Playing The Alphas

SAMANTHA

Darkness. That was all I could see when I finally opened my eyes. Thick, suffocating darkness that pressed against my skin like a physical weight. My head throbbed with a dull, persistent ache, and my body felt heavy, as if I had been drugged.

Where was I?

I tried to move, but my wrists were bound behind my back, chafing against rough rope. The floor beneath me was cold and damp, and the air smelled of mildew and rust. A holding cell. They had thrown me in a holding cell.

Distant screaming echoed through the walls, muffled but unmistakable. The sound sent chills down my spine. What was happening out there?

I strained my ears, trying to make sense of the chaos. Footsteps pounded past my cell, urgent and frantic. Guards were shouting orders, their voices laced with fear.

"Contain him! We need more chains!"

"He’s breaking through the east wing!"

"The elders are on their way—just hold him off!"

My heart seized in my chest. They were talking about Finnian. The last thing I remembered was his roar, the thing growing on his back, his eyes blazing with ancient fury. He had transformed into something monstrous, something beyond a simple wolf shift.

I squeezed my eyes shut, and the memories came flooding back. The main hall. Vera’s smug face as she laid out her lies. The knives. The potions. The forbidden books that had been planted in my room. Finnian’s eyes meeting mine, filled with disbelief and hurt. And then Vera’s final, calculated words: "She was specifically targeting you. She saw you as the weakest of the princes, the easiest to break."

Finnian’s roar. The temperature dropping. The shadows gathering around him like a living storm.

I had seen him transform. Not into a wolf, but into something ancient. Something that had been dormant inside him for years.

The sound of footsteps approaching snapped me back to the present. I looked up, squinting into the darkness, as the door to my cell creaked open. A figure stepped inside, carrying a torch that cast flickering shadows across the walls.

It was Kylie. Her face was pale, her eyes red-rimmed as if she had been crying. She looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read—anger, confusion, doubt. She knelt down and began cutting the ropes binding my wrists.

"I’m sorry about the rope," she said, her voice tight. "The guards were following orders."

"Where’s Finnian?" I demanded, rubbing my raw wrists. "What happened to him?"

Kylie’s jaw tightened. "He’s being contained. The elders are performing a binding ritual to suppress whatever woke up inside him."

I stared at her, my mind racing. "Woke up inside him? What does that mean?"

She hesitated, her eyes flickering with something that looked like fear. "There’s a curse in the Cunningham bloodline. An ancient thing that’s been dormant for generations. We thought it was gone, but..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "Vera’s words triggered it. She knew exactly what to say to provoke him."

"Vera," I spat, anger flaring in my chest. "She set me up. All of it was a lie. The knives, the potions, the books—she planted them in my room. I’ve never seen any of them before."

Kylie studied me for a long moment, her gaze searching. "I know," she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I found Vera’s room after she disappeared. She had notes. Plans. She was working for someone."

My blood ran cold. "Who?"

"She left no name. But she mentioned your ex-fiancé. And your cousin."

John. Amanda. Of course. They had already destroyed my life once. Why wouldn’t they try again?

"Where is Vera now?" I asked, my voice shaking with barely contained rage.

"Gone. She vanished during the chaos." Kylie knelt in front of me, her eyes meeting mine. "Samantha, I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest with me."

"Anything."

"Finnian’s transformation was triggered by emotion. Specifically, anger. And hurt. Vera’s words about him being weak, about you targeting him—she knew it would push him over the edge. But why would she target him specifically? What does she have against him?"

I shook my head, frustration building. "I don’t know. I barely know Vera. I only met her the night she came to Darlington’s room with her warning."

Kylie frowned. "She came to Darlington? When?"

"Last night. She said someone in the palace was plotting against the royal family. She claimed she needed more time to gather evidence, but she refused to name the person. Then she came to the king this morning and pointed the finger at me."

Kylie’s expression darkened. "She was setting you up from the beginning. She wanted to make sure you were blamed so no one would look at her."

"But why?" I asked, my voice cracking with desperation. "I’ve never done anything to her. I don’t even know her."

Kylie reached out, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I don’t know why yet. But I promise you, Samantha, I will find out. And when I do, whoever is behind this will pay."

Before I could respond, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor. A guard appeared at the door, his face pale and drawn.

"Princess Kylie," he said, his voice trembling. "The elders have made their decision. Prince Finnian is to be contained in the dungeon beneath the palace. They are moving him now."

Kylie shot to her feet. "No! The dungeon is no place for him. He needs—"

"The elders have spoken, Your Highness," the guard interrupted, bowing his head. "It’s for the protection of the palace."

Kylie’s face crumpled, but she nodded, her jaw tight with suppressed emotion. She turned back to me, her eyes blazing with determination. "I’ll get you out of here. But first, I need to see him. I need to make sure he’s okay."

"Please," I begged, reaching for her. "Let me come with you. Let me see him. I can reach him—I know I can."

Kylie hesitated, her eyes searching mine. "The elders will never allow it. They blame you for what happened."

"Then let me talk to them," I pleaded. "Let me explain. I didn’t do this. I would never hurt Finnian."

Kylie was silent for a long moment. Then, slowly, she nodded. "I’ll try. But I can’t make any promises."

She turned to leave, but paused at the door. "Samantha, there’s something else you should know. Finnian’s transformation wasn’t just triggered by anger. It was triggered by something deeper. Something he’s been hiding for years."

I stared at her, my heart pounding. "What do you mean?"

She looked at me, her eyes filled with pain. "I mean that Vera’s words only worked because Finnian believed them. He thought you saw him as weak. He thought you were targeting him. And that hurt him more than anything else."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Finnian had believed Vera’s lies. He had thought I was out to destroy him. And that pain had unlocked something ancient and terrible inside him.

I sank to my knees, my vision blurring with tears. This was my fault. If I had been stronger, if I had been able to prove my innocence, none of this would have happened.

"I need to see him," I whispered, my voice breaking. "I need to make this right."

Kylie nodded, her expression grim. "I’ll do what I can."

She left, and I was alone again in the darkness. The distant screaming continued, growing fainter, and I knew they were moving him to the dungeon. My heart ached with a pain I couldn’t explain. I had never expected to care for Finnian. But somewhere along the way, he had become more than just a prince to me.

And now, I was the reason he was suffering.

Hours passed, or maybe just minutes. I had lost all sense of time when the door to my cell burst open again. I looked up, my heart leaping with hope.

But it wasn’t Kylie.

It was Jayce. His expression was grim, his clothes still disheveled, but there was something different in his eyes. Something that looked almost like desperation.

He strode into the cell and grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet. "You’re coming with me," he said, his voice urgent. "We need to find Finnian before it’s too late."

I stumbled after him, my heart pounding. "What do you mean?"

Jayce’s jaw tightened. "He escaped the dungeon, Samantha. And if we don’t find him soon, there’s no telling what he’ll do."