Elara POV
The interior of the mansion was a sudden, shocking warmth, thick with the scent of beeswax and drying vanilla.
I stood upon a plush Aubusson rug, my worn boots an ugly stain on its intricate pattern.
I remembered my grandmother's dying words.
She had told me to build a territory of my own making, and to place my faith in no one but myself.
I looked up at the Pack Elder.
She was sitting on a velvet chair, looking at me like a problem she needed to solve.
"Elder," I spoke up, breaking the silence in the grand hall.
She raised an eyebrow.
"I know I do not belong here," I said clearly.
"I will never mention the Mate contract again."
A flicker of surprise, then profound relief, washed over the Elder’s severe features.
"I only ask for a place to sleep and food to eat until I am eighteen," I continued.
Eighteen was the age when every wolf experienced the Shift.
It was the first time our bones would break and reform, the agony that birthed our true, lupine forms.
It was the true coming of age.
"Once I reach that age, I will leave your lands," I promised.
The Elder smiled, but her eyes were still cold.
"You are a smart girl," the Elder said. "We will let nature take its course."
Her benevolence was a carefully constructed lie.
"We have a lovely guest room on the second floor," the Elder said.
She turned to her grandson, who was leaning against the wall.
"Kael, drop your hostile aura," the Elder commanded.
Kael frowned, his jaw tight.
"Show our guest to her room upstairs," she ordered. "And apologize for your rudeness outside."
Kael opened his mouth to argue.
Seraphina quickly stepped close to him and grabbed his arm.
She leaned in and whispered something into his ear.
I could not hear the words, but I saw Kael's face change.
The petulant anger dissolved into a slow, cruel smirk.
"Of course, grandmother," Kael said smoothly.
He looked at me, and my stomach twisted with fear.
A primal instinct, honed in the harsh southern woods, screamed at me to flee.
"Follow me, Omega," Kael said.
He turned and started walking up the grand staircase.
Seraphina followed right behind him, giggling softly.
I had no choice but to follow them.
The air on the staircase grew thick, as if we were ascending into a pocket of deeper, more deliberate malice.
I hugged my grandmother's ashes and took a step up.
I did not know exactly what cruelty they had planned for me, but I could feel it in the heavy air—this staircase was not leading me to a room, but to a prison I would not escape for nearly a decade.
