CHAPTER 16: THE LUNA AND THE LEFTOVERS
Hazel's POV
"So..." she said, her voice a smooth, cultured purr that felt like silk pulled over a blade. "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, the expensive scent of roses clashing violently with the jasmine scent of the stone walls. Her smile was perfect, white, and entirely vacant.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Silver Hade."
I leaned back against the wall, crossing my arms. I let a slow, mocking grin spread across my face. "Hmm. And I'm supposed to know or care why?"
The perfect smile vanished, replaced by a cold, hard line. "Quite a rude little thing you are."
"Well, I've been called worse," I said with a shrug. "Usually by people with much better taste in jewelry."
Her eyes flickered with annoyance as she took in my disheveled state, though I could tell she was frustrated by how little I seemed to care. "Do you know why I'm here, Hazel Thorn?"
So she knew my name too. News traveled fast in this hive of vipers.
"No, but I'm sure you're dying to tell me," I said, pushing off the wall and strolling back to my bed with as much nonchalance as I could muster. "People like you usually love the sound of their own voice. Does it soothe the ego?"
She let out a low, guttural snarl that sounded far too animalistic for her polished exterior. "I am the Alpha's fiancé and chosen mate. I was told we had some... *disturbance* in the cells. Obviously, I expected a pit, but you're getting quite the treatment in here."
*Fiancé and mate.* The words hit like a physical weight, but I didn't let it show. I turned inward. *Why so quiet, Flora? Still think he's the 'destined one' now that his bride-to-be is standing in our cell?*
*There must be some misunderstanding,* Flora whispered, her voice trembling with a hurt that radiated through my entire chest. *He wouldn't... he couldn't...*
*Ugh, there is no misunderstanding, Flora. He has a fiancé. There was no chance to begin with. We are a prisoner; she is the prize. Get used to it.*
Flora didn't argue. Instead, she slammed a mental block between us, retreating into the dark corners of my mind to lick her wounds.
"Are you even listening to me?!" Silver demanded, her voice rising in pitch.
I looked up at her, bored. "No, not really. Are you done? I was right in the middle of a very lovely nap before you decided to bring your perfume collection down here."
Silver looked like she was about to explode. She began to pace the small perimeter of the cell, her silk skirts swishing aggressively. She reached out, touching the stone walls with a look of pure disgust. Suddenly, she swung her leg, kicking the tray of food I'd barely touched. The porridge skittered across the floor, and the water bowl flipped, soaking into the porridge.
"Oops," she mocked.
Then, her claws elongated—sharp, manicured points of death. She dragged them along the wall as she walked toward me, the screeching sound of bone on stone set my teeth on edge.
I snarled, my eyes narrowing. She just poured my bloody food. I stayed seated, waiting for her to reach me. I wasn't a pushover, but I wanted to see exactly how far this "princess" was willing to go.
"I had heard a lot about you," she sneered, stopping a few feet away. "The traitor, the whore, the monster. You don't look like much of a monster, though. You just look like... a mistake."
I smiled, the expression sharp enough to cut. "Give it time, Silver. Monsters usually come out after dark. And honestly? You're standing in my house now. This cell is the only thing I own in this pack, and you're currently trespassing."
She chuckled softly, a dark, melodic sound. "Your house? Sweetheart, you're a stray. A legacy of ash. Caleb belongs to me. He has for years. You're just a momentary distraction—a curiosity he picked up off the side of the road."
I let out a loud, dry laugh that echoed off the ceiling, I felt like teasing a little. "Belongs to you? That's funny. Because that's not what I heard. Or saw. Or *felt*."
I stood up slowly, closing the distance between us until we were chest to chest. "When I got here, your 'Alpha' didn't seem very concerned with his fiancé. In fact, he kissed the absolute life out of me right in his room, on his bed .He seemed quite... preoccupied with the 'trash,' didn't he?"
Silver's face went from pale to a livid, mottled red in a split second. "You lie!"
"Do I?" I leaned in, whispering into her ear. "Go ask him. Ask him why he can't stop thinking about a Thornblood when he's supposed to be dreaming of you. Ask him why my scent is all over his beshseets."
With a shriek of pure, unadulterated rage, Silver lost it. She lunged forward, her fingers hooking into my hair and yanking my head back with enough force to snap my neck.
I didn't scream. I grabbed her wrists, my own strength surging as I twisted her arm behind her back. We went down hard, tumbling onto the stone floor in a flurry of lilac silk and matted dark hair.
She was fast, I'll give her that. She managed to rake her claws across my shoulder, but I jammed my elbow into her ribs, hearing a satisfying *crack*. I pinned her down, my fingers digging into her collarbone, my nails drawing a jagged, bleeding scratch along her skin.
"Is this the Luna etiquette you learned?" I hissed, dodging a swipe at my face. "Because you're losing to a girl with wolfsbane in her blood!"
"I'll kill you!" she screamed, bucking beneath me. "I'll burn you alive!"
The cell door flew open with a bang.
"Enough!" a guard bellowed, rushing inside. He grabbed Silver around the waist, hauling her off me. She was kicking and screaming, her face a mask of primal fury, blood dripping from the scratch I'd left on her neck.
"Let me go! I'll rip her throat out!"
The guard didn't listen; he dragged the future Luna out of the cell, the heavy iron gate clanging shut behind them.
I sat on the floor, breathing hard, leaning my back against the bed frame. I felt the sting of scratches on my arms and my scalp throbbed where she'd nearly ripped my hair out, but the adrenaline felt good. It felt like life.
Footsteps thundered down the hall. Lucien appeared at the bars, his face pale and his chest heaving. He looked at the overturned food, then at me.
"Hazel! Are you hurt? What the hell happened?"
I looked up at him and let out a small, jagged chuckle. I wiped a smudge of Silver's blood off my knuckle and looked at the deep gashes and scratches on my arm. They were already beginning to itch—already beginning to close.
"I'm fine, Lucien," I said, my voice airy. "Your 'Luna' just has a bit of a temper. But tell me..." I gestured to my arm, where the red lines were fading into smooth skin right before his eyes. "Is it even possible for me to be healing this fast? Because I think your Alpha's fiancé just broke my skin, and the evidence is already gone."
He just shook his head and laughed.