The Palace Snake Pit

Amber's words clung to me like scar, it was still echoing through my mind even after she had left me. The wicked smirk plastered on her face was still carved in my memory.

Fiancee. Luna to be. Slave.

I didn't know why her calling me a slave hurt me so much, maybe because of the hatred in her voice or probably because the idea of being free just makes me so comfortable that i almost forgot i hadn't been free up to a week.

Suddenly, it all made more sense to me now the distance in Xander’s eyes, the way he spat his rejection, the fury that seemed to tremble in his hands when he looked at me. He belonged to someone else. Or rather, he was promised.

No wonder he wanted nothing to do with me.

But still… why hadn’t he just rejected me?

One word, one dismissal, and the bond will be severed. I'd be free of this ache that clung to my chest every time my eyes found him. Instead, he let it ruminate, he let me dangle on a string I didn't ask for, caught between desire and disgust.

I told myself I would pretend it didn’t exist—that bond, that pull—but the wolf inside me snarled at the very thought. My wolf didn’t care about Amber Valtris or the cold rejection. He wanted. He craved.He still had the memory of every second of Feris's control, how Xander's scent had branded itself on my bones.

I pushed the memory to the back of my mind and walked the halls of the palace, trying to lose myself in the great stone maze. The palace was not like anything I had ever known, golden corridors, chandeliers that gleamed like captive suns, walls that bore the pictures of kings of old, staring down the halls in cold displeasure. And yet, under all the polished marble and glittering glass there was rot.

It seeped from the people.

Servants looked at me then looked away quickly as if my mere presence contaminated their vision. Noblemen whispered behind gloved hands and their laughter followed me like shadows. I heard words, wolf-slave, dirty mutt, curse to the crown, but I kept walking, jaw tight, pretend I couldn't hear.

“Look at him,” one young lord drawled as I passed. His voice was sharp enough to pierce. “The Alpha King brings a mongrel into the palace, dresses him in silks, and thinks he’s fit to walk among us. Pathetic.”

Their laughter was loud this time. Deliberate.

Heat flared in my cheeks. My wolf bristled, pacing inside me, demanding we bare teeth, remind them what kind of blood ran in our veins. But what good would it do? This was their world, not mine. A snarl would only prove them right—that I was an animal, unworthy of walls carved by kings.

“Eyes down, slave,” another sneered when I accidentally glanced his way.

Before I could answer, a low, steady voice cut through.

"Watch out for your tongue ," Korran said, moving out from behind me. His voice was calm, and unflinching, but his eyes were weighted with a sort of burden that made the young lord stumble. 

"The one chosen by the king doesn't travel alone and to disrespect him, is to disrespect His Majesty's command." Korran said stiffly to them. A few nobles grumbled but their faces twisted and they backed up with mocking bows.

I release a breath I wasn't aware I was holding. 

“Why did you do that?” I asked Korran after they were gone.

"Because you still don't know the rules yet," he said, then he puts a hand on my shoulder, hard but not cruel."And in this palace, you have to learn the rules if you want to stay alive.

“Rules?” I frowned. 

Korran's lips curled, but his eyes didn't lose their seriousness. 

"Rule one," he said, pointing his index finger up "don't bite the bait, whatever it is. They want you angry. They want you to lose control, because then you're exactly what they say you are, a beast. Keep your head down, keep your dignity, and they'll choke on their own spite."

I thought of the laughter, the sneers, even Amber's smirk still burned in my mind. Dignity felt like a luxury.

“And rule two?” I asked.

"Beware, pick your allies wisely. Each and every person here smiles with their teeth pointed. Not all hands offered are to help."

As if to prove him right, a pair of court ladies glided by us, their silken gowns whispering against the floor. Their perfume hung in the air-sweet, cloying-and their eyes hung over me like dirt on the tiles. One of them laughed behind her fan.

"Can you smell that?" she said with a loud whisper I could hear.

“Wet dog. How charming.”

The other giggled. 

“Fitting, isn’t it?.”

Korran’s hand tightened slightly on my shoulder, keeping me in place. 

“Rule three,” he murmured low enough only I could hear, “pick your battles. You can’t silence them all, but the ones you do silence… make it count.”

My fists tightened beside me as i tried swallowing the growl rumbling at my throat. They were right, i have been a slave all my life, how do i fit into the nobble life in few days.

My skin felt too tight, my heart too heavy.

But then—

I saw a shadow move across the courtyard ahead and my eyes landed on him. 

Xander.

He was standing across in another large space in the in the palace, speaking to three other men in expensive silk. He was standing with confidence, and like he couldn't care less. You could see his aura oozing out and dominating the whole place. 

Just the sight of him drove me back to how i was kneeling in front of him and having cock in my mouth. 

My chest clenched painfully as i pushed the thought aside.

Even though he didn't look at me at all, I am sure he was aware of my presence because i could feel our invincible rope, pulling us together

I knew he had heard every whisper, every cruel word spat at me. And as if Korran could read my mind, he leaned close, and whispered in my ear,

“Rule four. Don’t mistake silence for neglect. The Prince… watches more than you think.”

My heart stuttered, confusion knotting my chest. Was Korran lying to comfort me?

I tore my gaze from Xander and started walking faster so i could appear tough but deep down, my wolf was howling with rage, hunger, and shame.

The palace was a snake pit, and I was bleeding.

And every snake could smell it.