Chapter 3

Serena:

I had barely closed my eyes when the knock came. Three sharp raps echoed against the wooden door of the tiny room I shared with six other women, slicing through the darkness like a warning. The room fell silent instantly. Every slave sat upright. No one spoke. No one dared move.

The door swung open before anyone could answer.

Two maids stepped inside, followed closely by Lady Helena. She looked exactly as she had the day before, her silver hair perfectly pinned, her emerald gown untouched by a single wrinkle. Her gaze swept the room once before landing directly on me.

“Serena.”

My stomach tightened, but I knew better than to sass her after what happened earlier this morning. “Yes, my lady?”

“Come with us.” She said, making me frown in confusion.

“Where are we going?” I asked, and she scoffed.

“The fact that you believe that I am going to owe you an answer makes this a little more amusing than it should be.” She said, making my stomach churn. “Move… now.”

The other women stared. Some looked at me with sympathy, others with relief. One girl mouthed good luck. I wasn’t sure whether she meant it or whether she was saying goodbye.

I stood and smoothed the wrinkles from the plain gray dress I had slept in. The chains had been removed during the night, but the iron collar remained locked around my neck, a constant reminder of what I was. Property.

I followed Helena into the corridor. Neither maid spoke. Neither did Helena. We walked through hallway after hallway until she finally stopped before a door I had never seen.

Inside waited a steaming bath, clean towels, perfumed oils, and three women dressed in black standing beside racks of expensive gowns.

“What is this?” I asked. “I am completely lost at what you’re trying to do.”

“You will bathe,” Helena said. “And you are going to scrub yourself clean of the dirt on your skin.”

“I already bathed earlier…”

“You will bathe again.” She said, stopping me.

Before I could protest, the maids stepped forward. “I can wash myself.”

“I know,” she said, looking at me. “They are here to prepare you. And you are going to do so without a hassle, because tonight of all nights is one that will need your obedience.”

“I don’t need preparing.” I said, glaring at her as I quickly understood what she was implying.

Helena studied me for a long moment. “No,” she said quietly. “You need instruction.” She stepped closer, her voice calm but firm. “When you stand before the Alpha, you do not speak unless spoken to. You lower your eyes. You kneel. You will address him as ‘Alpha.’”

I remained silent.

“What if I don’t?” I asked finally. “What exactly should I expect?”

The room froze. One maid inhaled sharply and another stared at the floor. Helena regarded me with an unreadable expression. “Then I suggest you become acquainted with the healers.”

I crossed my arms. “I’m tired of kneeling to people that don’t deserve it,”

“You are a slave.” She said, throwing the reminder at my face.

“I know what I am.”

“Do you?” she asked softly.

Her question lingered between us. “I know I’m not an animal, and I know that I don’t plan on kneeling.”

For a heartbeat, something softened in Helena’s expression. It vanished so quickly I wondered if I imagined it. “I admire your spirit,” she said. I blinked, unsure whether I had heard correctly. “I do,” she continued. “But spirit alone does not keep people alive.” She gestured toward the bath. “Please.”

The word startled me more than the order. After a long moment, I nodded.

The bath was hotter than anything I had felt in years. Layers of dirt dissolved into the water. The maids washed my hair, brushed it until the knots disappeared, trimmed my nails, and applied oil to the scars along my arms. I hated every second of it. Not because they hurt me, but because they treated me like an object being polished before sale.

When they finished, one maid lifted a beautiful ivory dress. “I won’t wear that… it is not even one of my choice.”

“It is the Alpha’s choice.” She said calmly. “And you are going to wear it.”

“I don’t care.” The maid stepped toward me with the gown. I took a step back. “I’m not dressing up for him.”

Helena studied me again. “What would you prefer? The Alpha is waiting and we are not going to delay this because you’re being stubborn.”

I looked at the simple gray dress folded beside the bath. “That.”

“It is a servant’s dress.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest. “You are being presented before the Alpha. You can either choose something that is more decent or I am going to make the choice.”

“I don’t want to be presented.”

“I don’t care.” She said, pulling out a gray dress. At least it wasn’t the ivory one. “You still will be.”

One hurried to retrieve it. When I pulled it over my head, relief settled inside me. It wasn’t much, but it was mine. Perhaps the only choice I had left.

Word spread quickly. By the time Helena escorted me through the servants’ wing, everyone knew where I was going. Conversations stopped as we passed. Servants stared openly. Kitchen maids paused mid‑step. Stable boys watched from the courtyard. Even guards looked up.

Their expressions were strange, envy from some, pity from others. One elderly servant quietly crossed herself, as though I were walking toward my execution. The whispers followed me like shadows.

“That’s her…”

“So soon…”

“I heard the Alpha requested her personally…”

“Poor thing…”

“She’s beautiful…”

“That won’t matter…”

I clenched my fists. Every word dug beneath my skin. They weren’t looking at me. They were looking at a future womb. A possible mother. A body. Never Serena. Always what Serena could provide and I stopped walking.

Helena halted beside me. “What is it?”

I turned toward the watching servants. “What?” Every eye widened, but no one answered. “If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.” One young maid looked at the floor. Another hurried away. “And if you pity me?” I asked, my voice rising. “Don’t.”

My words echoed through the corridor.

“I’ve spent years being looked at like I was already dead.” I swept my gaze across every servant watching. “If any of you think I’m walking into that room to beg…” I shook my head. “…then you don’t know me.”

The silence that followed felt different, not awkward, but respectful.

Helena watched me with an unreadable expression. “Are you finished?”

I nodded. She resumed walking, and I followed. My heart still burned with anger, but at least it belonged to me.

The closer we came to the Alpha’s wing, the quieter everything became. The servants disappeared. The decorations grew richer. Dark wooden walls gave way to polished black marble. Massive portraits lined the corridor, each one depicting a former Alpha, powerful, cold, and unforgiving.

Finally, we stopped before two enormous black doors. Two warriors stood guard. They bowed immediately. “Lady Helena.”

“The Alpha is expecting her,” she said.

One guard pushed open the doors. This was it… I was actually going to enter the devil’s chamber…

I drew a slow breath. Whatever happened inside, I would not break. Helena looked at me one last time. “Remember what I told you. You don’t want to anger the Alpha,” I didn’t answer. She stepped aside. “There. Go on inside… he will be waiting for you.”

I walked forward alone and the doors closed behind me with a deep boom.

The office was larger than the room I had slept in for the last five years combined. Bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling. A roaring fireplace warmed the air. Maps covered one wall. Weapons decorated another. Everything about the room radiated power.

And standing beside the tall window… was him.

Alpha Alexander Petrova.

He turned as the doors shut, and his piercing gray eyes landed on me. The world seemed to stop. His scent crashed into me with such force my knees nearly buckled. My wolf, silent for years, surged to life.

Mate.

No. Not him. Not the man who owned this place. Not the man who bought women to bear his children. He took one step toward me… and sadly, I didn’t think.

I reacted…

Every ounce of anger, fear, humiliation, and helplessness exploded at once. My hand flew upward, striking toward his face with all the force I had left.

And unfortunately, instead of landing on his face… it was caught midair…