The Beginning

RIYA’s POV

The tower felt different that night. But I remember the warning carved deeply into my bone, every word my mom uttered as she lay dying.

They were supposed to be our enemy, not one I’ll be acquainted with. My eyes snapped towards the hot burning wood.

The fire snapped in the hearth, casting shadows across the stone walls, but the warmth did nothing to calm the restlessness inside me. My wolf paced beneath my skin, ears pinned back, claws digging, restless.

The corridors outside thrummed with life—boots on stone, voices muttering, the occasional bark of laughter. I wasn’t alone in this fortress, not really, but I’d never felt more isolated.

And then, like always, I felt it before I heard it.

Kael.

His scent curled into the room before he did—smoke, cedar, and something darker, something that wrapped around my lungs until I couldn’t breathe without thinking of him. The door creaked, and he stepped inside as if it belonged to him. Which, technically, it did.

He didn’t speak at first. Just looked at me, his storm-gray eyes unreadable. My heart kicked harder against my ribs.

“You’re still awake,” he said finally, his voice low and rough.

“You don’t knock,” I replied, folding my arms to hide the way they trembled. I could feel it, he was more than what everyone said. 

No description! Just mystery and one part of me wanted to know him, to study him, and tame him but I knew better. 

Kael ignored the barb. He closed the door behind him, the click of the lock echoing louder than it should have. Then he crossed the room, his stride measured, deliberate. Predatory.

I backed into the window ledge before I realized I was moving.

“Why are you here?” I asked, my eyes lingering over to him, only to meet with his.

His gaze burned over me, slow, unhurried. “Because I wanted to see if you’ve learned anything yet.”

“About what?”

He stopped just close enough that the heat of his body brushed against mine, though he didn’t touch. His tattoos shifted with the tightening of his forearm as he braced a hand against the wall beside me.

“About what it means to belong to me.”

The words hit like a blow. My breath caught, my pulse stumbling. He kept on saying this over and over again but I knew, it meant something deeper. 

“I don’t,” I whispered, though I didn't even believe it.

Kael leaned in, so close his breath warmed my cheek. His lips hovered at my ear, never touching. “Not yet,” he murmured, “but your wolf knows. I can smell it.”

A tremor rolled through me. My wolf surged, wild and furious, desperate to deny him even as she leaned closer.

“Stop,” I managed, my hands pressed to his chest. The heat of him bled through his shirt, searing. “You don’t get to play with me like this.”

He caught my wrists, firm but not cruel, and pinned them against the wall. His head tilted, eyes glinting. “This isn’t play, Ria. This is bond. You feel it, even if you’re too stubborn to admit it.”

For a heartbeat, the world stilled. His mouth hovered so close to mine that one more breath would have bridged the distance. My chest ached, torn between fear, fury, and something else—something sharper, hungrier.

And then—he let go.

The sudden absence of his touch was worse than the burn of it. It was as if my body wanted him, more than I could imagine. 

Kael stepped back, his expression unreadable. “You’ll learn,” he said softly, almost to himself. “One way or another.”

Before I could respond, the door opened. They sure love not respecting privacy over here. 

A woman swept in, her presence sharp as a knife. Tall, beautiful, her dark hair braided like a crown, her golden eyes gleaming with superiority. Her gown clung to her like armor, black silk lined with silver embroidery.

Lyra Vale.

I knew her name before she spoke it. Whispers of her had reached even my old home—Kael’s once-promised mate. She had fought beside him in the southern wars, her claws as bloody as his.

And she hated me instantly.

“Well,” she purred, her gaze flicking over me with disdain, “so the rumors are true. The Alpha really did chain himself to an auction girl.”

I stiffened, heat rushing to my cheeks. “I’m not chained to anyone.”

Her smile was all teeth. “Oh, sweet thing, you’re already bound. You just don’t know how tight the leash is yet.”

Kael’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t intervene. He just watched, unreadable, as if measuring both of us.

Lyra turned her gaze to him, her tone shifting, silk over steel. “She’ll weaken you, Kael. She doesn’t belong in this pack. She doesn’t belong with you.”

Something sharp flickered in his eyes, but his voice was calm when he answered. “Leave, Lyra.”

For a moment, she held her ground. Then her lips curved in a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course, Alpha. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Her heels clicked against the stone as she vanished into the hall, leaving the scent of jasmine and venom behind.

The silence she left was suffocating.

“Who was she to you?” I asked, my voice too soft.

Kael’s eyes locked on mine. “No one that matters.”

It was a lie. I could feel it in the air. But I didn’t push. Not yet.

*****

UNKNOWN POV

Elsewhere in the fortress, Darius raised his cup to a circle of wolves who leaned in close. They were all standing, looking like one who planned a riot. Looking deep, you could tell their purpose.

He meant to overthrown Kael but could he?

“She’s the key,” he told them, his voice dripping with charm. “You’ve seen it yourself. Kael’s already distracted. He’s slipping.”

The wolves muttered among themselves. Some nodded. Some looked wary. One single mistake and everything they planned would be over before it started.

Darius’s smile sharpened. “Help me take her, and we’ll have what we need to strip him of his crown. An Alpha who can’t control his bond isn’t an Alpha at all.”

Beside him, Lyra Vale stepped out of the shadows. Her golden eyes glittered with venom.

“I’ll help you,” she said smoothly. “Because I’ll never let her take what was supposed to be mine.”

Their pact was sealed in the silence of that room, a storm brewing just beyond Kael’s reach.

********

Back in the tower. 

I walked in, my body aching from the previous training, as I sat on my bed removing my clothes , my mind darted back to Kael.

I knew I had lost to the heat of wolves, my wolf was creating a bond with his and no matter how I tried denying it, it kept drawing him closer.

I smiled removing the last piece of cloth from my body as I walked to the bathroom, turning on the shower, I enjoyed the feeling of being soaked in a hot bath.

Kael. Darius. Why does my wolf skip anytime if noticed them, why does my fate seemed tied to you both, could it be the reason why I got involved in this circus.

I came out after a while, my body dripping wet as I moved to dry myself, then put on the clothes I found on the closet, he seemed to have prepared it all before collapsing into the bed.

I lay awake long after Kael left. My wrists still tingled from where he had pinned them. My lips still burned from how close he hadn’t kissed me.

And my wolf whispered the truth I didn’t want to hear.

I didn’t hate him. Not enough. I tried to but I couldn’t, not even with the warning carved deep into my bone, and I knew it then. I was slowly falling in love with him.

And that would be the death of me.