Alpha King Chases Abandoned Luna

The Alpha King is unavailable 72

My voice broke as memories flooded back-Eleanor's cruel smile as she'd shovedinto this very basement

years ago, the scratching of tiny claws in the darkness, my own screams echoing off stone walls.

Chante 51 Stacka

"I didn't do anything wrong" | cried, my composure shattering completely "Please, I'm innocent!"

Ethan's face remained impassive, unmoved by my terror. "You need tto reflect on your mistakes," he said

coldly. "To understand what you've done wrong"

With a powerful shove, he pushedthrough the doorway | stumbled on the top step, barely catching myself

against the wall to avoid tumbling down the stairs.

Before | could turn around, the heavy door slammed shut behind me. The sound of the bolt sliding into place was

like a death knell.

"Ethan!" | screamed, pounding my fists against the unyielding wood. Please! Don't leavehere!"

Silence was my only answer

i pressed my ear against the door, straining to hear any sound from the other side. Nothing. He had walked

away, leavingtrapped in my worst nightmare.

My breathing quickened, shallow gasps that did little to fill my lungs. The darkness pressed in around me,

absolute and suffocating. | fumbled along the wall, desperately searching for a light switch.

My fingers found it, and | flipped it up and down frantically. Nothing happened. The power had been cut. Hope

drained fromlike blood from a wound. I slid down the wall until | was sitting on the top step, my knees drawn

up to my chest, arms wrapped tightly around them.

"Help!" | screamed, knowing it was futile. "Please, someone help me!"

The thick walls absorbed my cries, swallowing them into nothingness. No one would hear me. No one would

come.

Panic rose in my throat, threatening to choke me. | forced myself to take deeper breaths, trying to slow my

racing heart. It was just darkness, | told myself. Just a power outage. Nothing to be afraid of.

But the darkness wasn't empty. It was alive with memories-Eleanor's laughter as she'd lockedin here the first

time, the taunts of the servants as they'd released rats into the basement, knowing my terror of them, "It's not

real," | whispered, rocking back and forth. "There's nothing here. Just darkness."

But my body wouldn't believe the reassurances my mind offered. Every nerve ending screamed danger, every

muscle tensed for flight. Sweat beaded on my forehead despite the chill of the basement air.

| strained my ears, listening for any sound that might indicate | wasn't alone. The silence was almost complete,

broken only by my own ragged breathing and the distant hum of the house above.

Then-a faint rustling. Soft, almost imperceptible. But unmistakable to my heightened senses.

I wasn't alone.

A whimper escaped my lips as | pressed myself harder against the wall, as if | could somehow melt into the

stone. The rustling cagain, closer this time, followed by a light scratching sound.

Rats. Just like before.

Eleanor had known about my childhood trauma-how the orphanage had locked disobedient children in a rat-

infested cellar as punishment. She'd used that knowledge against me, and now Ethan was doing the

same.

Chapter: 51. Sludde

Tears streamed down my face, hot against my cold skin. | hugged myself tighter, trying to make myself smaller,

less noticeable to whatever lurked in the darkness.

"Please," | whispered, though I didn't know who | was begging. There was no one to hear, no one to help.

The rustling grew louder, more persistent. | imagined tiny claws scrabbling against stone, beady eyes gleaming

in the darkness, sharp teeth ready to bite

A sob tore from my throat, raw and primal. The weight of my fear was crushing, pressing down onuntil |

could barely breathe

| was trapped in my own personal hell, with no escape and no rescue in sight. The darkness seemed to thicken

around me, a tangible presence pressing against my skin.

The scratching sounds continued, sometimes fading only to return louder than before. My imagination filled in

the gaps that my eyes couldn't see-small furry bodies moving through the darkness, drawn to the scent of

my fear.

| buried my face against my knees, trying to block out the sounds, the memories, the terror. But there was no

escape from the shadows that had hauntedsince childhood, now made real again by Ethan's cruelty.

Tlost all meaning in the darkness. Minutes stretched into what felt like hours, each moment an eternity of

fear. My body ached from tension, muscles cramping from being held rigid for so long.

The rustling sounds had grown more distant, but I couldn't trust that they wouldn't return. | remained frozen in

place, afraid that any movement would attract attention.

Fresh tears welled up, spilling over to join the ones that had already dried on my cheeks. | missed my daughter

with an ache that never dulled, a wound that would never heal.

In the oppressive silence and darkness, memories of her were both comfort and torment. Her smile, her

laughter, the way she'd looked at Ethan with such hope in her eyes, even after years of his neglect.

"I'm sorry, Lily," | whispered into the darkness. Tm sorry | couldn't protect you."

The rustling sounds returned, closer now. | tensed, pressing my back harder against the wall.