Romane von ifeoluwaadebayo316

Astrid's PovMy back was pressed so hard against the cold stone wall that I could feel every rough edge digging into my skin. Alpha Xavier stood barely an inch away from me, towering over my trembling frame. His presence was suffocating, like the air itself had grown heavier just because he was near. I couldn’t stop shaking. My knees felt weak, and my heart was hammering so loudly I was sure he could hear it.He leaned in even closer. Then his fingers began to change right before my eyes. They elongated into sharp, dangerous claws. A small, broken sound escaped my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, waiting for the inevitable. This was the moment he would snap my neck and end everything.But the pain never came.Instead, I felt the sharp tip of one claw gently trace along my jawline. My breath hitched. Slowly, almost tenderly, he lifted my chin, forcing my face upward.“Open your eyes, Astrid,” he commanded, his voice low and rough.I obeyed, my lashes fluttering open. His hazel

Astrid’s PovHis eyes met mine, they were sharp, red, and impossible to read. Then, just as suddenly, they closed again. He collapsed back onto the bed, unconscious.That was my sign to leave.He probably wouldn’t remember any of it. It might have just been a momentary surge of energy. Either way, we were even now. He had saved me twice, and I had saved him. I couldn’t stay here any longer.My body protested with every movement, my back burning like it was still under the whip, but I forced myself to slip out of the room. I limped down the hallway, careful not to draw attention. Chaos still filled the corridors — warriors shouting, injured wolves rushing past, unfamiliar faces darting in every direction. I didn’t belong here. I had no one.Still, I couldn’t bring myself to go far.I found a shadowed corner not too far from his door and stayed there, watching. I don’t know why. Maybe some part of me needed to know if he would be okay.Time passed in a blur.Then the door opened.Alpha

Astrid’s PovIt’s been four days.Four long, brutal days since they dragged me into this nightmare. Every hour feels like another twist of the knife, carving deeper into my soul. The walls of this castle seem to breathe violence and blood. And me? I’m just a human girl caught in the middle of it all, trying not to drown.No one here sees me as a person. I’m nothing more than a stain. A mistake that should have been wiped away the moment I arrived. Even the other servants, who know what it’s like to suffer, treat me like a stray dog that wandered into a palace full of wolves wearing crowns. They shove me, mock me, and laugh when I flinch. I never fight back. I can’t. Not if I want to stay alive.Some days I wonder if dying would be the only way to finally speak with my own voice again.Every morning they send me to clean Luna Aliyah’s chambers, her private sanctuary of fragile, expensive things. She collects delicate ceramic ornaments, glass swans, crystal vases, and gilded mirrors. I

Astrid’s PovWith trembling lashes, I slowly cracked my eyes open, unsure and terrified. And there he was.He stood tall at the top of the stairs, his presence commanding absolute silence. Power rolled off him in waves, heavy and suffocating, like heat rising from a wildfire. His dark eyes met mine across the chaos, and for a moment my heart simply stopped. Time itself seemed to pause.The elegant woman beside him leaned in close and whispered something into his ear. She watched me with open disgust, as if I were something filthy staining her perfect floor. But the Alpha King didn’t react. Not a twitch, not a flicker. Nothing.“Let her go,” he said, calm yet completely unyielding.The warriors hesitated, confusion flashing across their bloodstained faces. They didn’t understand. I didn’t understand.“Let her go, Finish the rest.” he repeated, this time with steel threaded through every word.Chaos exploded again. Screams tore through the air. Steel met flesh. Blood painted the stone f

Astrid’s PovPlease, please, please stop. Please, I don’t want to die. Please, I beg of you, don’t do this.The voice was mine, but I didn’t recognize it. It came out strangled and broken, trembling with a kind of fear I had never felt before. My own scream echoed back at me, swallowed up by the thick darkness that coiled like smoke in the corners.“Wake up,” I whimpered. “Wake up, Astrid. You’re dreaming. Wake up… wake up…”I clenched my eyes shut, my heart galloping in my chest.“Wake up!”I shot upright in bed, lungs burning as if I hadn’t breathed in hours. My sheets were tangled around me like a net, soaked with sweat. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. My eyes darted wildly around the room.That’s when I knew.It wasn’t a dream.Something was wrong.There were sounds, real ones. Not in my head and not from the nightmare. They came from outside, from everywhere. Crashes, screams, the sickening crack of splintering wood, and the unmistakable roar of fire.I slipped off the bed, every