Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Astrid’s POV
The cold metal of the cage pressed against my skin, a constant reminder of my captivity. Three days. Three days since I had walked back into this nightmare, back into the clutches of Leon and the Moonshade Pack. Three days since I had last seen Kaeleen’s face, his green eyes filled with a pain that mirrored my own.
Leon had locked me in a cage, a gilded cage in his own bedroom, as if I were some prized pet he couldn’t bear to lose. And to add insult to injury, he had shackled me with these damn handcuffs. They weren’t ordinary restraints; they were made of some kind of metal that seemed to drain my strength, weakening my connection to my wolf with each passing minute. This type of instrument was forbidden in the werewolf community and only a select few should even have knowledge about its existence and I know within my knowledge that Leon wasn’t part of the select few.
The only way I knew instruments like these even existed was because I had overheard the adults talking about it back when I had been training to become an assassin. I also knew that some people had been assassinated because apparently they had been selling these instruments to the humans. But worrying about where Leon had gotten these wasn’t my priority right now. I still remember the day he had placed the cuffs on me. I had been extremely disgusted that this was the man I had given and sacrificed years to.
"I’m just looking after you, Astrid," he had purred, his voice sickeningly sweet. "I don’t want you to leave me again. Ever."
I had tried to reason with him, to tell him that I wasn’t going anywhere, that I understood his fears. But his eyes were clouded with a possessiveness that bordered on madness.
"I know you’re lying," he had said, his grip tightening on my arm. "But don’t worry, my love. I’m going to make you stay with me this time. I’m going to make you want to stay."
I had gone with the act. Telling him I wasn’t going to leave. That I was going to spend the rest of my life with him but he wasn’t listening. He had yanked me by my hair, as he warned me to never lie to him again and repeated with tears that I was only his. And that he was doing everything for my own good.