Elara POV:
The morning light felt like a physical blow against my eyes. I sat up, my head throbbing with a fever that had been building since the sun dipped below the horizon.
Kael was already gone, his scent lingering in the room like the smell of ozone after a lightning strike.
I tried to stand, but my legs gave way, and I collapsed onto the cold stone floor.
Before I could recover, the heavy oak door swung open with a bang. Gia, a low-ranking wolf who had been trying to climb the social ladder for months, stood there with a sneer on her face.
"The King's away, and I'm running the chores today," she sneered. "Get up, Omega. You're cleaning the stables."
I looked up at her, my vision swimming. "I'm sick, Gia. I can't."
She laughed, a sharp, ugly sound. "You're a waste of space. The Alpha only keeps you around as a punching bag."
She stepped forward, her boot connecting with my ribs before I could shield myself. The pain was blinding, a white-hot fire that consumed my consciousness.
She kicked me again, and then again, her laughter echoing off the walls. I tried to reach out with my mind, to call for help, but the Alpha's command from Kael earlier had left my spirit bruised and unresponsive.
I felt my head strike the stone pillar; the last thing I saw was the intricate pattern of the ceiling plaster, swimming like a reflection in disturbed water before the world dissolved into blackness.
When I finally opened my eyes, the room was quiet. I could hear a distant, rhythmic sound.
I crawled to the window, pulling myself up by the heavy velvet curtains. Below, in the courtyard, Gia was tied to the iron rack.
The guards were using a whip tipped with silver dust. Every time it struck her skin, the silver hissed, burning through her fur and flesh.
Kael stood in the center of the yard, his hands clasped behind his back. He didn't look at her. He looked up at my window.
He knew. He always knew.
He walked into the room, his boots clicking rhythmically against the stone. He stopped in front of me, his shadow falling over my broken body.
"You let a low-level wolf beat you half to death," he said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "If the council sees you this weak, they will demand your execution, and I won't be able to stop them."
I looked at him, my eyes burning with unshed tears. "I didn't ask for your help," I rasped.
His hand shot out, but instead of my chin, his fingers closed around the fabric of my sleeve, hauling me to my feet. His wolf was pacing behind his gaze, a restless, hungry beast.
"You are my responsibility, Elara. When they hurt you, they disrespect me."
He dragged me from the floor and pulled me through the cold corridors to his study. The room smelled of old leather and power. He shoved me toward a large stone mortar filled with dark, viscous ink made from crushed wolfsbane petals—a poison to our kind.
"The treaty with the Northern pack needs my seal," he growled. "Grind the ink. Now."
My hands, already bruised and swollen, trembled as I picked up the heavy pestle. The grinding motion was agony, and a half-healed cut on my palm split open. A single drop of my blood fell, a bright crimson star in the black ink.
Kael saw it. A violent, irrational fury flashed in his eyes.
"Useless," he snarled, grabbing me by the arm and hauling me back to my room. "You taint everything you touch."
He reached into his tunic and pulled out a small, ornate jar of ointment. He threw it at me, and it shattered against the wall near my head.
"Fix yourself," he commanded. "The full moon gala is in two days. If you fail to stand beside me, I can't protect you from the elders."
He turned to leave, but stopped at the door.
"Remember," he said, his voice devoid of warmth. "You don't get to die until I say so."
As he walked away, I felt a strange sensation in my chest. A flicker of something that wasn't fear, but a cold, hard resolve.
I looked at the shattered jar on the floor. I would prepare for the gala. I would clean the halls. And when the new moon came, I would make sure he never saw me again—even if that secret warmth inside me had to burn through every lock he'd ever put on my soul.
