Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Astrid's POV

The cold metal of the cage pressed against my skin, a constant reminder of my captivity. Three days. Three days since I had walked back into this nightmare, back into the clutches of Leon and the Moonshade Pack. Three days since I had last seen Kaeleen's face, his green eyes filled with a pain that mirrored my own.

Leon had locked me in a cage, a gilded cage in his own bedroom, as if I were some prized pet he couldn't bear to lose. And to add insult to injury, he had shackled me with these damn handcuffs. They weren't ordinary restraints; they were made of some kind of metal that seemed to drain my strength, weakening my connection to my wolf with each passing minute. This type of instrument was forbidden in the werewolf community and only a select few should even have knowledge about its existence and I know within my knowledge that Leon wasn't part of the select few.

The only way I knew instruments like these even existed was because I had overheard the adults talking about it back when I had been training to become an assassin. I also knew that some people had been assassinated because apparently they had been selling these instruments to the humans. But worrying about where Leon had gotten these wasn't my priority right now. I still remember the day he had placed the cuffs on me. I had been extremely disgusted that this was the man I had given and sacrificed years to.

"I'm just looking after you, Astrid," he had purred, his voice sickeningly sweet. "I don't want you to leave me again. Ever."

I had tried to reason with him, to tell him that I wasn't going anywhere, that I understood his fears. But his eyes were clouded with a possessiveness that bordered on madness.

"I know you're lying," he had said, his grip tightening on my arm. "But don't worry, my love. I'm going to make you stay with me this time. I'm going to make you want to stay."

I had gone with the act. Telling him I wasn't going to leave. That I was going to spend the rest of my life with him but he wasn't listening. He had yanked me by my hair, as he warned me to never lie to him again and repeated with tears that I was only his. And that he was doing everything for my own good.

Each day in this place, my strength waned. The handcuffs were slowly but surely sapping my energy, making it harder to think, harder to breathe, harder to even lift my head. I spent every moment I was alone trying to find a way to break free, to pick the lock, to shatter the metal, anything to escape this prison. But the more I struggled, the faster my energy drained, leaving me weaker and more desperate than before.

At this point, I couldn't even have a conversation with my wolf. I couldn't hear her voice. And it annoyed me that there was nothing I could even do to get out of here.

It was afternoon already, Clara came in. She carried a plate piled high with food – meat, vegetables, bread – a feast compared to the scraps I had been given the past few days. She stopped in front of my cage, her face unreadable.

I laughed, a harsh, bitter sound that echoed in the room. "Take it away, Clara," I said, my voice hoarse. "I'm not hungry."

She didn't move. "Eat it, Astrid," she said, her voice flat.

"Why? So you can watch me choke it down like some trained animal?" I spat. "No, thank you."

"I don't want to see you die," she said, her eyes fixed on the floor. "I won't let you die like how you left me to die." The words were said with a hard edge, a barely suppressed anger that sent a shiver down my spine.

I laughed again, louder this time. "Oh, here we go again with this bullshit," I said, shaking my head. "I didn't leave you to die, Clara. If you would just stop being so damn dense for one second, you would see that."

I stood up, my legs shaky, and walked to the front of the cage. I pointed to the jagged scar on my forehead, the one I had tried so hard to hide.

"Do you see this, Clara?" I asked, my voice trembling with emotion. "This is what I got running back to get you help that day. The day you fell in the river. The day you almost drowned."

I reached through the bars and grabbed her arm, pulling her closer. "I searched for you day and night, Clara. I was labeled a sister killer. I stayed in the forbidden forest, scared out of my wits, searching for any sign of you. Praying to the moon goddess that you'd survive. Every sound I heard, I thought it was you. Running to see if you would appear and tell me you were okay. I gave up everything for you, and even after all that, you still treat me with this spite."

Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. "I don't understand you, Clara. I just don't."

Clara yanked her arm away from my grasp, her face twisted with anger. "Don't give me that sob story, Astrid," she said, her voice dripping with venom. "I know the truth. You left me. You wanted me gone."

I stared at her, my heart aching. "You don't want to acknowledge the truth, do you?" I said, my voice soft. "Your twisted sense of revenge is what's going to destroy you, Clara. Not me, but you."

I took a step back, my body trembling with exhaustion. "From this point on," I said, my voice firm despite my weakness, "we are no longer sisters. I won't live for you anymore. Don't come here again. Don't bring me food. Don't say anything to me. I'm done."

Clara laughed, a cold, heartless sound that sent shivers down my spine. "Don't flatter yourself, Astrid," she said. "I never even considered us sisters again. Sisters don't take what belongs to someone else, like their mates."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please, Clara," I said, my voice laced with sarcasm. "I'm not the one who wants my sister's so-called mate. It's the other way around. Weren't you the one who admitted to working with Leon to get me back here? And you're saying I'm the one who wants what belongs to someone else?"

Her eyes flashed with fury, but she quickly masked it with a sneer. "Whatever, Astrid," she said. "Enjoy your cage."

She turned and walked away, leaving the plate of food on the floor in front of the cage. I watched her go, my heart filled with a mixture of sadness and anger.

I was done. I was done trying to save her. I was done trying to fix what was broken. I was done trying to be the sister she wanted me to be. The one who was wrong, begging for forgiveness. Yes, it was my fault that she had fallen into the river but I wasn't lying when I said I did everything in my power to get her back.

I started living not just for me but for both of us. I uprooted my life, filling in the gaps in people's hearts from her absence but that wasn't enough. Nothing I ever did was enough and for someone I had once called my best friend, it was utterly heartbreaking how she could abandon me, treat me like I was a nobody and send me to Leon like I didn't have an opinion of my own.

But that was all about to change. From now on, I was only going to focus on one thing: getting out of here. Even if it killed me.