apparently it's not a custom available in this pack." I shake my head, hating the ancestors that built the laws of this pack so many years ago. "Zyre won't release me because he believes he's protecting me from this brother, who wants to have me filled with a heir for his pack."

Mel blinks, her expression slackening.

"I'm sorry, what?"

I explain the situation hastily, although I'm careful to relay every detail. When I say the story out loud, it incriminates Avi even more.

Mel shakes her head, stunned. "That's...Elle, that's insane."

"Trust me, I'm aware." I hike my knees up to my chest. "That is, if it's real. He could be making this up to control me."

She eyes me sceptically, considering my words carefully. I don't blame her for not jumping to the conclusion that Avi is entirely innocent right away — she didn't know him.

Then again, did I even know him?

"What would he gain from that?" She asks.

I shrug hopelessly. "Well...I'm not sure."

"He's a powerful man. I doubt he's orchestrating this lie just to control you." She says the words uneasily, sensing it's not what I want to hear. "Maybe there's a real reason why your offspring is desired for an heir."

That is what haunts me the most. There is something about me someone who I've never met wants, and I'm not even sure what it is.

"I'm a poor girl with a broken family. There's nothing remarkable about my bloodline," I insist.

Mel looks contemplative. "What about extended family? Do you know them?"

I pause to think. My family is a mess, or at least it has been ever since I was born. Caroline loved to remind me about all she lost when our mother died, while I was too young to remember her much.

"No. My mother died young and my father never spoke about his side." I shiver. Something feels strange about all of this.

"Perhaps we should do some research. There might be something about your bloodline in the library archives," she brings up.

"It's worth a try. But what do I do with that information?"

She leans closer. "The more you know, the better you can protect yourself."

I nod in agreeance. She is right, I'm just frightened of what I'll find. What if Zyre is right about Avi's intentions, and I'm forced to face down the reality that I was deceived this entire time, and that I was wanted as nothing more than a vessel to carry his child.

"Thank you Mel. I don't know what I would do without you." I grab her hand, squeezing it tightly. I was about to lose my mind in here if I went another day without having contact from someone I trust.

Which at this point, the only person I do trust is Mel.

"You're not alone here, okay? We'll get through this," she assures me gently, but with the same sturdiness I'm used to from her.

Sitting up, I face her.

There has been an idea dwelling in my mind that I've been putting more and more thought into. I know it's insane, and that it is born out of desperation, but I need to do it. It feels like the only way out of this nightmare.

"I think I'm going to try challenge Zyre for the title of Alpha," I tell her softly.

She sits up suddenly, panic flashing across her face. "What? Lavelle, no..."

"I'm not sure how yet, but I need to take the power from him. He can't be trusted with it." It's the only way to eliminate Zyre and ensure I can protect myself.

"Look, I love you Elle, but you're not the person to do that." She looks over me, her frown deepening. "There's a reason why the title usually passes down bloodlines. Commanding a pack requires deep knowledge and strength that you don't have."

She isn't trying to be cruel. Ultimately, she's right. I don't know or have what it takes to run a pack, but that isn't what this is about.

I don't want to run this pack alone. I simply want Zyre gone.

"I'll work on it. I'm technically Luna, so it's not that big of a step." Not that I feel like Luna. I only am because I'm married to Zyre, not because he is my mate.

She levels a look. "Zyre took an entire pack out from under another Alpha. Your challenge will fail."

"I'll get creative. I'll think of something."

All I seem to have is time here. I stare at the ceiling all day and wonder what it would take to get close enough to Zyre to drive a knife through his heart.

Mel's eyes dart to the door, then back at me.

"And if he kills you?" She asks in a hushed tone.

"I have to do something." What if Zyre can't protect me in the long run? What if his brother comes for me, and I'm stuck here, a prisoner?

"Let's just try figure out why you're so important to Zyre's brother before we go trying to kill the most powerful man in this pack, in possibly the entire realm," she hisses under her breath, as if the walls may hear and feed the information back to him.

I flop back against the headboard, releasing a sigh that comes from the very depths of me.

"Yeah...that's probably a good idea."

Mel rises from the bed, wandering over to the window. She yanks the curtains open, letting in the dull mid-morning sunlight.

"Just don't fall in love with him," she muses, looking outside.

I stiffen. "What? Why would I do that?"

"He's attractive, charming and your husband. It's not a stretch to think it might happen." A smile plays at her lips.

I scowl at her, but she isn't meeting my eyes. For whatever reason, she's decided she trusts Zyre's intentions over Avi's. It's not surprising since she never seemed to like the latter, and was wary about us marrying from the start.

Could everyone see what I didn't?

"Don't be ridiculous. I hate him. I hate what he has done to me." I pick absently at my fingernails, not letting myself think deeper than that.

Not when it felt so good to kiss him that one time.

"Alright, I'm just warning you."

"Perhaps you can inquire into the library in the meantime to ensure we can investigate my bloodline there," I say. Focusing on that is much easier than focusing on Zyre.

Mel nods assuredly. "It's already done."

+++

With Mel gone this afternoon, I decide to venture out again.

I like how quiet the halls are with Zyre having taken over. There are less people, less guards and less staff. It makes the palace seem larger, but the privacy is pleasant.

It means I can skulk around without being disturbed.

With the sun out, I decide to venture out toward the back of the home, that backs onto the lawn. I want to feel the rays against my skin and to breathe in the fresh air.

But when I get to the glass door leading to the outside, I see they ajar, and just outside them, Elowen and Zyre stand talking.

I duck behind the wall, drawing in a sharp breath.

"Getting there," I hear Zyre murmur. He sounds burdened.

Slowly, I lean around the corner, locking eyes on the pair again.

My husband has clearly been working out. His shirt is gone, his abdomen glistening with sweat. It even dampens his forehead, his dark hair flattened against it until he sweeps his hand through the silken locks, sending them sprawling across his head.

My throat dries.

I hate him to the core, but Mel is right. He is handsome. Criminally so.

Without his clothing to hide his body, I'm blatantly aware of how well built he is. Every muscle appears to have been carved by the loving hands of the Goddess herself. They shift beneath his taut skin each time he moves, making my heart stutter.

"What does he know?" Elowen asks, her expression creased with worry.

"He knows I'm Alpha, but he doesn't know where her location is. As far as he's aware, I could have killed her." Zaon shrugs, although nothing about the movement is casual.

I swallow thickly. They are talking about me.

Elowen nods. "Let's keep it that way."

"He'll know soon enough. He has spies everywhere." Zyre's jaw tightens as he looks over the empty lawn and toward the adjoining forest. "But he can't get to her. Not here."

"Keep her close. Don't scare her off."

"I'm trying, Elowen." He rubs a hand down his face, frustrated. "She doesn't trust me, and why would she?"

It's strange, hearing them speak about me. I should probably walk away, but I'm rooted to my spot, curious about where this is going.

This could be how I ascertain his true intentions.

Elowen smiles warmly, clearly not sharing the same reservations as him. "She'll warm to you. Your charms are impossible to resist."

"Trust me, my charms would have no effect on her." He shakes his head distractedly.

"I wouldn't be so sure." She takes a step closer, gauzy white dress shifting gently around her legs. "She would have to be blind not to feel at least something."

My stomach twists. Elowen might be in love with him, but I don't share the same sentiment. She won't be wondering if I'm charmed by him when I kill him and take the power all to myself.

"I've done enough to her. I wouldn't subject her to an expectation to be intimate with me." Zyre winces as he studies Elowen's face.

She smile falters a little. "Is that something you want? To be intimate with her?"

My grip tightens on the corner of the wall, my breath held deep in my lungs.

His eyes narrow. "Why are you so curious?"

"Maybe I don't want to share you, just yet." She lingers even closer, her smile indulgent, seductive.

"You'll always be my friend, regardless of who I'm married to." He angles his head to gaze down at her.

I back away, not wanting to hear anymore.

I no longer know what to think.

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