After Silver Prison

Just one second before Alpha Daniel’s fated mark burned into my skin, a sharp voice pierced the air at the bonding ceremony.

“Stop!”

Jessica, Daniel’s first love, stumbled forward, her belly swollen.

“Are you all really going to let this vicious woman become your Luna?” she cried, pointing at me with trembling hands. “She’s been torturing me for months! She poisoned my tea, left knives at my door, and tried to force me to abort Alpha’s pup!”

My mind went blank at her sudden, fabricated accusations.

“What? I didn’t—”

Before I could finish, Jessica lunged toward me.

Acting on instinct, I raised my arm to block her, but she collapsed heavily to the floor.

“My pup!” she shrieked. “Daniel, look! She’s trying to hurt us again! Call the enforcers to arrest her!”

In the next heartbeat, Daniel rushed forward, shielding Jessica in his arms without hesitation.

He looked at me, his gaze cold and disappointed.

“Rosie, why couldn’t you just behave? This pup is our pack’s heir!”

Around us, the elders exchanged dark, knowing glances, silently condemning me.

With no way to prove my innocence, I was sentenced to three years in the nightmare Silver Prison.

Whips, hunger, endless violence… Eventually, I learned what Daniel really meant by “behave”.

But why was he the one who regretted it?

...

“Rosie, your sentence is up. Someone’s here for you.”

The door of Silver Prison creaked open with a sharp, grating sound that set my nerves on edge.

A guard tossed a dress at my feet without looking at me. “Change out of the jumpsuit.”

With trembling fingers, I quickly changed into the dress. It hung loosely on my frame, draping over me like a shroud on a corpse.

The guard’s rough hand clamped around my arm and yanked me forward. I stumbled, but before I could hit the floor, a pair of strong arms caught me.

“That’s enough.” The voice was low and cold, and it froze the guard in his tracks.

Sunlight burned my eyes. Tears streamed down my cheeks until my vision finally cleared.

The person holding me was Daniel.

He was still every bit the untouchable Alpha I remembered, dressed in a tailored black suit that looked sharp enough to cut.

My lips trembled as I forced a smile. “Alpha… you came.”

“How did you get so thin?” His arm tightened around my waist, and he turned to glare at the guard. “You didn’t feed her?”

The guard straightened immediately, voice stiff. “Alpha, we provide every meal on schedule. But Rosie’s picky, refusing to eat. That’s why she’s thin.”

Daniel’s gaze slid back to me, probing. “Rosie, is that true?”

The guard shot me a dark look, a silent warning to keep my mouth shut.

I stared at my toes, forcing myself to nod. “Yes, Alpha. It’s my fault. I… didn’t want to eat.”

Daniel’s expression eased, only for his eyes to narrow again as he scolded me. “Why are you still acting so spoiled? Stop making trouble and leave others to clean up after you.”

Then he turned and strode away, voice laced with Alpha command.

“Come on. I had the chef prepare food. No more skipping meals. I’m watching you eat every bite.”

I tried to follow, but my legs dragged. Every step felt like a battle with my own body.

I hadn’t meant to be slow.

On my first day in Silver Prison, I’d made the mistake of walking a little ahead of the guard.

He’d barked an order, and his baton had slammed down on my left leg.

There was the crack of a bone breaking. I collapsed instantly, curled up from the agony.

“Get it through your head, and learn to behave,” he sneered, kicking me in the face with the tip of his boot. “This is your first lesson.”

That leg had never healed right. Now, whenever I walked too fast, the misaligned bone sent jolts of pain up my spine.

Daniel glanced back at the space between us, his voice sharp as a blade as he said, “Are you walking this slow because you don’t want to be with me? Would you rather go back to Silver Prison?”

“N-No—” I flinched, forcing myself to limp faster despite the pain.

“Get in the car,” Daniel ordered as he slid into the driver’s seat.

The passenger seat bore a nameplate “Jessica’s Seat”. So I climbed silently into the back.

He hadn’t even started the engine before sniffing the air, frowning. “What’s that smell?”

I froze, arms instinctively wrapping around myself.

It was the smell of blood, a farewell gift from the other inmates—a curse symbol carved into my back with a silver blade.

If I spoke a single word that could harm them, the mark would activate and shred my wolf soul with unbearable pain.

Blood from the wound had seeped onto the leather seat.

Not wanting to see disgust in Daniel’s eyes, I crouched down, scrubbing at the stain with my sleeve.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Alpha! I didn’t mean to. I’ll clean it up right away!”

His voice stalled at the sound of my humble tone, disbelief flickering across his face. “What happened to you?

“You used to cling to me every chance you got. You were the Gamma warrior everyone admired. Now you can’t even heal?

“Stop faking. Your acting is pathetic.”

But I wasn’t faking.