His Abandoned Luna Chapter 172

|| Third-party POV ||

The dungeon beneath the Reventhorn castle smelled of damp stone and wolfsbane. The dim yellow lights flickered along the rough-hewn walls, casting long shadows that danced like specters across the floor. Alpha King and Benson strode through the dungeon. The air grew colder with each descent.

At the end of the narrow corridor stood a heavy iron door. Two guards flanked it, their faces grim in the torchlight.

"She hasn't stopped crying," one guard muttered.

Alpha Darius's jaw tightened. "Open it."

The door groaned on its hinges, revealing a small cell lit by a single flickering torch.

Coco sat hunched on a wooden stool, her peach gown now torn and smudged with dirt. Her raven hair hung in tangled waves around her face, and her hands, usually so graceful, shook where they clutched her knees.

She looked up as we entered, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen.

"How do you know Elias? How long have you known him?" The alpha king asked.

"I... I didn’t know him... please trust me," Coco whimpered.

"I don’t buy your lies," Darius growled.

"Please... I met him only once... trust me..." Coco cried out.

"Tell me more about Elias," Darius commanded, his voice echoing off the stone. "What do you know of his dealings with the rogues?"

Coco's breath hitched. "N-nothing, my Alpha. I swear it." A fresh wave of tears spilled down her cheeks. "He— he forced me. Threatened me. I didn't want…. Please believe me. "

"Enough!" Darius slammed his fist against the wall, making her flinch. "Do you take me for a fool? You expect me to believe a high-ranking warrior like Elias would risk everything for the body of an omega?"

Coco shrank back, her hands clutching at the fabric of her dress. "I... I don't know why he chose me. Maybe because I was close to Kael? Maybe he wanted to hurt him?" Her voice broke into a sob. "I didn't ask for this! I didn't want any of this!"

Darius exhaled sharply through his nose. He had interrogated warriors, traitors, rogues— but this? This was different. Coco wasn’t fighting. She wasn’t snarling or lying with defiance. She was breaking but in a way he didn't anticipate, and it made his skin crawl.

Yet as the interrogation dragged on, Coco gave them nothing. No names. No locations. No hints of rogue involvement. Just tears and pleas and wide, frightened eyes.

"If you’re innocent," he said slowly, "then tell me where Elias might have gone."

She shook her head, her nails digging into her arms. "I don’t know. I don’t know anything!"

Darius studied her for a long moment. Then, with a frustrated growl, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the dungeon.

Coco’s sobs echoed behind him.

As the guards moved forward, Coco lunged for the bars, her voice rising in desperation. "Please! Let me speak to Kael! He'll understand— he knows me!"

Darius didn't even glance back.

☆☆☆☆☆

Kael paced the length of his father’s study like a caged wolf, his golden eyes burning with barely restrained fury.

"I need to see her," he demanded for the third time.

"No." Darius didn’t look up from the reports scattered across his desk— news clippings, all of them. Every major paper, every broadcast channel, had splashed the scandal across their headlines.

"Alpha Heir’s Mate Caught in Affair with Warrior!"

"Coco’s Betrayal: The Fall of Kael’s Future!"

"Election in Jeopardy— Will Kael Recover from This Blow?"

Darius crumpled one in his fist.

"Let me try once," Kael snarled. "She will talk to me."

"And what will you do?" Cassandra’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. She stood by the window, her posture rigid, her hair pulled back in a severe knot.

"Beg her for answers? Comfort her?" Her lip curled. "She has ruined you, Kael."

Kael whirled on her. "This wasn’t her fault!"

Cassandra’s laugh was cold. "Open your eyes! That little omega played you for a fool. And now the entire kingdom knows it."

Kael’s fists clenched. "She was forced. She would never…"

"Or so she claims." Cassandra stepped forward, her gaze unyielding. "But the blood ritual doesn’t lie. She was with him willingly. And now? The people will never trust her as their Luna Queen. The council will question your judgment for mating her. The election—"

"I don’t care about the damn election!" Kael roared.

The room fell silent.

Darius finally looked up, his expression unreadable. "That's why I wanted Alaric to stand in the election. Look at him, Cassandra. "

Kael froze.

"This isn’t just about you," Cassandra continued, her voice dangerously quiet. "This is about our family’s legacy. Our country's future. And right now?" she gestured to the papers. "You’re losing everything. Maybe your father has always been right. You were never a king material."

Kael’s chest heaved. For a heartbeat, he looked like he might argue. Then, with a snarl, he turned and slammed out of the room.

"He needs to step down. He is not fit to rule," Darius said.

Cassandra exhaled, pressing her fingers to her temples. "He’ll see reason. Eventually."

Darius didn’t answer. He just stared at the crumpled newspaper in his hand, the headline glaring back at him like an accusation.

Kael’s Downfall: Can the Disgraced Heir Recover?

He had no answers.

And Coco?

She had given him nothing.