Episode 5

Nadia

Women screaming for help.

Children crying.

Blood everywhere.

 I bolted upright and cried out as my head exploded in a dizzying pain.

I was panting, realizing that it had only been a dream that the infamous Varic the terrible known for his crimson eyes would save me much less call me his mate.

“You shouldn’t move,” a low, husky voice said.

I froze. Slowly, I turned my head and let out a small cry of panic.

A man was sitting in a dark wooden chair by the fire, watching me. 

He was big and muscled like a soldier. He stood slowly and stepped toward me, and the fire’s glow finally touched his face. 

My breath caught in my throat.

It hadn’t been a dream…

No. No!

  

Ren eyes like hot metal. A scar across one brow. A reputation I knew too well. Too close to home. A history that had haunted every wolf tale whispered across the territories.

Varic, The terrible.

My pulse spiked, and I scrambled backward on the bed instinctively, ignoring the pain ripping through my skull. He noticed but remained unfazed. His eyes narrowed slightly with something I couldn't identify. 

“So, you know who I am,” he said quietly.

“Good,” he finished and turned back to his seat.

Stories flooded my mind. Stories of the Alpha who tore down enemy packs. Who refused the Council’s rule. Who vanished into the woods and came back with stronger powers without a source.

“Wh-why…” My voice trembled. “Why did you…?”

“You were dying,” he said simply, folding his arms across his chest. “I smelled your blood in the woods. You called out for help.”

My mouth thinned as the bits of memory flickered through me.

I swallowed hard. 

Something sharp passed through his gaze. A ghost of emotion too fast to catch.

“I was supposed to kill you,” he said bluntly, stepping closer to the fire, and away from me. “You crossed into my land. That alone is reason enough. But worse…” He tilted his head, watching me. “I smelled Greg on you. You’re his wife.”

My heart sank. He knew Greg?

I was supposed to be on my knees, face on the floor in fear but something about him…

“So why didn’t you?” I asked, stunning myself with courage I have never had.

He was silent for a moment, then looked away toward the window.

“Because you’re just like me” His eyes found mine again. “Your pain needs no curtains.”

Something inside me twisted. I looked down at my hands, weak and useless. 

“I don’t want your pity,” I snapped, the remnants of the fear curdling into something bitter. “I don’t want your help. I’ll go back.”

“To what?” Varic’s voice cut in, low and harsh now. “To the man who tried to bury you in the dirt?”

I flinched.

“You’re dangerous. Everyone knows what you are. I’d rather take my chances with the monsters I know than stay here with one I don’t.” 

He hardly exhaled or inhaled. Hardly made foot sounds, but when he moved with lightning speed towards me, his figure towering over me in an instant, I didn’t flinch“You think I’m your biggest threat?” 

A dark chuckle escaped his lips while My spine stiffened.

“I don’t care,” I said, stubborn and scared. “There’s nothing anybody else can do to me. I just want to go home.”

He gave me a long, grim look. “Home to meadow pack?” He asked and my brows furrowed.

How did he know my pack name? 

A stiffness overcame his face as he looked at me with pity “you didn’t know,” he asked with a shocking concern.

I blinked. “What are you talking about?”

His voice dropped as he explained. “Meadow pack. Five years ago… someone wiped them off the face of this earth.”

My breathing halted. “What?”

“They're gone,” he said flatly. “Your parents. Your bloodline. All of them. Greg killed them.”

I gripped the edge of the bed as my vision narrowed.

Greg couldn’t possibly wipe out an entire clan! Who was he to have such power.

Varic saw the disbelief on my face and scoffed “you think I’m lying, don’t you,” he asked and I couldn’t hide my annoyance.

“Why wouldn’t I?” I fired and he laughed and started to even go further away from me.

I stood up on my feet, surprised by my own strength “Greg isn’t capable of such things. He’s just a normal guy with some amount of wealth, he would never,” he scoffed and my voice raised “because why would he need to!?” I was infuriated by the accusation.

“Because he wanted the daughter of the best seers! He wanted you and he didn’t want you to go back to your parents after you realized that he was the second son of King Andor,” 

My world reached rock bottom.

It was my turn to laugh “like I wouldn’t know if the man I married was my clan’s sworn enemy,” 

“Like how you knew your marriage was fake?” He asked and my lips pursed.

“Look, I have nothing to gain by lying to you. You’re supposed to be dead just by having his smell but here you are standing in my chambers,” he finished and I tried to process.

Greg was king Andor’s son? The same Greg that had been crippled? 

The voice in my head suddenly twisted into a darker voice as my parents having a huge hatred for him came to mind.

As I gradually processed the fact that my so called husband had not only killed my child but my family, rendering me alone in this world. Something in me snapped.

What had I done to deserve such mistreatment? I had loved him! Cared for him! Given my life for him!

But a part of me felt everything was a lie. It couldn’t be. Slowly, my eyes started to water, painful dots appeared in my vision.

A noise escaped my lips, part gasp, part cry. “But that’s not possible. I would know if…He wouldn’t…”

“He did,” Varic growled.

The room was silent, but inside me a storm was raging. I gritted my teeth in uncontained anger.

Varic suddenly emerged with a cloth in his hands, my eyes got aquinted to it faster than I could breathe. I gasped in horror.

Meadow pack’s flag, burned with the distinct metallic smell of blood. A familiar scent.

Varic was telling the truth!

He killed my family. To trap me.

The scream that tore out of my throat was raw, guttural. I threw a cup from the side table across the room, shattering it against the wall. My heart thudded like it would tear out of my chest. 

“He has to pay for what he’s done!” I clenched my teeth. The veil of love over my face been lifted as I remembered all the times Greg talked me down. Rejected me. Used me without my consent. Killed my baby. Destroyed my home.

I have been a fool.

Varic studied me silently. “Then let me help you.”

My gaze snapped to his. “How? Why would you help me?”

His expression shifted, something cold and calculating now shining behind his silver eyes. “Because I want something, too.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What?”

He stepped closer, his towering figure casting a shadow across the bed. 

Varic was no doubt a monster. Rumors of feral behaviour, sacrifices, bloodthirst. War and revenge. Horror stories of blood, children and women screaming had been woven about him.

“You need protection. Training. Revenge. I can give you all of that. But in return…”

He paused, then delivered his terms with a calmness that scared me.

“You’ll marry me.”

Another fake marriage!? Absolutely not.

“You’ll live here, in my lands. You’ll obey my laws. I’ll train you to be stronger, to fight. For six months, you’ll do everything I tell you. After that… we’ll part ways. You’ll have your revenge, and I’ll have what I want.”

This was just another exchange of ownership. I didn’t want to be passed around strangers like a piece of equipment but compared to Greg who wanted to put me down, Varic showed more promise.

“And what exactly do you want?” I asked with precise caution.

His eyes didn’t waver. “A Queen.”

I stared at him. A dozen alarm bells ringing in my head. 

How could I go from dirty slave wife to queen? Wouldn’t people suspect?

“Nobody will know about our little arrangement. There will be no strings and we can both get what we want.” I was still spinning the thought in my head.

“And you’re free to leave anytime. You hold no strings to me,” he said but something about that felt off.

A part of my memory recalled a moment where I felt a stir within when he picked me up.

I looked deep into his bottomless eyes, mimicking his expression.

I’ve been burned before. Betrayed. Discarded. Used. I was not going to let that happen again. 

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll give you six months.”

He nodded once, like he’d expected no less. “Then it’s done.”

“What next?” I asked as he gave me a little space.

“Well, now you die,” he said and my face drained of color.

‘Nadia Elora is presumed dead.’

I stood stiff, seated before my vanity as maids poked and decorated pieces into my hair.

The television spoke loudly explaining “my death” in some important way. Still maintaining that I was a delusional crazy fan of Greg’s.

How divine.

“Turn that off,” I commanded and the television went still.

Today was all about me and today I was not Nadia Elora.

I didn’t understand why everyone was making a fuss about me when I finally walked into the ballroom accompanied by so many escorts.

Varic stood at the head of the table, his hands outstretched to welcome me.

He had taught me all of the basic etiquettes two days before and I was ready to play the game so long he got me the revenge I wanted.

Wolves of all ranks filled the long stone hall, their eyes on me as I stood beside Varic. Silence fell as we sat down in front of the columns of warriors, nobles, and elders. I could sense the respect in their gaze. Like they knew me…

Varic suddenly stood up, power emanating from him “ Today is a special day as you can all see for yourself. My queen has been found! And the rites will continue” he echoed but whispers started to grow.

What rituals? What was he talking about?

 “Which is why I am making this an official announcement—“

“Sire,” an elderly man interrupted but varic didn’t spare him a glance.

“Vanessa, first of her name. Luna of bloodred pack. Alpha of her own clan, leader of this clan. Shall be made a co-Alpha of this pack, having equal power with me. Varic Vald, first of my name!” He declared and there was an instant ruckus.

I didn’t understand what was going on as more and more people spoke at the same time. I tried to speak to him but instead the same man who had interrupted Varic came to the front of the table.

“My Queen has returned.”

Murmurs turned into stares of disbelief, of fear, of reverence.

I didn’t understand it all.

Not until I saw her.

A giant canvas hung above the high table, draped in black silk. When the cloth was pulled back, the room inhaled as one.

I stared at the painting. The same sharp cheekbones. The same eyes. The same raven-black hair.

It was… me.