Falling For The Demon Wolf Chapter 11: Awake

Hours or maybe even days has passed, I don't know how long I've been in here,

No food.

No water.

No sunlight.

Typical.

I couldn't sleep, no matter how exhausted I was.

The cell felt different after the had shadow disappeared. Like sothing had been disturbed, awakened. Sa way it felt on the night of April's wedding, when I strolled away from the crowd to catch so air.

The walls of the prison were the sa, the cold stone beneath unchanged, but the air carried a weight that hadn't been there before.

Wolf pressed against my side, his body still rigid, his growl fading into a low whimper. I ran my fingers through his fur, grounding myself, ignoring the way my hands trembled.

I didn't like this.

I had expected Zain to be the worst of my problems, but now I wasn't so sure.

The mory of that voice clung to like a second skin, its eerie amusent winding around my spine. To see how long you survive.

Not if.

How long.

I exhaled sharply, shoving the thought away. Focus, Violet.

The chains binding my wrists rattled as I shifted, testing the weight of them. They were thick, reinforced with sothing that felt stronger than iron. Not ordinary chains. Probably spelled.

Of course they were.

A smart hunter doesn't cage a wolf without silver. A smart wolf doesn't cage a hunter without sothing worse.

But what could possibly hurt a human? and why does the chain feel So damn heavy!

I sighed, giving up after pulling for the hundredth ti.

Even if I snapped my wrist, I'd have to break my fingers too in order to get out of it.

It was useless.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor.

I stiffened, tilting my head slightly to listen. Not hurried, not hesitant. Purposeful.

Wolf growled again, low and warning, but I already knew who it was before he even appeared.

Selene.

The torchlight flickered as he ca into view, his golden eyes gleaming in the dimness. His expression was unreadable, but his gaze flicked over with slow assessnt—taking in the dirt on my skin, the state of my bindings, the tension still coiled in my shoulders.

She clicked her tongue. "You look awful."

"Gee, thanks," I muttered.

Selen smirked, leaning against the bars. "You should get so rest while you can."

I scoffed. "Why? You planning on tucking in?"

Her smirk widened, but there was no real amusent behind it. "Zain will see you soon. You'll want your strength for that."

My stomach twisted, but I refused to let it show. "Looking forward to it."

Selen tilted her head, studying like I was sothing fascinating. "You really have no idea what you've walked into, do you?"

I t her gaze head-on. "Enlighten ."

She chuckled, pushing off the bars. "You'll see soon enough."

Then she was gone, disappearing down the corridor without another word.

I clenched my jaw, frustration simring beneath my skin.

I hated this. The waiting. The unknown. The feeling of being watched.

Zain would see soon.

And I had no idea if I'd leave that eting alive.

I don't know how long I sat there, staring at the stone wall, the weight of my chains biting into my wrists. Ti felt strange in this place—slow and suffocating, stretching into sothing endless.

I hadn't slept.

Couldn't.

Wolf remained at my side, his body tense, ears flicking at every distant noise. His unease mirrored mine, a constant reminder that we were not alone.

Footsteps.

Again.

But this ti, there were more of them.

Heavier.

A chill ran down my spine as shadows stretched beyond the bars of my cell. More than one. More than two.

Three figures erged from the dim corridor.

Cian, of course, his usual smirk in place as he folded his arms over his chest. But the others—

One was a woman.

Tall and poised, with sharp features that would have been beautiful if not for the cold detachnt in her eyes. Her dark hair was braided back tightly, exposing the elegant line of her throat. Her armor was different from the others—sleek, reinforced, clearly made for soone of high rank.

She assessed with a slow, calculated gaze before speaking.

"So this is the human."

I recognized authority when I heard it. Whoever she was, she wasn't just *anyone*.

Cian grinned. "And here I thought you didn't care, Isla."

Isla.

She didn't look at him. "I don't." Her gaze remained locked on mine. "But I do care about what happens next."

The third figure stepped closer then, and if Isla was cold, this man was pure ice.

Broad-shouldered, clad in black, his presence carried a weight that sent every nerve in my body on edge. His silver hair was cropped short, his face unreadable, but there was sothing in the way he *watched* that made my stomach twist.

Not amusent.

Not curiosity.

Just calm calculation.

"I don't see what the fuss is about," he murmured, voice smooth and dispassionate. "She's just a human."

Cian chuckled. "That's what makes it fun, Ronan."

Ronan. Isla.

More pieces to this place, to the world I was trapped in.

I lifted my chin. "If you're here to stare, at least bring breakfast next ti."

Cian laughed. Isla didn't.

Ronan tilted his head slightly, as if considering sothing. Then—

He stepped closer, until he was right at the bars, his pale eyes searching mine.

Sothing about him unsettled more than the others.

Not because he looked cruel.

Because he didn't look anything at all.

"Tell ," he murmured, "do you know why you're still breathing?"

A shiver crawled down my spine, but I didn't flinch.

I t his gaze. "Because your Alpha hasn't decided what to do with yet."

A pause.

Then—

Ronan smiled.

It was the first expression he had shown. And it was the wrong kind of smile.

One that said he knew sothing I didn't.

"Not quite," he said softly.

I clenched my fists, my pulse hamring against my skin.

Whatever ga they were playing, whatever reason I was still alive—

I was running out of ti to figure it out.