RHYNA'S POV
I spent the whole day treating the wounded, soldiers who were killing my people, soldiers of the Alpha who held me captive.
Every cut I stitched, every burn I bandaged, every grimace of pain I soothed reminded me of his words.
The insults echoed in my mind, sharper than any blade. My alpha didn't care that I had been taken, didn't care if I died, all because of some woman who wasn't him.
"What the hell was happening to my life? Oh moon goddess, please help me." I called out softly.
I was captured by an enemy who was Alpha waging war over another woman, and now I'm bonded to him... What kind of cruel, twisted fate was this?
"What the fuck are you still doing there?"
The deep, commanding voice jolted me from my thoughts. Alpha Conan stood several feet away, his piercing green eyes fixed on me.
"You've been staring at the wall for a while now," he said, his tone deceptively calm.
"If you're done, come with me. I want to show you something," he added, beginning to walk. His posture demanded obedience.
I bristled. I wasn't giving him the satisfaction.
"I'm tired. I want to go back to my room and rest," I said defiantly.
He stopped. Slowly, he turned back toward me, his expression hardening like stone. I could feel the heat of his fury even from here.
"I wasn't asking for your opinion. When I talk, I expect obedience. No words."
A chill ran down my spine. Truthfully, fear knotted in my chest. He looked like he could snap my neck without a second thought.
"No. I won't," I said, holding my ground, though my voice trembled slightly.
"Oh, yeah?" he murmured, the edge in his tone dangerous enough to make the air crackle.
He signaled to the guards with a flick of his hand.
"Drag her. Follow me."
I barely had time to react before rough hands seized me. I twisted, I kicked, I cursed, but it was useless. He slung me over his shoulder with ease, as if I weighed nothing, and strode forward, ignoring my struggles.
"Don't you dare touch me! Leave me the fuck alone!" I screamed, but my words were swallowed by the sound of his boots on stone.
We moved through narrow passages, down long hallways, until finally Conan stopped in front of a door. Without a word, the guard lowered me to the floor.
"Leave us," he commanded the guard.
"Why am I here? What's this place?" I demanded, eyeing the heavy door with suspicion.
He didn't answer immediately. Calmly, he produced a key and unlocked the door.
The moment I saw inside, my jaw dropped.
*******
He opened the door with a slow turn of the key, and the smell of old parchment and dust hit me first. The light inside was dim, flickering from a single lantern in the corner, casting long shadows across the walls.
Rows of shelves lined the room, crammed with ancient scrolls, worn books, and strange artifacts, jewels that pulsed faintly, metallic objects carved with symbols I didn't recognize, and small cages containing... things I couldn't quite place.
"What... what is this place?" I asked, my voice trembling despite my attempt to stay defiant.
Conan didn't answer immediately. He walked over to a pedestal in the center of the room and picked up a small, crystalline object, shaped almost like a heart, glowing faintly with an inner light.
My chest seized. That glow, it reacted to me. The light pulsed faster as I instinctively stepped closer.
"That... that's..." I started, but my words caught in my throat.
Conan's eyes held mine, unreadable, but there was a tension there I couldn't ignore.
"It's connected to you," he said quietly, almost reverently. "Not just to me... to you."
I shook my head, stepping back. "No... I don't belong here. I'm not part of this."
The crystal's glow flared, almost as if it disagreed.
And then I saw it, a faint outline on the floor, etched into the stone beneath the pedestal: symbols that looked like two wolves intertwined, bound by light.
"Your bond... it was foretold," Conan said. "Long before you even arrived, before your pack, before your life as you knew it... this was waiting."
My wolf howled softly, as if in agreement. Fear, awe, and a strange pull surged through me.
I wanted to scream, to run, to deny everything, but my body felt frozen. The air in the room seemed charged, alive, humming with something ancient and powerful.
I realized then, with a chill crawling up my spine, that this was no accident. My bond with him... it had been fated.
And whether I liked it or not, I was standing in the center of a destiny I couldn't escape.
