The Alpha's Underworld Princess

Gia

Valkyrie

The door to my cell swung open, but I lay there, too sore to want to move. A little girl had a tray of food with her and placed it on the floor. Forcing myself up to seating, she closed the door behind her and sat on the floor of my cell.

"Hello." I choked out. It hurt to talk.

"Luna, I am to wait until you are done to take the tray with me. But we aren't supposed to talk," she told me, keeping her gaze on her feet.

"Am I allowed to talk to you?" I asked her, and she shrugged.

She looked so young. Not even ten. They definitely weren't feeding her enough; I could see her bones sticking out and her clothes hanging off of her, torn and dirty. I wondered if the way her hair was knotted hurt. There was no way anyone bothered to let her take a bath, and it was hard to resist the urge to reach out and hug her.

I looked at the food and didn't want to eat it. 'It all has wolfsbane in it.' Kassandra told me.

'The pup needs food, Kassandra.' I was torn staring at it.

The little girl moved to be able to whisper in my ear. "Luna, if you don't eat, they will punish me. Please."

'Well, guess I can't vote to starve ourselves. The punishment is probably about as fun as our experiences here. I wondered if there is anywhere we can leave this place a review.' I snickered at her joke. At least she still could.

'Wolfsbane wouldn't make her sick, would it?' I asked Kassandra. 'She's too young to have her wolf.'

'True. It won't hurt her too much.' I grabbed a piece of bread from the tray and handed it to her. The way she looked at it with longing was up there with the saddest things I have ever seen. Finally, her hunger took over, and she took it, mouthing thank you to me.

I picked up the bowl of soup and drank it slowly. 'Tell me when to stop.' I asked Kassandra.

'Okay.' She would be more easily able to gauge when it was too much. I'm sure it was meant to be cruel that the soup was cold, but I was pleased about it. Something hot would have burned my already raw throat. Or maybe they did realize that, and it was by design. I ate a piece of the bread and drank some water when Kassandra told me to stop. I offered her the remaining bread and soup, and she accepted it.

"Thank you...?" She signed her name to me using her hands to form the letters. It was Gia. I mouthed her name, and she smiled, cleaning up everything in the cell.

"I'll be back shortly with some water to wash up. They want you to be fresh for tomorrow." I shook thinking about it, and she gave me a sympathetic look. When she turned to go, I saw what looked like whip marks on the back of her legs, and I vowed to get out of her and take her with me.

'You really have such a soft spot for pups even though you swear you don't like them.' Kassandra teased.

'I like our pup.'

'Who wouldn't?' I closed my eyes and pictured his face in both forms. The picture made me miss him more.

'Tobias is an acquired taste, I would think.' She laughed in my head, and Gia returned with a giant tub of water that I was shocked she could carry alone. It had to weigh as much as she did. She had soap and a washcloth in a bag around her wrist.

"Do you need help, Luna?" she asked me, and I thought about it before shaking my head and getting to work. I had to stop in so many places and be gentle, as my skin was so raw. It did feel good to be clean, though. When I was done, she handed me some new clothes, and she also had a blanket with her.