Aprils POV
The dungeon was darker today, the chill in the air biting deeper than usual. I sat slumped against the damp stone wall, my arms wrapped tightly around my legs. My thoughts drifted like smoke, curling and twisting with anger and despair. Sleep had become a distant memory, replaced by exhaustion that clung to my skin like the cold.
I had lost count of the days I was in here. Dylan came and went. When he could, he would bring me food and water, and as much as I was exhausted, they really helped to boost my energy. I was feeling a little stronger each day, just a little.
Sometimes, he would just keep me company. He did this during his shift of watching me, and it felt really nice. He was just such a sweet soul. Thinking about him just brought a smile to my face. Dylan and Snow made it bearable to live in this hell.
The sound of the heavy door creaking open snapped me back to the present. I didn’t bother to lift my head as the footsteps approached-steady, purposeful, the sound that had come to haunt my days and nights. His scent hit my nose so fast, Fuck! It was him. Again.
Jake stepped into the cell, the silence hanging thick between us. I could sense his wolf beneath the surface, as restless as before, but there was no snarling or sneering this time. Just the quiet, the unbearable quiet that stretched like a chasm.
He just stood there, watching me as if unsure of what to say. What the fuck did he want this time? More taunts?
“What?” I spat, my voice hoarse but sharp. I lifted my gaze to meet his, letting him see the full force of the contempt in my eyes. “Come to lecture me about how pathetic I am? Or maybe you want to try and force some of your fantasies on me again?”
He didn’t respond, which only seemed to infuriate me even more.
His expression was unreadable, his jaw set in that same hard line. I could see the shadows under his eyes and the slight tremor in his fingers as he clenched and unclenched them at his sides. It was like he was bracing himself for something-maybe my words, maybe his own thoughts. It didn’t matter.
“Go ahead,” I continued, pushing myself to my feet and forcing my legs to hold steady beneath me. “Say whatever it is you came to say, and then get out.” I took a step toward him, my tone growing colder. “Or did you just come to see how much more broken you could make me?”
His gaze flickered, just for a second, but enough for me to catch it. The flash of something raw, something vulnerable that he was trying to bury.
“No, April,” He finally said, sighing.
“Then what?” I asked angrily.
“I just wanted to know how you are doing,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Is he fucking serious?
That must be a joke, right? More of his mind games, I’m sure.
“It’s perfect; houses are so overrated. Dungeons and cells are the real gems. You’re all missing out,” I say sarcastically.
“C’mon, April, I’m being serious. How are the guards treating you?” He says, looking at me softly. I don’t know why, but I’m feeling freaked out, like what the fuck is actually happening?
“You don’t get to come in here and pretend you care,” I snarled, my voice rising with each word. “You don’t get to stand there and act like you’re some tormented soul when you’re the one who’s caused all of this. You’re the reason they’re dead.” I took another step closer, my fists clenching at my sides. “You’re the reason I’m here. You’re the one who chose to turn your back on your own mate and leave me to rot.”
The silence that followed was suffocating. Jake didn’t move or flinch, but there was tension in his stance as if he was holding himself back from saying something-something I knew he was too much of a coward to admit.
“You have nothing to say?” I let out a harsh, bitter laugh. “I shouldn’t be surprised. Seems like the only weak person here is you.”
“What did you just say?” He asked in disbelief.
“You heard me,” I say, crossing my arms on my chest.
I could see his jaw tightening, the muscle there twitching as he swallowed. “You think I’m weak?” he finally said, his voice barely more than a whisper.
What happened to the cold and confident Jake?
“Yes,” I snapped. I took a breath, my anger rising like a storm inside me. “You’re weak for running from your own wolf. He’s clawing at you to let him out, to do something other than this… but you’re too busy pretending that you don’t feel anything.”
His silence was answer enough and only fueled the fire inside me. “One day, you’re going to wake up and realize that you destroyed the only thing that could have made you whole. And there won’t be anyone left to blame but yourself.”
He looked at me then, and I saw it again for a moment-that flicker of something real, something almost like regret. But before I could say anything else, he turned away, his hand gripping the door as though it was the only thing keeping him upright.
“Leave,” I said, my voice breaking the silence like ice shattering. “Go on, get out.”
Jake’s fingers tightened on the doorframe, his back rigid and unmoving. “I didn’t come here to hurt you,” he said quietly, his voice rough around the edges.
“Too late,” I replied, my tone sharp enough to cut. “And too little. Now get out.”
“A-April, if only you knew the truth; your fate was sealed from the moment you drew your first breath.” He says sadly, and now I’m left wondering, What truth?
“W-what truth?” I ask, remembering that the last time I was let in on a secret, it flipped my world upside down and scared me, knowing there was more. Well, this is Jake; nothing good ever came from Jake.
“Maybe you’ll know someday…I am sorry,”
With that, he stepped out of the cell, the door closing behind him with a hollow clang that echoed through the stone walls. I watched him go, the darkness swallowing the space he left behind. It was just me and the cold again, the silence pressing in from all sides, and I felt more confused than ever.
All I could think about was what Jake could have possibly meant and what truth did he know that I did not?