The Truth Burns

Lyra's POV

I ran.

My bare feet slapped against the cold stone floor as I raced through the dark halls. My heart was beating so loud I was sure everyone could hear it. The chain around my throat felt like it was choking me with every step.

Marcus was going to kill me tomorrow night. Those monsters were going to cut me open while I was still living. And the boy I thought loved me was going to help them do it.

I had to get away. I had to tell someone. But who would believe a slave girl over the pack's Beta?

"Lyra!"

Marcus's words echoed behind me, calm and scary. He wasn't even running. He knew I had nowhere to go.

I turned a corner and almost crashed into Alpha Kane's office door. My hands shook as I grabbed the handle and pushed. Locked. Of course it was locked.

"There's no point in running," Marcus called out, his footsteps getting closer. "You can't hide from me forever."

I pressed my back against the door and tried to think. The slave cells were down the hall to my left. The kitchen was to my right. But Marcus would catch me before I reached either place.

"Please," I whispered to whoever might be listening. "Please help me."

That's when I remembered the alarm bell. Every hallway had one in case of threats. If I could reach it...

I took off running again, this time toward the main hallway. The bell was just twenty feet away. Fifteen. Ten.

Marcus stepped out of the darkness right in front of me.

I screamed and tried to dodge around him, but he caught my wrist with one hand. His grip was so tight I felt my bones grinding together.

"Let me go!" I yelled, hoping someone would hear me.

Marcus laughed. "Scream all you want. Everyone's asleep. And even if they weren't, who would care about one noisy slave?"

He dragged me down the hall like I weighed nothing. I clawed at his hand with my free arm, but it was like scratching stone.

"You lied to me," I gasped. "You said you loved me."

"I told you what you wanted to hear," Marcus said. His voice was so cold it made my skin crawl. "You were so desperate for someone to care about you. It was almost too easy."

We reached the main gathering room where the pack held talks. Marcus threw me to the floor so hard my knees scraped against the rough stones. I tried to get up, but he pressed his boot against my back.

"Stay down," he ordered.

I turned my head to look up at him. In the moonlight coming through the windows, Marcus looked like a stranger. His face was hard and cruel. His eyes were empty.

"Why?" I asked. "Why did you do this to me?"

Marcus pulled the necklace from his pocket - the one he'd given me three years ago. The one that had made me feel so special and loved. Now it looked like a chain.

"This little trinket has been slowly draining your power for years," he said, holding it up so the metal caught the light. "Every time you wore it, it made you weaker and sent your blood straight to me."

My stomach felt sick. "My blood?"

"StarBlood is very valuable, Lyra. Worth more than gold. And you've been giving it to me freely for three whole years." Marcus smiled that terrible smile again. "Though I have to admit, I liked the kissing part too. You're not totally ugly for a slave."

Hot tears ran down my face. Every kiss. Every soft word. Every moment I thought we were sharing something real - it was all fake.

"The worst part," Marcus added, "is how grateful you were. 'Thank you, Marcus. You're so kind to me, Marcus. I love you so much, Marcus.'" He made his voice high and silly, mocking me. "You practically begged me to use you."

"I trusted you," I whispered.

"That was your first mistake."

Marcus knelt down next to me and pulled out a small hammer. Before I could ask what it was for, he placed the chain on the stone floor and raised the hammer above his head.

"This fake mate bond has served its purpose," he said. "Time to break it."

"Wait-" I started to say.

The hammer came down with a loud CRACK.

The necklace broke into a hundred pieces. And then something inside me broke too.

Pain like I'd never felt before shot through my whole body. It was like being hit by lightning while drowning in ice water. Every muscle seized up. My view went white. I couldn't move.

The fake link that had connected me to Marcus for three years was ripping away from my soul, taking pieces of me with it.

I screamed until my throat was raw. My back arched off the floor. My fingers clawed at the stones so hard my nails broke and bled.

"That's right," Marcus said, watching me suffer. "Feel that? That's what happens when fake magic gets taken away. Hurts, doesn't it?"

The pain slowly faded to a dull ache, but something else was wrong. I felt... empty. Like a big piece of my heart had been cut out and thrown away.

"You're pathetic," Marcus said, standing up. "Did you really think someone like me could ever love a useless slave? You're nothing, Lyra. You've always been nothing."

Before I could answer, heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway. Three guards emerged in the doorway, all carrying chains.

"Take her to the punishment cells," Marcus ordered. "Make sure she can't run. Tomorrow night, she has a date to keep."

The guards grabbed my arms and hauled me to my feet. My legs were shaking so bad I could barely stand.

"Marcus," I said, my voice breaking. "Please don't do this. I'll do anything. I'll work harder. I'll never ask for anything again. Just please don't let them kill me."

For just a second, something flickered in Marcus's eyes. Something that might have been guilt or sadness.

Then it was gone.

"Take her away," he said, turning his back on me. "I don't want to see her face again until it's time."

As the guards dragged me toward the punishment cells, I heard Marcus say something that made my blood turn to ice: "Sleep well, little StarBlood. Tomorrow night, you're going to help me become immortal."