My Mate Locked Me Underground After Killing My Father

The guard's boots made a specific sound on the stone steps. Three descents a day, always the same rhythm—heel first, then toe, a slight drag on the left foot like an old injury that never healed right. I'd been counting them since day one. This was descent number nine.

The food slot scraped open. A metal tray slid through, balanced on the lip of the opening for exactly two seconds before hands withdrew. I watched the angle. The guard's fingers didn't quite let go—they hovered, like he was making sure the tray wouldn't tip and spill. Then they disappeared.

I waited until the footsteps retreated before I moved. Crawling took effort now. My legs shook. The wolfsbane had settled into my bones, a deep chemical ache that made every movement feel like I was dragging extra weight.

The tray held the usual: a piece of bread, some kind of meat that might have been venison yesterday, and a cup of water. I lifted the cup. Held it to the thin crack of light coming through the door seam. The water was cloudy. Faintly purple at the edges.

I set it down and looked at the slot. "What's the concentration?"

Silence.

"I'm not asking you to let me out." My voice was steady. Clinical. The tone I'd used a hundred times in the healer's cabin when I needed information more than I needed comfort. "I'm asking a medical question. Wolfsbane toxicity presents differently depending on dosage. If it's above point-zero-five molarity, my kidneys will start failing within another seventy-two hours. If it's below that, I have longer. I just need to know which timeline I'm working with."

More silence. Then, faint—so faint I almost missed it—a exhale. Not quite a sigh. Just breath, released like pressure.

The footsteps retreated faster this time.

I ate the bread. Left the meat. Drank half the water through the silk filter I'd torn from my dress hem three days ago. The fabric was stained purple now, stiff with dried poison. I folded it carefully and tucked it into the corner where the wall met the floor. Evidence. Not that anyone was coming to collect it.

Above me, the pack house was alive. I could hear it through the stone—muffled voices, footsteps crossing the alliance hall, the occasional thud of something heavy being moved. They were rearranging things. I knew that sound. I'd done it myself when we'd hosted the Clearwater Pack delegation two summers ago, shifting furniture to make space for the extra wolves.

Heidi was redecorating.

I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes. My wolf stirred. Not awake—just present, like a hand pressed against glass from the other side. She'd been doing that more often. Little pulses of awareness that lasted a few seconds before the wolfsbane dragged her back down.

I focused on the sensation. Tried to hold it. My skin prickled with heat, the way it did right before a shift. My bones ached. My wolf pushed harder.

Then it was gone.

Forty seconds. I'd counted. That was ten seconds longer than yesterday.

I opened my eyes and stared at the water cup. If I drank less, the suppression would ease. My wolf might surface long enough to reach someone through the pack mind-link. But drinking less also meant my body would weaken faster. I was already too thin. My hands shook when I lifted them. Another few days of reduced intake and I wouldn't be able to stand.

I picked up the cup. Drank another quarter of it. Set it down.

Not yet. I wasn't desperate enough yet.

The footsteps on the stairs came again hours later—or maybe it was the next day, I'd lost track—but this time they were different. Slower. Deliberate. Heels instead of boots.

The lock disengaged. The door opened.

Heidi stood in the doorway with a stool in one hand. She was wearing a dress I recognized—pale green, fitted, the kind of thing that required help to lace up the back. It was one of mine. I'd left it in the Luna's quarters after the Renewal Ceremony because I'd been dragged out too fast to pack.

She set the stool down just inside the threshold. Sat. Smoothed her skirt. Then she looked at me.

I didn't move. Didn't speak. Just watched.

"You look terrible," she said. Her voice was light. Conversational. Like we were having tea. "I wasn't sure you'd still be conscious."

I stayed silent.

She tilted her head. The new mark on her neck caught the torchlight from the hallway—fresh, dark, still slightly swollen. She touched it absently, the way someone touches a new piece of jewelry they're pleased with.

"The pack accepted me," she said. "Completely. There was a feast after the ceremony. Did you hear it? Probably not, you were already down here. Vance gave a speech. He said the pack needed strong leadership, a Luna who understood what it meant to stand beside an Alpha without—" She paused. Smiled. "Without making it about her own father's legacy."

My jaw tightened. I forced it to relax.

"The food was incredible," Heidi continued. "Roasted boar, honey cakes, that spiced wine you always ordered from the Clearwater Pack. Everyone danced. Vance and I opened the floor. It was—" She sighed, a satisfied sound. "It was perfect."

She leaned forward slightly. "I've already updated the pack registry. Heidi Black-Patterson, Luna of Ironveil. It's official. The regional council has the paperwork. Your name isn't on anything anymore."

I looked at her. Really looked. Her eyes were bright. Eager. She wanted a reaction.

I didn't give her one.

She frowned. Sat back. "You know, I thought you'd fight more. Scream, maybe. Beg. But you just—" She gestured vaguely at me. "You just sit there."

"Is there a point to this visit?" My voice came out rougher than I'd intended. The wolfsbane did that. Dried out my throat.

Heidi's smile returned. "I wanted you to know. That's all. I wanted you to know that everything you built—everything you thought was yours—it's mine now. And it's better. The pack is stronger without you."

She stood. Picked up the stool. Paused at the door.

"Oh," she added, glancing back. "Vance says hello."

The door closed. The lock engaged.

I sat in the dark and breathed. In. Out. In. Out.

My wolf stirred again. This time, the heat lasted almost a full minute.