Chapter 266: Episode 266.

The dungeon had no windows.

Only stone. Cold, wet stone that seemed to swallow every sound before it could travel beyond the walls.

Torak sat on the floor with his back against the wall, and his wrists chained above him. His breathing had become slower.

The pain had become worse. The silver liquid was still moving through his body. He could feel it.

The dungeon door opened.

Torak lifted his head.

Eight men walked inside. They were all wolves. He knew it immediately.

Behind them came Alpha Blackfen. He wasn’t carrying anything. He didn’t need to. His presence was enough.

Torak looked at him.

Alpha Blackfen sighed, almost with concern. “Why do you force me to treat you in such an abominable way?”

Alpha Blackfen stepped farther into the cell. “Why do you choose to suffer?”

Torak lowered his eyes.

Blackfen stopped a few feet away.

“Give me what I want,” he continued, “and then you can pick an honorable death for yourself.”

Torak looked up. He glared at him. “You’re offering me death now?”

Blackfen’s expression remained calm. “I’m offering you a choice.”

Torak gave a quiet laugh. His throat hurt. “You stopped giving choices the moment you locked that door.”

“You still have your tongue.”

Torak shrugged as much as the chains allowed. “Unfortunately for you.”

One of the guards stepped forward.

Blackfen lifted his hand.

The man stopped.

Blackfen looked at Torak. “I warned you.”

Torak said nothing.

“I warned you to look within your means.” His voice remained almost conversational. “But you didn’t.”

Blackfen took another step.

“You went as far as dancing with her at an open ball.”

Torak’s jaw tightened.

“She is my daughter.”

“And?”

The single word changed the room.

Blackfen’s smile disappeared.

Torak stared directly at him. “Being her father doesn’t make her your possession, you bastard.”

One of the guards shifted.

Blackfen looked at Torak for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly. “Very well.” He turned toward the eight men. “Make him understand.”

The first blow came without warning.

Torak’s body jerked against the chains.

His teeth clenched.

A grunt escaped him.

The second came, and then the third. The men didn’t speak.

The dungeon got filled with the dull sound of punishment after a few minutes.

Torak’s breathing grew heavier. His hands tightened around the chains. Every instinct in him screamed to fight.

His wolf clawed beneath his skin. But the silver held it down. There was no healing, and no escape.

Only pain.

Another strike landed.

Torak’s head dropped.

He closed his eyes. He thought of the Wolf Realm. Then, against his better judgment, he thought of Adele..

“Give me what I want.”

Torak opened his eyes. “What do you want?”

Blackfen’s face hardened. “I want you to understand that there will never be anything between you and my daughter.”

Torak stared at him. “Then why are you so afraid?”

Blackfen went still.

Torak breathed through the pain.

“If there was nothing between us…” His voice became rough. “…you wouldn’t have needed to lock me underground.”

Blackfen’s expression twisted.

Another strike landed.

Torak grunted.

Blood touched the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away with his shoulder.

Blackfen watched. “Again.”

The men obeyed.

Torak’s body tensed.

He refused to scream. He refused to beg. He refused to give Blackfen the satisfaction. Every blow reminded him that he had no wolf strength now.

But there was one thing Blackfen couldn’t take.

His choice.

…

Adele woke to darkness. For several seconds, she didn’t know where she was.

Her head felt heavy, and her thoughts moved slowly. She tried to lift her hand, and something pulled against her wrist.

Metal.

Adele frowned. She tried again, and the chain tightened. Pain shot through her arm. Her eyes opened fully, and she froze.

The inside of the carriage was dark.

There were no familiar curtains. No soft cushions from her chambers, and no servants.

Her wrists were bound.

Her ankles too. A thick metal restraint crossed her waist.

She stared at it.

“No.” Her voice was hoarse.

She pulled against the chains.

They didn’t move.

Adele’s heart began beating faster.

She suddenly began to remember. The dining hall.

Torak.

Her father, the glass.

Then… Torak being dragged away.

She had tried to stand. Her father had grabbed Tabitha. His hand around her maid’s throat.

Adele’s stomach turned.

Then she looked at Torak. He had drunk the liquid. He had done it because of her.

And when she had tried to stop him, her father had struck her.

The memory came back sharply.

Then Blackfen’s hand had closed around her nose and mouth.

Adele gasped.

She remembered struggling. She remembered clawing at his wrist. She remembered trying to breathe.

Then nothing.

Her eyes widened.

“Stop.” She looked around the carriage. “STOP!” She demanded.

Her voice shook the small space.

The carriage continued moving.

Adele pulled harder against the chains. She bared her teeth, and her wolf stirred.

Good.

She reached for it. The instant she tried to summon her strength, the chains burned.

Adele screamed.

She released them immediately.

Her wrists throbbed. She stared at the metal. It wasn’t ordinary iron.

She could feel magic woven through it.

“Father…” Her voice cracked. “Don’t do this.”

She tried again.

This time more carefully.

She reached inward.

Her wolf answered weakly now.

Adele clenched her fists. She pulled. The chains tightened, and a burning sensation spread up her arms.

She cried out and released them.

Her breathing became frantic.

“No.” She tried again. Harder this time.

The pain became worse.

The metal seemed to respond to her strength.

The more she fought, the tighter it became.

Adele gritted her teeth. She refused to stop. She pulled with everything she had.

The chain dug into her wrist.

Her wolf pushed harder.

The carriage shook beneath her. For one second, Adele thought she might break free.

Then the restraints burned.

She collapsed back against the seat.

Her breathing came in sharp bursts.

Tears gathered in her eyes. She wiped them away angrily. She sat up. “OPEN THIS DOOR!”

Nothing.

She kicked the side of the carriage. “OPEN IT!”

The carriage continued moving.

Adele’s voice became louder. “YOU HEAR ME!”

The coachman didn’t answer.

She kicked again. The chain around her ankle rattled. “STOP THE CARRIAGE, YOU DERANGED WET DOG!”

Nothing.

Adele’s heart pounded. She looked toward the small front window. A shadow moved beyond it.

“HEY!”

The coachman continued riding.

Adele leaned forward as far as the restraints allowed. “Where are you taking me?”

There was no answer.

“Where are you taking me?” Her anger rose. “TURN THIS CARRIAGE AROUND!”

The horses kept moving.

Adele’s eyes burned. “You will stop this carriage!” She shouted with every ounce of authority she possessed.

She used the command of an Alpha’s daughter. The command that had made servants lower their heads since she was a child.

The coachman did nothing.

Adele stared. For the first time in her life, someone who wasn’t Torak had simply ignored her.

She pulled against the chains again.

The burning returned. She hissed through her teeth. “No.” She looked down.

The restraints were engraved with tiny symbols. She didn’t recognize all of them. But she recognized enough.

Suppression magic.

Her father had planned this.

The realization frightened her more than the chains. This wasn’t just punishment. It was transportation.

He was taking her somewhere. Somewhere she hadn’t been told about.

Adele’s stomach tightened. “Tabitha…” Her voice became smaller.

Adele closed her eyes. “Please be safe.” She prayed.

She opened them again.

Then she remembered Torak.

The image of him drinking the liquid because of her haunted her

Her chest tightened.

She had spent years pretending she didn’t care. Years pretending the pull between them was something she could bury.

Years convincing herself that Torak was nothing more than a complication.

Adele swallowed.

And now he was somewhere inside that house. Her father had him.

“Torak.”

The name left her lips like a prayer.

She hated herself for it. She hated how afraid she was at the moment.

She hated that she didn’t know what her father was doing to him. She hated that she couldn’t do anything.

Adele pulled against the chains once more.

The metal burned.

She didn’t stop.

Again.

And again.

Until her wrists trembled. She tried until her wolf weakened. She tried until the carriage rattled over uneven ground.

Still, the chains held.

Adele finally sagged against the seat.

Her breathing was uneven.

She stared through the darkness.

Then she heard a sound. It was faint, and far behind her. She couldn’t tell whether it was real, or whether her mind was creating it.

She listened.

A dull sound followed, and then another.

Adele’s face changed. She knew that sound.

Someone was being hit.

Her heart dropped.

“Torak?” She turned toward the back of the carriage. “Torak!”

The carriage kept moving.

“TORAK!”

Nothing answered.

Adele pressed her forehead against the cold metal wall. She had no idea whether he would still be alive when she saw him again.

…

Back in the dungeon, Torak lifted his head.

His breathing was ragged.

The eight men stood around him.

Blackfen remained in front of them. “Last chance.”

Torak slowly opened his eyes. “Go to hell.” His mouth curved into the faintest smile. “Preferably before I do.”

Blackfen’s expression became cold.

He turned away. “Continue.”