My shoulder slammed into the cold stone. The rough surface sliced through my skin even through the fabric as Selena blocked the narrow passage of the east wing.
"In a hurry somewhere?"
"Step aside."
Selena only sneered. The tips of her fingers lengthened, turning into claws, and that same sickly yellow glow flared in her eyes—the one I saw every time Cale left the castle.
"The corridor is too narrow for both of us, lapdog. You didn't think Cale's absence made you the master of this place, did you?"
"I don't care about your fantasies. Let me through."
"He's at the border. Dealing with real problems." She stepped closer, dousing me in the scent of acrid musk and cheap arrogance. "And I stayed behind to watch over the property. Damaged goods can still be written off, right?"
"You're violating his order not to touch me."
"Oh, I'm not touching you. I'm... appraising you."
She shoved me hard with her shoulder. My back throbbed with a dull pain as I hit the wall again. My inner wolf, still crushed by the weight of pack bonds, whimpered pitifully deep within my consciousness. Fear paralyzed my muscles, turning them to cotton.
"Look at yourself." Selena tilted her head, examining my fingers. "You're shaking. You can't even bare your teeth. How does he even stand the smell of sheep-like fear in his bed?"
"Does it bother you that much?"
"It bothers me that the Alpha wastes time on a defective bitch who can't even protect her own breakfast, let alone the pack's honor."
I tried to slip past, but her hand, more like a beast's paw, darted forward. The sharp steel of her claws ripped the fabric of the dress on my shoulder. First came the cold, and a second later—a searing fire.
"Cale isn't coming, Alina. He's busy with the affairs of the strong."
"You... you've lost your mind."
I pressed my palm to the wound. Hot liquid immediately began to pulse through my fingers. The scent of blood—thick, metallic, unnaturally sweet—instantly filled the narrow corridor.
"Your blood smells like a human's." Selena stepped forward, her nostrils flaring. "Weakness. Rot. Want me to see what's inside? Maybe if I cut you deeper, we'll find at least a drop of wolf essence?"
She swung again, aiming right for my face. I squeezed my eyes shut, sliding down the wall and throwing my hands up in a useless gesture of defense.
"Enough!"
A crack of bones and a sharp exhale. I opened my eyes. Jake was gripping Selena's wrist inches from my face. His face had turned into a frozen mask, his jaw set tight.
"Let go, Jake. This is none of your business."
"My business is order in these corridors."
"Are you protecting her? A low-rank protecting an omega?" Selena tried to break free, but Jake held firm. "Cale will hear that you went against me."
"Cale will hear that you started a massacre in his home without orders." Jake threw her hand back with a jerk. "Go, before I forget your status."
"You dare give me orders?"
"I dare do my job."
Jake stepped aside, shielding me with his body. I saw his fists clenching and unclenching. Behind him, in the shadows of the arches, others began to appear. Pack members, drawn by the scent of my blood, emerged from their dens. They didn't interfere. They just stood and watched, like predators eyeing a wounded beast.
"Look at her!" Selena gestured to the crowd, her voice breaking into a screech. "She doesn't even growl! She's bleeding and waiting for a guard to save her. Is this your future Luna? Is this the one you'll obey?"
"Selena, shut up." Jake didn't turn to me, but I felt his tension.
"She smells like a victim!" Selena lunged, but Jake blocked her path again. "Step aside, Jake. Let me finish. She disgraces us all just by being here."
"Final warning."
Suddenly, the air in the corridor grew heavy. So dense it became hard to breathe. The hair on my arms stood on end. This wasn't just cold—it was ozone, the herald of a storm.
The bond in my chest, which had been barely pulsing until then, exploded like molten lead.
A heavy, measured step echoed off the vaults. A growl, low and vibrating, made the stones beneath my feet tremble. The pack immediately parted, pressing against the walls and lowering their heads.
Cale.
He emerged from the gloom, shrouded in the scent of snow, pine needles, and primal rage. His cloak billowed behind him, and his eyes burned with an icy blue flame that held nothing human.
"Who. Allowed this."
Cale's voice was quiet, but it made my blood run cold. Selena, who had been oozing venom just a moment ago, suddenly looked tiny. She tried to straighten up, but her knees buckled.
"Alpha... I just... she..."
Cale didn't listen. His hand darted forward with a speed the human eye couldn't follow. Selena shrieked as his fingers clamped around her throat, and she was slammed into the stone wall with such force that cracks spread through the plaster.
"I'm asking once, Selena." He lifted her off the floor. "Who gave you the right to handle my property?"
"She... she's weak... Cale... I wanted to show..." Selena wheezed, her legs twitching convulsively.
"You wanted to show your stupidity." His claws sank into her skin, leaving crimson marks. "You thought you could substitute my will for your own? That you have the right to judge those who belong to me?"
"Forgive me..." she gasped.
"Disappear." Cale released his grip, and Selena crumpled to the floor like a sack of grain. "If I see you in this wing before the full moon, I will personally rip out your spine. Get out!"
She didn't wait. Scrambling up, Selena bolted, never looking back. The pack followed her, dissolving into the shadows as if they had never been there. Only Jake, Cale, and I remained.
Jake bowed briefly, eyes downcast.
"Alpha. I tried to prevent—"
"You're dismissed, Jake."
"But her wound—"
"Dismissed."
Jake hesitated for only a second, cast a quick, pained look at me, and vanished into the passage.
I remained sitting on the floor, pressing my bloody hand to my shoulder. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. Cale slowly turned to me. His rage hadn't vanished; it had simply shifted its focus.
"Get up."
I tried to lean against the wall, but my hand slipped on the blood. Cale closed the distance between us in a flash, grabbed my healthy elbow, and literally yanked me to my feet.
"It hurts..."
"Hurts?" He leaned into my face, his breath scalding my skin. "It hurts from a few scratches that little mutt gave you?"
"She attacked me when I—"
"You allowed her to attack!" His voice broke into a snarl. "You stood there and waited for her to tear your throat out. You didn't even try to strike back."
"She has claws, Cale! She's stronger! I'm not—"
"You are mine." His fingers dug even deeper into my elbow. "You are a part of my power. And every time you let trash like that walk all over you, you disgrace me."
"I didn't ask you to protect me this way."
"I'm not protecting you. I'm protecting my authority, which you undermine with your helplessness." He looked at my bloody shoulder with deep contempt. "The scent of your blood is everywhere. You smell like prey. Do you understand what that means in a pack?"
"I'm human, Cale. To them, I will always be prey."
"You will be whatever I command you to be." He dragged me down the corridor, ignoring the fact that I could barely keep up with his long strides. "But since you are unable to stand up for yourself even in your own home, you do not deserve freedom of movement."
"What are you doing?"
"Fixing my mistake. I gave you too much freedom, and you decided you could be a victim."
We reached my quarters. Cale threw open the heavy oak door and literally tossed me inside. I lost my footing and fell onto the carpet; the wound on my shoulder flared with sharp pain.
"Cale, listen..."
"No. You listen." He stood in the doorway, blocking the light. "You will stay here. Under lock and key. Until I decide you are ready to behave like an Alpha's mate should, not like a hunted rabbit."
"You're locking me up? Because I was attacked?"
"I'm locking you up because you are weak. And weakness is contagious." He cast one last cold look at me. "Servants will bring food. Jake will not come near you again."
"You can't..."
"I can do anything."
The door slammed shut with a heavy, final thud. The grate of a key sounded in the lock.
I was left alone in the dim room. Cale's scent—ozone and cold—still hung in the air, mixing with the smell of my blood. I pulled my knees to my chest, staring at the closed door.
He hadn't saved me. He had simply moved me from one trap to another. And this new trap was much stronger and colder than Selena's claws.
My inner wolf whimpered again, but this time, there was no fear in the sound. Only a dull, helpless rage that was beginning to simmer slowly, drop by drop, in my blood, mixing with the pain from the jagged wound.
A bloody handprint remained on the stone floor. My blood. My weakness. My sentence.