Anais POV
Time lost all meaning in the darkness. The cell smelled of damp stone and despair, a heavy, suffocating scent that clung to my skin. I curled tighter into the corner, my knees pulled to my chest, shivering not just from the cold, but from the terrifying uncertainty.
The heavy iron door groaned open, slicing through the silence.
Dimitri filled the doorway. Even in the dim torchlight, his presence was overwhelming—a force of nature that sucked the air out of the room. The scent of blizzard and cedar flooded the small space, instantly overpowering the smell of rot. It was a scent that made my heart hammer against my ribs, a confusing mix of terror and an instinctual pull I couldn't understand.
He stepped inside, the heavy door clanging shut behind him. His ice-blue eyes swept over me, cold and calculating.
"Stand up," he ordered. The Alpha's Command washed over me, compelling my trembling limbs to obey before my mind could even process the request.
I scrambled to my feet, pressing my back against the rough stone wall as he stalked closer. He stopped inches from me, his large frame boxing me in.
"Why do you still wear it?" His voice was a low growl, his gaze dropping to the moonstone ring on my finger.
"I... I can't take it off," I whispered, my voice shaking. "I've tried. It won't budge."
He reached out, his rough fingers brushing against my hand. The moment skin met skin, a jolt of electricity—The Physical Surge—zapped through me, hot and undeniable. I gasped, trying to pull away, but his grip tightened. He wasn't hurting me, but the intensity of his touch was terrifying.
He stared into my eyes, searching for something. For a lie? For a confession? I saw a flicker of something wild in his gaze, a flash of gold bleeding into the blue. His jaw clenched, a muscle ticking as if he were fighting a war within himself.
"Get out," he snarled suddenly, releasing my hand as if it burned him.
I blinked, stunned. "W-What?"
"Leave. Before I change my mind and let you rot here." He turned his back on me, his shoulders tense. "Go!"
I didn't wait to be told twice. I scrambled past him, stumbling out of the cell and running toward the sliver of light at the end of the corridor, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs.
The fresh air of the courtyard hit me like a physical blow, but I didn't stop. I was barefoot, my feet scraping against the cobblestones, but pain was irrelevant. I just needed to get away.
"Hold it right there, rogue!"
A rough hand clamped around my upper arm, jerking me to a halt. I cried out as I was spun around to face two towering Pack Warriors.
"Look at this," the one holding me sneered, his grip bruising. "Trying to sneak out?"
"Please," I begged, struggling uselessly. "The Alpha... he let me go."
"Likely story," the warrior scoffed, tightening his grip until I whimpered.
A low, thunderous growl vibrated through the air, freezing the blood in my veins.
"Let. Her. Go."
The warriors went pale, dropping my arm instantly and bowing their heads. Dimitri strode toward us, his fury palpable. It wasn't the cold, calculated anger from the cell; this was raw, possessive rage.
He shoved the warrior aside with enough force to send the man stumbling. "If you ever touch her again," Dimitri hissed, his voice laced with a lethal promise, "you will lose that hand."
He turned to me. I flinched, expecting his wrath to turn my way, but he simply grabbed my wrist—the one the warrior had bruised. His thumb brushed over the red marks, and a strange warmth seeped from his skin into mine, soothing the ache.
"Get in the car," he ordered, pulling me toward a black armored SUV parked nearby. His tone brooked no argument.
I climbed into the passenger seat, trembling. As he slammed the door and rounded the vehicle, I realized with a sinking feeling that I wasn't escaping. I was just being moved from one cage to another.
Dimitri POV
The Great Hall was silent, save for the rustling of parchment. I sat at the head of the long mahogany table, my face a mask of indifference, though Ragnar was pacing restlessly in my mind.
Mate safe. Mate home, the beast chanted, satisfied that we had dropped Anais off at her crumbling apartment. I had left warriors to watch the perimeter, though I told myself it was to keep her in, not to keep others out.
"As you can see," Beatrice said, her voice dripping with faux sympathy as she addressed the Council of Elders. She stood near the fireplace, her hand resting on the shoulder of her son, Bryson. "Grafton's will is clear. The heir must be mated to ascend. Dimitri is... unattached. And given his disposition toward women, it is unlikely that will change."
She smiled at me, a shark baring its teeth. "Therefore, as Grafton's widow, I assume the role of Regent until Bryson comes of age."
The Elders murmured in agreement. Beatrice's eyes gleamed with triumph. She thought she had won. She thought she had checkmated me.
"Not quite," I said, my voice cutting through the murmurs.
I pulled the sealed letter from my jacket pocket—the one the High Elder had handed me privately before the meeting. My father's handwriting was shaky on the envelope.
Trust the bond, my son. She is the only way.
I hated him for it. I hated that he had manipulated me, drugged me, and tied me to a wolfless nobody. But I hated Beatrice more.
"I have fulfilled the requirement," I announced, standing up. The room went deathly quiet.
Beatrice's smile faltered. "Impossible. You have no mate."
"I do." I looked her dead in the eye. "The Sacred Bonding Contract was signed by my father before his death. The bond is sealed. The mark is on her finger."
"Lies!" Beatrice shrieked, her composure cracking. "Who? Who would have you?"
I ignored her screeching and looked at my Gamma, Davon, who was standing by the door. I didn't want this. I didn't want a mate, especially not a weak one. But I was the Alpha. And I would not let this pack fall into the hands of a poisoner.
I opened the Mind-Link, projecting my voice so every wolf in the vicinity could hear the command that would seal my fate—and hers.
"Davon. Bring my Mate, Anais Moreno, to the Great Hall. Now. And show her the respect due to your future Luna."
