Bronze

Chapter 23

Leah

The next day I waited for him in silence. What could I say? What could I do? I walked into his trap willingly, hoping he would keep his word. I was a fool for trusting him.

The doors opened before me. A young man pushed an older woman into the cell next to mine. She stumbled forward, stretching out her hands to shield her face from the ground. 

I watched in horror as the light from the hallway revealed a small glimpse of her face. 

"Go to hell!" she screamed at the young man who was roughly my age. He scoffed, turning his back to walk out. The door slammed behind him, blocking the only light source. 

"You'd think they'd have a light," the familiar woman grumbled to herself. 

My eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, making out her silhouette as she stood to wipe the dust from her pants. 

My throat closed forcefully and my body broke out into shivers. 

"M-mom?" I croaked. Please don't be her, I pleaded. Please don't be her!

"Leah? Oh, Leah! Is that you over there?" My mother cried, flinging herself to our adjoined wall. "The whole pack thought you were dead!"

I laughed dryly, my heart hammering as I registered my mother's words. "I could be soon," I told her, sighing. 

She ignored my statement and turned to face me. "Where have you been this whole time? I was worried sick." In the dark, she crossed her arms over her chest and sat rigid against the bars. 

"I ran away," I said as bile rose from my stomach. "Got captured in the Bronze pack." I shrugged nonchalantly as if it were no big deal. To be honest, it wasn't. "I doubt you were that worried," I told her suddenly, copying her taut posture. 

She stayed silent, confirming what I said. 

I stiffened. "Why are you here, Mom? Where's Sofie?"

The air around us thickened like fog. Two dainty hands gripped the bars in front of my face, startling me. My mother mumbled to herself.

"Selfish little brat!" she spat at me while shaking her body. "If you had just stayed with Markus, we wouldn't be here. If you had been a good girl and married our alpha, I wouldn't be stuck in prison!"

Shocked for a moment, I didn't respond. I stayed still, allowing the beast before me to calm down. It wasn't like I wasn't used to this behavior. In our situation, however, I didn't expect it. 

Feeling tiny specks of dirt and gravel from the floor against my fingers, I grabbed as much of it as I could and flung it at her. She cried out as she stumbled back, holding her face with her hands.

"How could you!" I yelled, angry. "I might be put to death and all you can think about is yourself." Breathing, I calmed myself down enough to ask, "At least tell me if Sophie's alright."

She sighed, wiping the tears from her irritated eyes. "James has her. They fled the moment we noticed guards outside the house."

I was relieved. As long as James had Sophie and they made it into the woods, I was going to be okay. I would fight for them, fight for their safety, and if that meant mating with Markus, then that was what I was going to do. 

I finally allowed myself to relax on the floor. 

"Are the rumors true, Leah?" My mother asked softly beside me. She extended her arm through the gap between the bars and stroked my shoulder with her fingers. "Did Alpha Kane keep you prisoner?"