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Chapter 4
The guard banged on the cell door and said, "Come on." The iron scraped loud as he pulled it open. I stayed pressed against the damp wall for a second. I didn't trust anybody anymore. But the smell in here mold, sweat, me was awful. Anywhere had to be better.
I followed him barefoot down the corridor. The floor changed from slimy stone to smoother flagstones. The air got fresher, smelled a little like wood and polish. The walls went from rough rock to smooth plaster with old tapestries of wolves and hunts. My heart was thumping hard. Was Kael close? Did he even know they were moving me?
We stopped at a big oak door carved with vines and wolves. Not a cell door.
"This is your room," the guard muttered. He pushed it open. "Bath's in there. Maid's coming." He didn't look at me, just walked off.
I stood in the doorway a moment, then stepped inside.
The room was all orange. Not bright and crazy, just warm burnt orange curtains, soft peach walls, a bedspread like a sunset. It was exactly the color of my hair. My stomach flipped. This wasn't random. Someone picked this on purpose.
'Did they know I was coming?' I asked Alia in my head.
'I don't know,' she answered quietly. 'Feels weird.'
'Like a nice cage.'
'Or just a room,' she said. But I could tell she was uneasy too.
I looked down at the grey rag they gave me in the cell. It stank. I couldn't let Kael see me like this. Not after the way he looked at me in the woods.
A knock. The door opened and a young woman came in smiling.
"Hi, I'm Camila. I'm here to help you," she said. Her voice was bright, like she actually meant it.
"Hi," I croaked back. My throat felt raw.
She started talking right away about the palace, the nice weather, how everyone was buzzing because the prince found his real mate. "The Moon Goddess picked you! After all those arranged girls… you're so lucky."
Lucky. The word sat heavy. I just gave a small smile and let her talk.
She led me into the bathroom. It was huge marble, hot water already running. She tested it with her elbow and helped me in. The warmth hit me hard. I hadn't felt clean in days.
She washed my hair with lavender soap, working out the knots gently. "Your hair's so pretty when it's clean," she said. "And your skin. You'll look amazing."
I didn't say much. Just sank lower in the water and let her take care of me. For a little while, I wasn't a prisoner. I was just… a person getting a bath.
When I was done, she handed me soft underwear and asked, "Gown or skirt?"
"Gown," I said. Something easy.
She picked a simple yellow one sunflower color, spaghetti straps, not too long. It felt light. She helped me into it, then gave me a mirror.
I almost didn't want to look. But I did.
My hair was bright and curly again. Freckles showed on my nose. My green eyes looked bigger, less tired. I looked like me. A tiny smile snuck out.
"See?" I whispered to Alia. "We clean up okay."
"Hell yeah," she said. "Prince is gonna lose it."
My face got hot. "Shut up," I told her, but the thought made my stomach flip in a good way.
Then my stomach growled loud. I put a hand on it, embarrassed.
Camila laughed softly. "Oh no, you're starving! I'll get food right now."
She left, promising to be quick.
I stood there a second, then my legs just gave out. I walked to the bed and dropped onto it. The mattress was soft, the pillows smelled clean. I turned my face into one and let out a long breath.
I was clean. Food was coming. And somewhere in this place was the wolf who was supposed to be mine.
Right now, that was enough.
I closed my eyes. The mate bond hummed quietly in my chest, warm and steady. Sleep pulled me under fast.