When the collar clicks open, I half-expect it to be a trick. A joke. Some cruel "hope spot" before the executioner takes my head off. But no blade comes. No snarling wolf lunges. Instead, the guard shoves me forward, up the stone steps and into blinding light.
For the first time since falling into this nightmare, I'm outside the dungeon.
The palace is nothing like the cell. It's all marble floors veined with silver, high vaulted ceilings dripping with chandeliers, tapestries embroidered with wolves devouring prey. It's beautiful in the same way a predator's smile is beautiful — all teeth and warning.
And everyone looks at me like I don't belong. Which… I don't.
I catch whispers.
"Human."
"Cursed thing."
"Why does he keep her alive?"
My stomach knots tighter with every step. I don't know what's worse — the dungeon's stench of death or this place where death smiles politely and waits for the right moment to strike.
---
I'm marched into a chamber where **Kairo** sits on a throne of black stone and furs, golden eyes cold as ever. He looks like he was carved from power itself. My breath hitches because *fuck*, he doesn't look human when he stares like that. He looks like something that could burn the world and not even flinch.
The guards throw me to my knees. I grit my teeth, forcing myself not to fold completely. If I'm going to die here, I want to at least go down not looking like prey.
Kairo leans forward lazily, like a lion considering whether the gazelle's worth pouncing on. "You're out of the dungeon. You'll live here, in the palace."
I blink. "What? Why? What am I supposed to do here? Polish your crown? Feed your fucking wolves?"
A low ripple of laughter snakes through the room. Not kind laughter. Cruel. Mocking.
Kairo doesn't laugh. He smirks, sharp and dangerous. "You'll learn the Alpha way. You'll learn our laws, our hierarchy, our survival. Fail, and you'll wish you'd stayed in the dungeon."
I want to scream *I never asked for this*. But what good would it do?
---
That's when I hear her voice.
"Truly, my King?" Sylara.
I turn, and there she is — draped in silk that clings to every dangerous curve, silver hair glittering in the firelight, her smile dripping venom. She walks closer, every step a calculated display of grace and power.
"You'd put her in the palace?" Sylara says sweetly, though her eyes never leave mine. "Among your people? She'll taint the air. She doesn't belong here."
I open my mouth, but Kairo cuts in. "She belongs where I say she belongs." His gaze snaps to Sylara like a blade. "Do you question me?"
Her lips twitch, but she bows her head, the perfect noblewoman. "Never, my King. But… my father will have questions. He always does."
The way she says it makes my skin crawl. Whoever her father is, he matters. And he terrifies her just enough that she uses his name like a weapon.
---
I'm dragged to my feet, shoved into a smaller chamber lined with bookshelves, maps, and weapons. This isn't a bedroom — it's more like a training chamber disguised as luxury. A woman already waits inside.
Tall, cloaked in black, eyes sharp as knives. **Seren Alvara**, the sorceress.
She looks me up and down like she's reading my bones. "So fragile," she murmurs. "So misplaced. And yet… not without purpose."
I narrow my eyes. "You're enjoying being cryptic, aren't you?"
Her lips twitch. "I speak truths no one else will." She steps closer, her fingers hovering just above my collarbone but never touching. The air around her hums. Magic. Old and dangerous. "You were brought here for a reason. One you don't yet understand. Stay alive long enough, and maybe you'll find out."
Before I can snark back, the door slams open.
Mira.
She saunters in like she owns the place, her green eyes glittering with mischief. Today the shimmer of her skin is clearer — faint iridescence, like reptilian scales. Not human, not wolf. Something between nightmare and beauty.
"Lucky you," Mira drawls. "The King thinks you're worth teaching. So guess who gets the honor of babysitting you?"
I groan. "Please don't say it's you."
She grins, sharp and cruel. "It's me."
---
The next hours are hell.
Mira teaches me how to bow, when to look down, how to eat without offending anyone. Every time I mess up, she smacks me with a stick she found somewhere, just hard enough to bruise.
"Slouch again and you'll lose your fucking head in front of the council," she snaps.
"God, you're insufferable."
She smirks. "And you're still alive because of me. You're welcome."
By the time evening comes, my body aches, my head pounds, and I'm ready to scream. But I've learned one thing: this place will kill me faster than any wolf if I don't adapt.
---
Later, I'm summoned back to the throne room. The entire court is gathered. My stomach twists when I realize what's happening — they're watching me, testing me.
Kairo's gaze pins me like a knife. "Show them what you've learned."
Every eye is on me. The council of Alphas sneer, Sylara smirks like she's waiting for me to choke, and Mira leans against the wall with her arms crossed, silently mouthing: *Don't fuck it up.*
I force myself to move. To bow. To repeat the words Mira drilled into me — acknowledging the Alpha, the council, the laws I don't even believe in. My voice shakes, but I keep going.
When it's done, silence stretches.
Then Sylara laughs, sweet as poison. "Adorable. You've trained her like a pet."
Something in me snaps. My mouth moves before my brain can stop it. "Better a pet than a snake."
The court gasps. Sylara's smile freezes. And Kairo… Kairo actually smirks, like he's enjoying this.
"Careful," he murmurs. "Your tongue might get you killed."
I lift my chin. "Maybe. But at least I won't go down quiet."
And for the first time, I think I see it — just a flicker — in Kairo's golden eyes. Not just annoyance. Not just calculation. But something else. Something dangerous.
Curiosity.