Chapter Four

The television screen blurred in front of my eyes. The Lycan King. The most ruthless and powerful ruler in our world was the man who had bought me a drink and completely ruined my sanity. My stomach dropped to my feet.

I did not wait for the news anchor to finish speaking. I grabbed my ruined black dress from the floor. The fabric was still stiff from the wine Moss had poured on me the night before. I dragged it over my head, shoved my feet into my shoes, and ran out of the pub before the bartender could even look my way.

I had to get to the Volkov Elite Academy. The morning bell would ring in exactly twenty minutes. If I missed the first period, Anastasia would have me scrubbing the estate courtyard with a toothbrush.

The morning air was freezing. I practically sprinted the two miles to the academy gates. The campus was massive, filled with ancient stone buildings and manicured lawns meant only for the highest-ranking wolves in the territory.

I slipped through the side entrance and hurried down the locker corridor. I kept my head down. I just needed to grab my history textbook and hide in the back row.

A heavy hand slammed into the metal locker right next to my head. The sound echoed loudly in the empty hallway.

I jumped and spun around.

Ryder stood there. He wore a crisp white shirt with the top two buttons undone, his dark blazer hanging loosely from his broad shoulders. His golden eyes were blazing with a cold, terrifying fury.

"Where exactly did you go last night?" Ryder asked. His voice was dangerously quiet.

"I went for a walk," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Let me pass, Ryder."

He leaned closer. His face was inches from mine. He inhaled slowly, his nostrils flaring.

"You smell like cheap alcohol and absolute filth," Ryder sneered, his lip curling in disgust. "You reek of a dirty pub. Did you honestly think you could run away from the Ascension ceremony and not face the consequences?"

"I did not run away," I lied. I pressed my back against the cold metal of the lockers. "I was tired. I went to sleep."

Ryder laughed. It was a dark and cruel sound that made my skin crawl.

"Do not lie to me, little mouse," he warned. He raised his hand and forcefully grabbed my chin, tilting my face up to meet his furious glare. "You embarrassed my family. You made us look weak in front of the entire pack."

"I am not a part of your family," I spat back, batting his hand away.

Ryder stepped directly into my personal space. He trapped me between his arms, placing both hands heavily on the lockers behind me. The scent of cedarwood and pure dominance rolled off him in suffocating waves.

"You are right about that," Ryder whispered maliciously. "You are not family. You are property. You belong to this pack. You belong to me. And you will do exactly what you are told."

"I am not your property," I fired back, my chest heaving with anger. "I am a person. Just because you are terrified of your own cursed blood does not mean you can use me as a biological fix."

His eyes darkened to a stormy amber. The muscles in his jaw ticked violently.

"You are completely useless," Ryder insulted, his words sharp and meant to cut deep. "Look at you. You have no wolf. You have no rank. You have absolutely no pride. The only reason you are breathing our air is because my father felt pity for a pathetic orphan."

"Then let the orphan leave," I challenged him, staring right into his eyes. "Let me walk out of the gates today. If I am such a burden, let me go."

"Never," Ryder growled softly. "You are going to stay here and pay off the debt your parents created when they failed to protect mine properly."

"They died for your parents!" I yelled, pushing hard against his chest.

He did not budge an inch. He just grabbed both of my wrists in one large hand and pinned them to the locker above my head. His grip was entirely unbreakable.

"They died because they were weak," Ryder said coldly. "Just like you."

Footsteps echoed at the far end of the hallway. The heavy double doors swung open, bringing a sudden rush of cold wind into the corridor.

The academy headmaster walked in, talking nervously and rubbing his hands together. Right behind him walked the Lycan King.

My heart completely stopped.

He looked even more intimidating in person than he did on the television screen or in the dark pub room. He wore a tailored charcoal suit that clung perfectly to his massive frame. His raven hair was brushed back, and his piercing blue eyes scanned the hallway with an expression of pure, unadulterated boredom.

Liam and Kratavak walked closely behind him, pointing out the architecture of the school.

The King turned his head. His cold blue eyes landed directly on me.

I stopped breathing. I waited for the recognition. I waited for him to smirk or point out that I was the girl from the tavern.

He did absolutely nothing.

His expression remained completely blank. He looked at my face, then looked at Ryder holding me against the locker, and then he simply looked away. He turned his attention back to the headmaster without a single flicker of emotion.

It was as if I was entirely invisible. I was nothing but a speck of dust on the academy floor.

Ryder noticed my reaction. He noticed how my body went completely still and how my eyes tracked the King. A dark, possessive anger flashed across Ryder's face.

He leaned down until his lips brushed against my ear.

"Do you think a man like that would ever look at dirt like you?" Ryder whispered.

I tried to turn my head away, but he held me firmly in place.

"He is royalty," Ryder continued, his voice dripping with venom. "He commands thousands. You clean my floors. You are not even worthy of being in his line of sight."

"Let me go," I choked out, fighting the tears burning in my eyes.

"No," Ryder murmured softly against my skin. He suddenly released my wrists, but his hands dropped to my waist, gripping my hips with bruising force.

He pulled my body flush against his own. The heat radiating from his chest was intense, a sharp contrast to his freezing words.

"You wanted to know your place, Kia?" Ryder asked softly, looking down at my lips with a confusing mix of hatred and hunger. "Pack your bags tonight. The elders signed the decree this morning. We are moving you to the isolated mountain."

I gasped, my eyes widening in absolute horror.

"You cannot do that," I whispered.

Ryder smirked. It was a terrifying, victorious smile.

"I am the Alpha," Ryder stated firmly. "I can do whatever I want. And starting tomorrow, you are going to fulfill your true purpose for my bloodline."