Chapter 3

A thief, a rogue and a songbird.

Based on the guards’ words, that was her portfolio.

Without further thoughts, my feet travelled down the seemingly endless stone staircase into the dungeon.

The song never stopped, each step brought the melody closer and clearer.

Her voice drifted through the cold passageways, slipping between iron bars and damp stone walls. Every note landed with impossible softness, yet none lost its strength.

Then Kai's voice crashed into my mind.

"Mate!"

I nearly missed a step due to the sudden declaration. He hadn't spoken to me in months. Not since I chose Hazel as my future Luna. He had fought me every step of the way.

"Mine." He said again, his growl rolling through my chest.

Heat burst beneath my skin as my muscles locked. Then I caught her scent, wild jasmine and fresh rain soaking warm earth after a storm.

It was faint yet divine, the world shrank to that single fragrance.

Kai lunged forward inside me so violently my bones ached from holding him back.

The song continued.

I rounded the final corner, and there she was. Curled on the cold dungeon floor.

Long strands of crimson hair spilled over her shoulders. Chains circled her wrists. Bruises painted her pale skin.

Her eyes were closed yet she kept singing. Completely unaware that every note was pulling my soul toward her.

As though sensing me, her voice faltered.

Slowly… she opened her eyes, they found mine through the iron bars.

Then color drained from her face. She shrank backward until her spine struck the stone wall behind her. She looked at me as though death itself had come to claim her.

I took in her situation and a growl rumbled through my chest.

Her bruises were fresh, some stretched across her slender arms. Others disappeared beneath the torn fabric clinging to her body.

She looked very small and fragile.

Nothing about her resembled the ruthless rogue I had expected to find.

Rage climbed my spine. I wanted to know the names and see the faces of every hand that had struck her.

Kai went wild inside me.

Without second thoughts, I pulled the iron key from my pocket. The guards had surrendered it at the entrance.

The lock clicked open.

****

Nina's POV

I sat on the cold dungeon floor, wondering if my misery would ever come to an end.

I've lived all my life hoping. Mrs Helen had always said someday, I would bloom.

She found me beneath the pine trees marking the rogue border. I was wrapped in a faded blanket, crying until no sound remained.

Around my neck hung an old silver chain holding a smooth green stone. I was without a name or family.

She had just buried her husband and children after the war at that time. The others told her to leave me where she found me, another mouth meant another burden.

But she refused and raised me anyway.

Sadly, she passed away recently.

We never found out who abandoned me, the only identity I had was the silver necklace.

Mrs. Helen used to sing this song until I drifted to sleep. Now I sang it to keep myself from falling apart. My voice echoed softly against the damp stone walls.

Then I heard heavy footsteps approaching.

My song died on my lips as they got closer. My fingers tightened around the chains binding my wrists.

I was certain, my doom had arrived.

The footsteps stopped outside my cell as a towering figure filled the doorway.

I couldn't see clearly because of the darkness. Only his broad shoulders and powerful frame stood out beneath the dim light.

He reached for the lock with the keys, the door swung open. He stepped inside the cell, slowly inching closer to me.

Out of instinct, I shrank farther into the wall.

He lowered himself until we were almost eye level. His face remained unclear, but his eyes glowed. One thing was certain, even in the dark, he was handsome.

He leaned closer again but I held my breath. I closed my eyes waiting for a punch, maybe a slap, only for his strong arms to wrap around me.

My body stiffened to the surprise hug.

He buried his face against my neck and inhaled deeply.

"Mine." His voice brushed against my ear, scattering my thoughts.

I blinked, maybe I heard wrong.

Before I could speak, he slid one arm beneath my knees and another around my back. He lifted me effortlessly.

I didn't fight him, I couldn't. Whatever waited outside this cell, I had already surrendered to it.

Cool night air brushed my face as we reached the dungeon entrance.

I shivered.

The two guards on duty straightened immediately.

"Alpha."

My stomach dropped. So this was the Alpha of Blue Crystal Pack?

I'd never seen him before, I only heard stories. Stories mothers whispered to frighten reckless children.

"Alpha, she's a prisoner…" One of the guards protested but he never finished.

The guards' faces drained of colour as the Alpha released his aura making them bow their heads in submission.

He carried me past them into the quiet palace, clearly the servants had long retired.

We moved through endless halls lined with polished marble and towering pillars and finally stopped before a pair of enormous walnut doors.

He pushed it open with a single hand.

The room beyond stole the breath from my lungs. A bed large enough for six people dominated the center. Silk curtains spilled from the ceiling. A crystal chandelier scattered warm light across polished floors.

Everything shimmered.

But he kept walking, opening another door.

Warm steam curled toward us, it was a bathing room.

For someone like me, it was a palace inside a room. The bath alone was almost larger than the room Mrs. Helen and I had shared.

He lowered me into the warm water, carefully. As though one careless touch might break me.

Heat wrapped around every bruise sending a sharp hiss across my lips.

The sting that came from my bruises was almost endless.

"You are safe now." His voice came quietly.

I looked up at him with water dripping from my hair. I was really confused.

My voice barely rose above a whisper as I inquired.

"Why would an Alpha like you be kind to a rogue...a thief?"

His eyes never left mine.

"Whatever you were..." His voice softened.

"...belongs to the past."

I laughed bitterly.

"Whatever you want… I don't have it"

I lowered my eyes before continuing.

"I'm nobody."

He crouched beside the bath and released a slow breath. Water trickled from my bloody body onto his expensive shoes.

"That changes this very moment."

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

His gaze held mine.

"From this moment forward, you are the most important woman in Blue Crystal Pack."

His words landed one by one. "No one will ever treat you as less."

Surely I had misheard him.

Hours ago I had been dragged across stone like discarded rubbish as a rogue, a thief.

Now, their Alpha was before me making promises. Alphas do not break promises.

My thoughts tangled together.

He must have seen the confusion in my eyes, but nothing prepared me for his next words.

"You're my mate and I'll make you my Luna."

If this was a dream, I never wanted to wake up. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Everything was happening so fast, and the weight of it all threatened to overwhelm me.

The bathroom door burst open, it was the Princess from earlier.

"Not while I'm here."

Her hazel-green eyes burned with fury. They cut from me to the Alpha then back to me.

And just like that, I made an enemy.