The Unexpected Visit

I was so damn agitated, I could not even sleep. He locked me back up!! I got a chance at freedom, and he snatched it from me, mocked me with the damn mate bond and locked me back up!!!

I was still tossing and turning on the tired, hard prison bed i was on when the door opened.

The moon goddess really was punishing me for all the things I said to her. But did I feel like taking them back? Hell no! She was still a pompous deity who never answered when I called. That's why she gave me my father's murderer as my mate.

As the door opened wider, I expected him to come in with chains and wrap me up till I could no longer move.

I wasn't scared of being tied up... It would only give me more reasons to hate the bloody alpha. He was already not winning any points in my books.

But as the door opened further, and I saw who was at the door, disappointment filled my chest.

It was not Alpha Kade, they were no chains, and hell, it made me mad...and confused.

Because chains were familiar. Chains meant I knew where I stood. Chains meant I knew what kind of hell I was dealing with.

But there were none.

Three guards stood outside my cell, armed and alert, their expressions were neutral.

And standing in front of them, leaning casually against the wall like he really did not want to be here, doing this, was a man I had never seen before.

He looked… normal. Too normal to belong to this bloodthirsty pack. He had dark hair, sharp eyes, broad shoulders. As the light danced accross his body and clothes, i noticed that he was dressed in clean clothes that screamed rank without being flashy.

He didn’t look at me like I was dangerous or fragile or something to be conquered.

He looked like I was a persky problem he’d been assigned to solve. I did not know how that made me feel.

“Well,” he said, glancing me up and down, “you’re definitely not what I expected.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “That makes two of us.”

He smiled. Actually smiled at me.

“Oh, I like you already.”

I didn’t move from the edge of the bed.

“Who are you,” I demanded, “and why are you in front of my cell?”

“Fair questions,” he said. “I’m Dorian. Beta of this pack. And I’m here to move you.”

My shoulders tensed instantly. “Move me where.”

“Somewhere without rats,” he said easily. “And before you ask, no, it’s not another dungeon. We’re switching things up.”

I laughed in disbelieve. “You expect me to just walk out with you?”

“No darling,” he replied. “I expect you to consider walking out with me. Big difference.”

One of the guards shifted behind him, but Dorian didn’t even look back.

“She doesn’t bite,” he said lazily to them. “And if she does, I’ll handle it.”

My wolf stirred, offended.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said.

“That’s fine,” he replied. “We can stand here until one of us dies of boredom. My money’s on the guards.”

I stared at him.

He stared right back.

Finally, I rolled my eyes and stood up.from the bed.

Not because I trusted him, but because staying still felt like I was losing the battle.

The guards stepped aside as I walked out of the cell. No chains. No grabbing. No threats. Just space. Enough space that it made my skin crawl.

We walked through corridors I hadn’t seen before. Wolves passed us. Some stared openly. Some looked uncomfortable. A few bowed their heads.

I hated that part...It confused me, more than it unsettled me.

“Don’t get used to it,” Dorian said quietly, noticing my expression.

“They’re just confused.”

“So am I,” I snapped.

He hummed. “Yeah! That tracks.”

We stopped in front of a bathing chamber.

“You will shower,” he said. “the guards will stay outside, and the doors will stay unlocked....ehm... for your safety... You know, incase you slip and fall”

“You're not fooling anyone, Beta Dorian. What if I try to escape?”

He tilted his head.

“Then today becomes significantly worse for everyone involved.”

I didn’t like how calm he was when he spoke to me, like we were some sort of long lost friends, but I went into the bath chamber, anyway.

I looked back every two steps I took into the room making sure they were not looking at me bathe. Guards always were up to no good, even in my pack.

Former pack.

The thought squeezed my heart till it felt hard to breathe, but I stayed still, undressed and got into the tub.

The water was hot and clean with real soap, and soft towels, thicker than anything I’d touched in days.

I scrubbed my skin raw, whipping off all traces of dirt on my skin, and even when it was clean, I scrubbed it some more, like it would scrub away all the guilt, blood and filth that floated around in my head.

When I came out, wrapped in a towel, and then a bath robe, Dorian was still there.

“Feeling more human?” he asked.

“I don’t feel anything,” I said.

“Give it time. Those baths work wonders on the body. I should know, I spend hours in them daily... Don't tell Kade though, he thinks I do intense military meditation...”

I scoffed, covering up the laughter that bubbled up in my chest. As we kept walking with the towel and robe around my body and hair, we climbed stairs. Real stairs. Light poured in through windows, and I had to squint like a fucking idiot because I hadn’t seen sunlight properly in days.

He stopped in front of a large wooden door and opened it.

I froze in my steps.

The room was massive, so massive and luxurious with a fireplace, rugs and even thick blinds on the large windows.

It had a bed that looked like it had never known discomfort. A wardrobe stood open, with dresses hanging neatly inside.

My stomach dropped. Was this...for me?

“No,” I said immediately.

Dorian sighed. “That was also my reaction.”

“This is a trick.”

“It’s an effort,” he corrected me with a silly smile on his face... “A bad one, maybe, but an effort nonetheless.”

I stepped inside slowly, touching nothing.

“Why?” I demanded. “Why do this?”

“Because locking you in a dungeon was stupid,” he said bluntly. “And because the Alpha decided to stop being an idiot.”

I laughed. “That’s new.”

“Oh, trust me,” he said, “it surprised all of us.”

I turned back to him. “I don’t trust you.”

“Good,” he said. “You shouldn’t.”

I frowned.

“But,” he added, “I’m not your enemy.”

"How would I know you're not my enemy... You're his family. You're his beta... and that seems awfully convenient for a person who isn't my enemy..."

"I'm not your enemy because..."

"Yes? Because?"

"Because... Oh come on, just believe me, okay? I'm a good guy... One of the best, actually"

Before I could reply, the door behind him opened and the air inside the room changed.

I knew who it was before he fully entered the room.

Alpha Kade walked in.

And every ounce of calm I’d scraped together shattered.

Damn this blasted alpha!!!