Chapter 2

Alexander:

The corridor fell silent the moment I stepped into my office. The carved oak doors closed behind me with a heavy thud, shutting out the whispers of servants and guards who always seemed to breathe differently when I passed. For a long moment, I simply stood there, letting the quiet settle around me.

I loosened the cuffs of my black jacket, replaying the strange sensation that had struck me in the hallway. It shouldn’t have been possible. It went against every rule I had lived by for thirty‑two years. I had spent my entire life leading the Petrova Pack, hunting rogues, and recognizing wolves long before they ever shifted. I knew what I had sensed.

It hadn’t been human.

Someone among the slaves carried a wolf… a knock broke my train of my thoughts and I glared at the door.

“Come in.” I called, catching her scent.

Lady Helena entered with the practiced grace of someone who had managed Petrova Manor longer than most guards had been alive. She bowed her head respectfully before straightening.

“You wished to see me, Alpha?” She asked, looking down at her feet.

I walked toward the fireplace instead of answering immediately. The flames danced lazily across the logs, but they did nothing to distract my thoughts. Eventually, I spoke.

“Why is there a wolf among the slaves?” I asked, not bothering to look at her.

The room stilled. Helena blinked once, her composure faltering for the first time in years.

“I beg your pardon?” She asked, clearly surprised.

“There was a wolf,” I repeated, turning to face her.

She frowned, confusion tightening her expression. “That is impossible.”

“I know what I sensed.”

Her certainty returned, sharp and unwavering. “I personally inspected every woman before they entered the manor. There isn’t a single member of another pack among them.” She hesitated before adding, “I even had silver applied to each of them during transport.”

Silver. Enough to weaken any wolf. Enough to suppress instincts. But not enough to erase what I had felt.

“I caught her scent,” I said.

Helena’s brows knitted together. “Her?”

“It was female.”

She considered that for several moments before slowly shaking her head. “If she truly carried a wolf, I would have known.”

Perhaps she would have. Or perhaps not.

Most Alphas underestimated Omegas. They assumed Omegas were weak, harmless, and forgettable. But a suppressed Omega could go unnoticed, especially after years of slavery and prolonged exposure to silver. If she had spent enough time being treated as human, even she might have forgotten what she was.

My wolf stirred beneath my skin.

Find her.

I ignored him.

“There is a wolf,” I said calmly. “I am certain. Though I shouldn’t have to justify myself to you, Helena.”

Helena lowered her eyes briefly. “If you believe that to be true… shall I have every woman examined again?”

The suggestion hung in the air. Another Alpha might have agreed without hesitation. I didn’t.

“No.”

She looked up, surprised. “No?”

I walked toward the large window overlooking the training grounds. Warriors sparred with wooden swords while others shifted into massive wolves, their growls faint through the glass. If the woman truly possessed a wolf, dragging every slave through another inspection would only frighten her. Fear made people lie. Fear made them hide. I would learn far more another way.

“There was one,” I said quietly. “The brown‑haired girl.”

Helena frowned. “There are several brunettes.”

“The one brought from the examination wing.” I said, hiding my annoyance.

Recognition flickered across her face. “The girl named Serena?”

So that was her name.

Serena.

An ordinary name, yet it settled in my mind with surprising ease. “Bring her to me.”

Helena’s eyes widened just enough for me to notice. “Alpha…”

“What is it?” I asked, glaring at her.

“They only arrived today.” She said, looking away from me as her heart raced.

“I’m aware.”

“They haven’t been trained. She won’t know how to address you, when to kneel, when to speak, or when to remain silent.” I waited for her to finish. “She is likely terrified.”

“So?”

Helena chose her next words carefully. “Most new slaves panic during their first audience.”

“I expect that.”

She looked genuinely puzzled. “You do?”

“That is precisely why I want her.”

Helena stared at me, clearly trying to understand. For years she had managed every servant who entered Petrova Manor. She knew how quickly people learned to wear masks. Within days, they became obedient. Within weeks, they learned exactly what their masters wanted to hear. But fear stripped away rehearsed answers. Fear revealed truth.

If Serena carried a wolf, even one buried beneath years of slavery, instinct would betray her before words ever could.

“I want to see her as she is,” I said. “Not as she believes I expect her to be.”

Helena inclined her head slowly. “As you wish.”

She turned toward the door, then paused. “Would you like the physicians present?”

“No,” I said, and she frowned in confusion.

“Then… just the two of you?” She asked, looking me in the eye for a second. “You just want to be alone with her?”

“Yes.”

She bowed deeply. “It shall be done.”

The office fell silent again after she departed. I moved back to the window. Outside, snow had begun to fall across the estate, drifting over the stone walls and the endless pine forests surrounding Petrova Manor. Winter had always been my favorite season. It reminded me that survival belonged to the strongest.

My gaze drifted toward the servants’ quarters in the distance.

Serena.

There had been something unusual about her scent. Not simply wolf. Not simply Omega. Something else beneath it, something my own wolf refused to stop chasing.

He paced restlessly inside my mind. Go to her.

“No.” I said angrily.

You felt it too. He said once again. You know that she is our mate.

“I felt curiosity.”

You are lying to your own wolf who can feel you.

I exhaled sharply. Curiosity was dangerous enough. Anything beyond that was unacceptable. I didn’t have time for distractions. The council had grown impatient. Every neighboring Alpha had begun asking the same question.

When would Petrova finally have an heir?

Without one, ambitious families whispered behind closed doors. Without one, rivals imagined weakness. Without one, the future of my bloodline remained uncertain.

That was why Helena had gathered the women. One of them would bear the next Alpha of Petrova. It was a practical necessity, a duty, not a matter of affection. And once their duty was done, or they were proven unworthy, they would be gone.

Certainly not fate.

Yet as I stared into the falling snow, my wolf whispered the same impossible word he had breathed in the corridor.

Mate.

I clenched my jaw.

“No.” I muttered, not wanting to give into my wolf. “You are not going to accept her as a mate.”

But for the first time in years, I wasn’t entirely convinced.