Chapter 3

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I stand there, paralyzed, looking into eyes that hold a brewing storm.

I’m a servant in a borrowed dress, a girl who scrubs filth from stone floors and survives on scraps from the kitchen trash. Because of that, they call me Raccoon, a scavenger in the dark, and I'm fated to the King of Valtheris.

The irony is a jagged blade in my throat. If I tell him the truth, the bond might protect me from him, but it won't protect me from Silas.

“I don't understand what you mean, my Alpha,” I say firmly as I try to withdraw my hand.

His eyes narrow, jaws tightening as his hold on my hand tightens so much I'm sure it will leave a bruise.

“What I mean? Are you wolfless?”

My fingers curl at my sides as I shake my head. “Answer me!” he growls, eyes darkening, and I flinch, taking shaky steps back to escape the suffocating aura he's exuding.

“No, my Alpha,” I answer, bowing my head in submission.

“Victoria, forgive my outburst. But I know what I felt.” The way his voice comes out small makes me look up, but just in time to see his hand reaching out, his long fingers inches from the edge of my mask.

My heart slams against my ribs as I gasp, stumbling back quickly, and then it happens: my foot catches on the edge of a rock.

“Oh no.” I cry out, bracing for the impact.

But a hand wraps around my waist, pulling me flush against a hard chest. “Please… don’t…” I try to push him, but he won't budge.

He's close. Too close. I can feel the heat of his body.

“You’re trembling,” he murmurs. “And I have not even touched you yet.”

I frown, confused by his words and the sudden shift in his tone and gaze.

“I am not used to this… closeness, Alpha.”

He leans in, his hand moving with a possessive arrogance down my spine, resting lower than any gentleman should.

“Is that so?”

“Please,” I whisper, my brain finally registering the danger. “This is inappropriate.”

“Insolent!” He lets me go, and I drop to my knees immediately.

“I deserve to die, my king.” My eyes remain fixed on the ground, and my body? It's trembling like a bell in a tower.

I wait for the strike, for the executioner's call.

He turns away, and I expect to hear his footsteps fading into the distance. Instead, he stops after only a few paces.

“You shake like I’ve already decided to kill you. Am I that scary?”

“Yes, my King,” l blurt. “No! I mean... no, my king.”

“Kieran,” he says, and I nod vigorously and reply.

“Yes, my king.”

“Say 'my king' one more time, and I can't promise to be gentle.” His voice is soft and strangely relaxing.

“Yes, my kin… Kieran.”

Silence reigns, heavy and suffocating, so much I'm sure he can hear the frantic rhythm of my heart.

Finally, he breaks the silence.

“You are not what I expected, Victoria,” he murmurs, circling me slowly. “They told me you were a spoiled brat, a polished doll, graceful, virtuous, and painfully predictable.”

With every word, my terror multiplies. He knows. He has caught me. Out of all the servants in the Beta's house, why did Silas choose me? A girl who hasn't seen the world outside these walls in years. Now, I will pay the price with my life.

I open my mouth to plead, to invent some story that might save my head, but he squats in front of me. He grips my chin, lifting my face so I have no choice but to meet that silver-blue gaze.

“But your eyes…” His grip tightens slightly. “They don’t belong to a girl raised in silk. They belong to someone who has survived.”

Well, I'm finished.

“M-my king, I… I can explain,” I stammer, and his lips twitch, almost as if he were amused by my fear. He lets go of my chin and stands, offering me his hand.

“Let's start over, my lady,” he says, and my eyes widen in surprise. After a moment of hesitation, I place my hand in his.

“Thank you, Alpha Kieran,” I say, rising to my feet, but the relief is short-lived. He leans down, his lips hovering over the shell of my ear, his breath hot against my skin.

“Tell me, my chosen mate. Why do you hide behind gold and lies?”

My pulse spikes. The bond is screaming at me to confess, to fall into his arms, and to let him save me from the hell of Silas’s house. But I can feel the shadow of Silas watching from the palace balcony.

“I... I have been unwell, Alpha. I hide my face because I did not wish for you to see me in such a state,” I manage to choke out. The lie tastes like ash.

“No,” Kieran murmurs, his thumb tracing the line of my lower lip, sending an unfamiliar wave of fire through my body. “I came here to settle a political debt. I didn't realize I was coming here to claim my life.”

He tilts my head back, his gaze dropping to my mouth. For a heartbeat, the world vanishes, my life of blood and dirt.

There is only him, the scent of rain, and the wild beating of my heart. For the first time in my life, I don’t think about survival.

I think about what it would feel like… to be kissed, to be ruined by him.

He notices the tremor in my lips and the way my breath hitches, and certainly, he sees the anticipation burning in my eyes because he lowers his head until I can feel his breath against my mouth.

I hold his gaze, hypnotized by him.

“If you are to be my queen,” he whispers, as his grip around my waist tightens possessively, “I want to see the face of the woman I am going to ruin the world for.”

His fingers reach the clasp, and everything stops. My breath, my heart. I thought we were finished with this topic?

“No!” The word tears out of me too late.

Because if he removes this mask, he won’t just see my face; he’ll see the lie. And when an Alpha is deceived… He doesn’t forgive.

Silas will die, Victoria will die, and I will be executed before I can even whisper my real name.

He destroys everything.