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Chapter three

Serena

T he stone walls of my cell were too quiet—just like my room at Silver Ridge.

Too quiet, too still. That’s where my mind always went first. Back to the dining table.

Back to him. Everyone in the pack was against me.

Even my own father, with his constant warnings and secrets, had made it clear that I was an outsider.

They wanted to trap me here like a prisoner, but I was determined to break free.

No one could keep me locked away forever.

I twirled a lock of hair, a nervous habit I couldn't quite shake, and thought back to when it all began.

I was a girl, sitting across from my father.

I remember the way his voice shook like an old tree when he said I was in danger.

He sat on the other side of a long oak table, brooding and silent, while I ate in quiet fury. I asked for a simple answer to a simple question, and it didn’t seem like he’d ever give it to me.

“Serena,” he said finally. I watched him clench his hands into fists and unclench them as he paused. “I know you feel trapped.” I opened my mouth to argue, but he held up a hand to silence me. “But it is for your own protection. The outside world is dangerous.”

“You say that about everything,” I said, sitting back and crossing my arms. “I’m just going to the ridge with Lila. It’s not the moon.”

“That’s what you say now,” he said, his voice low. “But you are marked.”

I wanted to scream. To grab him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. “You act like I have a target painted on me. You don’t understand that there’s more to life than this.” I gestured to the empty room around us. “You and the pack.”

He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. “There isn’t for you.”

Not a future. Not a choice. Just a prison with better lighting. Those words carved something out of me. I turned away so he wouldn’t see me cry.

I replayed his warning in my mind as I moved through the house, feeling the weight of every decision he'd ever made for me. They all carried the same condescending theme: I was a caged thing, and he would keep it that way. It was worse than him calling me a prisoner. It was like he knew I was cursed and didn’t even want me to be happy.

As if it wasn’t enough the curse would take my sanity from me eventually.

I made my way to the bedroom, torn between running away and fighting my father right there.

I thought maybe my room would feel less like a cell, but it didn’t.

He’d taken everything from me. My father couldn’t take me seriously when he thought the curse was.

And it was serious. It had taken my mother from me, from him too, when I was seven.

The curse drove her mad, to the brink of insanity.

She had clawed her own heart out as the pack watched in horror.

What would I do when it came for me? Would I wake up screaming?

Start seeing things that weren’t there? Or just.. . stop being me?

I slammed the door and pounded on my pillow, feeling like it was the only thing I had any power over. It wasn’t like I was losing my damn mind. Yet.

My father must have known how desperate I was.

I wasn’t subtle about it, and he sure didn’t miss the big blowout in the dining room.

How could he think he was protecting me?

Maybe it wasn’t protection at all. Maybe he wanted to see how long I could last before I broke.

I rolled over, burying my face in the pillow.

I wasn’t going to break, not now or ever. He couldn’t win.

After I left, he probably gave himself a medal for best performance of an emotionally absent father. I wondered if he had the whole pack over for drinks and awards.

“Most Improved at Pretending to Care,” he’d announce to them, pinning a piece of scrap metal to his jacket.

The others would laugh, the sound hollow and hateful.

I imagined their sneering faces as they watched me crack under the weight of what my father thought was protection.

They all knew I didn’t belong, and not a single one of them did a thing to help me.

“Most Likely to Lose Her Shit,” they’d chant, pounding their drinks on the table. I twirled my hair as I thought about it, the memory of Alaric in the dining room creeping into my mind again.

“They don’t care about you, Serena,” he’d say. It wasn’t a sentence so much as a promise. He might have added: “Neither do I.”

The door slammed open and pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Guess what I heard,” Lila said, half excited, half suspicious, and all up in my face about it.

I started to sit up, but she pushed me back into the bed and pinned me there like I was a butterfly and she was the world’s most petite collector.

“Everyone is in the dining hall, acting like you’re the next wolfy war criminal. What happened?”

I waited to see if she’d answer her own question. I should have known she wouldn’t until she ran out of air.

“Well?” she asked, moving back a little and giving me some room to breathe. “What happened?”

I pushed myself upright, crossing my legs in front of me. “My father thinks he can keep me trapped forever,” I said, trying not to let my voice quiver like I knew it was going to. “He doesn’t know that I’m ready to leave.”

Lila arched an eyebrow. “He’s your father, not an idiot,” she said. “You don’t have to tell me everything you told him, but at least tell me you kept the good dirt.”

“Why would he think he can control me like this?” I asked, hugging my knees and staring out the window. “He might as well put me in a cage.”

Her eyes softened. “Hey. Serena. Look at me.”

I didn’t.

“Serena,” she said again, putting a hand on my shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

I turned and met her gaze.

“Fuck him,” she said, her voice low and serious, her sharp words wrapping themselves around my heart. “You’re not the only one he’s tried to break,” she said softly. “But I’m still here. And so are you.”

I nodded. I knew she was right, but it didn’t stop my father from invading every thought. She looked me over and tilted her head. I could see a hint of anger smoldering in her amber eyes. I couldn’t tell if it was because of what I told her or if she knew there was something I hadn’t said yet.

“He’s going to learn, Serena,” she said. “I promise.”

And like that, the threat of losing hope was gone. It was that simple when it was just the two of us. I believed her more than I could believe my own mind, and if she thought I would get through this, then I would. I just had to hang on.

I smiled weakly and nodded again, feeling the warmth of her confidence seep into me like medicine.

We both knew that it would take more than a promise to break me out, but it was a good start.

If nothing else, I’d have an ally, and with that ally, I could get the hell out of here.

My determination came rushing back, strong and fast, sweeping away my doubts.

Lila spent the rest of the day with me, making me laugh so much I couldn’t help but feel a little better.

She stayed until it was nearly dark, and when she was sure I wouldn’t do anything reckless or stupid, she finally left to join the rest of the pack.

I watched the sky get darker and darker until it was black and filled with stars.

And there I was, stuck in my room like a kid on timeout, afraid I’d never leave it. That I would let my father get the best of me and keep me here with his veiled threats and guilt.

That I’d be trapped forever.

I lay down and closed my eyes, forcing myself to sleep.

I twirled a lock of my hair as the memory faded, replaced by the present.

The starkness of my new cell pressed in on me from all sides.

It was cold and bare and exactly what I expected when they locked me up.

My mark burned more sharply here, an ache that pulsed in sync with the mountain’s silence.

I didn’t know why. But something in this place—something buried deep—was reaching for me.

The walls felt like they were inching in, daring me to last a single day. I knew my father would love to see how long it took before I caved, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. This was my life, and he had no say in it. I was getting out of here. I just had to make a plan.

I finally stopped pacing and took a long breath.

The stone beneath my feet wasn’t just cold—it was alive.

There was a hum in the walls, so faint I thought I imagined it.

Like the mountain was breathing around me, aware that I didn’t belong.

My father was right about one thing. I was marked, but not the way he wanted me to think.

I wasn’t going to let his warnings hold me back any longer.

I had to escape and find the truth. No matter what he said, no matter how dangerous he claimed the outside world was, I would do it.

Was he even looking for me anyway? Probably not.

I wasn’t a prisoner or a child. I was strong and defiant and ready to face anything that came my way.

I closed my eyes, steadying myself. I was going to get out, and I was going to break this curse if it killed me.

My wolf didn’t like this place. It stayed close to the surface, ears pinned, eyes scanning every crack in the stone. Not afraid. Just… alert. As if it knew something I didn’t.

The door opened, and a young Stormvale wolf slinked inside like a secret.

I stopped pacing and stared at him, sensing both his sympathy and unease.

He was too young to understand what this place was doing to me, but he was old enough to know I didn't belong here.

I could work with that. If I played my cards right, I could be out and halfway to freedom before anyone noticed I was gone.

“What do you want?” I asked, keeping my voice as smooth and steady as I could manage.

He shifted on his feet, unsure if he should speak or run.