Mikhail's Pov
The whispers of my pack echoed down the stone corridors, hushed but insidious, carrying the weight of judgment and uncertainty. I didn't have to strain my ears to hear them.
"She's cursed."
"Why would the Moon Goddess pair our Alpha with someone like her?"
"She's useless."
I clenched my jaw, my fingers curling into fists at my sides. A deep, familiar bitterness coiled in my chest.
Mate.
A cruel joke played by the Goddess, nothing more.
My boots hit the cold floor with steady, deliberate steps as I walked toward the dungeon. The scent of damp stone and rusted metal filled my lungs, mingled with something softer—her scent. It was faint, delicate, yet unmistakable.
I shoved the thought away as I reached the heavy iron door. The guards at their posts stiffened at my presence, stepping aside without a word.
With a flick of my wrist, they unlatched the door and pushed it open.
The cell was dimly lit, the flickering torch casting jagged shadows along the rough stone walls. And there she was—huddled against the corner, shackled, her small frame wrapped in exhaustion and silence.
She looked up as I entered, her gaze meeting mine, and for the briefest moment, something twisted in my chest. Her eyes weren't filled with fear, like so many others who had stood before me. They weren't brimming with hope, either.
They were empty. Hollow.
I hardened my expression. "You're awake."
She didn't respond. Of course, she didn't.
I took another step forward, watching her closely. "Who are you?"
No answer.
Frustration simmered beneath my skin. "Why did the Moon Goddess send you to me?"
Again, nothing.
She just sat there, watching me. Judging me? No. There was no defiance in her gaze, no challenge—only quiet endurance. As if she had already accepted whatever fate awaited her.
It made my blood boil.
I turned sharply, my mind churning with memories I had long buried beneath steel and blood.
This bond was a mistake.
A trick.
A cruel illusion meant to break me again.
I exhaled sharply. "It doesn't matter," I muttered under my breath. "This bond is just another curse."
Silence stretched between us.
I could feel her eyes on me, but I refused to meet them. I wouldn't fall for this.
I wouldn't fall.
Not again.
---
Pain.
It had been everywhere. In my bones, in my breath, in every drop of blood that had spilled from my wounds.
Silver chains had bound me, burning into my flesh, their scent thick and nauseating.
And she had stood there.
Lily. My first mate.
Her golden hair had gleamed under the moonlight, her lips parted, trembling, as if she regretted what she had done.
But I had seen the truth in her eyes. The devotion that had never been for me, but for my brother.
"If you love me, just die" she had whispered.
And that had been the final blow.
I had been a fool to believe in her, to trust in fate.
When the time came, it hurt, but I didn't hesitate.
Her blood had stained my hands, her final breath a ghost against my skin.
She had been my mate, my destined partner, the one the Goddess had chosen for me. And yet, she had betrayed me, broken me, tried to kill me.
So why would I believe in another mate bond?
Why would I let history repeat itself?
I wouldn't.
---
I snapped back to the present, my pulse pounding.
Alisha was still watching me, silent and unmoving.
A flicker of something foreign passed through me. I shoved it down.
"Tell me why you're here," I demanded.
This time, she moved.
Her hands lifted slowly, forming gestures I didn't understand at first.
Then realization dawned.
I narrowed my eyes. "You're mute."
She gave a small nod.
A cruel twist of fate.
The Moon Goddess, in all her wisdom, had decided to pair me with a mate who couldn't even beg for mercy.
I stepped closer, towering over her fragile form. She pressed herself against the stone wall as if she could sink into it, as if putting any more space between us would save her.
Pathetic.
Her scent was faint beneath the lingering stench of rogues, but it was unmistakable. Mine. The bond thrummed between us, whispering things I didn't want to hear. Promises I refused to acknowledge.
My lip curled. "You ran onto my land, dragging rogues behind you. You don't speak. You're weak. Why would the Goddess curse me with you?"
She flinched, but said nothing.
Of course, she didn't.
She couldn't.
Something about that irritated me more than it should have. A mate who wouldn't even argue back. A mate who had no voice, no strength, no purpose.
The Moon Goddess had to be mocking me.
I exhaled sharply, raking a hand through my hair. "If you think being my mate means anything, you're wrong. I don't want you. I don't need you."
She didn't react.
Not a tremor, not a whimper, not even a change in her breathing.
That should've pleased me. Should've made this easier.
But it didn't.
Because silence wasn't just submission.
It was absence.
She wasn't begging me to accept her. She wasn't pleading for my kindness.
She was just… waiting.
As if she already knew what I was going to do.
As if she had been through this before.
The realization grated against something deep inside me, something I didn't want to name.
I shoved it down.
"If I let you go, rogues will tear you apart," I said coldly. "If I keep you here, my pack will never accept you."
Neither option mattered to me.
Her fate was not my concern.
She was nothing more than an unwanted bond. A mistake.
I leaned in, watching her carefully. She didn't shrink away this time.
She just stared up at me with those wide, empty eyes.
Something in my chest tightened.
I ignored it.
"So tell me, little mute," I murmured, my voice dipping into something dangerous. "What should I do with you?"
She swallowed hard, her throat bobbing.
Before I could say anything else, a voice interrupted.
"Alpha…"
I turned sharply. One of my older pack members stood in the doorway, hesitation clear in his stance.
"What?" I snapped.
His gaze flickered to Alisha, and something in his face shifted—recognition.
"You don't recognize her, do you?" he said quietly.
I frowned. "Recognize her?"
He hesitated. Then, stepping forward, he looked me straight in the eye.
"She was just a teenager back then," he said. "Barely old enough to understand what she was doing."
I clenched my jaw. "Speak plainly."
The elder exhaled. "She sacrificed something to save you, Alpha. A long time ago."
Silence crashed down, thick and suffocating.
I turned to Alisha sharply, my heartbeat hammering against my ribs.
Her?
She stared back at me, unblinking.
The weight of the elder's words settled over me, heavy and unrelenting.
Sacrificed something?
For me?
I took a step closer, my voice low and sharp.
"What did you do?"