Chapter 2 Rescued

Chapter 2

Luna's POV

Dark and hopeless was this dungeon-the sun never came. I just curled up in a ball in the corner, pulling my knees up to my chest to conserve all the heat I could. The stone walls were all wet, and the smell of that damn mold made every breath hard to breathe. But cold metal cuffs now encircled my wrists and ankles, their razor-sharp edges cutting deep into my skin. Sleep overcame me, ready to drag me, kicking and screaming, into a sleepless nightmare.

I closed my eyes and wished hard for just a few more seconds without the pain. My heart pounded because heavy, slow footsteps were coming down the hall, growing louder. Panic seized me: Who was coming, what other torture awaited me? I pressed up against the wall, wishing I could fade away into the shadows.

And then, to my surprise, he showed up.

Alpha Kieran.

And his huge, forbidding form cast a shadow in the doorway and his eyes scanned the wet and dismal cell and landed on me. I straightened, my heart racing crazily. What was he doing here? The last time I had seen him was at the induction ceremony, where he'd looked at me with nothing but disgust before ordering me and walking away. I never thought I would see him again, let alone here.

For a moment, he just stood there, his face unreadable, as if searching for something in my eyes. I dropped my eyes, fearing he would see, afraid of the remembrance of his harsh rejection that was still raw and bleeding.

"Luna," he said, softer than I remembered. How soft his voice sounded surprised me, a bit subtle with some subleness that I didn't know.

I looked up, wariness and confusion written across my face. "Alpha Kieran... why am I here? I couldn't even manage to complete the words as they slid out of my mouth unbidden.

He continued forward, never removing his eyes from mine. "I wanted to see you, " he replied bluntly, as if that is all there is to be, as if wanting a thing is just the simple matter of desiring to know. "I wanted to know... how you're holding up."

It sounded real, but it only served to further confuse me. I swallowed hard as my mind started to race. Why should he care? He'd made it clear at the ceremony that I meant nothing to him. But there he sat, in this cold, damp cell, with a look in his eyes that I just can't place.

"I'm fine," I whispered, shaking a little. I didn't want him to see my pain, didn't want him to think of how deeply he hurt me. But the body is a betraying thing, and shivers, bruises, tiredness-all there for everyone to see and impossible to hide.

Kieran's gaze softened at the sight of my condition, his jaw clamped on something. They have been so wrong to you, he said almost to himself, his voice a degree or two angry. "You don't deserve this, Luna.".

It kind of just washed over me, I don't know, I just felt this strange heat that I hadn't felt in a long time. And no one had ever talked to me like that since they took my parents away from me. There, for a second, I thought that he might have cared, that behind that stone-cold exterior, there was a shred of decency that I hadn't noticed.

Why... Why do you care? I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I don't want to seem ungrateful, but the question burdened my heart. So if it is all the rejecting and the coldness and the contempt, why then is he here now?

He gasped air, and his eyes clouded with some sort of emotion that was indistinguishable from me. "Because nobody deserves to be treated in that manner," he whispered. "Not even someone I misjudged.

I blinked, taken aback by his words. Was he sorry? It didn't make sense, but something in the look of his eyes and that glimmer of remorse sent shivers down my back as I wondered if, indeed, he was sorry for his actions.

He knelt beside me, and as tall as he was, he seemed taller in that cell, and he reached up to put his hand on my shoulder. His touch scorched through my thin dress and at least for a few seconds, stilled the pain in my chest. "Luna," he said softly. "I want to help you.

It is almost as if my breath gets caught in my throat, and this wave of hope and disbelief washes over me. "Help me?" I managed to repeat, still hardly grasping the word.

Yes." His eyes were steady, honest.

"I am declaring you free. YOU ARE NOT OF THIS PLACE NOR THIS KIND" He loomed over the guards, which lurked in the shadows, over the expressionless faces. Take her chains off, and let her go at this very moment," he barked deep and firmly.

The guards paused, unsure, and exchanged uncertain glances, but a chill from Kieran's glare left no room for argument, and they quickly moved across the room to unlatch my chains, releasing my wrists and ankles from the cold, biting iron. Chains fell from my arms, and as I started to rub my wrists, the pain kicked in-bruises that would probably last for days.

I had managed to stand, legs a bit too weak from the days confined there. I looked up at Kieran, my heart racing wildly in a jarring mix of gratitude and fear: he'd rescued me from this living hell and allowed me to breathe once again, but still, a question remained.

"Thank you," I could barely say above a whisper. They seemed so trivial yet, they were the greatest of my ability.

Kieran smiled, a rare, almost gentle look since the rest of his face was so severe. "You don't have to thank me, Luna. You deserve better than this."

It's short-term, I even felt willing to believe, like how a warm smile must have seemed upon his face that now somehow seemed so inviting while a part of my head seemed to be questioning; that maybe he indeed isn't the cruel alpha, a mean rejectionist-which also meant that somewhere down that hard exterior I wanted desperately to believe cared, yes, cared a part.

He offered his hand; after a few seconds, I accepted it, and he grabbed me strong, yet with an air of delicacy-so that he hauled me from that cell. He held me as we stumbled blindly through that dark, winding passageway of that dungeon-so he supported me. For every step was freedom, every breath life-giving. Something that never even dared to creep into my dreams.

We reach the door, and the white of the light coming from outside is like pure white against the black of the dungeon. My eyes closed, feeling the sun on my face, something I hadn't felt in like a million years, it seemed.

I looked up to find Kieran releasing my hand. Then, the well of appreciation in me became so overwhelming to share with his eyes alone, "Why did you do that for me? This time, I didn't keep my mind from it because I desperately needed to understand, see if all that was this kindness, this act wasn't yet just another delusion, some other mere illusion to test me some more".

He looked away, his face unreadable. It was as if he wrestled to give words to an answer. Why? Because sometimes he said in a low voice, "We all need a second chance.".

I looked into his eyes, trying to figure out what he meant by that riddle. That was all he would say. He kind of smiled this really sad, almost guilty-looking smile, and his footsteps slightly echoed down the hall.

So, as I watched him walk out, I had this surge of confusion well up in my body. So why did he come here? Sahara has more questions for me than answers. What did he mean by giving me a second chance? And perhaps even more: was this kindness real, or was there some sort of hidden agenda that I was too innocent to catch?

A shiver ran down my spine, as in my stomach, I had mixed feelings of anxiety and unease. I wanted to think that Kieran had finally changed, and there was a part of him that felt for me, no matter how small. But nothing seemed to rid the nagging feeling in the back of my head, stating there had to be more than what was above.

It had been a little after midday when I stood there, letting morning sunbeams spill through the doorway of the dungeon into my face, realizing for the very first time that such freedom came with a cost question that would plague my mind until I knew why.

Why did Kieran help me?