Snarls of fury

CHAPTER FOUR

Hera had been locked up in the Blood-Stone dungeons for weeks and she had begun to lose all hope of getting out. The cell was heavily guarded and the fate which awaited her was either imprisonment for life or execution.

At this point, she was beginning to think execution was a better option as she was starting to lose her mind in the cell. Most nights, she had nightmares about the night her parents were killed and she would wake up screaming like a maniac. The guards called her a mad woman.

She was running low on sleep, refused to eat and only drank water occasionally. Hera only waited for death. Maybe if she died, she would see her parents and plead for forgiveness for not protecting them from those monsters and for not avenging their brutal deaths.

Hera was currently vomiting her guts out which was only water when one of the guards banged roughly on the cell door.

“Hey! You're going to stand in trial in front of the alpha king and the council. Prepare to leave your cell.”

Hera's head shot up as she wiped her filthy mouth with her hands which were even filthier. Did she just hear the guard right? She was going to leave this horrible place? Wait, what the hell was an alpha king? She had never heard of that term before. Was he the king of this city?

Her legs quivered as she struggled to get up to her feet. “Trial? What happens at the trial?”

“You plead your case to the Alpha king and the council. If everything goes well, you will be set free.” The guard answered with a gruff voice.

“And if everything goes wrong?” Hera asked in an uncertain voice.

“Then you'll be left to rot in the dungeons forever or—”

“Or executed,” Hera cut him off. “Got it.”

Without uttering another word, the guard began opening the cell and once he did, he roughly dragged her out. She was so weak that she could barely stand, let alone struggle and she just let him do whatever he wished.

He led her out of the dungeons and she could barely see as her eyes were blurry so she stumbled at every step. And everytime she stumbled, the guard held her up roughly, digging his nails into her arm. She winced each time but no words escaped her lips.

Once they were out of the dungeons, there were two women waiting at the entrance and the guard handed Hera over to them.

“What's happening?” Hera asked, completely exhausted as her breaths came out in gasps.

“They are royal maid servants. They will clean you up and dress you in appropriate clothing. You cannot appear before His Majesty looking like that.” The guard sneered and his eyes were filled with disdain and Hera couldn't blame him.

She was covered in filth from head to toe and she smelled even worse. The maid servants took hold of her arms and led her away from the dungeon to a chamber but Hera was so out of it that she could barely register a thing.

They led her to a bathroom, stripped off her clothes and began scrubbing her hair and body till she was squeaky clean. They towel dried her body and dressed her in a simple cream colored dress. Hera felt so much better and as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror, she knew she looked much better too.

Another maid came into the room holding a tray of hot, steaming food. Hera's stomach growled loudly at the sight of the food but she refused to eat.

“Eat!” One of the maids ordered. “It is tradition that a prisoner must eat before a trial.”

Hera shook her head vehemently. She didn't care what their tradition said. She wasn't going to eat. Unfortunately, the maids forced her to eat. One held her arms down, while another forcefully opened her mouth. The third forced the food inside her mouth.

Tears streamed down Hera's face as she ate the food and when she was done, she glared at the maids with hate in her eyes but they didn't seem to care as their expressions remained emotionless.

The maids led her out of the room and two guards were already standing outside, waiting for her. The maids handed Hera over to the guards and chained her hands immediately before leading her through a passage.

The familiar feeling that she had been in this place before overwhelmed Hera but she shrugged it off. Her time down at the dungeons probably made her too delusional. The passage was overly long and it was lit up with candles standing on the walls.

Their footsteps echoed on the ground and finally, the trio arrived in front of two huge doors. One of the guards pushed the doors open and shoved Hera inside. She had no idea that she would be shoved that hard and she ended up falling flat on her face.

“Rise, prisoner.” A voice said and Hera raised her head.

Her eyes darted around what seemed like a throne room and they finally landed on a couple of people seated a couple of feet from her. They were in fact not people but werewolves and Hera could easily tell from their scents.

The group was made up of four old men and in the middle was a younger man. Hera's breath ceased for a moment as she took in the young man.

He was devastatingly handsome and he had a different aura around him from the others. Hera knew at once that he must be the Alpha King and for some reason, she felt incredibly drawn to him.

She couldn't take her eyes off the king not only because he was breathtakingly handsome but because she felt like she knew him a long time ago. She furrowed her eyebrows, completely confused. How could that be when she never stepped foot in Blood-Stone till now?