The night air was sharp, biting at Elara's skin as she was led deeper into the towering pine forest. The howls of distant wolves echoed across the darkened sky, making her shiver, but she refused to let fear show on her face. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
Behind her, two of Kael Draven's men flanked her like shadows, their heavy boots crunching against the frost-bitten earth. Neither spoke, and neither needed to — their presence was reminder enough that she was no longer free. She was property, a bride sealed by blood and contract.
No, Elara corrected herself fiercely. Not property. Never property.
The moon broke through the clouds, casting silver light upon the looming figure ahead. Kael Draven walked before her like a predator in his natural domain — tall, broad, and cut from shadows themselves. His black cloak swept across the forest floor, and the air around him seemed to bend, heavy with authority and rage. Even from behind, his presence was suffocating.
When he stopped, the men stopped. Elara's heart thudded against her ribs, and for the first time she caught the sharp profile of his face as he turned to her.
"Do you know what happens to liars in my territory, little wolf?" Kael's voice was low, rough as gravel, but there was an undertone that sent heat and fear coiling through her veins.
Elara swallowed hard, forcing herself to meet his eyes. They were not the dull brown of ordinary men, nor even the golden glow of wolves. His eyes were molten silver, burning with a madness that told her why they called him the Savage Alpha.
"I haven't lied," she whispered, her chin lifting, though her voice trembled.
Kael's lips curved into something between a smirk and a snarl. He closed the distance in two strides, and suddenly his hand was around her chin, tilting her face up until their breath mingled.
"You've lied since the moment you stepped into my land," he murmured, his thumb brushing dangerously close to her lips. "You wear your bravery like armor, but I see the fear in your eyes. You pretend you hate me, but your heart—" His grip tightened. "Your heart races for me."
Elara's chest tightened, fury rising to eclipse the trembling inside her. "You mistake hatred for desire, Alpha. My heart races because you're a monster."
The forest went still. His men shifted uneasily behind them. No one ever spoke to Kael Draven like that and lived.
But Kael only studied her in silence, his silver gaze cutting into her like blades. Then, without warning, he released her, turning away with a dark laugh that sent shivers down her spine.
"Monster?" he echoed, his voice carrying like thunder through the trees. "You haven't seen me bleed yet, bride. You haven't seen what I become under the curse."
Curse.
The word lingered like poison in the air, but before Elara could press him, Kael started walking again, faster now. His men shoved her forward, and soon the forest broke into a clearing where a fortress loomed like something torn from nightmares.
Stone walls blackened by time, towers that clawed into the sky, iron gates that groaned as they opened. Elara's throat tightened as she stared at her new prison — the Savage Alpha's stronghold.
Inside, the pack awaited.
Hundreds of eyes turned as they entered, wolves shifting in their seats, warriors leaning on their blades, women whispering behind clawed hands. Every gaze carried curiosity, hunger, and hatred.
"She's the one," someone hissed. "The human bride." "She won't last the week."
Elara forced her spine straight. If they wanted to see her crumble, she would not give them that.
Kael strode to the head of the hall, his aura filling the chamber until silence fell like a blade. He turned then, silver eyes gleaming as he fixed them all — and finally her.
"This is Elara Hayes," he announced, his voice echoing through stone. "By decree of the Moon Goddess and by blood oath, she is mine."
The declaration rang out like a death sentence.
Elara's heart hammered, but she lifted her chin, staring him down with all the defiance she could summon. If she was to be bound to a savage, she would not enter meekly.
And in that moment, as his eyes burned with something unreadable, she knew two things:
Kael Draven was not a man easily broken. And neither was she.