Chapter 3

Tiana

My feet carried me through the corridors on autopilot, my mind still snagged on the words Alpha Zane had uttered.

The pack house felt different as I walked through it. It took me several steps to realize why.

People were staring.

Not the usual dismissive glances I’d grown accustomed to. It was more of assessing stares that followed my every movement.

From a guard tracking my move with his eyes to two other servants pausing their conversation mid-sentence as I approached.

Did they know? 

The meeting had ended mere minutes ago. I quickened my pace, desperate to reach the servants’ quarters where I could hide

“Well, well.” Claire came out of nowhere, blocking the hallway, her arms crossed and a cruel smile playing at her lips. 

“I heard it’s our new Luna,” Claire said, drawing out the title like it was a joke.

“Move aside,” I said quietly. “I need to pass.”

“Oh, you need to pass?” She stepped forward, her voice dripping with mock concern. “Did you hear that?” She muttered, turning to the small crowd that had gathered. “She has needs now. How quickly power goes to their heads.”

“Please just move aside,” I said, finding a way out, but she blocked my view. 

Unable to contain the frustration that filled me from my meeting with the Alpha, I shoved her aside. 

And walked past. 

She stumbled into a passing guard, knocking his spear from his grip.

I heard a scream, followed by the guard’s voice instructing Claire to come with him. I was not sure what happened after, as I kept my eyes straight ahead, making my way back to the servant’s quarters and thinking about what I had to do to escape my fate.

I had until noon to decide.

Until noon to either sign the contract and become Alpha Zane’s breeding vessel—or refuse and face whatever “consequences” he’d promised.

But every time I picked up the pen, my hand shook too badly to form the letters of my name.

Because signing meant surrendering the last shred of dignity I had left. 

The contract sat on the small table in my quarters, its neat language mocking me.

The Luna will bear the Alpha one male heir.

Upon the child’s second birthday, the Luna will relinquish all parental rights and titles.

The Luna will receive a settlement of fifty thousand silver marks and safe passage to any territory of her choosing.

I was livestock.

Purchased breeding stock with a return policy.

By the time night settled in, my decision had already been made.

I wasn’t signing.

The rope hidden beneath my bed had been there for months—stolen bit by bit from the storage shed, braided together during sleepless nights when the weight of this life felt like consuming me. I’d always told myself it was just in case. 

Near midnight, I pulled it out with shaking hands and tied it to the iron bracket outside my window.

The servants’ quarters sat on the second floor, high enough that the fall would hurt, but survivable. From there, it was just the gardens. Just the outer wall and freedom on the other side.

My bag was already packed.  I had gathered enough clothes for a change and some little money I’d managed to hide over the years. I also put in a small knife, necessary to protect myself till I found a new home. Everything I owned fit into a sack that was light enough to carry.

‘You can do this,’ I assured myself as I tested the rope’s strength.

‘You have to.’

Because the alternative was unthinkable.

I waited until the pack house went quiet. Until the patrol passed beneath my window and moved on. Then I pushed the window open, the hinges whispering in protest.

The rope burned my palms as I lowered myself down, my arms trembling. Halfway, my foot slipped, and for one terrifying moment I swung freely, my heart slamming against my ribs.

Don’t look down. Don’t think. Move.

When my feet finally hit the ground, relief nearly broke me.

I ran through the gardens, moonlight cutting through the trees in pale shards. Not toward the main gates as it will be too obvious. But toward the eastern wall, where age and neglect had weakened the stone.

My lungs burned. My legs screamed. I didn’t stop.

When I reached the wall, I tossed my bag over first, hearing it land softly on the other side.

I climbed, my fingers digging into cracks and crevices. Almost there. Almost—

Then my foot slipped and I fell.

The impact knocked the air out of my lungs, a sharp crack tearing through my ribs as my face scraped against dirt.

For several seconds, I couldn’t move, only gasping helplessly.

Get up, my wolf screamed. 

“Pathetic.” Another voice echoed, but not from my wolf.

I forced my head up, my vision blurring, and found him standing in the shadows.

Alpha Zane.

His arms were crossed, wearing an expression that seemed like it was carved from stone. 

“You looked like a sack of meat hitting the ground,” he said.

“Did you really think you could run from me?”