Chapter 1

I was in the kitchen preparing meat for Darius, the prisoner my brother, Magnar, had captured during the war with the Southern Pack. I had heard the other maids whispering that he was the Southern Alpha’s son, but I didn’t really care about his status. To me, he was just a prisoner who needed to be kept alive. Magnar’s order was simple: Take care of him and make sure he stayed alive.

The Alpha King wanted Darius to surrender so he could humiliate the Southern Pack and use Darius’s military knowledge to help the North expand its territory. But Darius refused to give in, and because of that, the King had ordered the guards to continue torturing him with whips coated in aconite. Despite growing up around violence and seeing things most people couldn’t, watching Darius go through that kind of torture was something I struggled to bear.

Every time I saw the wounds on his body, I wished he would just surrender so the torture would finally stop.

The Alpha King valued Darius greatly and wanted him to join the Northern Pack, but the stubborn man refused to give in. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t notice the meat on the fire had started burning until the smell hit me.

“Oh shit!”

I quickly reached for it with my bare hand, only to burn myself immediately.

“Ouch! Ouch!” I cried, shaking my hand as I hurried to put out the fire. Once I finished, I put the meat on a plate and headed toward the dungeon with it.

As soon as I stepped inside, I looked around for Darius and found him almost immediately. His hands were tied up with a rope above his head. There were fresh cuts across his body, some still bleeding, while dried blood covered the older wounds. It was clear they had beaten him badly.

Still, he didn’t look weak.

Darius was tall and broad, his body showing how much time he had spent training and fighting. His black hair was messy, and there was something about his face that made it hard to look away. Even covered in cuts and blood, he was handsome. Then there were his eyes. Deep blue and sharp, they watched me closely, just like they always did whenever I entered his cell. He looked like a prisoner, but he still carried himself like a prince.

When he noticed me staring, his expression hardened.

“You again,” he said arrogantly.

“Yeah, me again.” I held up the plate. “You need to eat. I brought you some meat.”

He hissed and looked away. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not eating anything.”

“This is my third time coming here,” I replied. “You need to eat at least a little so you can regain your strength. Look at you. You’re badly wounded all over your body.”

“I don’t give a fuck about your food. You’re all nothing but filthy, blood-drinking barbarians. The moment I get out of this dungeon, I swear I’ll kill every single wolf in this pack—”

Before he could finish, I quickly shoved a large piece of meat into his mouth. I glanced toward the entrance, praying the guards hadn’t heard him. If they came in and started beating him again, he would only end up worse.

Darius immediately spat the meat onto the floor.

“Don’t you dare—”

“Shush.” I placed a finger against his lips. “You never listen. Aren’t you tired of being bested up every single day?”

He glared at me, but I didn’t back away. Instead, I picked up another piece of meat with my fingers and held it in front of him.

“Just eat a little,” I said. “You haven’t eaten properly since yesterday.”

“I said I don’t want it.”

“And I said you need to eat.” I folded my arms and stared at him. “Do you want to stay alive or not?”

He stared at me for a few seconds without saying anything. I could still see the anger in his eyes, but at least he had stopped shouting.

I picked up another piece of meat and held it out to him.

“Come on. Just one.”

He looked at the meat, then at me. For a moment, I thought he was going to refuse again. But he finally opened his mouth and took it. I smiled a little when he swallowed.

“See? That wasn’t so difficult.” I moved closer and continued feeding him, using small pieces this time so he wouldn’t choke. He ate slowly, and I was relieved that he finally stopped fighting me.

I had been doing this for almost a month now. Every day, I brought his food, cleaned what I could around him, and made sure he ate something before I left. I knew when he was in too much pain to move and when he was only pretending to be weak. I also knew that he hated the Northern Pack more than anything. The Alpha King wanted him to surrender because of how good he was at fighting and planning wars. He didn’t just want Darius to join the North. He wanted to use Darius’s knowledge to weaken the South and give the North an advantage in taking control of more territory.

I hated what happened every time Darius refused. The guards would return with aconite-coated whips, and by the time they left, fresh wounds would cover his body. I had seen plenty of fighting and bloodshed growing up, but seeing it happen to Darius was different. No matter how many times I witnessed it, I never got used to it. Sometimes, I found myself wishing he would give in so they would leave him alone. At least then, maybe his wounds would have a chance to heal.

Darius swallowed the last piece of meat and looked away from me. I could tell from his face that he still wasn’t happy about eating, but at least he had taken something. I picked up the plate and stood up, but before I could say anything, he spoke again.

“I will never surrender to the Northern Pack,” Darius said. He wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “You can give me food. You can hurt me every day. It won’t change my mind. I’ll never be one of you.”

I sighed. There was really no point continuing the argument. “Then at least stay alive long enough to keep saying that,” I said before turning away. I had barely taken a few steps when I heard one of the guards call my name. “Ayla! Magnar wants to see you.”

I stopped and looked back at Darius for a moment before leaving the dungeon. I wondered what Magnar wanted from me this time. I had just reached the corridor when the guard pointed toward my brother’s quarters. I walked toward Magnar’s quarters, wondering what he wanted to talk to me about. Magnar had always been the one person I could depend on. When we were younger, other wolves picked on me because I was smaller and our mother was from the Southern Pack. Whenever they tried to hurt me, Magnar would always step in front of me. He was the one who protected me when I couldn’t protect myself.

Things had not always been easy for us. There were times when we barely had enough food, but Magnar always found a way to make sure I ate. Sometimes he would return with food he had stolen and act like it was nothing, despite knowing the punishment he could face if anyone discovered what he’d done. I had never forgotten those things. Whatever I had today, a big part of it was because of him.

When I reached his quarters, I knocked once before walking inside. Magnar was standing near the table, looking through something in his hands. He looked up when he saw me and motioned for me to come closer.

“You called for me?” I asked.

“Yes.” He put what he was holding down and looked at me seriously. “There is something we need to talk about.”

I moved closer. “What happened?”

Magnar didn’t answer immediately. He pulled out a chair for me, but remained standing. That was strange. Magnar usually spoke to me without hesitation. If something was wrong, he told me, but seeing him struggle to find the words made me nervous.

“Is it about Darius?” I asked.

“Yeah, it is.” He let out a slow breath and finally sat across from me. “The Alpha King has come up with another way to make Darius submit.”

I waited for him to continue.

“He wants Darius to have a wife and a child here. He believes having a family waiting for him will make Darius more willing to cooperate.”

I stared at him, but Magnar looked away.

“Ayla…” His voice was quieter now. “The King wants you to be that woman.”

I stared at him, completely lost for words. Magnar ran his fingers through his hair.

“I don’t want to ask this of you,” he said.

I looked at him carefully. “But you have to?”

“The King expects it, but I won’t force you.”

I looked at him for a moment. “And what will happen if I don’t do it?”

Magnar was quiet for a few seconds.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I’ll deal with it.”

“But you could get punished.”

“I guess so.”

I frowned. “Then why are you so worried about me?”

His expression softened. “Because you’re my sister, Ayla. I’ve spent my whole life protecting you. I’m not going to stop now just because the King wants something from you.”

He paused before continuing. “If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. I’ll find another way.”

I thought about everything Magnar had done for me. He had gone hungry so I could eat. He had taken punishments meant for me and risked his life to keep me safe.

“What if I want to help you?” I asked quietly.

Magnar shook his head. “You don’t owe me this, Ayla.”

“I know.” I reached across the table and held his hands. “But you’ve spent your whole life protecting me. Let me do something for you this one time. Please don’t hesitate, Magnar.”

He stared at me, and I could see the conflict on his face.

“Ayla…”

“I’m scared,” I admitted. “But I don’t want you to face the King alone. You know how cruel he can be. He could punish you badly, and I hate seeing you in pain.”

I squeezed his hands.

“I’ll do this for you, okay?”

Magnar stared at me for a long moment before slowly nodding.

“I’m sorry, Ayla.”

I shook my head. “Don’t be. I’m choosing to do this.”

Magnar stepped forward and pulled me into a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around me, and for a moment, neither of us said anything. But I could still see the guilt in his eyes when he finally pulled away.

I knew why. Magnar had spent his whole life protecting me, and now he was asking me to do something neither of us had ever imagined.

But when I thought about Darius, another worry came to mind. Darius was smaller than the massive Northern males I had grown up around. He was strong, but his body was already badly wounded.

If I was meant to bear his child, could his wounded body even endure the fierce sex?