Chapter 1 Charisma Pov

“Why is my mate in a cell?” I snarled. They tremble. My anger is increasing by the moment. Luna Christina clears her throat, her voice cracking slightly. “Um, well that is, he’s dangerous my Queen.” Dangerous? My mate looks as though a simple wind will knock him over. He’s thin, too thin and he’s chained up like an animal. There is a dog collar around his throat. A fucking dog collar for god’s sake. “Lies. Get him out or I’ll knock the door to the cell down,” I roared, desperate to get to him. My Lycan was going berserk. If they didn’t open the cell now, there was no telling what was going to happen to the both of them. “Mate” I breathe. He continues to stare at me. For the first time I notice that he’s hunched, almost as though he fears I might hit him. I frown and then gently ask for his name. “Mate. What is your name?” Silence. There is no answer. I reach out and he flinched. I let out a low hiss and then turn. “Why won’t he speak?” I demanded, my eyes murderous. They better have a good explanation for all of this, or else they were going to find out the hard way what happened when you messed with the Lycan Queen’s mate. Luna Christina fiddles with her hands and avoids my gaze. “He’s mute.” Mute? My mate was mute. I feel my hands clenching into fists, my determination to keep my Lycan at bay, fast slipping. “Mute?” I say, without turning around. “Pray tell me, what caused my mate to go like this?” “He’s always been mute” she lied. She doesn’t know that I can tell when people are lying to me. I crouch down to my mate, trying desperately to look into his eyes. They are beautiful. A clear crystal blue that reminds me of lakes and oceans, his hair a blonde colour so light that it’s almost white beneath what little light there is in this dark and dank dungeon. His skin is so pale that it’s almost translucent and I can see his veins almost popping out of them. He’s slender, delicate in appearance and I study him closely, wondering if he can even hear me. “I won’t hurt you,” I promise thickly. I would never harm my mate. It’s easy to see that he’s been traumatized, his eyes refusing to meet my gaze. My voice is clear, loud and rings in the silence of the room. “I promise. If you come with me, I’ll protect you,” I promised thickly, feeling raw emotion flood through me. Whatever he sees on my face makes him slowly reach his hand out, gripping mine with a gentleness that pains me. I hold it and turn to face Luna Christina, who was beginning to look panicked. “I promise I did nothing,” she cried. Her Beta has already left. My eyes dart towards the exit, but he’s already long gone while I’ve been preoccupied with my mate. Before she can do the same, I pull my mate out of the cell and then before she can react, I push her into a new one that already has the door open. I slam it shut, and she bangs her hands on the bars. “Let me out. I swear, I didn’t hurt him” she cries, her voice tinged with desperation. More lies. I stare at her for a long moment and then become aware that I’m still holding my mate’s hand. I can feel the warmth spreading through it, feel the tingles running down my spine. The mate bond is already beginning to take effect on my side, but my mate gives no indication that he can sense it. Instinctively, I sniff, watching as his expression changes to one of fright. I am puzzled by his scent. There is no wolf, but he contains shifter DNA. He’s not only mute but wolf less as well. There is something else that is strange about my mate. He’s a hybrid. Not one that I can discern but I can sense there is something else lurking just underneath the surface. Some sort of powers that are close to breaking out. I narrow my eyes and then began to lightly pull him towards the staircase which leads to freedom. “Let me out, you can’t do this. I am the Luna and the leader of this pack. I demand you release me” screamed Luna Christina, pounding against the bars. Without turning around, I say as icily as possible. “Not anymore Luna Christina. What you have done, is illegal and against the laws. As soon as my mate is taken care of, I’ll be back and then we’ll be having a long discussion about the mistreatment of him, not to mention the attempt to hide him from me. He’s no rogue and there is no reason to confine him to a cell. The collar don’t even get me started on that for its humane and unnecessarily cruel. You better hope I don’t find anything else wrong in this pack, because it’s almost guaranteed you are about to lose your life for this.” She gives a sob. I continue to walk, with my mate by my side, listening to the sounds of her weeping before it slowly fades away as we make our way upstairs into the main part of the pack house. I didn’t have a reputation for being ruthless for nothing and she knew that, hence the sound of her screams and shrieks as she begged for forgiveness and for her life. Now I had to find her beta and make sure he was punished for their transgressions as well.