Jade’s POV
The dungeon was colder than I imagined it to be.
Not just cold in temperature, but cold in intention, like the stone itself had been built to forget people. The walls were rough beneath my fingers, damp in places, and the air slled old, stale, like ti had stopped moving down here and no one had bothered to wake it.
The iron door slamd shut behind with a sound that echoed too long.
I didn’t scream.
I didn’t fight.
I just stood there for a second, staring at the door, my heart hamring like it expected soone to stop this. To call it off. To say wait, this is a mistake.
Footsteps faded.
Silence rushed in.
They’ll co, I told myself.
Of course they will.
Ryder will ask questions.
Ronan will argue.
Renzo will notice sothing’s wrong.
I hugged my arms around myself and sank slowly to the ground, my back pressed against the wall. The stone seeped through my clothes imdiately, cold biting into my skin.
They’ll realize that I am here and they’ll co for .
I tilted my head, listening.
Nothing.
No voices. No movent. Just the faint drip of water sowhere far away.
Ti passed strangely down there. Minutes stretched. Seconds felt loud. Every tiny sound made my heart jump.
I kept my eyes on the door.
Any mont now.
I imagined Ryder’s footsteps first, hesitant, then fast. Ronan right behind him. Renzo swearing under his breath.
I imagined the door opening.
I imagined surprise on their faces.
Why is she here?
Who did this?
Get her out, now.
The fantasy kept warm for a while.
Then my stomach growled.
Then my legs started to ache from the way I was sitting.
Then the cold stopped being sharp and started becoming heavy, sinking into my bones.
Hours passed.
I knew it was hours because the hope changed shape.
At first, I was certain.
Then I was nervous.
Then I was embarrassed, like maybe I’d misunderstood sothing obvious.
Maybe this was normal. Maybe they just needed ti.
They’re busy, I reasoned.
Linda is hurt.
They’ll co after they’re done.
I pressed my forehead to my knees and exhaled slowly, my breath fogging faintly in the dim light.
I tried not to think about my mother.
That lasted exactly five seconds.
Her face ca to uninvited, soft, tired, familiar. The way she humd while working. The way she always looked back when we walked together, like she needed to make sure I was still there.
“She wouldn’t leave ,” I whispered hoarsely into the dark.
My voice sounded wrong. Too small.
“She wouldn’t.”
My throat tightened.
I told myself again that this was a mistake. That tomorrow I’d wake up and laugh at how ridiculous this all was. That I’d see her in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, scolding gently for not eating enough.
I wrapped my arms tighter around myself.
The door didn’t open.
The silence beca unbearable.
That was when it hit , not all at once, but in pieces.
They weren’t coming.
Not tonight.
The realization didn’t scream. It didn’t explode.
It settled.
Heavy. Final.
I slid down until I was lying on my side, my cheek pressed to the cold stone floor. My chest started to hurt, not sharply, but deeply, like sothing inside was caving in.
A sound slipped out of before I could stop it.
Then another.
Then I was crying, quiet at first, like if I kept it soft enough, no one would hear how broken I was. But the tears wouldn’t stop. They soaked into the stone beneath , useless and unseen.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
I didn’t know who I was apologizing to at first.
Then I did.
“I should’ve protected you better,” I choked. “I should’ve been there.”
My mother’s face blurred in my mind, replaced by the image of her body on the barn floor.
Cold. Still.
Discarded.
A sob tore out of , raw and ugly, echoing faintly off the walls.
“You were the only one,” I cried. “You were the only one who never left alone, and yet I left you by yourself for so stupid honeymoon trip”
The words shattered sothing inside my chest.
She wasn’t coming back.
No miracle.
My mother was dead.
And the boys, the ones I thought, foolishly, might stand with , weren’t here.
Eventually, exhaustion claid . Not sleep, exactly, just a numb drifting where my body stopped fighting the cold and my mind stopped trying to hope.
When the door finally opened, I didn’t react at first.
Light spilled in, blinding after the darkness.
“Get up,” a guard said flatly.
I pushed myself upright slowly, my limbs stiff, my head pounding. No one explained anything. No one apologized.
“Alpha Ashford’s orders,” another voice said. “You’re released.”
Released.
Like I’d been borrowed and returned.
I walked out of the dungeon on shaking legs, my clothes wrinkled, my hair tangled, my eyes burning. Every step felt unreal, like I was watching myself from far away.
The estate looked the sa.
Too normal.
People moved about their duties. Birds chirped. The world had not paused for my grief.
As I crossed the courtyard, I saw them.
Ryder. Ronan. Renzo.
They were walking together, coming from the direction of the infirmary. Tired, yes, but whole. Untouched by what I’d spent the night in.
Ryder’s eyes found first.
His face changed instantly.
“Jade?” he said, alard. “What... are you okay?”
Ronan stepped closer. “You look....”
Renzo frowned. “What happened to you?”
I stopped walking.
I looked at them.
Really looked.
And I saw it then, the truth, bare and humiliating.
They didn’t know.
They didn’t know where I’d been.
They didn’t know what their father had done.
They hadn’t even ask about
Cause they didn’t care
Cause where there’s Linda, I didn’t matter.
Sothing inside snapped cleanly, like a rope cut in one precise motion.
“Stay the fuck away from ,” I said.
My voice was flat. Dead.
Ryder flinched. “Jade, wait....”
I walked past them.
Didn’t run.
Didn’t look back.
And with every step, I let go of sothing I didn’t even realize I’d still been holding onto.
Whatever bond I thought we were building....
It died in that mont.
Just like my mother.
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