Chapter 14 Alliance

• THE GILDED CAGE of Waldemar’s chambers had begun to feel less like a prison and more like a tomb. Days blurred into a monotonous cycle of restless pacing, futile attempts to sever the Moonbind, and the insidious creep of the Alpha’s emotions through their unwanted connection. His possessiveness, his irritation, even a strange, deep-seated loneliness – they were all becoming her own, tainting her thoughts, dulling her defiance. The grand hall, where she had been displayed like a prize, still haunted her, the echoes of the pack's hostile whispers a constant drone in her mind.
• Waldemar himself remained an enigma. He would appear and disappear, his presence a heavy weight, his golden eyes always assessing, always seeming to know more than he let on. He hadn't yet forced another "lesson," but she felt the unspoken threat hanging in the air, a sword of Damocles suspended by the thin thread of the Moonbind.
• The solitude was crushing. Lyra, while kind, remained distant, bound by her loyalty to the Alpha. Selene craved a connection, someone who might understand, or at least offer a flicker of unbiased humanity.