CHAPTER 12: THE CRIMSON LEGACY
Hazel's POV
I sat up slowly, the rhythmic dripping of water somewhere in the corridor marking time like a slow, agonizing heartbeat. I pressed the palms of my hands against my eyes, trying to clear the mental fog. How many days had I been buried in this stone cage? A week? Maybe more? It had been three days since Lucien's visit so three days of deafening silence and the heavy, suffocating weight of my own thoughts.
Sophie hadn't returned either. I found myself looking at the heavy iron bars more often than I'd like to admit, waiting for a flash of dark hair or the familiar scent of cedar and rain.
I looked to the side of the cot, spotting the tray of food left by a silent guard hours ago. I had tried to stage a hunger strike, a final, pathetic grab at control but my human instincts had won that battle by day three. Survival was a hard habit to break.
I was losing my mind in this place. The walls felt like they were inching closer every hour, fueled by the knowledge that I was sitting in the heart of the territory that had feasted on my pack's remains. I needed to move, and I needed to do it soon.
Lucien was planning an escape, I knew that but my heart was curdling into something darker than just a desire for freedom. For twelve years, I had run. I had hidden. I had been a ghost. But being here, smelling their prosperity, seeing their strength built on our ashes... it changed things. I didn't just want to leave. I wanted to leave them in ruins.
*Alice, you aren't failing anyone,* Flora's voice whispered, sounding unusually weary. *I am certain our parents would want you to be happy. They would want you to live revenge-free, especially now that you've found him. You could be Luna. You could heal this.*
"That is what *you* want, Flora," I hissed aloud, my voice echoing off the damp stone. "I cannot believe you are still pushing this fantasy. They slaughtered us. They are the enemies. They put a bounty on my head—a price that almost got us killed and brought us to this cage in the first place."
*But it didn't kill us, did it?* Flora countered, her tone stubborn. *We were saved by our mate—*
"You mean the same man who has us locked in a dungeon right now?" I stood up, the movement sharp and jagged. "The one who only feeds us once a day while we're recovering from wolfsbane? The one who likely signed that bounty himself? Why is that so hard for you to grasp?"
*Alice—*
"Nope. I don't want to hear it. Please, just let me think in peace."
I walked over to the tray to grab the hunk of bread, but as I moved, I froze. I waited for the familiar, biting sting of the wolfsbane burns on my side. I waited for the dull ache in my joints that had plagued me since the forest.
Nothing.
I pulled back the hem of the tunic I'd been given, staring at my skin. The angry, red welts were gone. Not even a scar remained. My body felt light, humming with a strange, subterranean energy I hadn't felt since before the massacre.
"Holy shit, Flora? What is going on? We were dying four days ago. Even for an Alpha's mate, this kind of healing... it isn't normal."
There was a long silence, the kind that felt like a secret being weighed.
*I cannot tell you everything yet,* Flora said, her voice dropping into a register that sounded ancient. *The bond is helping, yes, but it is more than that. You are a Red Wolf, Alice. Do you not realize how long our history is?*
"I'm certain that I do now, a Red Wolf?" I frowned. "I knew my fur was unique, but I thought it was just a fluke. A mutation."
*Hardly. The Red Wolves are direct descendants of the Great Goddess Redoline herself. Our line is woven into the very first fires of the world. That is why you grow larger every time we shift. You are not just a wolf, Alice; you are a legacy.*
My breath hitched. "Wait, who the fuck is Redoline? And were my parents... like this?"
*She was a goddess and no. It skips generations. Centuries, even. You are the only one in a thousand years. And Alice... this isn't your first life.*
The bread slipped from my fingers, hitting the floor with a dull thud. "What? What do you mean, not my first life? Flora, talk to me!"
*You have walked this earth before, in a time when the stars—*
The heavy thud of the outer corridor doors cut her off. I whirled around, my heart leaping into my throat. This wasn't the heavy, rhythmic tread of the guards, nor was it Lucien's steady pace. These footsteps were light, clicking sharply against the stone like a challenge.
The cell door didn't just open; it was unlocked with a flourish.
I stood my ground, my chin lifted, as a woman stepped into the dim light. She was the definition of elegance—her clothes were made of silks so fine they looked like liquid silver, and her brown hair was pinned back in a style that screamed high-born authority. She looked around the cell with a snarl on her face, then turned her gaze toward me.
Her eyes were cold, calculating, and shimmering with a lethal sort of beauty.
"So..." she said, her voice a smooth, cultured purr that made the hair on my arms stand up. "You're the famous female they won't shut up about? The Thornblood 'problem' my husband-to-be is so obsessed with."
She took a step closer, her smile not reaching her eyes.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Silver hade."