Saving Tragedy Chapter 111

**Sawyer's POV**

The iron door slammed shut behind us with a sharp, metallic clang that echoed through the cavern, followed by the heavy slide of a rusted bolt locking into place followed by a padlock. The sound sent a shiver down my spine — not from fear, but from the raw, caged-in finality of it.

I turned, taking in our surroundings, my stomach churning with utter disgust.

"A fucking shit hole!" I spit, furious that they would throw us in here, especially with the baby, when we could've remained locked in the carriage until morning... 

This was purely out of spite. 

The cell was nothing more than a grubby hole in the rock, carved into the cave wall like some kind of afterthought. The bars, thick and rusted with age, stretched from the uneven stone floor to the low ceiling, jagged in places where the metal had corroded over time. 

How long has this been in here? How long have they been hiding in this cave?! 

The walls were damp, stained dark with patches of mold, and the stench of rot filled the air, thick and suffocating. A bucket sat in the corner, its purpose clear from the acrid stench of urine that clung to it from its previous occupants. 

But the floor was worse. Cold, unforgiving stone, slick with condensation and something else — something darker, something that reeked of old blood. I didn't want to think about who had been kept here before us, or whether they had made it out alive.

I clenched my jaw and pulled Millie closer to me, feeling the way her small frame trembled against me. She held Elsie tightly, her arms wrapped protectively around the baby, shielding her from the worst of the cold. The two thin blankets we had been allowed to keep for her weren't much, but at least they had stayed wrapped around our daughter through the chaos of our capture. It was the only small mercy we'd been given.

Millie shifted, pressing her forehead against my shoulder. "She's so cold, Sawyer," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the distant sound of dripping water.

I reached out, running my palm over Elsie's tiny cheek, before pressing my hand to her chest, feeling the weak but steady rise and fall of her breaths beneath the layers of fabric. Her face was frozen, but her body was warm for now, but how long would that last? The air in here was like ice, and with no fire, no warmth, it would only get worse.

I growled low in my throat, the sound rumbling through my chest as rage flared hot inside me.

Jacob had done this. He had taken my family and thrown us into this pit like we were nothing.

But he'd made a mistake.

He thought we were weak.

He thought Ashton was weak.

He was dead fucking wrong about that.

Footsteps sounded outside the bars, boots scraping against the uneven cave floor. I tensed automatically, shielding Millie and Elsie with my body as two guards came into view. Their uniforms were mismatched, their weapons crude — Jacob's 'men' were nothing more than scavengers, bandits hiding behind brute force and numbers.

One of them, a wiry man with yellowing teeth, leaned against the bars, his lip curling up into a sneer. "You comfortable in there, Alpha?" he mocked, spitting the title like an insult. "Bet you never thought you'd end up in a cage like this, huh?"

I ignored him. I had nothing to say to these bastards.

Millie tightened her grip on my arm, a silent plea not to react, not to give them the satisfaction of a response.

The other guard, taller and built like a slab of rock, chuckled darkly. "You know, Ashton really fucked up with that one," he said, nodding toward his friend. "Letting an ex-Moon Lust wolf guard Jacob's cell? He should've seen this coming."

Yellow Teeth laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, well, he's not the Alpha he used to be. Got soft after having a kid. You remember the way he used to be? Ruthless. Cold. Feared. But now? He's got a runt as a mate and a little boy who is no doubt just as weak as the mother, it's rubbed off on him and now he's fucking useless!" 

I grit my teeth so hard at their words that I thought they might crack.

Weak?

Ashton was anything but weak. They wouldn't be so brave as to say this shit to his face... 

I had seen that man fight time and time again, had bled beside him on the battlefield since the pure age of sixteen. He had torn through enemies without hesitation, had led with an iron will that no one could shake. He was the youngest Alpha to claim such a title amongst the others around the country. Family hadn't made him weak at all — it had made him more dangerous than ever...

Because now?

Now he had something extra special to protect.

Something worth going to war for.

And I knew — without a fucking doubt — that war was coming to them.

I could feel it in my bones.

Ashton wouldn't let this stand. He wouldn't let Jacob take me, Millie, and Elsie without making him regret every second of it.

I forced myself to stay silent, to breathe through the fire burning inside me. Reacting now wouldn't help Millie or Elsie. It wouldn't get us out of here. But soon... soon these bastards would see just how wrong they were.

Ashton was coming.

And when he did?

This whole fucking place would burn to ashes.

The guards lingered, smirking like they expected me to snap. Like they wanted me to.

I wouldn't give in, not with my mate and my newborn daughter beside me.

Instead, I shifted my weight, making sure Millie and Elsie were pressed further behind me. The baby stirred in her mother's arms, letting out a soft, tired whimper before nestling closer to Millie's chest.

My hands curled into fists at my sides.

"I think he's getting mad," Yellow Teeth taunted, gripping one of the bars and giving it a firm shake. "Go on, Alpha. Show us that famous strength. Break the bars. Tear us apart. Do what Alphas do best."

The taller guard chuckled again. "He won't," he said, leaning lazily against the rock wall. "Not with a pup in his arms. He's just like Ashton — soft now."

I exhaled out slowly through my nose, forcing myself to stay calm.

Millie's fingers dug into my arm, her silent way of begging me to let it all go and to remain grounded... 

But it was hard. So fucking hard to resist lurching forward and ripping a claw across their throats. 

But the cold was creeping deeper into my bones. The air was thick with dampness, and Elsie's breaths had grown softer, slower. If we stayed in here too long, it wouldn't just be discomfort we were facing. It would be survival.

How long did we have before Elsie got hungry? Started crying again to the point that she was inconsolable? 

Jacob said that he plans to move in to take over his old pack by morning which I would guess was only hours away by now... we only have to endure this until then... 

"Let's go," the taller guard finally said, pushing himself off the wall. "There's no fun in taunting a man who won't bite back - he's obviously not got that Alpha fight in him."

Yellow Teeth lingered a second longer, his grin stretching just a little wider as he looked me over. "You're gonna die, Alpha. You and your pretty little mate and that sniveling runt child of yours. Jacob will make sure of it."

With that, he turned and followed the other guard down the passageway, their footsteps fading into the distance.

Silence fell, other than for the distant drip of water and the occasional gust of wind howling through the tunnels.

I released a breath I hadn't realised I was holding the entire time.

Millie shifted beside me, her voice soft. "Don't listen to them, Sawyer - you make a great Alpha! Remember what you've done for that pack, what you've done to turn it around."

I clenched my jaw. "I know."

But it was easier said than done. Their words had cut me, as I felt helpless on the inside, though I wouldn't dare to admit that to my mate. For her, I would remain strong and unbothered... only for her. 

I crouched down to sit on a larger rock, pulling Millie with me on to my lap so she wasn't standing on the cold stone any longer. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I tucked her into my side, adding whatever warmth I could provide to her and the baby.

She sighed, resting her forehead against my neck. "Do you think he knows that Jacob's here, that he's behind this?"

There was no need to clarify who he was.

I nodded. "He definitely knows."

I didn't know how Ashton would respond. But I knew him well enough to be sure of one thing.

That he most definitely would. 

"He will come." I confirm finally, trusting in my friend who was like a brother. 

If I know him well enough, he will already be working ten steps ahead...