Chapter 1

Serena:

The iron collar at my throat had rubbed my skin raw long before sunrise, and by then the sting had become something I no longer noticed. Pain was an ordinary part of our world, something we learned to live with until it became as familiar as breath. Hope, however, was far more dangerous, and none of us dared to hold on to it.

I stood shoulder to shoulder with twenty‑three other women, our wrists bound by thin chains that clinked whenever someone shifted. Not a single one of us spoke. We did not dare look at the guards who lined the marble hall, watching us with the same indifference one might give a wall or a stone. The silence pressed against us, heavier than the cold air that seeped through the room. It stretched time, made every heartbeat feel louder, and turned the tension into something suffocating.

Crimson banners hung from the vaulted ceiling, each one embroidered with the Petrova wolf, a silver beast with glowing eyes and fangs stained red. The creature seemed to watch us from every wall, a constant reminder of who ruled this kingdom and how little our lives mattered within it.

Alpha Alexander Petrova.

His name alone was enough to make entire packs kneel. It was said that even the air changed when he entered a room, that people forgot how to breathe around him. I had never seen him, of course. Slaves never did. We only heard the stories whispered in the dark, stories shaped by fear and survival.

Some claimed he executed traitors with his bare hands. Others insisted he had never once smiled. The oldest servants swore he didn’t remember the names of those who served him, because to him, people were tools… disposable, replaceable, and unworthy of thought.

A heavy door opened, and every woman lowered her head as sharp heels clicked across the stone floor. I held my breath, forcing myself to stay still despite the way my heart raced.

The woman stopped in front of us.

“You may raise your heads,” she said, her voice smooth and controlled. “My name is Lady Helena, and I oversee every servant inside the Petrova Manor. I trust you are well aware that Alpha Alexander does not accept weakness.”

None of us dared respond.

“We were meant to receive twenty‑four women,” she continued. “One died during transport. It is unfortunate, but the remaining twenty‑three will undergo examinations.”

My stomach twisted. A girl beside me began to cry, but a guard struck her before the sound could escape her throat.

“You are not to make a sound,” he snapped.

Lady Helena didn’t acknowledge the blow. “You have all been purchased for one purpose, and that is to bear children for the Alpha. Our Alpha requires an heir, and your duty is to give him one.”

The words settled heavily inside my chest. She spoke as if creating life were simple, as if fate obeyed commands, as if our bodies were nothing more than vessels to be used.

A girl near the end of the line raised a trembling hand. Lady Helena’s expression tightened.

“Speak.”

“My… my lady,” the girl whispered. “What if… what if I cannot give him an heir?”

The room seemed to freeze. Lady Helena walked toward her, each step echoing louder than the last. She stopped inches away.

“What is your name?”

“M‑Mila.”

“You are young,” Lady Helena said, lifting the girl’s chin. “And I believe that all of you are healthy enough to give our Alpha a child.”

Mila couldn’t have been older than eighteen. Her voice shook. “If I can’t… what happens?”

Lady Helena smiled, but there was nothing kind in it. “You die.”

Several women gasped. Someone behind me whimpered. Mila’s knees buckled, and Lady Helena released her as though she had touched something filthy.

“The Alpha has no need for barren women,” she said. “He will not feed someone who cannot serve his cause.”

“You speak as if we have no right to choose,” I said before I could stop myself.

Lady Helena turned sharply, her eyes narrowing. “Do you truly believe you are being clever?”

“I believe I have the right to understand why you chose to purchase humans simply because your Alpha wants to take what does not belong to him,” I said, meeting her gaze even as my heart pounded.

The women around me stared as if I had lost my mind.

“What is your name?” she asked.

A guard placed a heavy hand on my shoulder and forced me to my knees. “Lady Helena asked you a question.”

“Serena,” I said quietly.

She walked toward me, her expression cold. “Whatever sinful life you believe you lived before this moment is over. You are now one of the Alpha’s properties, and that means you have no right to ask questions.”

She grabbed my chin and forced my eyes to meet hers. “If you ever think you can disobey me or any wolf in this manor, I will break your ego myself. Do you understand?”

She didn’t wait for my answer. She shoved me back and addressed the group. “All of you will follow the rules. I will excuse no one. One mistake, and I will not wait for the Alpha’s judgment. I will punish you myself.”

The doors opened again, and five elderly women entered wearing white robes. Healers. Each carried a leather satchel filled with instruments, and my throat tightened.

“The examinations begin immediately,” Lady Helena announced.

One healer pointed at me. “You.”

A guard pushed me forward. I didn’t need to look to know who it was.

“What is your name?” the healer asked.

“Serena,” I said, keeping my gaze low.

“Your age? Monthly cycle?”

“Twenty,” I answered, ignoring the second question until she raised an eyebrow. Heat rushed to my face. “Regular.”

She scribbled a note. “Good. Come.”

She led me behind a curtain into a smaller chamber. Examination tables filled the room, along with bowls of steaming water, fresh linens, and metal instruments. I wanted to run. I needed to run. But there was nowhere to go.

“For what it’s worth,” the healer said softly, “I suggest you cooperate.”

“Does it matter?” I asked. “It’s not like it will change anything.”

“In a place like this, it always matters,” she replied.

I lay on the table as she examined me. It was clinical, humiliating, and invasive. She checked my hymen, confirming what they already knew — that I was untouched. The Alpha never used a woman who wasn’t a virgin. That was why they bought me.

Her fingers paused over a long white scar across my ribs. “Whip?”

I nodded. She wrote another note, then touched the faded brand on my shoulder — the mark of a slave, the mark of the Alpha.

“You’ve suffered.”

I let out a hollow laugh. “That’s what slaves do. We are trained to suffer.”

She didn’t argue. Minutes later she sealed the papers. “You may dress. You look healthy. If you cooperate, you will eventually meet him.”

“The Alpha?” I asked quietly.

“Yes. And for what it’s worth, I will give you a piece of advice. If you want your life to be bearable, you must learn to cooperate. This place can become your hell or your heaven. It depends entirely on how you behave.”

The guard grabbed my arm and led me back toward the corridor. Suddenly something inside me tightened. Every servant dropped to their knees. Every guard lowered their head. The guard pushed me down by the shoulder, and I stared at the floor.

In a world like this, someone like me knew better than to be seen.

They believed I was human. I had been sold to them as one. But my wolf, silent for years, whimpered.

Mate.

My breath caught. No. Slaves did not find mates. Not here. Not now. Not when my life was already hanging by a thread.

Footsteps passed slowly. For a moment, I could have sworn he stood directly in front of me before moving on.

“Begin the selection tomorrow,” a deep voice said.

Then he was gone, leaving behind only the lingering scent of cedar and winter… and the impossible word echoing inside my chest.

Mate.