I didn't cry the night I sold myself. Rather I lay in the enormous guest bed inside Lucien's mansion, staring up at the velvet canopy. Everything around me was silent — too silent, so silent I could hear myself breathe . The kind of silence that presses down on your chest like a weight. I had signed my life away.
Lucien Black — stranger, monster, billionaire — was now my husband. On paper, at least. There had been no ring. No vow. No warmth. Just a signature.
A few hours later, the wedding was arranged — or rather, executed. That was the only word that felt accurate.
The Wedding
The next morning, a stylist showed up with a white dress.
"No makeup," she said coldly. "He prefers it that way."
I sat in front of a mirror while she twisted my hair into an elegant updo and zipped the sleek gown up my back. It was simple — no beads, no lace. Pure white, sleeveless, and tight around my ribs. I could barely breathe.
Maybe that was the point.
I was driven to a private courthouse with two of Lucien's men on either side of me like prison guards. We walked down a sterile hall. No flowers. No guests. Just a judge in a robe, flipping papers.
Lucien stood near the window, his face carved from stone.
He didn't look at me. Not once.
The judge read vows. I didn't hear them. My ears rang with fear, pain and a whole lot of sadness, I could feel the judge reading through my thoughts, like a open book , I tired my best now to look anxious. Well maybe it was all in my head
"Do you, Zaria Kane, take Lucien Black as your lawful wedded husband?"
I hesitated.
One of the guards shifted behind me.
"I… do," I said, barely audible.
Lucien said nothing at first. Then, flatly: "I do."
No kiss. No smile.
Only a ring — silver, cold, too big for my finger.
It slid on like a shackle.
After the Wedding I was whisked away to the Black Estate — his real home. Not the mansion in the city. This one was deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and thick fog.
The gates creaked open as we arrived, and I swear the air grew colder.
The estate was massive — stone towers, stained glass, ancient arches. It looked like something out of a forgotten horror movie. The staff didn't smile. The maids barely looked at me. The butler — an old man with a scar across his cheek — bowed slightly.
"Lady Black," he said. "Welcome."
I didn't feel welcome. More so I didn't feel this could ever be called a home, my home or my safe space.
Lucien didn't walk beside me. He walked ahead, fast, silent. Like I was a shadow that followed him, not his wife.
Inside, the estate was darker. The furniture was antique, the chandeliers held real candles, and the portraits on the walls stared down with judging eyes. Generations of Blacks — cold eyes, sharp cheekbones, grim expressions
I wondered if they'd made deals with devils too. I mean who wouldn't think of auchi when everyon gave me such negative atmosphere, seemed as though they never wanted me there.
"The Rules". Lucien called me to his office that evening. He didn't offer me seat. Why wasn't I surprised.
"This isn't a marriage," he began, eyes fixed on a stack of files. "It's an arrangement. You will remain in this house. You will not enter my wing. You will attend public events when required. You will speak only when spoken to. And you will not ask questions.
I blinked. "What if people ask why we got married?"
"They won't," he said simply. "No one dares."
"And your family? Friends?" I asked him in slight fear
"I have neither." He said
I wrapped my arms around myself.
"What about children?" I whispered.
Lucien looked up at that.
His eyes — golden, almost glowing — locked onto mine.
"There will be no children," he said darkly.
I felt cold all over. "Then why marry me?"
He didn't answer. Just stood and opened the door. "You may go." Just then I knew I had walked into a complete nightmare only I could understand the high of confusion as well as pain I was in at that very moment but nobody cares.
The First Night
The room he gave me was large — bigger than my entire childhood apartment. But it felt like a cage.
I stood by the window, watching the moon rise. A full moon. It cast eerie shadows through the trees. I heard howls in the distance.
Wolves.
Of course.
It was a forest, after all.
I turned away from the window and curled up on the bed, still in my wedding dress. I hadn't eaten. I couldn't.
My mother was alive — Lucien had kept his word. I'd gotten a text from the hospital saying she'd been moved to a private facility.
But I didn't feel relief.
I felt lost.
The silence crept in again. Heavier this time.
Until…
A knock.
My door opened without permission.
Lucien stood in the doorway, dressed in black, eyes unreadable.
"I need you downstairs. Now."
"The Ritual".
He didn't explain as I followed him down a narrow staircase beneath the estate. We walked through cold stone halls, past locked doors and strange symbols carved into the walls.
Eventually, we entered a room lit with torches. It was circular, with a stone floor and a giant symbol drawn in the center — a wolf, surrounded by runes.
"What is this?" I whispered.
Lucien didn't answer. He removed his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and stepped into the circle.
"I need to complete the bond," he said.
"What bond?" I asked in high discomfort
He stepped toward me. I backed away.
"What are you doing?"
His eyes glowed. Literally glowed.
And then… he shifted.
It wasn't human.
Bones cracked. His body bent. His face stretched. In seconds, the man I married became a massive black wolf.
I couldn't scream. I couldn't breathe.I couldn't react, I was in complete disbelief
"Was this real, am I real, is all this real"
Those were the thoughts that ran through my mind, it was as if I was going crazy at that spot.
He stood there, panting, eyes glowing, fur glistening under torchlight.
I collapsed to my knees.
He came closer — and then stopped.
I stared into his eyes.
I saw pain. And rage. And something ancient.
And I realized…
I hadn't married a man. I had married a beast. Back in My Room, He didn't touch me.He didn't speak to me again.
He left me on the cold floor, heart racing, mind spinning.
When I returned to my room, I locked the door and curled under the blanket like a child. I cried for the first time.
And I finally understood what he meant when he said:
"Welcome to hell."