CHAPTER TWO
When I woke, the room smelled like blood and smoke.
My skin still throbbed where he'd bitten me. The mark was real now. I didn't need a mirror to see it. I could feel it pulsing—just beneath my collarbone—hot, raw, and permanent.
Kael had marked me.
But not out of love.
Not even out of desire.
It was something darker.
Possession.
His scent clung to me like chains. Even now, my body trembled with the aftermath of the bond locking into place. I wanted to hate him. Wanted to scream. But I had no voice. And even if I did… what would I say?
I didn't understand any of this.
Why hadn't he rejected me fully? Why did he bite me instead?
What was I becoming?
The door creaked open.
I turned my head slowly.
Kael stood in the doorway, flanked by two guards. His face was unreadable—stone cold, eyes sharper than before.
"Get her," he ordered.
The guards moved toward me.
I staggered to my feet before they could grab me. My knees nearly buckled, but I stayed upright. I would not be dragged like a corpse.
Kael's eyes flickered, but he said nothing.
They marched me through the stone corridors, up winding steps, past warriors who stopped to stare. Whispers followed me like shadows. That's her. The mute. The omega. The Alpha's mate?
I wanted to disappear.
We reached the pack hall—wide, echoing, filled with wolves of every rank. My heart pounded. They were all there. Watching.
Kael walked ahead of me, his steps slow, deliberate.
At the front of the hall stood the High Council, the Elder in the middle, his staff glowing faintly under the moonlight streaming through the glass ceiling.
Kael turned to face the crowd.
His voice was calm. "This… is the mate the Moon has cursed me with."
Murmurs rippled.
He pointed at me. "Weak. Silent. Pathetic. And yet, She chose her."
I stood frozen.
"She will not be Luna," he continued. "She has no rank, no power, and no voice. But I will not allow anyone to question the bond again."
He stepped toward me.
"And because she carries my mark, no wolf may lay a hand on her without my wrath."
Gasps followed.
I didn't know whether to feel safe… or caged.
Kael's eyes flicked to the Elder. "She is under punishment. Confined to the east wing. No one is to interact with her unless I command it."
The Elder nodded slowly.
Kael turned to me. "You will follow my rules. You will remain unseen. If I hear you've disobeyed, I'll make you wish I had rejected you."
My chest tightened. But I held his gaze.
Something flashed in his expression—confusion? Frustration? I couldn't tell.
He turned and walked away.
The guards led me out.
---
The east wing was nothing like the dungeon. It was warm. Clean. Quiet. But it still felt like a cage.
A servant—a girl with dark curls and kind eyes—brought me clothes and left without a word. The room had no lock, but I knew better than to try leaving.
I sat on the bed, staring at the moon through the narrow window.
Was this my life now?
Trapped in the Alpha's house.
Owned by a man who despised me.
I pressed a hand to the mark on my neck. It burned like it had a heartbeat of its own.
Why hadn't he broken the bond?
Why bite me?
---
That night, the dreams came again.
But this time, the white wolf wasn't alone.
A black wolf stood across from her—taller, broader, with silver eyes that pierced the dark.
They circled each other in silence.
Then, they charged.
Their bodies collided in a flash of teeth and fire. Not a fight. Not a war.
A mating.
And I woke up gasping, drenched in sweat, the bond searing through my chest like wildfire.
---
The next morning, Kael came.
He didn't knock.
He just entered, as if he owned the air I breathed.
He looked at me for a long time. Then dropped something on the table—a small book.
"You'll write in that," he said. "If you have something to say."
I blinked at it.
He walked over to the window, staring out like he didn't want to face me.
"I dreamed about you last night," he muttered.
My heart stopped.
He turned around. "You were in the woods. Running. You turned into a wolf."
I stared at him.
"I've had dreams like that before. But never so vivid." His eyes narrowed. "Are you hiding something from me?"
I shook my head.
"Lying," he growled. "You're changing. I can feel it. The mark… it's changing both of us."
He crossed the room and grabbed my wrist. His touch burned.
"You feel it too, don't you?"
I stared up at him.
Slowly, I nodded.
His grip loosened.
"Damn the Goddess," he whispered.
He stepped back. Pacing. Agitated. Like he was losing control.
"I didn't ask for this. I didn't want a mate. Especially not one like you."
The words stung.
But they didn't surprise me.
"I marked you out of rage," he said. "I thought it would end the pull. Break the bond."
He looked at me then. Really looked.
"But it made it stronger."
I swallowed hard.
He walked to the door. "Stay in this room. Do not leave. Do not speak to anyone. If you do…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
---
Days passed.
I didn't see him again.
But I felt him.
In my bones. In my blood. The bond was alive, tightening around me like a leash.
And every night, I dreamed.
The wolves. The fire. The voices I couldn't place. Whispers in a language I didn't know.
The mark on my neck glowed faintly under moonlight. My skin pulsed with energy I couldn't control.
I wasn't shifting.
But I wasn't the same anymore either.
---
On the fifth night, it happened.
I was standing by the window when my body convulsed—sharp, sudden.
Pain lanced through my spine. My vision blurred.
I collapsed to the floor.
And then…
A crack.
Inside me.
Like something ancient had awakened.
And I heard it.
A voice.
Not outside.
But within.
"Soon…"
Then nothing.
---
When I woke, the mark was burning again.
But this time, I wasn't afraid.
I was curious.
--