Chapter 2: The One Who Saw Me

REINA

The castle loomed like a shadowed beast beneath the grey sky, with tall, sharp towers that stabbed at the clouds and guards lining the walls like statues. We were herded through the iron gates, the echo of our chains and bare feet the only sound in the courtyard.

The stench of blood clung to the stones.

We were split—men dragged one way, women another. A sharp order and the tip of a sword reminded us to move quickly. 

I followed the other women down a long hallway until we reached a circular bathing chamber lined with buckets of warm water, soap, and rough towels.

"Clean yourselves," a soldier barked. "Dress in the black garments beside the basin. You are to meet Luna Seraphina shortly. Do not speak unless spoken to."

Luna Seraphina. People said she was a cold-blooded beauty raised in power and poison. She was elegant, elegantly arrogant.

“She was my mistress once,” a woman near me whispered to another, trembling as she peeled her tattered clothes off. “Her family ran the Eastern territories. If you cross her, you bleed.”

Another woman shivered. “I heard she had her own cousin’s tongue cut off for speaking too highly of another Alpha.”

I nearly tsked, but I reminded myself that I could easily be killed if I was unknown. Besides, Seraphina wasn't really my problem. She wasn't the one that was constantly alive in my head, it was Alpha Logan.

I had planned to meet him, to provoke him, to get him so enraged he'd end my misery right where I stood. That was supposed to be my escape... my only shot at freedom.

But now it was Seraphina we were meeting first. And for some reason, I had a feeling that would be a different kind of death.

After changing, we were ushered into an empty hall where we stood in a long line, side by side, facing a blank wall. Yet when she entered, the temperature in the room seemed to drop.

She moved like something carved from glass, perfect, sharp, and cruel. Her high-necked crimson dress hugged her curves, and her golden hair twisted into a crown above her head. Her lips curled with disdain the moment she stepped in.

She walked past us like we were meat. Not a glance of empathy. Just scanning for flaws.

“You,” she said, pointing at a trembling girl in the corner, “you’re too old. Out.”

“You.” Her lip curled at another. “You’re ugly. I wouldn’t let you serve my dogs.”

One woman dared to speak. “But, milady, I promise, I can serve better than—”

Seraphina’s head tilted. “Kill her.”

The room went still as the guards didn’t even hesitate. Before we could blink, the woman’s head rolled across the stone floor. Blood pooled at our feet, and some of the girls gasped, while others silently wept. As for me, I stood still, watching.

And for the first time in months... I had a brilliant idea. Maybe if I was able to irk her, she would kill me just like that other woman. As she neared me, I held my breath, excitement coursing through my veins.

But when she passed in front of me, she didn’t even stop. Her eyes skimmed past mine like I didn’t exist. She finished and everyone filed out of the room.

I didn’t move.

She eventually noticed. "Why are you still here?" she snapped.

I lifted my eyes. “You didn’t tell me to go.”

Her nostrils flared. “Watch your tone. Speak with respect when addressing your Luna.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Or what?”

Her lips curled. “Guards.”

Four of them rushed in. Two grabbed my arms. Two more pulled out whips.

“I want blood,” she muttered.

Two other guards grabbed my legs and jacked me up. The whips met with my skin, and I felt the familiar sting tearing through my already damaged back. I didn't scream, the pain was almost comforting.

When she finally grew tired of watching, she snapped, “Take her to the dungeon. Let her starve.”

My knees buckled as they dragged me out. My back was slick with blood, my vision swimming in red and black.

We turned a corner, and I staggered back, almost falling. I had hit a wall, but then I saw the boots, and I realized that it wasn't a wall.

He stood tall, towering above me, draped in all black. I had to life my head to meet his eyes... eyes cold and unreadable.

Alpha Logan. My breath hitched in my throat, and my heart began to race. The guards seemed frozen on the spot, and they bowed.

Seeing that I was still staring at Alpha Logan, they yanked me upright and barked, “Bow before Alpha Logan, you filthy rat!”

One of them struck me hard across the face, but I still didn’t bow. I just stared. And for the first time in years, someone stared back.

He was younger than I expected, more handsome too. His jaw was sharp and locked tight, his cheekbones seemed to have been carved like a weapon. He didn’t wear a crown, but then again, he didn’t need one.

His gaze landed on me, and remained. They flickered briefly down to the blood on my skin, then back up to my face.

“What's going on here?” His voice was deep. Full of control, and danger.

The guards scrambled to answer. “She disrespected Luna Seraphina, Alpha. We were ordered to whip her and lock her up.”

“Leave.” He ordered calmly. But they were hesitant. They were probably as confused as I was. Was he going to punish me by himself? Or was he actually standing up for me? “I said. Leave.” He repeated.

This time, they dropped their grip instantly and disappeared like ghosts, leaving me swaying where I stood. I was now alone with the supposedly most feared Alpha, but I wasn't afraid.

His eyes narrowed as he stepped closer. “What’s your name?”

“Reina.”

“Where are you from?”

I hesitated. What should I say? What could I say? "I’m a slave and I’ve been traded like meat?" Or "I’m the daughter of the late Alpha of the West, and I was accused of poisoning my parents?" None of that sounded good.

So I said nothing.

He reached out with two fingers, placing them beneath my chin, gently lifting my face. The touch was soft, enchanting. But his grip suddenly tightened, pressing against a bruised spot, and I winced.

His hand dropped immediately. His face didn’t change, but something flickered in his gaze. Something strange, something I had never seen in anyone's eyes ever.

"Come with me," he said simply, turning and walking away.

I stood frozen for a moment before my legs obeyed. I followed him through two flights of stone steps, blood dripping behind me like a second shadow.

He opened a door at the end of the corridor. A small, clean room with a bed. There was a crackling fire in the small fire place. The warmth in the room was more than I had ever experienced in 10 years.

“You’ll stay here,” he said without turning. “I’ll send the maids with fresh clothes. The nurse will tend to your wounds. Food will be brought to you.”

I blinked, staring at him in confusion. No one had spoken to me like this in years.

“…Thank you,” I mumbled, barely audible.

He nodded once, then left, shutting the door behind him.

I stood in the silence, staring at the fire, unsure if I was dreaming. For the first time in a decade… someone saw me. Not as a slave. Not as a thing.

And I didn’t know if that terrified me... or if it made me want to live again.